Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the NFU and food businesses on potential (a) increases in wheat costs and (b) shortage of availability as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges. Our food import dependency on the Eastern European region, including for wheat, is very low, so Defra does not expect any significant direct impact of this conflict on UK food supply. The UK produced 14m tonnes of wheat in 2021, close to the volume of wheat the UK consumes, and has stocks of 1.7m tonnes. We can also import cereals from alternative sources.
While the price of wheat may go up due to global market disruptions, the primary effect for UK farmers is likely to be an increase in the cost of a range of inputs including red diesel, animal feed, fertiliser, and energy.
It is not Government policy to determine which crops farmers should prioritise to include in their crop rotation. In 2021 we permanently removed Basic Payment Scheme ‘greening measures’ on crop diversification and ecological focus areas, meaning when growers are making crop planting decisions, they are free to react to market signals.
We are in regular contact with the NFU, major grain traders, manufacturers, and food retailers to understand the impacts of global events on supply chains. We are also working with the industry to identify where mitigations are available and continue to keep the situation under review.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 encourage an increase in UK wheat production in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges. Our food import dependency on the Eastern European region, including for wheat, is very low, so Defra does not expect any significant direct impact of this conflict on UK food supply. The UK produced 14m tonnes of wheat in 2021, close to the volume of wheat the UK consumes, and has stocks of 1.7m tonnes. We can also import cereals from alternative sources.
While the price of wheat may go up due to global market disruptions, the primary effect for UK farmers is likely to be an increase in the cost of a range of inputs including red diesel, animal feed, fertiliser, and energy.
It is not Government policy to determine which crops farmers should prioritise to include in their crop rotation. In 2021 we permanently removed Basic Payment Scheme ‘greening measures’ on crop diversification and ecological focus areas, meaning when growers are making crop planting decisions, they are free to react to market signals.
We are in regular contact with the NFU, major grain traders, manufacturers, and food retailers to understand the impacts of global events on supply chains. We are also working with the industry to identify where mitigations are available and continue to keep the situation under review.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 moving the enforcement of the pet travel legislation from carriers to a qualified animal professional from a government agency.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Carriers work closely with operational colleagues at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Border Force and are committed to preventing illegal imports of pet animals. Authorised pet checkers are trained by APHA prior to being granted approval and receive annual audits of their checking and processing to ensure they uphold our requirements. APHA regularly reviews its border enforcement work against known travel trends of those that seek to illegally import puppies to the UK, to keep pace with this rapidly evolving criminal activity. Part of this work includes intelligence-led targeting of suspected smugglers, alongside partner agencies, including Border Force. Border Force operates a 24-hour service seven days per week and alerts APHA to suspected non-compliant dogs and puppies. Targeted intelligence-led work often takes place outside of normal working hours as needed. The Government is satisfied with the workings of these current arrangements.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish its response to the findings of the Commercial and Non-Commercial Movements of Pets into Great Britain consultation.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 to introduce visual checks on dogs which enter the country via ports and the Eurotunnel.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. All non-commercial dogs, cats and ferrets entering Great Britain on approved routes (every route other than Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies) under the Pet Travel rules undergo 100% documentary and identity checks by authorised pet checkers.
Authorised pet checkers are trained by the Animal and Plant Health Agency prior to being granted approval and receive annual audits of their checking and processing to ensure they uphold our requirements. They also receive refresher training and are encouraged to liaise with their Animal and Plant Health Agency contacts to identify non-compliance trends and additional training requirements.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June 2021 and completed committee on 18 November 2021. The Bill allows us to further protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the projected wheat price changes for the remainder of 2022 as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Data published by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board show that average ex-farm spot prices for feed and milling wheat have risen 53% since April 2021, and 32% in the weeks from February 17 to March 10, 2022. This is closely matched by near-dated London feed wheat futures prices, which have risen 53% and 34% in the same timeframe.
Price developments for the remainder of the year will depend on how the situation in Ukraine develops, and on the responses of major wheat importers and exporters. The department continues to monitor price movements and volatility, and continues to engage with international partners in the G20 Agricultural Market Information System to facilitate smooth functioning of the global food trade.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department and the Marine Management Office have given to fishers on the recent type withdrawal of an IVMS product.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) received information indicating that the MS44 Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (IVMS) device that has been marketed by Maritime Systems Ltd was different to the device that was type-approved by the MMO in November 2021 and may not meet the required specification set out in the published approval process. Concern was centred around transmission strengths of the MS44 IVMS device, specifically in regard to its 4G capability.
So that the MMO could provide individuals with the reassurance needed to move forward with installation, type approval was temporally suspended to allow for a review to take place. Additional supporting information was requested regarding the functionality of the device and assurances were sought that the actual device that will be offered to industry moving forward is the MS44 device as approved within the original type approval programme.
The additional information provided by Maritime Systems Ltd confirms that the MS44 device continues to meet the required specification criteria, including 4G functionality. As a result of the review, this device remains one of the approved IVMS devices available for purchase.
On 7 March 2022, the MMO communicated the outcome to industry and also published an update online. In addition to the outcome of the review, this confirmed that the deadline for Tranche 1 (vessels 10m to 11.9m in length) device installation has been extended by seven weeks to 16 May 2022 and the grant claim window to 17 June 2022 to align with the Tranche 2 deadline.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of seasonal agricultural workers come from Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Home Office managed migration datasets indicate that in 2021, visas issued to Ukrainian nationals accounted for 67% (19,920) of all visas issued under the seasonal worker route, including those issued under the temporary visa schemes for poultry, food sector HGVs, and pork butchers.
Defra is engaging with the operators of the seasonal worker visa route to prepare and advance contingency plans in response to the situation in Ukraine. Operators can recruit from any country they choose for the seasonal workers visa route and operators recruited seasonal workers from almost 50 countries in 2021.