Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
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 makes of the potential impact of discharge from storm overflows on the quality of shellfish harvesting waters.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency will require water companies to review what action is needed in the identified 63 priority shellfish areas, whether that is improvement, prevention of deterioration or investigation. This will lead to reductions in sewage discharges from storm overflows and disinfection of treated sewage.
Where the results of monitoring indicate any event which has increased faecal contamination in an area, prompt action is taken to protect public health either by pausing harvesting or introducing additional controls on shellfish from the area.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve the quality of shellfish harvesting waters.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Shellfish harvesting waters are included in protected areas within the Environment Agency’s River Basin Management Plans. They can be affected by a number of different microbial sources like sewage discharges and agricultural land run off.
The Government is prioritising action to improve the water quality of the largest shellfish waters in England by 2030. This will require action (improvement, prevention of deterioration or investigation) at 63 shellfish waters between 2025-2030.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
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 plans to take steps to compensate shellfish aquaculture businesses impacted by poor water quality.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are currently no plans to take steps to compensate shellfish aquaculture businesses impacted by poor water quality. However, the Government is prioritising action to improve the water quality of the largest shellfish waters in England by 2030. This will require action (improvement, prevention of deterioration or investigation) at 63 shellfish waters between 2025-2030.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which African nations have expressed support for the UK Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Hunting Trophies Bill has now completed its passage through the House of Commons, meaning that we are one step closer to delivering the commitment we made in our manifesto. I am grateful to the governments of all the countries that have engaged with Defra on this issue, including during the consultation and call for evidence and throughout the development of policy and legislation. Partners have given a range of views, in particular on the potential costs, benefits and impacts of the policy options considered.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
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 been made of the potential merits of using shellfish aquaculture as a means of carbon sequestration in UK waters.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2022 Defra commissioned at 3 year, £200k project to understand better the carbon sequestration potential of seaweed and bivalve aquaculture in English waters. This project is due to complete in Spring 2025, after which a final report will be published.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what response she has provided to the letter dated 22 February 2023 from Dr Dilys Roe, Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group, on the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill; and if she will place a copy of that response in the Library.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
A reply to the letter in question is being prepared and will be issued shortly.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with (a) Natural England and (b) the Duchy of Cornwall on the aquaculture sector in England.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials are in regular contact with Natural England about a wide range of policy matters including the aquaculture sector in England. There have been no recent discussions with the Duchy of Cornwall on this issue.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
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 estimate of the proportion of common land that is not used for (a) commoners' rights and (b) public access.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
An estimation of common land that is not used for commoners’ rights is not available.
Approximately 370,000 hectares of land has been mapped as Registered Common Land, in accordance with Section 4 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the majority of which is publicly accessible. Approximately 3,700 hectares (1%) is considered to be excepted land for defence or security reasons. Data on other common land including any local byelaws or regulations that may restrict public access is not readily available.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase prosecution rates for gangs taking part in illegal fishing along the UK coastline.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works closely with the Marine Management Organisation, Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities, and other organisations to make sure the appropriate arrangements to enforce fisheries regulations are in place to protect English waters. In response to concerns about the targeting of bass in the South West, MMO has stepped up routine compliance and assurance checks. We vehemently condemn any illegal fishing taking place in English waters and work actively with the Joint Maritime Security Centre to provide fisheries enforcement input and share resources such as data and assets in partnership with other departments and agencies with a maritime security remit.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
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 take steps to protect and restore Britain’s temperate rainforests.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This government recognises the importance of trees and woodlands, and has ambitious targets to treble tree planting in England as part of a UK wide commitment to establish 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament. This sits alongside our work to protect existing woodland, particularly ancient woodland. The England Trees Action Plan will help to deliver this by seeing an unprecedented number of trees planted, protected and managed to deliver more for society, nature, the climate and the economy.
The international importance of temperate rainforests (also termed Atlantic woodland) in supporting rare and threatened species has been recognised in domestic biodiversity policy for many decades. Many temperate rainforests are protected by existing policy. Many are ancient woodlands, which are protected from development in all but wholly exceptional circumstances; we have committed in the England Trees Action Plan to increase protections in the planning system for long established woodland in situ since 1840. Many of our temperate rainforests support rich assemblages of species and are in our series of Sites of Special Scientific Interest. SSSI selection guidelines for woodlands are focussed on securing a representative series rather than protecting every example.
This government has made a world-leading commitment to halt the decline in nature by 2030, which will rely on the restoration and creation of habitats across the country. This will be supported by funding from the Nature for Climate Fund, future farming schemes including Landscape Recovery, and new funds such as the Big Nature Impact Fund. We will consider, while designing and rolling out these schemes, how they might support the protection and restoration of certain types of woodlands including ‘temperate rainforest’. We also provide financial support the buffering and expansion of valuable woodlands such as temperate rainforests through the England Woodland Creation Offer, and funding for the improvement and restoration of temperate rainforest sites through the Regional Restoration Funds.
Forestry policy is devolved, so the protection and restoration of temperate rainforests outside England is a matter for the devolved authorities.