Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will make it its policy to ensure access to the countryside as part of the Environmental Land Management regime.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Huddersfield on 19 January 2022, PQ UIN 100429.
Support for increasing access into the countryside will be made through existing schemes and support mechanisms already in place. We are still considering our approach to support for increasing and maintaining access to the countryside in our future schemes including our environmental land management schemes.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
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 frequency of public land being used for illegal fox hunting under the guise of trail hunting; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure the effective enforcement of the prohibition on fox-hunting on public land.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act.
Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law. As enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police, Defra has not assessed the frequency of offences against the Hunting Act committed on public land.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans to adopt the Whole Grain Initiative’s definition of whole grain foods for food package labelling.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Defra committed to reviewing the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998, as they apply in England, following the end of the transition period. The planned review is being scoped now but it will focus on ensuring alignment with retained laws in other overlapping areas, as well as considering requests from industry for additional measures and exemptions. The review will also need to consider any DHSC decisions around folic acid. As part of the review, we will hold a public consultation on policy options. Many of the issues raised by stakeholders to date are technically complex and we expect this review will need sufficient time to consider responses and agree the best way forward.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 21 July 2020 to Question 75425, what steps she has taken to progress work with the industry to ensure that the supply of chemicals and materials that are essential for water and wastewater treatment processes is not adversely affected following the end of the transition period.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Prior to the end of the transition period, the department worked with water companies, the regulators and the wider sector to prepare for a range of potential outcomes. Water companies undertook extensive preparations to ensure continuity of supply and these have ensured that thus far, there has not been an impact on water supply. Water companies are continuing to monitor their supply chains and have increased their on-site stocks of chemicals. The sector has well-rehearsed contingency plans to respond to incidents that might arise.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to ensure that the supply of (a) chemicals and (b) materials for the treatment of (i) drinking water and (ii) sewage will not be (A) interrupted and (B) adversely affected in the event that a UK/EU relationship has not been reached by the end of the transition period.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
As part of the Government’s preparations for leaving the EU, Defra worked closely with water companies and with the industry trade association to deliver comprehensive sectoral contingency plans with arrangements that would protect supply chains in the event that a UK/EU relationship was not reached prior to the UK leaving the EU. This work has significantly bolstered the resilience of the sector and its supply chains. Defra will continue to work with the industry to ensure that the supply of chemicals and materials that are essential for water and wastewater treatment processes is not adversely affected following the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2020 to Question 40742, on Dogs: Animal Breeding, whether a puppy bred by a person that is licensed to sell a puppy in England can be sold in the UK if it was bred by that person outside the UK.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
A person who is licensed in England as a seller of pet animals may sell a puppy in England as long as they can satisfy the local authority that they bred the puppy concerned. The ban on commercial third party sales in England is about ensuring the person selling the puppy has actually bred the pet animal. The law on the breeding and selling of dogs is a devolved matter and therefore differs in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2020 to Question 34397, whether puppies bred outside the UK can be sold by a person who is licensed to sell a puppy in England.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The ban on the commercial third party sales of puppies and kittens came into force on 6 April 2020 through the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals)(England)(Amendment) Regulations 2019. From this date, licensed pet sellers in England are only able to sell puppies that they have bred. Licensed pet sellers in England will not be able to sell puppies that they have not bred, regardless of what country they were bred in.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
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 has to support the expansion of the FareShare network during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We are working closely with FareShare and other food aid organisations to identify the impacts COVID-19 is having on front-line charities that provide food, and to ensure that those who are financially vulnerable have access to food and essential supplies.
We have worked with FareShare to quantify the current and forecast supply and demand of food to food aid charities, including the hundreds of charities who have asked for FareShare’s support since COVID-19. We welcome the efforts of the food industry to support food aid organisations, including the FareShare network, through pledges of donations of food and funds.
We are working through the Food and Essential Supplies to the Vulnerable Ministerial Task Force to identify where Government can best support front-line food charities, in the context of the gap between supply and demand, and the support already shown by the food industry.