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 the planting of additional trees to reduce the risk of flooding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
This Government has committed to increase planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares of trees per year by 2025. This will be supported in England by our £640 million Nature for Climate Fund, announced at the spring budget.
Additionally, we will soon consult on our English Tree Strategy. The consultation will seek feedback on policies to increase tree and woodland cover, including riparian planting along rivers and on hillsides. Planting trees can contribute to a wider catchment-based approach to flood alleviation, slowing the flow of water. The right tree in the right place can also improve water quality, biodiversity, air quality, and soil health.
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 the Environment Agency on the merits of dredging rivers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bosworth on 3 March 2020, PQ UIN 20056.
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, whether he plans to review the funding arrangements of Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities are primarily funded from local authorities under powers under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. In recognition that IFCAs were carrying out new functions, Defra has been providing them with £3million per year in New Burdens funding since their creation. The future of this funding will be considered alongside departmental budgetary requirements in the forthcoming Spending Review.
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 his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing regulations on animal welfare standards for (a) animal sanctuaries and (b) re-homing organisations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government greatly appreciates the valuable work that responsible animal sanctuaries and rehoming organisations do in caring for animals. Evidence provided by respondents to the consultation on banning commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens, reflected concerns about profit-driven activity and variations in welfare standards across the sector. The Government is committed to fully understanding the views of rescue and rehoming organisations themselves, and the possible impacts of introducing regulations to the sector and is currently engaging with the sector on assessing these issues. Any proposals to bring forward regulations on animal welfare standards for the sector will be subject to full public consultation.
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, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban (a) hand held, remote electric dog collars, (b) dog bark induced electric collars and (c) electric perimeter fencing for the control of dogs; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government is committed to banning the use of hand-held remote controlled electronic dog collars and will lay the necessary legislation for such a ban as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The ban will not include dog bark induced collars or collars that work in connection with perimeter fencing.
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, with reference to the Answer of 29 October 2019 to Question 4960 on Dogs: Animal Welfare, when the research on responsible dog ownership her Department has commissioned from Middlesex University will be completed; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Defra funded research being carried out by Middlesex University on responsible dog ownership will be published in due course.
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 set up tree planting schemes (a) nationally and (b) in Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government is committed to planting 11 million trees this Parliament, as well as planting 1 million trees in our towns and cities. Woodland creation is a key element of our 25 Year Environment Plan.
The Government provides national support to landowners to plant trees through Countryside Stewardship, the Woodland Carbon Fund, the High Speed 2 Woodland Fund and the Government’s investment in the Northern Forest. Further, in the Autumn Budget, the Government announced £10m for an Urban Trees Challenge Fund – which is now open for applications - and £50m to help plant new woodlands through the Woodland Carbon Guarantee.
We supported the planting of 372,000 trees for the administrative areas of Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire from 2010-11 to 2018-19, and look forward to supporting landowners to plant more trees in the coming years.
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 his Department has made of the importance of the British thoroughbred racing industry to the UK rural economy.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Government is committed to driving sustainable growth in the rural economy. Our world leading horseracing industry employs over 17,000 people nationally and contributes around £3.5 billion to the national economy each year, and plays a significant role in rural areas.
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 his Department has made of the effectiveness of the work of Retraining of Racehorses in (a) retraining retired racehorses for second careers in other equine disciplines and (b) rehoming retired racehorses.
Answered by David Rutley
Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) is British Horseracing’s official charity established in 2000 for the welfare of horses that have retired from racing. The charity promotes the versatility and adaptability of racehorses for other equine activities. We understand that over 6,500 retired racehorses are registered with RoR as active in a second career. In 2018, RoR’s education programme, open to all registered horses, organised or oversaw the staging of 301 events, with 1,681 horses attending. As a result, RoR plays a leading role on the international scene providing advice to other jurisdictions seeking guidance on setting up their own aftercare programmes. In addition, RoR works closely with welfare organisations such as the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare.
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 estimate he has made of the number of catteries which have closed in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley
Anyone in the business of boarding other peoples’ cats needs a valid licence under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 which introduced strict statutory minimum welfare standards. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the 2018 Regulations and have powers to issue or revoke licences, and powers of entry and inspection. Although the 2018 Regulations require local authorities to submit details of the numbers of licences issued for their area we would not know how this compared to the previous twelve months (before the 2018 Regulations were in force). Each local authority would hold details of the number of licences issued to catteries under the 2018 Regulations and how that number differed from the number of licences issued in the previous twelve months.