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Written Question
Deer
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of increased culling of wild deer on the capacity of the food processing sector.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are working with the British Wild Venison Working Group, and others involved in the venison supply chain, to keep the situation under review to ensure that capacity to process deer carcases and increase supply of venison aligns with an increased effort to manage deer and reduce their impact on food crops, forestry and biodiversity.


Written Question
Deer
Friday 26th January 2024

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

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 in his Department's forthcoming national deer management strategy to help ensure the adequacy of (a) capacity to process deer carcasses if culling levels increase and (b) the supply of venison to the (i) private and (ii) public sector in the next five years.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working with stakeholders including Grown in Britain, game dealers and shooting and conservation associations to support development of the wild venison supply chain.

This includes facilitating an industry GB Wild Venison Working Group to improve sector resilience, develop branding, traceability and promote the British Quality Wild Venison Standard and exploring opportunities for more public procurement of wild venison, with the aim of increasing overall demand for wild venison. We are also providing funding towards wild venison related projects in a number of our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, through the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme.

The forthcoming deer management strategy will set out actions that will go further in supporting domestic wild venison.


Written Question
White Fish: Conservation
Friday 8th December 2023

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

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 an (a) partial and (b) full exemption for (i) charter boats and (ii) recreational anglers of a future ban on pollock fishing following the recommendation of such a ban by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

On 30th June 2023 the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) issued zero-catch advice for pollack 6 and 7 for the first time. In the annual UK-EU negotiations on fishing opportunities, our approach to negotiating catch limits is based on the best available scientific advice, balanced with commitments to economic sustainability and providing opportunities for the UK fleet, consistent with the objectives of the Fisheries Act and Joint Fisheries Statement.

We are aware of the significant potential implications of a zero-catch fishery for pollack. In line with our approach to other zero-advice stocks, we negotiated an allocation of pollack to address unavoidable bycatch by the UK fleet, to avoid choking related fisheries.

While the evidence base is limited, the ICES advice for pollack in area 6 and 7 notes that recreational catch is likely to be a large component of the total catch. Further work is needed to explore the potential to reduce pressure on the stock through management of the recreational fishery, underpinned by data and the best available scientific evidence. This is in line with our commitments under the Joint Fisheries Statement, including ensuring that recreational sea fishing is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.

As this is a jointly managed stock with the EU, we have committed to take forward work on this important issue in the Specialised Committee on Fisheries as a matter of urgency in 2024. We will work closely with the recreational sector throughout this process.


Written Question
Hornets
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has taken steps to identify technologies that (a) eradicate Asian hornet colonies and (b) prevent their re-establishment.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is committed to exploring the use of technology to detect and eradicate Asian hornets. During 2023, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were deployed to support the National Bee Unit (NBU) in the field but were not successful in locating any nests.

Researchers from the University of Exeter also tested newer, lighter radio tags at a site known to have multiple nests. However, this method was not successful in locating any nests despite a number of attempts. However, the track and trace method which combines a mapping App with GIS data has been successfully used by the NBU to find the large number of nests destroyed this year.

Defra is not aware of any technology that currently exists which is capable of eradicating Asian hornets or preventing their re-establishment.


Written Question
Hornets
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered the potential merits of increasing the resources available to the National Bee Unit to support the (a) identification and (b) elimination of Asian hornet nests in 2024.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Recognising the invaluable role that the general beekeeping community and the public play in spotting Asian hornets, we ask everyone to look out for Asian hornets and to report any sightings through the Asian hornet app or online. This is a significant resource and supports the work of the National Bee Unit (NBU) in finding and destroying Asian hornet nests.

In 2023, the National Bee Unit (NBU) responded to credible sightings of Asian hornet, resulting in the location and destruction of 72 nests. During the peak period, operating as part of the broader Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), the NBU was able to utilise APHA resources to bolster its capacity as needed.

Looking ahead to 2024, it is difficult to predict the number of nests, but arrangements will be made to ensure that the NBU has access to wider resources.


Written Question
Hornets: Pollinators
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Asian hornet on (a) the bee population and (b) the level of crop pollination.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the essential role played by honey bees and wild pollinators in our environment, acknowledging their contribution to crop pollination. All pollinators collectively contribute over £500 million annually to UK agriculture and food production by enhancing crop quality and quantity. Additionally, pollinators play a vital role in supporting the natural ecosystem.

Asian hornets prey on honey bees and other pollinators so pose a significant threat to the pollination services that these insects provide. To date rapid action has been taken in the UK to find and destroy Asian hornet nests. We would expect that there has been a localised impact on honey bee colonies and other pollinators. The Government remains committed to taking swift and effective contingency action in response to all credible sightings of Asian hornet.


Written Question
Deer
Friday 21st July 2023

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the size of England's deer herd; and if her Department will publish its projections for the size of England's deer herd in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Natural England published A Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals in 2018 that provides comprehensive review of the status of British mammal populations, including the six species of deer that exist in the wild in the UK, and gives estimates of their numbers: A Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals - JP025 (naturalengland.org.uk)

There are no current plans to produce projections for the size of England's deer herd in 2024 or 2025. Sufficient evidence for increasing deer numbers comes from past surveys, the expansion of their geographic range, and the impact they have on our woodlands, crops and vehicles. Defra’s agencies and wider stakeholders consider that deer are more abundant and widespread now than at any time in the past 1,000 years.


Written Question
Deer
Friday 21st July 2023

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

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 her Department's publication entitled Deer management strategy, published on 4 August 2022, what her Department's expected timescale is for responding to the consultation.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Consultation responses have been collated, analysed and fed into the development of the deer management strategy. I cannot provide an exact date for the publication of the Government response to the consultation, but I can reassure the Hon Member that it is being progressed and it is our intention to publish as soon as we are in a position to do so.


Written Question
Sewage and Water Abstraction: Water Companies
Tuesday 28th March 2023

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that (a) publicly and (b) privately owned water and sewerage companies fulfil the duty to provide details of water abstraction and sewerage discharges to the public upon request; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All data held by the Environment Agency on water abstractions, sewage treatment effluents or sewage related discharges is Environmental Information and available on request or in some cases is published on GOV.UK.

Water and sewerage companies have published Event and Duration Monitoring (EDM) data relating to sewage discharges annually since 2020 that can be found here. The 2022 data will be published at the end of March 2023.

Defra also publish a summary of water abstraction statistics. The most recent update was published in July 2022, including data up until 2018: Water abstraction statistics: England, 2000 to 2018 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).


Written Question
Country Food Trust
Thursday 16th March 2023

Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)

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 oral contribution of 2 February 2023 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Official Report columns 543-544, when he plans to meet the Chief Executive of the Country Food Trust.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I would be happy to meet the Chief Executive of the Country Food Trust. I will ask my office to make the arrangements.