Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many civil servants in his Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.
Answered by David Rutley
Between June 2016 and March 2018 a total of 11 civil servants have been loaned to the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for International Trade. These staff were loaned on two year contracts, some of which have already come to an end. All the outstanding DExEU loans are due to end in 2018/19, with the DIT loans due to end in 2020/21.
Civil servants are loaned between other Government departments rather than seconded.
Both departments were only formed in July 2016, therefore there is no data prior to this date.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost of enforcing marine protected areas per sq km in (a) the UK and (b) UK overseas territories in each of the last four years.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
a) We do not currently hold the requested data, however, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) estimates compliance costs for each Marine Protected Area (MPA) byelaw it makes. These estimates are documented in the impact assessment (IA) accompanying each byelaw, which are available on GOV.UK. These estimates include compliance activity such as monitoring and boardings to detect and deter offences, but do not include costs related to any prosecutions for offences committed. These figures relate to England only. There are additional costs arising from the enforcement of Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCA) byelaws but these are not currently centrally compiled.
b) Under the Blue Belt programme, £2 million per year over the past 4 years has been allocated to the MMO to support surveillance and enforcement of designated MPAs, and to support the development of legal frameworks and surveillance and enforcement strategies for further MPA designations.
At the start of the Blue Belt programme, there was 2.5 million km² of MPAs around the UK overseas territories and by 2020, there will be over 4 million km². Additional funding support for enforcement of Pitcairn Island was provided by Pew Charitable Trusts during years 2015-present.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many square kilometres of marine protected areas there were in (a) the UK and (b) UK overseas territories in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
a) Marine Protected Areas in the UK:
Year | Area (km2) |
2012 | 73,890 |
2013 | 82,952 |
2014 | 143,497 |
2015 | 143,651 |
2016 | 165,252 |
2017 | 207,477 |
2018 | 209,185 |
b) Marine Protected Areas in UK overseas territories:
UK OT | MPA (km2) | Date of designation |
British Antarctic Territory South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf MPA | 94,000 | 2009 |
British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos) | 640,000 | 2010 |
South Georgia and Sandwich Islands | 1,240,000 | 2012; enhanced in 2013 & 2018 |
Pitcairn Islands | 840,000 | 2016 |
St Helena | 445,000 | 2016 |
TOTAL | 3,259,000 |
|
In addition to these Marine Protected Areas, as announced in the Spring Statement, the UK Government is backing an Ascension Island bid to protect 100% of its offshore waters. Ascension Island plans to designate over 445,00km2 of its waters as a fully protected no-take Marine Protected Area.
Tristan da Cunha has committed to designating a comprehensive marine protection regime across its 750,000km2 maritime zone by 2020.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
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 on the effect on the supply chains of coeliac produce of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from other countries. This will continue to be the case whether we leave the EU with or without a deal.
Our Food Security and Resilience team have been meeting weekly with industry and retailers to make sure we are prepared for all scenarios. The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry to minimise potential disruption and we are using these to support contingency planning.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what due diligence his Department undertakes relating to used tire exports to India for recycling purposes.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The UK and India are both parties to the Basel Convention which provides the system for controlling movements of hazardous and other wastes between countries. It is fully implemented in UK law through Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 on the shipment of waste and the UK Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007. Under Regulation (EC) 1013/2006, most exports of non hazardous wastes destined for recycling to non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are subject to light touch international export controls known as ‘green-list’ controls. The European Commission asks non-OECD countries, including India, to indicate where more stringent controls are required. India has indicated that exports of tyres from the UK can be exported under green-list controls and must also meet the requirements of Indian regulations.
The UK environmental regulators take an intelligence led approach to checking compliance with waste export regulations. They carry out proactive and intelligence led inspections to stop waste shipments that breach these regulations before they leave our ports. Where concerns are raised about a recycling facility in other countries, further information is requested from the relevant authorities in that country to confirm sites are permitted and regulated according to their national laws.
In our recently published Resources and Waste Strategy, we set out plans to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for more waste streams, including tyres. This will increase the responsibility on tyre producers regarding their end of life. We are also further developing a range of measures including: increased monitoring of international waste shipments, improved provision for waste repatriation, and charging higher fees to improve compliance. These changes aim to ensure any waste we do send abroad is fit for recycling, and that it is recycled to equivalent standards as required in the UK. This should create a more level playing field for domestic recyclers as well as reducing the chances of exported tyres being mishandled.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
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 effect of policies in the Government's Immigration White Paper on the level of staffing in the food and drink manufacturing sector.
Answered by George Eustice
The White Paper is the beginning of a consultation with employers about possible future options. Defra is considering the latest data, and working closely with industry to understand labour demand and supply, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements. Existing employees will be able to stay and there will be a period where lower skilled workers will be able to continue to travel to the UK to work once the new immigration framework is implemented.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the recommendations set out in the Public Accounts Committee report, Defra's progress towards Brexit.
Answered by David Rutley
The Department will respond fully to the recommendations set out in the Public Accounts Committee report on Defra’s progress towards Brexit in a Treasury Minute, which will be published by the Treasury Officer of Accounts on 21 January 2019.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
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 11 October 2018 to Question 176014 on Food: Imports , what assessment he has made of the accuracy of statements made by in the paper, Feeding Britain: Food Security after Brexit on the suspension of food controls.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government firmly believes it is in the interests of both the EU and the UK to strike a deal. That remains the goal on both sides and we are confident that this will be achieved. However, it is the job of a responsible Government to prepare for all scenarios, including the unlikely event that we reach March 2019 without agreeing a deal. We have already carried out very significant ‘no deal’ preparations and we are now stepping up the pace, including publishing a series of technical notices so that businesses and citizens have time to prepare.
In preparation for our withdrawal from the EU, work is being undertaken across the whole of Government to consider how we best manage border checks and controls in a range of scenarios without impacting the smooth flow of trade. We have been very clear that when we leave the EU, we will categorically not dilute our world leading set of standards on food safety and quality. We are committed to upholding these with robust and independent scientific and technical advice. Any products entering the UK market must meet our high standards of quality and safety.
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from third countries. Consumers will continue to have access to a range of different products when we leave the EU.