Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure fishing catch limits do not exceed scientifically recommended sustainable levels.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government’s priority in relation to annual negotiations on fishing opportunities is to ensure that the total allowable catch for each fish stock that we have an interest in is set within sustainable limits taking account of scientific advice. Management measures, both technical and control based, are in place throughout the year to ensure monitoring and compliance of agreed catch limits and methods of capture. Enforcement of management measures is carried out through physical and electronic means as appropriate. The Fisheries Bill will put in place Fisheries Management Plans to help deliver and maintain stocks at sustainable levels into the future.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 28 February 2017 to Question 64958, when she expects the Drinking Water Inspectorate to report its findings into the crytosporidium incident in Lancashire which took place in August 2015.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) remains very conscious of the level of interest in this investigation, but to avoid risks of prejudice or impediment to the course of justice, the publication of a report must follow the conclusion of this process.
Once published, the report will be made available to those parties who have registered an interest with the DWI.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staffing hours the Drinking Water Inspectorate put into investigating the cryptosporidium incident which took place in Lancashire in August 2015 in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) so far in 2017.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Drinking Water Inspectorate has put the following staffing hours into the investigation of the Cryptosporidium Incident which took place in Lancashire in August 2015.
Year | Staff Hours |
2015 | 1366 |
2016 | 650 |
2017 | 222 |
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 commission research into the operation of zero-waste grocery shops in overseas territories to identify potential benefits that such shops could bring to the UK.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We do not intend to commission research into this. Manufacturing and retail supply chain food and packaging waste has reduced by 7.4% between 2009 and 2012, and a further 3% by 2015 by signatories under the previous Courtauld agreements. Under Courtauld 2025, we have a target to reduce total UK food waste by a further 20% by 2025.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether partial Basic Payment Scheme payments to customers made by the Rural Payment Agency are included in the Agency's published performance results.
Answered by George Eustice
All Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2016 payments issued, and included in the published performance results, are complete based on the current 2016 claim information held by the Rural Payments Agency. Those who have received a BPS Financial Support Payment are not and therefore not included in the reported figures paid.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions the UK has incurred EU disallowance fines relating to the Common Agricultural Policy in the last five years.
Answered by George Eustice
Since the beginning of 2012 the European Commission has published 14 Commission Implementing Decisions which include UK disallowance. This relates to 55 instances where the European Commission asserted that UK controls, across the four administrations, failed to meet the rules set by the EU.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether EU disallowance fines relating to the Common Agricultural Policy are paid for through Common Agricultural Policy funds.
Answered by George Eustice
Disallowance relating to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is paid from national, not CAP scheme, funds.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 paragraph 3.25 of the Autumn Statement 2016, which flood defence schemes in Lancashire have been granted funding.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
£20m was announced in the Autumn Statement for capital flood defences to better protect over 5,000 homes. The three schemes to receive this funding are in Yorkshire and Staffordshire.
£150m of funding was also announced to improve the resilience of roads and rail infrastructure in areas that experienced severe flooding last winter. The Department for Transport will announce further details of the investment in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how she plans that members of the public will be able to contribute to the upcoming consultation on the 25 Year Natural Environment Plan.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
In line with its manifesto commitment, the Government is committed to improving the environment within a generation. We are developing a 25 Year Environment Plan to deliver this.
The first step towards developing the plan will be to publish soon a consultative document open to all to contribute either online or by mail. We will use the feedback from this to help develop the full plan itself next year.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made on rebalancing the UK's inland water quotas to smaller, specific locally-based fishing communities.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government regularly reviews its quota allocation policy. In recent years it has permanently realigned unused quota from Producer Organisations and allocated the first 100 tonnes, plus 10% of any remaining uplift in quota resulting from the introduction of the Landing Obligation, to the small-scale inshore fleet.
These changes equate to over 1500 tonnes, or an additional £3 million worth of fish, for the small-scale fleet in 2016.