Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 international partners on ensuring the recognition of UK geographical indications in foreign markets; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that recognition in multilateral trade bodies.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK has successfully signed a number of trade agreements which provide continued protection for iconic UK geographical indications in foreign markets, including with the Andean Community, Canada, Switzerland, Ukraine and Singapore. The UK-Japan Comprehensive Partnership Agreement will also offer new protection for additional UK geographical indications.
We continue to seek the best deal for UK geographical indications in all of our ongoing negotiations with international trading partners and through multilateral trade bodies such as the World Trade Organisation.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 made an assessment of the effect of geographical indications (GIs) on local economies; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of GIs on the (a) rate of employment in areas with GIs, (b) median wage in areas with GIs compared to areas without GIs and (c) price stability of GI products compared to similar products without GI status.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Whilst the Government has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of geographical indications (GI) on local economies, we are aware from industry partners that they play an important role in retaining jobs and historically important skills in rural areas. For example, we understand that the Cornish Pasty (protected GI) industry employs 2,000 people and contributes over £65 million to the local economy. The Scotch Whisky Association estimates that more than 10,000 people are directly employed in the Scotch Whisky industry in Scotland and over 40,000 jobs across the UK are supported by the industry which provides £5.5bn in gross value added to the UK economy.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to meet the UK Government's commitment to moving 22,000 civil servants outside of central London by 2030, and in particular to the East Midlands.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra is committed to playing its part in the levelling up agenda and strengthening the Union through a growing presence across the UK. The Department is already geographically dispersed, with over three-quarters of Defra civil servants based outside London, including in our policy hubs in York and Bristol, and 85% of all staff in Defra Group including arms-length bodies. The Department will play its part in the Government’s commitment to move 22,000 civil servant posts outside London by 2030, and base half of all senior civil servant posts outside London by 2030.
In the East Midlands, Defra has 880 staff. We are committed to joining the new Government hub in Peterborough from next year
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to allow farm machinery auctions to resume as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Auctions of livestock or agricultural equipment have been permitted through the present lockdown; however, these auctions should be carried out virtually or by telephone where possible. If an auction cannot go ahead virtually or by telephone, then auction houses should only admit people who need to be there for business purposes, work purposes or if another permitted exemption applies.
The Government has set out its intention to ease the rules on in-person attendance at auctions, no earlier than 12 April. At Step 2, people should only visit indoor auction houses with people from their own household or support bubble, unless they are there for business purposes, work purposes or if another permitted exemption applies. People can visit outdoor auctions, which includes those held on farm premises, in groups of up to six people or with one other household.
Outdoor gatherings must be limited to 6 people or 2 households, and no indoor mixing will be allowed unless otherwise exempt. This does not limit a permitted event to a maximum of 6 people or 2 households in total, it solely limits people from attending the event in a group of larger than 6 people or 2 households.
At Step 3, no earlier than 17 May, people will be able to visit indoor auction houses in a group of up to six or with one other household. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reopening-businesses-and-venues-in-england/reopening-businesses-and-venues.
At all Steps, auction houses should take the necessary measures to ensure they are Covid-19 Secure: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/closing-certain-businesses-and-venues-in-england.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 support local police forces in tackling (a) fly-tipping and (b) other rural crime; and how many incidents of fly-tipping have been recorded in England and Wales in the last two years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fly-tipping is a crime which blights local communities and the environment, and we are committed to tackling this unacceptable behaviour.
Enforcement against fly-tipping is mainly carried out by local authorities, and we expect them to investigate all incidents of fly-tipping, including those incidents on private land. In recent years we have bolstered local authorities’ powers to tackle fly-tipping, such as by introducing the power to issue fixed penalty notices and to stop and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. Our 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy set out our strategic approach to prevent, detect and deter waste crime.
Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, which includes representatives from the police force, local authorities, and organisations representing landowners, such as the National Farmers Union, National Trust, and Country Land and Business Association. The National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group shares a common aim to help prevent and tackle fly-tipping and share best practice.
The Environment Bill includes several measures to help tackle waste crime. The Bill will ensure agencies and authorities can work more effectively to combat waste crime through better access to evidence and improved powers of entry. These new powers will help ensure waste criminals, such as illegitimate waste operators reliant on fly-tipping for income, are held accountable for their actions
The Government recognises that there can be particular challenges in responding to rural crime, and so to drive down crime in rural and urban areas, we are recruiting an additional 20,000 officers over the next three years, with 4,000 of these officers already on our streets. To aid with the biggest recruitment drive in decades and to ensure that the criminal justice system can deal with the results, we are investing £85 million in the Crown Prosecution Service.
We also welcome the rural affairs strategy published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in July 2018. This sets out the operational and organisational policing priorities for local police forces in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.
Local authorities reported 975,631 incidents of fly-tipping in England in 2019/20, this was an increase of 2% from the 957,157 incidents reported in 2018/19. These statistics are available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. Waste is a devolved matter and I can therefore only comment on incidents of fly-tipping in England.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many food and drink producers his Department is working with to support their early adoption of the UK Geographical Indication schemes.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We have shared the UK GI logo requirements, and guidance on how to add these to packaging, to UK GI producers, retailers, and wider industry groups, to ensure that they are aware of their new responsibilities. We are now providing further advice and responding to queries on the logos on an individual basis.
To support the adoption of the logos, Defra hosted a webinar in November 2020 to answer technical questions on the UK schemes and logos, which was attended by over 120 stakeholders. In addition, we have provided information on the logos at various Defra forums, such as the SME and retailer forums, to ensure that we are reaching as many stakeholders as possible.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the adoption of the new geographical indicator logos; and what proportion of producers have already adopted those logos.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Producers and retailers whose products are required to bear the new UK Geographical Indication (GI) logos have until 1 January 2024 to adopt them. However, we are aware that some would like to make that change soon and are working with industry to support their early adoption.
Defra is also communicating the benefits of the new logos across industry to encourage uptake, including publishing research which shows support from consumers and GI producers for the new design.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which projects funded by the Darwin Plus Programme are in respect of aquatic biodiversity; and of those projects, how many are in respect of coral (a) preservation and protection and (b) disease prevention and eradication.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2012 Darwin Plus has contributed £10.7 million to 49 projects working on aquatic biodiversity across the UK Overseas Territories. Of these projects three have focused on coral preservation and protection to a total of £0.46 million. One of these projects successfully established a coral nursery in Little Cayman and saw coral nursery guidelines being incorporated into national policy in the Cayman Islands. There have not been any Darwin Plus projects working on disease prevention and eradication.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to further expand and market the UK's Geographical Indications Scheme, which came into force on 1 January 2021.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As we develop our plans to expand and market the new UK Geographical Indication (GI) schemes, we look forward to new food and drink products joining the ranks of Scotch whisky and Melton Mowbray pork pies.
Defra has published guidance setting out how the new schemes work, including how to apply for UK GI status. As part of our plans to promote UK food and drink both at home and overseas, we are engaging with businesses across the food and drink sector to see whether GI protection is right for their product.
For existing GIs, Defra is encouraging producers and retailers to adopt the new GI logos as soon as possible to support our efforts to grow consumer recognition of the schemes. We will also be engaging with regional food groups to encourage more local businesses to take advantage of existing GI protection, to improve the benefits of the GI schemes for local communities.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 (a) fund marketing campaigns to increase the visibility of UK produce with geographical indications (GIs) among consumers, hospitality and retailers domestically and internationally, (b) assist producers in registering additional UK produce with GIs and (c) collaborate with the Department for International Trade on the export promotion of UK produce with GIs.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is developing a promotional strategy to boost the sales of UK GI products. To do this, we will focus on raising awareness of the UK GI schemes and products among consumers, retailers and hospitality. We have recently funded research to understand how to better promote GIs to consumers which will support any consumer promotional campaigns.
The Government will also aim to encourage high quality domestic applications to the UK schemes. We are publishing guidance on applying to the UK schemes and will liaise with applicants throughout the process.
Defra is working closely with the Department for International Trade to promote UK GIs internationally and to encourage producers of UK GIs to export their products, for example to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the recently agreed UK-Japan trade deal. UK GIs with high export value are also promoted in other countries through the well-established Food is GREAT campaign.