Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether new Countryside Stewardship agreements issued in 2023 will be made under the legal powers conferred by Section 1 of the Agriculture Act 2020.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Yes, Countryside Stewardship agreements issued in 2023 are made under the legal powers conferred by section 1 of the Agriculture Act 2020.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there are remaining provisions in retained EU law that govern the payment rates permissible under new or existing Countryside Stewardship agreements.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is provision for payment rates applicable to legacy EU agreements (agreements made up to 31 December 2020) under retained EU law. However, pursuant to a domestic modification to retained EU law made by regulation 5 of the Rural Development (Amendment) (No. 2) (England) Regulations (SI 2022 No. 1225), changes may now be made to payment rates applicable to legacy EU agreements without, as was previously required, having to specify them in the Rural Development Programme for England programme document.
There are no provisions in retained EU law that govern the payment rates (made from 1 January 2021) in either new Countryside Stewardship agreements or existing Countryside Stewardship agreements made under domestic legislation (the Environment Act 1995 and the Agriculture Act 2020).
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using low atmospheric pressure stunning as an alternative to carbon dioxide in the slaughter of pigs.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the long-standing animal welfare concerns with high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs. HM Government has supported research into use of alternatives, including inert gas mixtures, and while these do reduce the welfare impacts, there are practical constraints to their use which have so far restricted commercial uptake.
HM Government has also part-funded research into Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning (LAPS) as a possible alternative stunning method for pigs. However, the results demonstrated that LAPS is associated with poor welfare in pigs and does not present a humane alternative to high concentration carbon dioxide stunning.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of substituting the use of carbon dioxide in the stunning of pigs with alternatives such as argon, nitrogen or nitrous oxide.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the long-standing animal welfare concerns with high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs. HM Government has supported research into use of alternatives, including inert gas mixtures, and while these do reduce the welfare impacts, there are practical constraints to their use which have so far restricted commercial uptake.
HM Government has also part-funded research into Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning (LAPS) as a possible alternative stunning method for pigs. However, the results demonstrated that LAPS is associated with poor welfare in pigs and does not present a humane alternative to high concentration carbon dioxide stunning.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the welfare implications of high concentration carbon dioxide stunning in the slaughter of pigs.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the long-standing animal welfare concerns with high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs. HM Government has supported research into use of alternatives, including inert gas mixtures, and while these do reduce the welfare impacts, there are practical constraints to their use which have so far restricted commercial uptake.
HM Government has also part-funded research into Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning (LAPS) as a possible alternative stunning method for pigs. However, the results demonstrated that LAPS is associated with poor welfare in pigs and does not present a humane alternative to high concentration carbon dioxide stunning.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to commence negotiations with the First Group on the terms of an extension to the Great Western franchise after March 2020.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The current Great Western franchise agreement expires at 01.59am on 1 April 2020, having been extended to the fullest extent possible under its terms. In November 2017 the Secretary of State announced his intention to negotiate a new franchise agreement with the incumbent operator and discussions with FirstGroup are already under way.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the standard of catering services on the new Class 800 trains operated by First Group under the Great Western franchise.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department published the response to its consultation on the future of the Great Western franchise on 28 August 2018: (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736146/great-western-rail-franchise-stakeholder-briefing-document.pdf). This shows ten areas of response from consultees about catering.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on passengers of the decision by the First Group to discontinue its buffet car facilities and replace them with a more limited trolley service.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department published the response to its consultation on the future of the Great Western franchise on 28 August 2018: (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736146/great-western-rail-franchise-stakeholder-briefing-document.pdf). This shows ten areas of response from consultees about catering, including comments about both trolley services and buffet cars
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to make it a condition of any future extension of the Great Western franchise that an operator must provide full buffet car catering facilities.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department published the response to its consultation on the future of the Great Western franchise on 28 August 2018: (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736146/great-western-rail-franchise-stakeholder-briefing-document.pdf). Decisions on policy on the specification of the next Great Western franchise are informed by this consultation, which did not show strong demand for full buffet car catering facilities.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2019 to Question 273370 on Migration Advisory Committee: Public Appointments, if he will estimate the time taken to run an open competition recruitment process from (a) the point of decision to adopt that route to (b) a final decision on the successful candidate for that competition being made.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The time required to complete an open competition differs between public appointments. Indicative timetables for each competition are published on the Public Appointments website.
https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Changing circumstances may cause the actual timetable to vary from that initially published.