Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Remain neutral in Israel-Palestine conflict and withdraw support for Israel
Gov Responded - 6 Nov 2023 Debated on - 11 Dec 2023 View Andrew Percy's petition debate contributionsWe want the UK to be neutral in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and withdraw offers of support for Israel.
Seek a ceasefire and to end Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Sign this petition Gov Responded - 13 Nov 2023 Debated on - 11 Dec 2023 View Andrew Percy's petition debate contributionsWe want the Government to seek a ceasefire and also seek to address the root cause of the current conflict by promoting dialogue and advocating for the end of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Urge the Israel Government to allow fuel, electricity and food into Gaza
Gov Responded - 10 Nov 2023 Debated on - 11 Dec 2023 View Andrew Percy's petition debate contributionsThe UK Government should urge the Israeli Government to stop the blockade of Food, Fuel and Electricity to the already impoverished city of Gaza
These initiatives were driven by Andrew Percy, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Andrew Percy has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Andrew Percy has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to provide for a national register of asbestos present in non-domestic premises and of the condition of that asbestos; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to establish a code relating to service charges, gratuities and cover charges in the hospitality, leisure and service sectors; and for connected purposes.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to give grandparents rights of access to their grandchildren in certain circumstances; and for connected purposes.
Education Employment (Accompaniment to Hearings) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Brendan Clarke-Smith (Con)
Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) (Amendment) Act 2019
Sponsor - Theresa Villiers (Con)
Social Media Service Providers (Civil Liability and Oversight) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Lord Mann (None)
Farm Produce (Labelling Requirements) Bill 2015-16
Sponsor - Anne Main (Con)
Department for Business and Trade ministers and officials are in regular contact with the ceramics sector, specifically brick manufacturers to discuss current and future priorities around energy costs, decarbonisation, and competitiveness.
The Department for Business and trade estimates that the ceramics industry was worth £1.1 billion in 20211. Over the last five years, the ceramics industry has represented 0.1% of UK GDP2.
1- ONS Annual Business Survey accessed here
2- ONS Gross Value Added accessed here
Government plans to consult shortly on eligibility for potential support for facilitating the transition from unabated biomass generation to power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
Government is assessing whether transitional support, such as a bridging mechanism, may be appropriate for facilitating the transition from unabated biomass generation to power Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage.
The Government is considering whether transitional support may be appropriate for when existing arrangements end for electricity generators using biomass. The Government will consider whether public consultation may be appropriate as part of this process.
The Department has held preliminary discussions with biomass generators that passed the power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage project submission process about the potential merits of a bridging mechanism.
The Government is committed to working with the ceramics industry to support decarbonisation. Innovative ceramics fuel mixes were supported through the Industrial Fuel Switching competition, with £300,000 for hydrogen trials in Stoke. On 5 June the Government launched the Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans competition, which will provide support to local areas and could further support initiatives for ceramic decarbonisation. Funding for deployment of low carbon technologies, and for feasibility /engineering studies, is also available through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.
The Government is considering the best market arrangements to ensure existing assets are properly valued for their renewable generation.
The Government introduced ECO3 Interim Delivery to help with the transition between ECO3 and ECO4 and to prevent a supply chain hiatus,. As suppliers and installers are familiar with ECO3 requirements, this has provided greater certainty prior to the regulations and final guidance.
In discussions, energy suppliers have confirmed that they have been using ECO3 Interim Delivery.
In addition, Ofgem has published the Full Project Scores and Partial Project Scores in advance of ECO4. This gives industry certainty on what ECO4 activities will be commercially worthwhile, helping to guide suppliers in planning and contracting.
In the Net Zero Strategy, the Government set out four key principles of Net Zero Fairness including ensuring that the most vulnerable are supported by Government during the energy transition.
In the Sustainable Warmth Competition, published in February 2021, the Government outlined its approach to tackling fuel poverty in England. It also recognised that improving the energy efficiency of homes is the most effective way of permanently reducing consumer energy bills and tackling fuel poverty in the long term. The Government is providing £3 billion of funding over this Parliament for low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures to those who need it most. Examples of these schemes include the Local Authority Delivery scheme, the Home Upgrade Grant and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
The Government is also consulting on expanding the Energy Company Obligation Scheme to £1 billion a year from April 2022. This will help an extra 305,000 families with green measures such as insulation and heating, with average energy bill savings of around £290 a year.
The Government has outlined its plans to transition to net zero. Its plans include growing the economy, benefiting everyone by securing home-grown energy supply, establishing new industries and creating jobs in former industrial heartlands.
Nuclear energy will be essential to achieving net zero.
Analysis published by BEIS with the Energy White Paper[1] in 2020 shows that, alongside significant amounts of wind and solar, a stable, low-cost electricity system to meet net zero will also require other forms of low-carbon power, including nuclear, to complement the intermittency of those technologies. As outlined in the Net Zero Strategy[2], the Government needs to continue to deploy all known low-carbon technologies at scale over the next decade to ensure optionality is maintained, whilst developing new options to mitigate delivery risk and reduce costs.
The Government has confirmed that it aims to reach a Final Investment Decision on at least one large-scale nuclear project this Parliament and recently announced £210m for Rolls-Royce’s Small Modular Reactor design.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-white-paper-powering-our-net-zero-future.
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-strategy.
As stated in the Government Response to the Consultation on The Future of UK Carbon Pricing, as part of the Free Allocation Review, we will be looking at possible future changes to benchmarks used within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS). The review will consider which benchmarks could be best suited for the UK ETS. A call for evidence was launched on 17 March as part of the review and is currently live.
Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund?if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued?within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority who have also set up a covid-19 taskforce for consumers to register complaints.
Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund?if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued?within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority who have also set up a covid-19 taskforce for consumers to register complaints.
We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March 2022 and it passed its second reading in the House of Commons on 19 April.
The Bill will apply to a range of services that allow users to interact with each other and post content online. Companies will have duties to take action to prevent the proliferation of illegal content and to protect children from harmful content. This will include taking action against harmful content within Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), such as preventing users from encountering them where these are shared on in scope services.
The BBC is responsible for administration of TV licences and, therefore, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not hold this information. However, the below figures from the BBC’s Annual Reports show the number of monochrome TV licences in force for each of the last five financial years, to the nearest thousand.
2020/21: 4,000
2019/20: 5,000
2018/19: 5,000
2017/18: 6,000
2016/17: 6,000
The strongest protections in the Online Safety Bill will be for children. Services in scope of the Bill which are likely to be accessed by children will need to do much more to protect them from harmful content. This includes content promoting eating disorders or self-harm content.
Major platforms will also need to address legal but harmful content accessed by adults.
The Government will set out in secondary legislation priority categories of harmful material for children and adults. If platforms fail in their duties under the Bill, they will face tough enforcement action including fines of up to 10% of global annual qualifying turnover.
The Government asked the Law Commission to review current legislation on harmful online communications. It has now published final recommendations, which includes a proposed new offence to address the encouragement of self-harm. The Government is considering the Law Commission’s recommendations and will set out our position in due course.
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband, over 94.5% of premises in the constituency of Brigg and Goole have access to superfast broadband (>= 30 Mbps).
Broadcasting content regulation applies to television, video-on-demand and radio services in the UK. While some content delivered through voice recognition devices may be regulated by Ofcom (such as live radio), voice recognition services themselves are not subject to broadcasting regulation.
Under current legislation, online platforms, including those that use voice recognition software, must remove illegal content expeditiously once they are aware of its presence, or face civil or criminal liability.
The new online harms regulatory framework will apply to services which host user-generated content or enable user interaction, and to search engines, regardless of how the service is accessed. Therefore, some services that use voice recognition software may fall in scope. All in-scope companies will need to assess the risk of harm to users of their services, and take appropriate steps to mitigate that risk.
We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders including industry, civil society, academics and parliamentarians and will continue to do so as we move towards legislation.
Children should be in school. While the department recognises young people should be able to peacefully express their views, the department does not condone missing out on their education to protest.
Missing school only disrupts lessons and adds to teachers’ workloads. The department will continue talking to the local authorities affected to offer support where needed. Any absence of this nature will be recorded as ‘unauthorised’, and parents may be given a penalty notice or prosecuted as a result. The department also expects teachers to fulfil their contractual requirements. It would be completely inappropriate for teachers to attend such protests during working hours.
Earlier this week the department wrote to schools, expressing our strong support for headteachers and local authorities in setting clear expectations that pupils should be in school and in enforcing them appropriately, including using fixed penalty notices where applicable.
It is the priority of the department that all students and young people learn in a safe and supportive environment. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to all schools and colleges on 17 October to provide advice on how to respond to the Israel-Hamas conflict in the classroom. To help schools navigate teaching about political issues, the department has also published guidance for teachers and leaders around political impartiality. Now is not the time for divisive, politically motivated rhetoric. Now is the time to do everything possible to ensure that students, staff and young people, many of whom will be personally affected by the ongoing conflict, are supported and feel safe in education settings.
The department will continue to monitor the situation closely.
On 10 November 2021, the Office for Students (OfS) published a list of higher education (HE) providers who have adopted the definition. I am pleased to report good progress in the last year: an increase from around 30 to over 200 providers have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition. This includes the vast majority of universities and I continue to urge all providers to adopt this definition.
The government has also asked the OfS to undertake a scoping exercise, to identify providers that are reluctant to adopt the definition and find out why. The department has asked them to consider introducing mandatory reporting of antisemitic incident numbers by providers, with the aim of ensuring a robust evidence base, which the OfS can then use to effectively regulate in this area.
Adoption of the IHRA definition is only a first step towards ridding HE of antisemitism. I want to be very clear that, whilst the government considers that adoption of the definition is crucial, it is not enough on its own. That is why I will continue to work with the sector to ensure it better understands antisemitism and does more to end it.
Universities also have clear responsibilities to ensure that there is no place for antisemitism. All HE providers should discharge their responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to address hate crime, including any antisemitic incidents that are reported.
The department and I are keen to hear from Jewish groups about what more can be done to make Jewish students and staff feel safe on campus. As part of this, we intend to set up a round table in the new year, specifically focused on tackling antisemitism in HE.
The government is clear that we expect providers to ensure they are fully complying with their consumer law obligations, including ensuring any advertisement of courses is accurate and transparent.
Where a private higher education (HE) provider chooses to register with the Office for Students (OfS), the regulator plays an important role in ensuring students are better able to exercise their consumer rights. It is an OfS registration condition that providers have due regard to relevant guidance about how to comply with consumer protection law. It is a further condition that all registered providers co-operate with the requirements of the student complaints scheme run by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, and that they make students aware of their ability to use the scheme.
In addition, the OfS aims to ensure that all students can access, succeed in, and progress from higher education by ensuring students have access to relevant information to help them make choices that are right for them, and to also ensure students will receive a baseline level of quality. Statistics about student outcomes at OfS regulated providers are included in ‘Discover Uni’, which is owned and operated by the UK higher education funding and regulatory bodies and is an official, reliable source of information to guide student choices.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published advice on consumer law for all HE providers (including those not on the OfS register), setting out its view on how the law operates to help students understand their rights and help providers treat their students fairly. This is available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-consumer-law-advice-for-providers. The CMA has been clear that there are obligations under the law and providers must ensure they are meeting them.
The Advertising Standards Authority is the UK’s independent self-regulator of advertising across all media. Its work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements that contravene its Advertising Codes. The Advertising Codes cover advertising and marketing communications, which are likely to include HE providers’ course information on websites, leaflets and posters directed at prospective students.
The government has sent a clear message that bullying should never be tolerated and we are committed to supporting schools to tackle it. All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy, with measures to prevent all forms of bullying, and have the freedom to develop their own anti-bulling strategies and monitoring approaches, to best suit their environment.
The department provides advice for schools, which outlines schools’ responsibilities. The advice makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional, and mental health needs. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.
Where bullying is reported to the school, it is important that school staff take prompt action to support the bullied pupil and prevent the bullying from happening again. On 7 June, we announced more than £750,000 for the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust in order to help hundreds of schools and colleges build relationships between pupils, boost their resilience, and continue to tackle bullying both in person and online. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-teachers.
We are also making sure that all children in England will learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory Relationships, Sex and Health Education. This includes content on the different types of bullying, the impact it has, the responsibility of bystanders, and how to get help.
In our drive to tackle behaviour issues and bullying, we have strengthened teachers' power to enforce discipline and promote good behaviour. This includes giving teachers powers to discipline pupils for poor behaviour which takes place outside of the school gates, and extending their searching powers so they can search for, and in certain circumstances delete, inappropriate images (or files) on electronic devices, including mobile phones.
We are investing £10 million through behaviour hubs. Schools with exemplary positive behaviour cultures can work closely with schools that want to turn around their behaviour, alongside a central offer of support and a taskforce of advisers. The aim is to improve their culture and spread good practice across the country. The first hubs are planned to launch in Spring 2021 and will run for an initial period of 3 years.
The hubs programme builds on Tom Bennett’s independent review of behaviour in schools, Creating a Culture: how school leaders can optimise behaviour (2017). In November 2018 we published Respectful School Communities, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including sexual bullying and sexual harassment. It will help schools to identify the various elements that make up a whole school approach, consider gaps in their current practice and get further support.
A second consultation on introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was held last year. The Government is analysing the responses to that consultation, with a view to publishing a Government response early this year.
In recent years we have bolstered councils’ enforcement powers by almost doubling the maximum fixed penalty for littering from £80 to £150 and giving councils in England (outside London) new civil penalty powers to tackle littering from vehicles. Councils also have powers to prosecute anyone caught littering which can lead to a fine of up to £2,500. It is up to local councils to decide how they use their enforcement powers
We have published improved guidance to councils and others on the use of their fixed penalty powers for littering. New powers under the Environment Act will allow us to ensure these powers are always used with a high degree of professionalism.
We will continue to review any new evidence regarding the effectiveness of the current enforcement regime.
The Government has committed to consult on what can be done through labelling to promote high standards and high welfare across the UK market following the transition period. The consultation is currently being prepared ahead of a planned launch in the first half of this year. This will feed into the Government's wide-ranging review on food labelling to ensure that consumers can have confidence in the food they buy and to facilitate the trade of quality British food at home and abroad.
The consultation will seek stakeholder and public views on how consumer information should be presented and on a range of policy options including mandatory/voluntary labelling reforms and enforcement.
As announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June, outdoor areas of zoos and safari parks will be allowed to reopen from 15 June, subject to appropriate social distancing measures being in place.
This includes keeping indoor exhibitions, such as reptile houses and those in aquariums, closed, and ensuring other amenities like cafes offer take-away services only.
The move follows close work by the Government with the zoo industry to ensure visitor numbers can be managed and safeguards are put in place.
The decision to relax restrictions on these select outdoor attractions is part of the Government’s careful approach to easing the lockdown in phases, guided by the advice of scientific and medical experts and the fact the risk of transmission is much lower outdoors.
Officials continue to meet weekly with BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and with the CEOs of the largest charitable zoos and aquariums in England providing a valuable forum to monitor concerns and seek insights from key sector representatives on current issues.
Coronavirus continues to represent a significant challenge to daily life and every part of the economy. The agricultural sector plays a vital role in maintaining the UK’s food security and has done a fantastic job of feeding the nation during this challenging period.
The Government took a number of early emergency steps to support farmers and the wider sector. These included designating employees in the food sector as key workers and temporarily relaxing the normal rules on drivers’ hours, enabling the sector to keep supply chains running, including deliveries from farm gate to processors. The department worked closely with banks to ensure farmers have access to financial support, including the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan scheme. We have also worked closely with the dairy and horticulture sectors to address supply chain and labour issues.
On 6 May, Defra announced a new fund to support English dairy farmers who have seen decreased demand because of the loss of the food service sector. Dairy farmers access this funding for those qualifying months, with no cap set on the number of farmers who can receive this support or on the total funding available. Eligible dairy farmers who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May because of coronavirus disruptions will be eligible for funding of up to £10,000 each, to cover around 70% of their lost income during the qualifying months to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare. The Welsh Government announced the opening of a similar scheme on 12 May.
The availability of this funding followed the launch on 5 May of a joint Government and Devolved Administrations backed £1 million campaign aiming to boost milk consumption and help producers use their surplus stock. This 12-week campaign is being led by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Dairy UK. This follows a similar ongoing campaign led by AHDB and retailers to promote the consumption of beef products.
We remain in regular contact with representatives of our food and farming sector and will continue to monitor the situation to assess and respond to emerging issues as they arise.
Our farmers and food producers produce world-class food and drink. We are rightly proud of our high environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards, and we have the opportunity to increase overseas demands for our fantastic products.
With regards to opening new markets, exports are an important driver of growth in the food and drink sector, allowing it to become more resilient, competitive and profitable. Defra's 'Food is GREAT' campaign is raising the profile and reputation of British food and drink overseas, by building global demand and increasing positive perceptions of the UK's food and drink products. For example, the campaign showcased British beef and English Sparkling Wine to Japanese consumers, trade and media in events coinciding with the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019.
In 2019, the UK also signed an agreement with Japan that opened the Japanese market to UK exports of lamb and beef for the first time in two decades. This market opening is estimated by industry to be worth £127 million in the first 5 years of access. Further UK export success in 2019 included the export of £822 million of salmon an increase of 27% from 2018, whilst in March this year we agreed the market opening of UK exports of wheat to Mexico.
With the Department for International Trade and representatives of the food and drink sector, Defra will be setting out future export ambitions for the sector. This will include the support that we offer in-market.
As set out in the Government’s election manifesto, we have ambitious goals for British trade. The Government aims to have 80 per cent of UK trade with countries covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, which will further present new routes to market for British farmers.
Defra has reviewed a range of evidence to understand the effectiveness of networks for peer-to-peer advice and support for farmers to promote and share best practice of nature-friendly farming. There is an increasing recognition in the agriculture sector of the value of peer-to-peer learning and there are already several initiatives that encourage these practices. Defra is considering a range of different models for the provision of advice and support in the Environmental Land Management scheme, including peer-to-peer learning.
The Government is committed to supporting farmers to deliver environmental outcomes. Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme is the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, the ELM scheme is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
The ELM scheme is due to be in place from 2024. Farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering the following public goods:
Farmers and land managers will be able to decide for themselves how they deliver environmental benefits from their businesses and their land, and how they integrate this into their food, timber and other commercial activities.
Meanwhile, Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides a stepping stone to the future scheme, paying for environmental enhancements now as area-based payments are phased out.
CS supports Defra’s strategic objective of “a cleaner, healthier environment, benefitting people and the economy”. Through the scheme, farmers can apply for funding to improve their local environment – from restoring wildlife habitats and creating woodlands to managing flood risk.
We know that soil is an essential natural asset and that its careful management can lead to multiple public goods. Having soil specifically named in the Agriculture Bill will mean we can help farmers to protect soil and improve its quality. Soils and food security and production are being considered as part of the development of the ELM scheme. Both clean and plentiful water, and mitigation of and adaptation to climate change have been identified as two of the public goods that the ELM scheme will pay for. We are in the process of determining exactly what actions we will pay for under ELM.
Nature-friendly farming is fundamental to our new approach to England’s agricultural system. We want to create new business opportunities alongside producing the great British food we all rely on, by paying farmers to adopt more environmentally sustainable farming practices and enhance our natural capital. [45117]
Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will be the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
Farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering the following public goods set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan:
Where nature-based solutions contribute towards the delivery of these public goods, they may be funded by ELM. We will determine in more detail what ELM will pay for as we further develop the scheme and are engaging with stakeholders to inform this.
The ELM scheme is being designed collaboratively with stakeholders. We are considering how more environmentally-sustainable farming approaches, including organic farming and agro-ecological approaches, may fit within ELM where these contribute towards the delivery of environmental public goods.
Meanwhile, Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides a stepping stone to the future scheme, paying for environmental enhancements now as area-based payments are phased out.
CS supports Defra’s Strategic Objective of ‘a cleaner, healthier environment, benefitting people and the economy’. Through the scheme, farmers can apply for funding to improve their local environment – from restoring wildlife habitats and creating woodlands to managing flood risk.
We will continue to offer CS agreements in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
However, because CS is insufficient in scale to deliver the ambitious goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan, it will eventually be replaced with the new ELM scheme.
Those signed up to CS who secure a place in the ELM pilot, or join the scheme when it is fully rolled out, will be able to leave their agreements at agreed exit points, without penalty. [45118]
a) The merits of agro-ecology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:
The Government is committed to taking action to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impact. Defra is looking at ways to reduce agricultural emissions controlled directly within the farm boundary, considering a broad range of measures including improvements in on-farm efficiency.
One of the public goods incentivised by ELM will be mitigation and adaption to climate change. ELM is about giving farmers and land managers an income stream for the environmental public goods they provide. We are considering how more environmentally-sustainable farming approaches, including organic farming and agro-ecological approaches, may fit within ELM.
Additionally, agroforestry can play an important role in addressing some of the key issues of climate and land use change in England, through the ecosystem services it provides. Tree planting can provide significant carbon storage benefits.
b) The merits of agro-ecology to the UK’s food and farming industry:
Our new approach to the English agricultural system will create new income opportunities for farmers and land managers, by rewarding them for providing public goods and adopting more environmentally-sustainable farming practices.
We know that environmentally-friendly farming and food production can go hand in hand.
c) The merits of agro-ecology to support a healthy rural economy:
Our new ELM scheme is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
We are committed to co-designing the ELM scheme with stakeholders to produce the best outcomes for both the environment and our farmers and managers.
As we continue to design ELM, we will assess the impact of our proposals on a wide range of things such as the environment, our rural economies, and on England’s ability to continue to produce food. [45119]
Nature-friendly farming is fundamental to our new approach to England’s agricultural system. We want to create new business opportunities alongside producing the great British food we all rely on, by paying farmers to adopt more environmentally sustainable farming practices and enhance our natural capital. [45117]
Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will be the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
Farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering the following public goods set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan:
Where nature-based solutions contribute towards the delivery of these public goods, they may be funded by ELM. We will determine in more detail what ELM will pay for as we further develop the scheme and are engaging with stakeholders to inform this.
The ELM scheme is being designed collaboratively with stakeholders. We are considering how more environmentally-sustainable farming approaches, including organic farming and agro-ecological approaches, may fit within ELM where these contribute towards the delivery of environmental public goods.
Meanwhile, Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides a stepping stone to the future scheme, paying for environmental enhancements now as area-based payments are phased out.
CS supports Defra’s Strategic Objective of ‘a cleaner, healthier environment, benefitting people and the economy’. Through the scheme, farmers can apply for funding to improve their local environment – from restoring wildlife habitats and creating woodlands to managing flood risk.
We will continue to offer CS agreements in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
However, because CS is insufficient in scale to deliver the ambitious goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan, it will eventually be replaced with the new ELM scheme.
Those signed up to CS who secure a place in the ELM pilot, or join the scheme when it is fully rolled out, will be able to leave their agreements at agreed exit points, without penalty. [45118]
a) The merits of agro-ecology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:
The Government is committed to taking action to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impact. Defra is looking at ways to reduce agricultural emissions controlled directly within the farm boundary, considering a broad range of measures including improvements in on-farm efficiency.
One of the public goods incentivised by ELM will be mitigation and adaption to climate change. ELM is about giving farmers and land managers an income stream for the environmental public goods they provide. We are considering how more environmentally-sustainable farming approaches, including organic farming and agro-ecological approaches, may fit within ELM.
Additionally, agroforestry can play an important role in addressing some of the key issues of climate and land use change in England, through the ecosystem services it provides. Tree planting can provide significant carbon storage benefits.
b) The merits of agro-ecology to the UK’s food and farming industry:
Our new approach to the English agricultural system will create new income opportunities for farmers and land managers, by rewarding them for providing public goods and adopting more environmentally-sustainable farming practices.
We know that environmentally-friendly farming and food production can go hand in hand.
c) The merits of agro-ecology to support a healthy rural economy:
Our new ELM scheme is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
We are committed to co-designing the ELM scheme with stakeholders to produce the best outcomes for both the environment and our farmers and managers.
As we continue to design ELM, we will assess the impact of our proposals on a wide range of things such as the environment, our rural economies, and on England’s ability to continue to produce food. [45119]
Nature-friendly farming is fundamental to our new approach to England’s agricultural system. We want to create new business opportunities alongside producing the great British food we all rely on, by paying farmers to adopt more environmentally sustainable farming practices and enhance our natural capital. [45117]
Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will be the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
Farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering the following public goods set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan:
Where nature-based solutions contribute towards the delivery of these public goods, they may be funded by ELM. We will determine in more detail what ELM will pay for as we further develop the scheme and are engaging with stakeholders to inform this.
The ELM scheme is being designed collaboratively with stakeholders. We are considering how more environmentally-sustainable farming approaches, including organic farming and agro-ecological approaches, may fit within ELM where these contribute towards the delivery of environmental public goods.
Meanwhile, Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides a stepping stone to the future scheme, paying for environmental enhancements now as area-based payments are phased out.
CS supports Defra’s Strategic Objective of ‘a cleaner, healthier environment, benefitting people and the economy’. Through the scheme, farmers can apply for funding to improve their local environment – from restoring wildlife habitats and creating woodlands to managing flood risk.
We will continue to offer CS agreements in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
However, because CS is insufficient in scale to deliver the ambitious goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan, it will eventually be replaced with the new ELM scheme.
Those signed up to CS who secure a place in the ELM pilot, or join the scheme when it is fully rolled out, will be able to leave their agreements at agreed exit points, without penalty. [45118]
a) The merits of agro-ecology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:
The Government is committed to taking action to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impact. Defra is looking at ways to reduce agricultural emissions controlled directly within the farm boundary, considering a broad range of measures including improvements in on-farm efficiency.
One of the public goods incentivised by ELM will be mitigation and adaption to climate change. ELM is about giving farmers and land managers an income stream for the environmental public goods they provide. We are considering how more environmentally-sustainable farming approaches, including organic farming and agro-ecological approaches, may fit within ELM.
Additionally, agroforestry can play an important role in addressing some of the key issues of climate and land use change in England, through the ecosystem services it provides. Tree planting can provide significant carbon storage benefits.
b) The merits of agro-ecology to the UK’s food and farming industry:
Our new approach to the English agricultural system will create new income opportunities for farmers and land managers, by rewarding them for providing public goods and adopting more environmentally-sustainable farming practices.
We know that environmentally-friendly farming and food production can go hand in hand.
c) The merits of agro-ecology to support a healthy rural economy:
Our new ELM scheme is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
We are committed to co-designing the ELM scheme with stakeholders to produce the best outcomes for both the environment and our farmers and managers.
As we continue to design ELM, we will assess the impact of our proposals on a wide range of things such as the environment, our rural economies, and on England’s ability to continue to produce food. [45119]
Nature-based solutions are key to tackling societal challenges, such as climate change, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. The Government is deploying such solutions to improve our natural environment.
We have received representations on including certain types of nature-based solutions in the Agriculture Bill. However, clause 1(1) of the Bill is broadly drafted and already enables the Secretary of State to support the delivery of environmental outcomes through nature-based solutions. For example, we will use the powers in the Agriculture Bill to introduce our ambitious new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan. Under the ELM, farmers and land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering a range of public goods. This could include nature based solutions that contribute towards reducing the instances of, and provide protection from, environmental hazards such as flooding.
Likewise, the Environment Bill introduces a powerful package of new policies and tools to support nature's recovery. Biodiversity net gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs), conservation covenants and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities will work together to drive local action on the ground, creating or restoring rich habitats to enable wildlife to recover and thrive.
Notably our net gain measures create an approach to development which means that habitats for wildlife must be left in a measurably better state than they were in pre-development. These measures will be supported by LNRSs to guide smooth and effective delivery of mandatory biodiversity net gain. They will help local authorities to best understand where investment in new habitat creation or restoration will achieve best outcomes for biodiversity and wider environmental benefits.
We will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders as we move towards implementing these measures.
The Government is investing £2.6 billion between 2015 and 2021 to deliver more than 1,000 flood defence projects to better protect 300,000 homes by 2021.This is on top of £1 billion to maintain flood defence assets between 2015 and 2020. This includes investing in developing technology and direct maintenance work such as managing drainage systems, inspecting assets and carrying out repairs. This is a real-terms increase when compared with the average annual capital investment of £812 million over the previous five years. Defra will continue to work with the Environment Agency to consider future investment needs ahead of the Budget announcement on future floods funding on 11 March 2020.
The Government is investing £2.6 billion between 2015 and 2021 to deliver more than 1,000 flood defence projects to better protect 300,000 homes by 2021.This is on top of £1 billion to maintain flood defence assets between 2015 and 2020. This includes investing in developing technology and direct maintenance work such as managing drainage systems, inspecting assets and carrying out repairs. This is a real-terms increase when compared with the average annual capital investment of £812 million over the previous five years. Defra will continue to work with the Environment Agency to consider future investment needs ahead of the Budget announcement on future floods funding on 11 March 2020.
The UK maintains robust measures to ensure that UK aid is not diverted. DFID’s funding agreements also commit partners to understand and comply with UK and international counter terrorism legislation.
No UK funds have been provided to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for COVID-19 relief efforts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The UK has provided £840,000 to WHO and UNICEF to help respond to COVID-19 in the OPTs. This funding did not go to any other partners and was used to purchase and co-ordinate the delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline public health personnel and scale up laboratory testing capacity.
The UK maintains robust measures to ensure that UK aid is not diverted. DFID’s funding agreements also commit partners to understand and comply with UK and international counter terrorism legislation.
No UK funds have been provided to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for COVID-19 relief efforts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The UK has provided £840,000 to WHO and UNICEF to help respond to COVID-19 in the OPTs. This funding did not go to any other partners and was used to purchase and co-ordinate the delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline public health personnel and scale up laboratory testing capacity.
The UK maintains robust measures to ensure that UK aid is not diverted. DFID’s funding agreements also commit partners to understand and comply with UK and international counter terrorism legislation.
No UK funds have been provided to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for COVID-19 relief efforts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The UK has provided £840,000 to WHO and UNICEF to help respond to COVID-19 in the OPTs. This funding did not go to any other partners and was used to purchase and co-ordinate the delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline public health personnel and scale up laboratory testing capacity.
The UK maintains robust measures to ensure that UK aid is not diverted. DFID’s funding agreements also commit partners to understand and comply with UK and international counter terrorism legislation.
No UK funds have been provided to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for COVID-19 relief efforts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The UK has provided £840,000 to WHO and UNICEF to help respond to COVID-19 in the OPTs. This funding did not go to any other partners and was used to purchase and co-ordinate the delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline public health personnel and scale up laboratory testing capacity.
My Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has spoken with the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, most recently on 12 November, to press for a quick resolution to the Section 232 tariffs. The removal of additional US tariffs on steel and aluminium is a key priority for the Government. We are engaging with the US Administration regularly on this issue and continue to push for the start of negotiations and the removal of 232 tariffs as soon as possible.
My Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has spoken with the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, most recently on 12 November, to press for a quick resolution to the Section 232 tariffs. The removal of additional US tariffs on steel and aluminium is a key priority for the Government. We are engaging with the US Administration regularly on this issue and continue to push for the start of negotiations and the removal of 232 tariffs as soon as possible.
Businesses across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have access to Department for International Trade (DIT) support through International Trade Advisers, HM Trade Commissioners and their teams overseas, the GREAT digital export services hub and UK Export Finance. Our trade missions, including those centred on trade shows and exhibitions, have enabled them to showcase their products overseas and connect with live opportunities. In response to COVID-19, we are adapting our support, for example through webinars and ‘virtual’ trade missions. Additional funding this year will enhance our support through more trade advisers, new overseas regional champions, a new export growth programme and other activities delivered with regional partners.
The United Kingdom-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement was signed on 18th February 2019. This Agreement will enter into force at the end of the Transition Period on 1st January 2021 and will allow businesses to trade as freely as they do now, without additional tariffs or barriers.
Total trade between the United Kingdom and Israel increased by 15 per cent in 2019 to £5.1bn. We value this trade relationship and are committed to strengthening it, so we will seek to work with counterparts in the new Israeli government to host a bilateral trade and investment summit in London.