Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the resources available to beekeepers to tackle the impact of Asian Hornets on (a) honey bees and (b) other wild pollinators in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government recognises that honey bees and wild pollinators are an essential part of our environment and play a crucial role in food production. All pollinators contribute the equivalent of more than £500 million a year to UK agriculture and food production, by improving crop quality and quantity. Pollinators are also beneficial to our wider, natural ecosystems.
Recognising the potential impact that Asian hornet would have on honey bees and wild pollinators, Defra, in collaboration with the Welsh Government, has developed the Asian hornet contingency plan which details the response to Asian hornet. The plan is regularly reviewed and was last updated in January 2023. The operational response is carried out by the National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
In 2023 the NBU has located and destroyed 72 nests in 56 locations. The NBU has now fine-tuned its response and enhanced its preparedness, and it can frequently find a nest within a day of an initial sighting being reported.
The Defra funding for the NBU is to deliver the Bee Health Programme and other agreed actions including responding to Asian hornet. This includes ensuring that NBU inspectors’ expertise is maintained through training, and that they have the necessary equipment and support to work effectively.
NBU has the necessary skills and experience and is therefore best placed to deliver the operational response.
We appreciate the vital role that beekeepers take in the response through helping raise awareness of the threat of Asian hornet, educating people in identifying these insects, encouraging them to report any suspected sightings and monitoring traps. Accurate and timely reporting is critical to the response and helps the NBU to continue to respond quickly and effectively to any potential nests.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what is the average length of time taken for a field boundary change submission to be processed by the Rural Payments Agency.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Over the last nine months we have received just under 15,900 land change requests, through the RLE1 form, and the average time to complete processing is 13 days recognising that some changes are straightforward, and some take more time depending on the extent of the changes requested. The introduction of the RLE1 online service will streamline land change requests moving forward.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
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 Ofwat has made of the affordability of water bills for pensioners living in poverty.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Affordability of water bills is an important area of focus for Ofwat as customers are at the heart of its regulatory activity. Water companies are tasked with providing support to customers that are financially struggling and Ofwat is continuing to push companies to provide prompt, accessible support to the customers that need it most.
Ofwat also monitors the experiences of bill payers through its cost-of-living survey, including how customers respond to changes in water bills. This includes information on older people without private pensions, and those struggling to pay bills.
Ofwat expect water companies to do everything they can to support all customers who are vulnerable, in debt or struggling to pay. In so doing, it will continue to work closely with the Consumer Council for Water who also have an important role in the provision of affordability support for consumers, including having regard to the interests of individuals of pensionable age.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for the sustainable farming initiative have been started but not completed by farms in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 05 December there are currently 20 farm businesses who have started an application but not submitted yet for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
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 is taking steps to help prevent off-road vehicles used for recreational purposes causing damage to (a) farmland and (b) the wider countryside in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In our response to the Landscapes Review we launched a public consultation on the future of green lanes, using it as an opportunity to listen to the views of all those affected. We recognise that these unsealed routes often provide essential vehicular access for local residents and businesses without causing damage or disturbance. We have convened a multi-user stakeholder working group to consider further the vulnerability to damage of all green lanes.
It is the responsibility of local authorities to issue Traffic Regulations Orders to protect sensitive areas where necessary.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are included in the Countryside Stewardship scheme in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Mark Spencer
As of 14 November, there are 90 farm businesses with a current Countryside Stewardship Agreement or a Countryside Stewardship Agreement starting on 1 January 2024 for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are included in the Sustainable Farming Incentive in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 14 November there are currently 12 farm businesses with a SFI agreement for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
The SFI23 application window opened in mid-September and there is a rolling window to apply which allows farm businesses to apply when they are ready to do so.
We have a number of farm businesses that have started an application but not submitted one.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
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 reduce sewage discharges in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Last year the Government launched the original Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP). Following consultation, the government published an expanded SODRP to cover 100% of overflows in England, which will drive £60 billion capital investment by 2050 – the largest infrastructure investment in water company history.
In Mid Bedfordshire, the Environment Agency is working with Anglian Water Services (AWS) to reduce sewage pollution through AWS’s Pollution Incident Reduction Plan (PIRP). There are currently 23 schemes related to reducing or improving sewage discharges in Mid Bedfordshire which are due to be completed by 31 March 2025. Future schemes are currently being discussed for the next Price Review period, from 2025 to 2030.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
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 he has made of the affordability of water bills in (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency and (b) Bedfordshire.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Ofwat assesses affordability for each water company through a 5 yearly process called the Price Review. As part of this process, water companies must set out in their business plans how they will address affordability and outline their support measures for households that are struggling to pay, or who are at risk of struggling to pay.
As set out in our Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat, we expect water companies to improve the availability, quality, and uptake of support to low income and other vulnerable household customers. All water companies offer reduced bills for eligible customers via the WaterSure scheme and social tariffs, as well as a range of other financial support measures such as payment holidays, bill matching and advice on debt management and water efficiency.
The Government expects water companies to continue to actively engage with households and inform them of support measures available.