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Written Question
Electronic Cigarettes: Recycling
Friday 23rd June 2023

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that disposable vape producers are contributing to the recycling of their products.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We will shortly consult on changes to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations to consider what, if any, changes to that legislation are needed to ensure the vaping sector specifically plays its part in properly financing the cost of collection and treatment of their products when they become waste. As part of that consultation, we will also consider measures aimed at driving up levels of collection of household WEEE, including vapes, to ensure more of it is properly recycled.


Written Question
Deposit Return Schemes
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals for a deposit return scheme.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are currently drafting the legislation to enable delivery of DRS, reflecting the positions set out in the consultation response published in January 2023. The legislation then needs to go through the necessary clearances before it can be laid in UK Parliament and the Welsh Senedd. We anticipate laying in the UK Parliament this summer.


Written Question
Animal Housing
Monday 17th April 2023

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the Scottish Government's planned consultation on the use of (a) cages for game birds and laying hens and (b) farrowing crates for pigs.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Government is committed to strengthening animal welfare standards and is currently examining the use of cages

Intergovernmental discussions between Defra and the devolved governments on these matters are ongoing at both ministerial and official level. While animal welfare is a devolved matter under the devolution settlements, the provisional Animal Health and Welfare Common Framework puts in place shared ways of working between Defra and the devolved governments to drive forward common approaches to animal health and welfare law and policy, where agreed by all administrations.

Should one or more administrations propose to pursue a divergent approach, Defra and the devolved governments would undertake an assessment of the impacts of any proposed divergence in line with arrangements set out in the Framework.


Written Question
Infant Foods
Monday 9th January 2023

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

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 she has made of the adequacy of the (a) price and (b) availability of first stage infant formula.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. Recent pressures have been sustained and we have seen food price inflation continue to rise to 16.5% in November, up from 16.4% in October.

Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive-up consumer food prices.

Through regular engagement, Defra will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.

It is not for HM Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies. Rising food prices are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs.

In the UK we are fortunate to have a large and resilient food supply chain. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes.

The Government have committed £37 billon to support households with the cost of living. This includes an additional £500 million to help with the cost of household essentials, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England this is in the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.

We have also increased our Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping low-income families to by basic foods such as milk, fruit and vitamins ensuring that families are not choosing between costs and healthy choices. The Department for Health and Social care has responsibility for these vouchers, and for wider infant health policy.


Written Question
Infant Foods: Prices
Thursday 19th May 2022

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

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 regulate the cost of infant formula in response to recent price increases.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes.

Food prices are set individually by businesses. It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies.

Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement with major food retailers, who have not informed us of any availability issues with infant formula.


Written Question
Infant Foods
Thursday 19th May 2022

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

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 (a) availability and (b) affordability of infant formula.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes.

Food prices are set individually by businesses. It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies.

Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement with major food retailers, who have not informed us of any availability issues with infant formula.


Written Question
Food
Wednesday 3rd November 2021

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

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 consideration of the food and nutrition needs of infants and young children, and associated challenges facing young families, is included in the forthcoming White Paper on the National Food Strategy.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The forthcoming Government Food Strategy is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a food system that feeds our nation today and protects it for tomorrow. It will build upon work already underway in the Agriculture Act, Fisheries Act, and Environment Bill as well as docking into wider Government priorities, such as the obesity strategy.

The Government is wholly committed to supporting people on lower incomes, for example through increasing the living wage and spending over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22.

It is also supporting the health and nutrition of young families through initiatives like the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme and this year’s increase to The Healthy Start voucher value. The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme provides a free piece of fruit or vegetable to every child in Key Stage 1 at state-funded primary schools on every school day, while the Healthy Start vouchers encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children from low-income households, and increased in value from £3.10 to £4.25 from April 2021.

Defra will continue to work closely with all other relevant Departments across Whitehall to develop a plan to ensure the food system is sustainable and affordable, supporting people and families to live healthy lives, and incorporate within our Food Strategy


Written Question
Veterinary Medicine: Coronavirus
Tuesday 21st April 2020

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether vets, veterinary nurses and people in related professions are key workers under the covid-19 guidance.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The designation of key workers is a devolved matter and the Scottish Government has published guidance covering Scotland.

The Scottish Government has defined categories of workers as a guide for Local Authorities to use when designating key workers. This approach means there may be slight differences in each community in Scotland to address local priorities.

The relevant section of the Government covid-19 guidance, Food and other necessary goods, states that the key worker status includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery, as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

For more information relating to key worker status for vets please refer to the guidance found at:

www.rcvs.org.uk/news-and-views/news/coronavirus-rcvs-and-bva-issue-joint-guidance-on-key-worker.

For more information on key workers in general please refer to the GOV.UK website at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Thursday 30th March 2017

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to respond to the letter of 23 February 2017 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central on the Feeding Products for Babies and Children (Advertising and Promotion) Bill.

Answered by George Eustice

A reply was sent on 1 March via e-mail to the Parliamentary Office of the hon. Member for Glasgow Central. Unfortunately, due to a mistype in the address, the reply may not have been received. It has now been resent correctly addressed.


Written Question
Infant Foods: Scotland
Friday 20th January 2017

Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on how many retailers in Scotland have been fined in each year since 2007 for failure to comply with the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007.

Answered by George Eustice

The Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007 is a devolved matter. Defra does not hold any information on how many retailers have been fined since it was introduced.