Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for creating a Food Security Minister responsible for interventions to people living in poverty.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I am the Minister responsible for security of the food chain, working with industry to make sure food is available to buy. Defra officials continue to work with other relevant Departments on food policy and food insecurity, including on school meals (DfE), local authority provision (MHCLG) and the welfare system (Department for Work and Pensions) (DWP).
Since the start of the pandemic, government departments have come together to coordinate support for the most vulnerable. Defra, DfE, DWP and DHSC worked together on the COVID Winter Support Package in November 2020 - ensuring that support was provided to those impacted by the pandemic throughout the winter period. Departments are continuing to work together to deliver a number of key cross-cutting outcomes linked to the 2020 Spending Review.
This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of COVID-related welfare policy measures.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with (1) breakfast cereal manufacturers, and (2) related stakeholders, on how to support families facing food poverty.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government continues to have discussions with all levels of the food supply chain to understand how industry and the Government can work together to ensure families that live in low-income households continue to have access to affordable, nutritional food.
During the pandemic collaboration between the Government and the food industry was key in putting into place policies to support vulnerable individuals, which included wholesalers leading on the delivery of the Food Box scheme, supermarkets putting in place priority delivery slots to support those shielding and food manufacturers donating free breakfasts to school children following school closures.
The Department for Education will shortly be launching a £24 million contract to support over 2500 schools with a National Breakfast Clubs programme, with the aim of ensuring pupils have a healthy start to their day.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of a veterinary agreement between the UK and the EU on frictionless trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The United Kingdom proposed in the TCA negotiations last year that there could be an equivalence arrangement between the UK and the EU. Unfortunately, the EU was not open to such a suggestion. We continue to be open to such an equivalence arrangement, if the EU is interested in it. However, this cannot be on the basis of any dynamic alignment with EU rules, as this would compromise UK sovereignty over our own laws and impact our ability to strike trade deals or agree trade facilitations with non-EU countries.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to secure a veterinary agreement with the EU.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement puts in place a framework that allows the UK and the EU to take informed decisions to reduce their respective SPS controls, with a commitment to avoid unnecessary barriers. It is in both Parties’ interests for this framework to reduce the rate of SPS checks required. We are open to discussion with the EU on an agreement that goes further in reducing trade frictions between us, but it cannot be on the basis of alignment with EU rules as this would compromise UK sovereignty over our own laws.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that farmers continue to receive financial support following the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In 2019, the Government made a manifesto commitment to maintain the current annual budget to farmers. This was honoured in the 2021/22 Spending Review.
The commitment is being achieved through a combination of Exchequer funding and remaining EU funding. We have adopted a consistent approach across the UK, topping up EU receipts with Exchequer funding to the level of the manifesto commitment. This ensures that the manifesto commitment is met in each nation.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to maintain British food production standards in trade agreements.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government has been clear that in all of our trade negotiations we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.
Legal protections for our standards are in place. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains standards on environmental protection, animal welfare, animal and plant health and food safety. This includes the prohibition on the use of artificial growth hormones in both domestic production and imported meat products and that no products, other than potable water, are approved to decontaminate poultry carcases.
The Government has recently taken steps to give Parliament a greater role in scrutinising trade agreements. In the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government established a duty for the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on whether, or to what extent, measures in new Free Trade Agreements, relating to trade in agricultural goods, are consistent with maintaining UK levels of statutory protection in relation to human, animal or plant life or health, animal welfare and the environment.
In July we established the Trade and Agriculture Commission, an independent board set up to advise and inform the Government’s trade policies on environmental and animal welfare standards in food production. We have since moved to put it on a statutory footing in the Trade Bill and the Commission will directly feed into the Agriculture Act reporting process.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to reduce air pollution in addition to the measures in the Environment Bill.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Our Clean Air Strategy sets out an ambitious programme of action to reduce air pollutant emissions from a wide range of sources. We have also put in place a £3.8 billion plan to tackle roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations.
We have also implemented the Medium Combustion Plant Directive which will help to reduce air pollution by bringing in emission controls for plant used to generate heat and power for large buildings and industrial processes, as well as for power generation
Together these measures will significantly reduce the impact of emissions from pollution sources on the environment and public health.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Sri Lanka about the 21 waste containers that were returned from that country to the UK in September 2020.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Environment Agency (EA), as the waste shipments regulator for England, is proactively engaging with the authorities in Sri Lanka about containers of waste illegally exported to Sri Lanka in 2017 and is leading the response on this matter.
The containers were found by Sri Lankan authorities to contain illegal materials, described as mattresses and carpets, which had been exported for recycling. The 21 containers queried arrived back in England on Wednesday 28 October 2020 and are part of a shipment totalling 263 containers which are being returned. The Environment Agency estimate that by February 2021, 133 containers will have been returned to England in total. The Environment Agency will continue to work with the Sri Lankan authorities to expedite the return of the remaining waste.
Environment Agency enforcement officers are working to confirm the types of waste shipped, who exported it and the producer of the waste. Those responsible could face a custodial sentence of up to two years, an unlimited fine, and the recovery of money and assets gained through the course of their criminal activity. Despite media reports suggesting that medical waste was illegally shipped from England to Sri Lanka, the EA has not received any indication or evidence from the Sri Lankan authorities to corroborate those reports.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to implement the recommendations of the report by Sir Charles Godfray A strategy for achieving Bovine Tuberculosis Free Status for England: 2018 Review, published on 13 November 2018.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In March 2020, the Government published its response to Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s 2018 review of England’s bovine TB (bTB) eradication strategy. Sir Charles’ review set out a number of potential options for the future.
The Government response sets out our top priorities for the next five years. The steps we have taken in 2020 to start to deliver this next phase of the strategy include:
Work is ongoing and we plan to announce further steps in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial viability of wildlife trusts and nature reserves.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
My department constantly keeps under review the financial health of Defra-related sectors, including in relation to how sectors are faring in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Environmental charities and their partners are able to apply to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, with the first successful applicants announced in December. The Government has committed a further £40m to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund in 2021/22, and my department will be announcing further details of a second round in the coming weeks.
Environmental charities have also been able to benefit from wider government financial support for businesses during Covid-19, including the Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended to the end of April 2021.