Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Animal Plant and Health Agency have made of the effectiveness of the measures taken by the British Horseracing Authority in countering and containing the ongoing outbreak of equine influenza in the UK.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Equine influenza is not a notifiable disease in the UK, which means that the industry takes responsibility for controlling the disease.
Vaccination is the main control measure, alongside isolation of infected cases and minimising the mixing of horses during an outbreak.
The Government has been monitoring the situation and maintaining close contact with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the Animal Health Trust (AHT) and the British Horse Council. We commend the BHA and other equine industry bodies for their swift action and for advising against unvaccinated animals being allowed to attend large gatherings.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what are the most recent recycling rates are for (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Gloucestershire, (d) Tewkesbury Borough Council, (e) Gloucester City Council, and (f) Cheltenham Borough Council.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The official ‘waste from households’ recycling rate for 2017 is 45.7% for the UK and 45.2% for England.
The Government does not have published ‘waste from households’ recycling rates for individual local authorities. Instead another metric, ‘households’ recycling, is available, which has a slightly broader scope with some differences in the materials which are counted as recycling.
The county council acts as the disposal authority, while the other councils are the collection authority.
‘Household’ recycling rates for the local authorities in 2017/18 | |
Gloucestershire County Council | 54.2% |
Tewkesbury Borough Council | 54.5% |
Gloucester City Council | 41.9% |
Cheltenham Borough Council | 48.5% |
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase recycling rates; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government is committed to increasing recycling rates. Our consultation on ‘consistency in household and business recycling collections in England’ sought views on how to do this. One of the proposals in the consultation was for all collectors of waste to collect a core set of materials from households and businesses. We believe that if the same core set of materials was collected for recycling there would be less confusion among householders and members of public about what can be recycled. As a result, both the quantity and quality of recycling would increase.
We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and will publish the Government’s response to it shortly.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
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 potential risks of (a) helium balloon and (b) sky lantern releases; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
An independent study commissioned by Defra and the Welsh Government published in 2013 suggested that while anecdotal reports and media coverage could imply that there is widespread concern from farming groups and others over the impacts of sky lanterns and helium balloons on the health and welfare of livestock, the evidence presented indicated that the number of cases reported each year of animals affected through ingestion of sky lantern and helium balloon debris is very small in the context of the wider livestock population..
The Government has no plans for policy changes regarding the release of sky lanterns or helium balloons or to commission an update of the 2013 Report.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of banning the practice of caging agricultural birds; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare and the welfare of our farmed livestock in all systems is protected by comprehensive and robust legislation. This is backed up by statutory species specific welfare codes, which encourage high standards of husbandry and which keepers are required by law to have access to and be familiar with. Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency inspectors and local authorities conduct inspections on farms to check that the animal welfare standards are being met.
Whatever the system of production, the most important factor in determining animal welfare is good stockmanship and the correct application of husbandry standards. This reflects the advice of the Farm Animal Welfare Committee.
We have already banned cages or close confinement systems where there is clear scientific evidence that they are detrimental to animal health and welfare. For example, we banned the use of conventional (‘battery’) cages for laying hens in 2012.
The new statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Laying Hens and Pullets, which came into force last year, provides improved and up-to-date guidance on welfare legislation and reflects the latest scientific and veterinary advice. I am aware that all major supermarkets have said they will stop selling eggs from hens kept in enriched cages by 2025.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking against dog owners whose dogs have attacked (a) other dogs and (b) people; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 makes it an offence to allow a dog, of any breed or type, to be dangerously out of control. This includes instances where dogs attack other animals including dogs, as well as people. We have discussed this application of the 1991 Act with the police.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Natural England on the provision of information on fox numbers in each site of special scientific interest; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I have been well informed of the discussions that my officials are having with Natural England (NE) on this issue. NE’s licencing process for badger control includes a detailed assessment of effects on protected wildlife sites such as sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). In 2018, NE’s successful defence of judicial review proceedings against these assessments included a commitment to review its procedures on and within 2km of SSSIs, where they support bird species which may be vulnerable to a potential increase in fox predation as a result of a reduction in badger numbers. NE will collect information in order to make a judgement on whether sufficient fox control is taking place to avoid this potential risk.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect hedgerows as habitats for wildlife; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green, Catherine West, on 15 April 2019 to PQ 242911.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for a strategy to manage bovine TB in the countryside without using badger culling; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
A successful strategy for eradicating bovine TB involves addressing all routes of spread of infection, including cattle-to-cattle, cattle-to-badger, badger-to-badger and badger-to-cattle.
As part of the Government’s 25 year bovine TB eradication strategy, we are taking strong action to eradicate the disease and protect the future of our dairy and beef industries, with emphasis on detecting infection early in cattle herds, containing and removing it as quickly as possible, and tighter biosecurity. We also enable farmers and landowners to carry out badger culling and/or badger vaccination, subject to strict licensing criteria by Natural England.
Sir Charles Godfray’s review of the strategy is an important contribution that will inform future approaches around our goal of eradicating the disease in England by 2038.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Rural Payments Agency is able to efficiently manage (a) Countryside Stewardship and (b) Environmental Stewardship payments; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Performance on stewardship schemes has not been satisfactory. Both I and the Secretary of State are engaging with the RPA to improve the process and I have regular contact with the Rural Payments Agency’s (RPA) Chief Executive. Since the transfer of work last October, we have supported the RPA in securing the resources needed to make inroads into the backlog and get vital payments out to agreement holders.
In parallel, the RPA has made IT improvements and streamlined processes for new and existing agreements, to get the payment rounds on a better footing, get agreement holders back into the position they should be in, and make the schemes a more attractive proposition going forward.