Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average response rate was of her Department to individual Freedom of Information requests in each month since July 2016.
Answered by George Eustice
Response rates for Freedom of Information requests received by Defra are published quarterly on GOV.UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics
Information has been published up to September 2016 and subsequent figures will be published in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
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 28 February 2017 to Question 65352, what plans she has to meet the United States Environment Protection Agency to discuss the use of microbeads.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra will continue to monitor the progress of the US ban, but has no plans to meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency to discuss the use of microbeads.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether officials from her Department have met officials from the World Health Organisation to discuss a ban on the use of microbead products.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra has not met with the World Health Organisation to discuss microplastics.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will conduct an assessment of the potential biological effects of microbead products including those not in her Department's proposed ban.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra funded a study on micro plastics that was published last year and which has contributed to our knowledge base in formulating the consultation.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will monitor the effectiveness of the US ban on microbeads which is due to come into effect in July 2017.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Yes.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether officials from her Department met counterparts from the Environmental Protection Agency in the US to discuss that country's ban on the production of personal care products and cosmetics which contain plastic microbeads.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra officials have been in discussions with the US Food & Drug Administration to help develop aspects of the UK approach on which we are currently consulting.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance is issued by her Department on the efficacy of homeopathy treatment in livestock.
Answered by George Eustice
All veterinary medicines, including homeopathics, that make medicinal claims (treatment or prevention of disease) must provide data to demonstrate their efficacy and require a full marketing authorisation in order to be sold in the UK. Guidance on the efficacy data required to gain a marketing authorisation is provided by the European Medicines Agency.
There are currently no homeopathic veterinary medicines authorised with medicinal claims.
The veterinary homeopathic products on the market have all been registered either through the homeopathic registration scheme or are on the ‘Grandfather list’. These products are not permitted to make medicinal claims.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of senior civil service graded posts in her Department classified as (i) deputy director, (ii) assistant director, (iii) team leader and (iv) policy manager have been based outside London in each year since 2014.
Answered by George Eustice
The number and proportion of Deputy Director SCS posts based outside London as at 30 September for each year since 2014 is shown below:
| 2014 | % of Total | 2015 | % of Total | 2016 | % of Total |
SCS Pay Band 1 (Deputy Director) | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
Note: % shown is of total SCS based outside London, rounded to the nearest whole number
We do not use the descriptor Assistant Director in Defra; Team Leader and Policy Manager posts are below SCS level.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of a British exit from the EU on the international legal enforceability of protected UK food names.
Answered by George Eustice
We have not made an assessment of the potential effect of a British exit from the EU on the international legal enforceability of protected UK food names.
Separately, the Government is taking steps to achieve a significant increase in the number of UK food products covered by the EU’s protected food names scheme. We continue to exert pressure on the European Commission to secure wider international recognition of these products, as well as our wines and spirits drinks that are protected by Geographical Indications, in the context of EU bilateral trade negotiations.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department is having with (a) the Greater Manchester combined authority, (b) the metropolitan district councils of Greater Manchester, (c) Transport for Greater Manchester and (d) Highways England on the Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Air quality control in the ten district councils of Greater Manchester is managed as a consortium led by the air quality and transport delivery arms of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), with input from Highways England. It is through this consortium that Defra engages on air quality matters.
The latest Air Quality Action Plan progress report submitted by Greater Manchester GMCA was in March 2015. The next progress report is expected to be submitted to Defra for review early this month.
Defra has regular discussions with Highways England to ensure that air quality outcomes are mainstreamed in their policy, and that adequate measures are put in place at strategic roads to address the impact of air pollution. Defra is also part of Highways England’s delivery programme board for the air quality element of the Road Investment Strategy.