Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to learn lessons from the ban on microbeads in the US; and if she will make an assessment of the merits and effect of the US measures.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The US ban has not yet come into force, but we will continue to monitor its progress and look to learn any lessons from its approach.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 reduce the use of microbeads in products that are not included within the scope of her Department's proposed ban on microbeads.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We ran a consultation between 20 December 2016 and 28 February 2017 on proposals to ban microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products. The consultation also sought to gather evidence on the extent of the environmental impacts of microplastics, including microbeads, found in other products. We are now reviewing the responses to the consultation and any new evidence will be used to inform future UK actions to protect the marine environment.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on a temporary ban on the commercial netting of sea bass.
Answered by George Eustice
Bass have been in serious decline due to fishing pressure and an earlier succession of winters with poor reproduction. The latest proposals for measures to apply at EU level in 2017 are due to be agreed at December Fisheries Council.
I recognise the level of challenge the restrictions on bass catches in 2017, as proposed by the European Commission, would present for both recreational and commercial fishing sectors. We are considering the Commission’s proposals carefully, including the absence of any provision for sea bass caught in nets to be landed. We will be seeking to secure a balanced package of measures which builds on the progress to date to continue to bring bass catches down to a recommended level while the stock recovers. This is a UK Government priority, to secure sustainable fishing for bass in the long term
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 make it her policy to introduce the bottle deposit return system proposed by Surfers Against Sewage.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
There are currently no plans to introduce a deposit return system. We will continue to review new evidence regarding such schemes.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons Northern Irish beekeepers are prevented from registering on BeeBase.
Answered by George Eustice
Bee Health is a devolved matter. The decision to join BeeBase is a matter for each devolved government to make in conjunction with Defra.
Beekeepers in Northern Ireland can benefit from the wealth of information on the public pages of BeeBase which provide advice and guidance on identification of bee pests and diseases and good beekeeping practices to keep their hives healthy.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on the increase in the rate of incidence of American foulbrood in bee hives.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra maintains regular contact with all UK devolved governments on incidence of bee pests and diseases. Coordinating our efforts across the UK ensures outbreaks are managed and appropriate controls are put in place, benefiting all UK bee populations.
In January Defra agreed to use molecular sequencing to identify the strain of American Foulbrood within colonies from Northern Ireland. The results offered an additional inspection tool for Northern Ireland’s Bee Inspectors in their efforts to understand and control the disease.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported into Northern Ireland for (a) non-commercial reasons under the PETS scheme and (b) commercial reasons in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the countries of origin of those dogs were in each category.
Answered by George Eustice
The movement of dogs into the United Kingdom, whether through the Pet Travel Scheme or for commercial reasons is a devolved matter.
The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland has suggested that the Honourable Member write to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs brought into the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme were found to be non-compliant with that scheme's requirements in each year since 2012.
Answered by George Eustice
The requirement to ensure that pet dogs travel to Great Britain on approved routes is the responsibility of the relevant transport companies. It is a condition of their approval that the transport companies check 100% of pets declared by their owners for compliance with the EU Pet Travel Scheme.
The table below lists the number of audits completed by APHA staff on pet checkers and the number of fails identified during the audits.
Year | No of Pets travelling to GB under PETS | No. of QA checks on Pet animals | No. of non-compliances |
2012 | 184,338 | 6070 | 74 |
2013 | 167,507 | 4894 | 58 |
2014 | 170,659 | 5978 | 54 |
2015 | 267,613 | 4863 | 69 |
The data on the number of pets travelling from 2012/2014 was taken from the PETS database. We rely upon Pet checkers who operate upon behalf of APHA to complete the database and so cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data. A different system of recording the number of pets entering Great Britain in 2015 was implemented in Jan 2015. However, we still rely on pet checkers to provide this info and so cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data.
Of the pets found not to be in compliance with the entry rules, these pets were either detained until their compliance could be established, re-exported or placed into quarantine.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 options for controlling ash dieback other than through the destruction of saplings; and if she will take steps to support research into new means of controlling outbreaks of devastating diseases in plants and animals.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra has taken a number of steps in response to the outbreak of ash dieback including supporting measures to slow the spread. An associated programme of research has assessed different management options, including identification and development of resistant ash trees and chemical treatments. Further information is provided in the Tree Health Management Plan[1] published in April 2014. This document sets out key commitments on tree pests and pathogens as well as how the Government is working with others to manage these.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tree-health-management-plan