Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Sustainable Farming Incentive for upland farmers with non-improved grassland.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Low and no Input Grassland standard is currently being piloted for SFI and will support farmers to sustainably manage their low and no input grasslands to benefit wildlife, including pollinators, by protecting existing quality habitat and improving the diversity of other grasslands.
Our current indicative date for the introduction of the Low and no Input Grassland standard into the live scheme is 2024. We will publish more details in due course.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support for upland farmers moving to the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are rolling the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme out over time. The first step of that roll out includes the Moorland Standard. We have worked regularly with a group of stakeholders, including farmers and practitioners, to develop that Standard within the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme. This standard has the sole focus on, and eligibility for land mapped above the moorland line in the uplands of England. It forms an integral part of the offer for those farming in the uplands alongside the other elements of the scheme they may also be eligible for.
We will continue to expand Sustainable Farming Incentive so that upland farmers are able to access funding for a wide range of activities so that they can maintain sustainable farm businesses which deliver for food, farming and the environment.
As we roll out the Sustainable Farming Incentive offer, upland farmers will continue to benefit from the Countryside Stewardship scheme, and the legacy Environmental Stewardship offer. In combination, alongside the grants we offer, free business advice and targeted innovation funding, upland farmers have access to a range of offers to invest in their businesses.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many upland farmers are enrolled in the pilot of the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of 30th November 2022, there were 834 farmers taking part in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Pilot scheme. Using the criteria of having at least one land parcel within the categorisation of being in a Less Favoured Area, there are 109 upland farmers.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to review the (a) financial and (b) other support available for upland farmers in Areas of Outstanding National Beauty.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have a range of offers available to upland farmers within Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). At the moment, farmers can access Countryside Stewardship which offers multi-year payments to maintain and enhance on farm environments. Currently, 75% of priority habitat that is above the moorland line is within such an environmental agreement.
We also have a range of grant offers to upland farms so that they can invest in their productivity. More offers will open shortly, such as those for slurry infrastructure. For farmers in Protected Landscapes in England (including AONBs), the Farming in Protected Landscape programme offers funding to support farm businesses to deliver projects across the four themes of the programme; climate, nature, people and place.
We have worked regularly with a group of stakeholders, including farmers and practitioners, to develop a specific Moorland Standard within the Sustainable Farming Incentive Scheme. This standard has the sole focus and eligibility on land mapped above the moorland line in the uplands of England. It forms an integral part of the offer for those farming in the uplands alongside the other elements of the scheme they may also be eligible for. This is the first offer that we will build more onto over time.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 17 October to Question 61123 on Property Flood Resilience Scheme, whether her Department plans to publish the update Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant scheme before the end of this year.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The outcomes of the evaluation of the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Repair Grant Scheme will be published in 2023.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect the British agricultural sector from the potential threat of African Swine Fever.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following a risk assessment by the Animal and Plant Health Agency regarding the threat of African Swine Fever (ASF), on 31 August we announced new controls restricting the movement of pork and pork products into Great Britain to help safeguard Britain's pig population. Travellers from the EU are no longer allowed to bring pork or pork products weighing over two kilograms into GB, unless they are produced to the EU's commercial standards. The new controls, which came into force on 1 September, will strengthen GB's biosecurity in relation to the standards for bringing pork and pork products into GB from the EU and EFTA states.
A UK-wide exercise that simulated an outbreak of ASF was carried out in 2021 to test government contingency plans to contain and eliminate the disease in the event that it reached the UK. The aim of the exercise was to help improve the UK’s animal disease response capabilities through testing plans, instructions and the structures employed in managing an outbreak.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 she has had with the (a) Secretary of State for International Trade, (b) Minister for the Cabinet Office and (c) Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential threat posed by African Swine Fever to the British agricultural sector.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Health and Plant Agency has carried out an assessment on the risk of entry of African swine fever (ASF) into Great Britain from the EU Member States and found the overall risk to be medium. HM Government takes the threat to the UK posed by animal diseases very seriously and regularly exercises its contingency plans to ensure they are fit for purpose, including through a UK-wide exercise that simulated an outbreak of ASF in 2021.
We introduced new controls on 1 September restricting the movement of pork and pork products into Great Britain to help safeguard Britain's pig population. Travellers from the EU are no longer allowed to bring pork or pork products weighing over two kilograms into GB, unless they are produced to the EU's commercial standards. More information on the new controls can be found on GOV.UK. www.gov.uk/government/news/strict-new-controls-on-pork-and-pork-products-to-protect-britains-pig-sector-against-african-swine-fever.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to include the restoration of saltmarshes for blue carbon in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Nature-based solutions, including blue carbon habitats such as saltmarshes, have an important role to play in preventing biodiversity loss and supporting adaptation and resilience to climate change, alongside their carbon sequestration benefits. HM Government cannot currently commit to inclusion of coastal wetlands in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory as there are currently significant evidence gaps that prevent the accurate reporting of anthropogenic activities and therefore emissions from coastal wetland habitats, including saltmarshes. The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is responsible for the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory, but through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with BEIS and the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon, including to support the potential future inclusion of saltmarsh in the inventory. The first aim of the Partnership has been to identify and then clearly set out the most pressing research questions relating to blue carbon in an Evidence Needs Statement that will act as a signal to the research community. The UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership plans to publish the Evidence Needs Statement in spring 2023.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential threat posed by African Swine Fever to the British agricultural sector.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Health and Plant Agency has carried out an assessment on the risk of entry of ASF into Great Britain from the EU Member States. The assessment took into account the evolving disease situation in the EU and found the overall risk to be medium. The report also highlighted major consequences for the GB pig industry should there be an incursion of ASF. A UK-wide exercise that simulated an outbreak of ASF was carried out in 2021 to test government contingency plans to contain and eliminate the disease in the event that it reached the UK. The aim of the exercise was to help improve the UK’s animal disease response capabilities through testing plans, instructions and the structures employed in managing an outbreak.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency on sewage discharge and the accountability of water companies.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I have regular discussions with the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency and tackling sewage discharges is one of my key priorities. HM Government is taking steps to prioritise water company action on sewage overflows. We have launched the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, that introduced strict targets on sewage pollution requiring water companies to deliver their largest ever environment infrastructure investment - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years. Our Plan will eliminate ecological harm from all sewage discharges and it will protect the ecology of our rivers and seas, and the public health of our water users for generations to come.
The Environment Agency and Ofwat have recently launched the largest criminal and civil investigations into water company sewage discharges ever, at over 2200 treatment works, following new data coming to light as a result of increased monitoring. Since 2015, the Environment Agency has brought 54 prosecutions against water companies, securing fines of almost £140 million. We have also recently announced that we will bring forward plans to increase the amount the Environment Agency can directly fine water companies who pollute the environment by 1000-fold, from £250,000 up to £250million.