Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which items of Retained EU Law that are within his Department’s remit apply to (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) the UK.
Answered by Scott Mann
Defra is currently reviewing its retained EU law (REUL) with the devolved administrations. Data on Defra's REUL, including territorial extent, will be published as part of updates to the public data dashboard owned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
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 had with its counterparts in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland on the review of Retained EU Law under his Department’s remit; and what steps his Department is taking to involve the devolved administrations in that review.
Answered by Scott Mann
Defra has a strong and long-standing record of regular and frequent collaboration with the devolved administrations, and the department is continuing to engage at technical and senior official levels on the review of Retained EU Law. This includes planning for the anticipated actions required under the Retained EU Law Bill and the associated secondary legislative programme.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
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 letter sent to him by the Real Bread Campaign on 16 August 2022, if he will ensure that the issues highlighted by that letter are reflected in the public consultation which opened on 1 September 2022 as part of his Department's review of the The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and The Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998.
Answered by Mark Spencer
HM Government and the Devolved Administrations committed to carry out a review of Bread and Flour Regulations across the United Kingdom. A response from Defra's Food Minister, Victoria Prentis, was sent to the Real Bread Campaign on 6th September 2022. HM Government has set out its key proposals for change which are outlined in a public consultation published on 1st September 2022, and which is open for responses until 23rd November 2022. The proposals will address the most pressing aspects identified for change including the addition of mandatory folic acid to flour to prevent neural tube defects in foetuses, and improvements to the legislation which will help reduce burdens for businesses while still protecting the health of consumers. HM Government is committed to optimising the information that is available to consumers, and the Government Food Strategy sets out work that we will be taking forward on consumer information and transparency.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
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 plans to review restrictions on destructive fishing methods in Marine Protected Areas for fishing licenses granted from 2023 onward.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Marine conservation is a devolved competence and the following information on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) therefore relates to England only.
The Fisheries Act 2020 requires that all vessels fishing commercially in UK waters must have a licence to do so. All licences have a set of conditions which specify the area in which fishing is authorised, the time period permitted for fishing, the quantities and description of which species may be caught and the permitted fishing method. These conditions are subject to periodic review and are based on scientific evidence.
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. The Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities and Marine Management Organisation continue to assess and implement measures to manage damaging fishing within MPAs. We are aiming to have all MPAs in English waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.