Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
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 potential merits of offering Government funding to support the (a) establishment of and (b) operation of existing small abattoirs.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Defra recognises the contribution that small abattoirs make to local supply chains and that there are animal welfare benefits in shorter journey times to slaughter.
The Government is currently funding one mobile abattoir project through the Rural Development Programme for England as part of the Growth Programme. The project is farmer led and is due to be operational in early Summer 2021.
We are also exploring potential opportunities under the Agriculture Act to fund small abattoirs as part of wider agricultural funding mechanisms currently in development. Small abattoirs will need to demonstrate a viable business model and meet the needs of the market.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether remaining funds in the Zoo Animals Fund can be ringfenced to support zoos and aquariums that have more than 12 weeks operating costs remaining and who are therefore ineligible for support from the Zoo Animals Fund.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
A £14 million funding envelope was made available for the initial Zoos Support Fund (ZSF), which closed at the end of July, and this envelope was then rolled forward and expanded to £100 million and made available for the subsequent Zoo Animals Fund (ZAF). It is therefore not the case that there are unspent funds from the ZSF which are available to be allocated to zoos separately from the ZAF. ZAF grant payments to zoos begin when they reach their final 12 weeks of financial reserves. Zoos can though, apply at any time before reaching this 12 week point to help with their business planning. The objective of the ZAF is to provide for operators who, due to a coronavirus-related drop in income, are experiencing severe financial difficulties and need support in caring for their animal collections between now and the start of the next season. It is not a guarantee to ensure that individual zoo operators themselves stay in business. If zoos are downsizing or rehoming their collection the fund can also provide support for this to ensure the animals’ welfare. We are monitoring uptake of the ZAF and remain in discussion with zoos about how the scheme is working.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department defines rurality.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
There is an official statistical rural urban classification, based on the 2011 Census, which determines settlements with populations of 10,000 or more as urban. Rural areas are defined as everywhere else and the classification determines rural towns (below 10,000 population); villages; and hamlets and isolated dwellings. The classification also distinguishes settlements in a sparse setting – where the surrounding area is sparsely populated.
A classification of local authority districts and other larger geographies also takes account of rural hub towns – towns with populations of 10,000 to 30,000 that are likely to provide important hub functions for the rural areas surrounding them.
Further details of the rural urban classification can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/rural-urban-classification
The rural urban classification is intended to support statistical analysis. Other definitions of rural could be more appropriate in some policy or analytical contexts.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Government Loneliness Strategy, what progress his department has made on convening a rural stakeholder group to (a) advise and support the work of Government Departments and (b) help support the communication of initiatives and good practice at a local level.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Government has engaged closely with the Loneliness Action Group in the development of, and now implementation of, its loneliness strategy. Defra officials have engaged with the quarterly Loneliness Action Group meetings, to share updates and hear the group's views. The Minister for Sport and Civil Society, who leads Government's work on loneliness, spoke at the Loneliness Action Group conference in May 2019.
The Government is committed to tackling loneliness in rural areas. Last year the Minister for Rural Affairs co-hosted a roundtable on rural loneliness with the Minister for Loneliness.
We share learning and ensure effective implementation via stakeholder engagement. A rural stakeholder forum, a commitment in the Government’s loneliness strategy, was held earlier this year, co-hosted by Defra and Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE). This was an opportunity for Government to listen to the challenges faced by rural communities trying to tackle loneliness and for attendees to share good practice. A further forum will be held in the autumn. The Minister for Rural Affairs held a smaller, more focused forum earlier this month. These events are part of ongoing conversations between Government and stakeholders on this important issue.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Loneliness Strategy, what steps his Department is taking with the Loneliness Action Group to (a) share learning on loneliness and (b) ensure the effective implementation of that strategy.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Government has engaged closely with the Loneliness Action Group in the development of, and now implementation of, its loneliness strategy. Defra officials have engaged with the quarterly Loneliness Action Group meetings, to share updates and hear the group's views. The Minister for Sport and Civil Society, who leads Government's work on loneliness, spoke at the Loneliness Action Group conference in May 2019.
The Government is committed to tackling loneliness in rural areas. Last year the Minister for Rural Affairs co-hosted a roundtable on rural loneliness with the Minister for Loneliness.
We share learning and ensure effective implementation via stakeholder engagement. A rural stakeholder forum, a commitment in the Government’s loneliness strategy, was held earlier this year, co-hosted by Defra and Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE). This was an opportunity for Government to listen to the challenges faced by rural communities trying to tackle loneliness and for attendees to share good practice. A further forum will be held in the autumn. The Minister for Rural Affairs held a smaller, more focused forum earlier this month. These events are part of ongoing conversations between Government and stakeholders on this important issue.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of spending by the EU fisheries programme in the South West.
Answered by George Eustice
Demand for European Maritime and Fisheries Funding (EMFF) has been very high in the South West of England. 663 projects have been approved in the South West, with committed EMFF support totalling £16.6 million. This is compared to 325 projects for the rest of England, where the total committed EMFF support stands at £13.9 million. Therefore 67% of projects are located in the South West - and these receive 54% of the committed EMFF support for the grant scheme. It is clear that there is high local demand from industry and that the South West will gain significant benefits from this funding in terms of ensuring a long-term sustainable future for fisheries.
In the event of no deal being reached, all EMFF projects approved before the closure date of the current programme (December 2020) will be fully funded under a Treasury guarantee. This guarantee applies across the UK. We will continue to support applications for EMFF across the UK, including the South West, until the fund is fully committed.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) makes public all beneficiaries of the grant aid from EMFF through the Transparency Initiative. This data can be obtained from the MMO’s website here: