Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timescale is for responding to the Glover Landscapes Review published in September 2019.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to ensuring our Protected Landscapes flourish as havens for nature and are places that everyone can visit and enjoy.
The Glover Landscapes Review set out a compelling vision for more beautiful, more biodiverse and more accessible National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We welcome this ambition and consider it important that we actively engage with stakeholders to inform and develop our response.
We are working on our response to the Review, with a focus on those recommendations requiring collective action and new ways of working nationally. The Government will come forward with firm proposals for implementing the Glover Landscapes Review in due course.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the operation of the Seasonal Workers Pilot.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra and the Home Office have been working closely to ensure the successful operation of the Seasonal Workers Pilot, and to undertake an effective assessment. The evaluation of the Seasonal Workers Pilot is ongoing and the results will be published in due course. The expansion of the Pilot in 2020 will enable the Government to carry out a more extensive evaluation of the systems and process in place to access labour from non-EEA countries, ahead of any decisions being taken of how the future needs of the sector may be addressed.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where Noise Important Areas (NIAs) have been identified in East Hampshire constituency; and what plans he has for updating the identification of NIAs.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Detailed strategic maps showing noise levels for road noise and rail sources, as well as Noise Important Areas (NIAs) and exposure data across England, are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-noise-mapping-2019. This data is searchable by location.
NIAs are currently defined as the areas where the 1% of the population affected by the highest noise levels from roads and railways are located according to the results of the strategic noise mapping. The noise maps and action plans published in July 2019 remain in place for five years. As we prepare for the next round of noise mapping and action planning, we intend to consider whether the metrics currently used to identify Important Areas could be improved.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What recent steps she has taken to help ensure business certainty for farmers after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is taking the necessary steps to ensure the UK leaves the EU with certainty and continuity.
As well as a programme of secondary legislation, the Agriculture Bill, announced in the Queen's Speech, provides the foundation for a smooth transition for farmers to a new public money for public goods approach.
In the event of a no deal we have contingency arrangements in place allowing us to act swiftly if agricultural sectors are adversely affected.