Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what target date his Department has set to introduce an all-in deposit return scheme for plastic bottles.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Further details on when a Deposit Return Scheme will be introduced will be set out in a HM Government response to last year's consultation. We are working towards publication in late 2022.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 25 May 2022 to Question 3523 on Foie Gras: Imports, if he will publish a list of interested parties his Department has (a) held meetings with and on which dates and (b) received written representation from regarding legislative proposals on banning the import of foie gras as set out in his Department’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare.
Answered by Scott Mann
Policy officials have met with businesses, industry representatives and welfare groups to better understand the issues regarding force-fed foie gras and to gather views from all interested parties.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Responsible Dog Ownership project has reached interim recommendations ahead of its expected conclusion in 2023.
Answered by Scott Mann
The Responsible Dog Ownership (RDO) project is ongoing, with conclusions and policy reform recommendations expected next year. The RDO four project subgroups are due to continue meeting throughout the autumn and winter, giving us time to examine each of the Middlesex recommendations in detail. We do not anticipate producing an interim report prior to the conclusion of the project next year.
We expect that the recommendations will address all aspects of tackling irresponsible dog ownership effectively, from prevention to robust, consistent enforcement, focusing on owners as well as on their dogs.
Following proactive engagement with stakeholders as part of the RDO project, this summer Defra worked with animal welfare organisations, the police, local authorities and the devolved administrations to launch a dog safety communications campaign. As part of this, we supported the Canine and Feline Sector Group to develop and disseminate their Dog Safety Code, which incorporates key advice and resources to equip parents and children with the knowledge they need to enjoy spending time with dogs safely.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whjether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a temporary ban on bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas whilst it monitors the impact of that practice on designated pilot sites.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a devolved competency and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Marine Management Organisation and the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities assess on a site-by-site basis which fishing activities could prevent MPAs from achieving their conservation objectives. Byelaws are developed using an evidence-led process to determine what management is required to protect sites and to not unduly restrict legitimate fishing activity.
98 MPAs in English inshore waters already have byelaws in place to protect sensitive features from damaging fishing activities and the first four offshore byelaws have now been established. A Call for Evidence on byelaws in 13 more MPAs has recently closed. We aim to have protection in place for all our offshore MPAs by 2024. In July, we also launched a consultation on five candidate Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in English waters. With the highest level of protection in England’s seas to enable the ecosystem to fully recover, many activities including commercial and recreational fishing would be prohibited. HPMAs would complement the existing MPA network. Any HPMAs HM Government decides to designate following the consultation would be designated by July 2023.
We are developing criteria to evaluate HPMAs from an ecological, social and economic perspective and intend to take a natural capital approach to evaluation. Our arms-length bodies will lead on monitoring pilot HPMAs.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to prevent bottom trawling in offshore Marine Protected Areas while the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction discusses a potential maritime biodiversity treaty.
Answered by Mark Spencer
In line with UN resolutions and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Guidelines, the United Kingdom is committed to working within the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations to which it is a member, to protect Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) and ensure the long-term sustainability of deep-sea fish stocks in the high seas.
Domestically, the UK is at the forefront of marine protection with Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protecting over 38% of UK waters.
We have developed an ambitious programme for assessing sites and implementing regulations to manage fishing activity, including bottom trawling, in all 40 English offshore MPAs.
The first 4 offshore regulations have recently been announced and involve a complete ban on bottom trawling in two of the sites, one of which - the Dogger Bank - covers some 12,000km2, and partial bans in the other two where sensitive seabed features occur.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 25 May 2022 to Question 3523 on Foie Gras: Imports, if he will set out a timetable to bring forward legislative proposals on banning the import of foie gras as set out in his Department’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare.
Answered by Mark Spencer
As set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, the Government is actively considering any further steps that could be taken in relation to UK consumption of foie gras that is produced overseas using force-feeding practices.
No decisions have been made yet in relation to the import and sale of foie gras. The Government continues to build a clear evidence base to inform decisions and will use this to inform any potential action in this area.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 Answer of 23 March 2022 to Question 129861 on Poultry: Animal Welfare, whether his Department plans to introduce necessary measures to prohibit the use of cages for farmed livestock before any such legislation is introduced by the EU Commission.
Answered by Steve Double
The Government are committed to phasing out confinement systems and supporting the industry to do so, not least to underpin UK food security. However, as reiterated by the Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food at the ‘End the Cage Age’ debate held in June, we do need to work carefully and sensitively with the pig and poultry sectors as any transition must be done with, rather than against, these industries.
This is an extremely challenging time for Britain’s farmers, with enormously increased input costs — of food, fuel and fertiliser — affecting almost all production systems to a greater or lesser extent, and of course for the general public who are faced with significant challenges around the cost of living.
So, any decisions by Government on this issue, including timing of consultations, must be carefully considered in light of these wider, and clearly highly important, priorities. We have a course of action in play and will progress with our plans to transition away from use of cages in farming systems as soon as the time is right.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's planned timetable is for conducting a consultation on ending the use of cages and crates in farming.
Answered by Steve Double
The Government are committed to phasing out confinement systems and supporting the industry to do so, not least to underpin UK food security. However, as reiterated by the Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food at the ‘End the Cage Age’ debate held in June, we do need to work carefully and sensitively with the pig and poultry sectors as any transition must be done with, rather than against, these industries.
This is an extremely challenging time for Britain’s farmers, with enormously increased input costs — of food, fuel and fertiliser — affecting almost all production systems to a greater or lesser extent, and of course for the general public who are faced with significant challenges around the cost of living.
So, any decisions by Government on this issue, including timing of consultations, must be carefully considered in light of these wider, and clearly highly important, priorities. We have a course of action in play and will progress with our plans to transition away from use of cages in farming systems as soon as the time is right.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department holds data on the impact of food price inflation on food insecurity for people (a) with protected characteristics, (b) by age group and (c) by annual income.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government recognises the impact that food inflation can have on different groups and regularly monitors consumer food prices using the Consumer Prices Index (including Housing Costs) (CPIH).
To analyse the impact that food price inflation has on people:
(a) with protected characteristics,
(b) by age group and
(c) by annual income,
Defra uses the ONS Living Costs and Food Survey. This provides information on household expenditure patterns and food consumption.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 his Department has held with food retailers on the need to ensure food remains accessible and affordable.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Defra engages with food retailers on a regular basis and discusses the cost of living issue. We welcome the steps announced by some food retailers to support their workforce and customers. We will continue to explore with retailers the options available to them to ensure the availability of affordable food, such as maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezes.
We recognise that people are facing pressures with the increasing cost of living and that some people continue to require extra support. From last month, the Government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion.