Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
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 is taking steps to help support the movement of unaffected livestock while restrictions for Bluetongue disease are in place.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Upon detection of bluetongue disease in Kent in November and Norfolk in December during our routine surveillance, Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) officials took immediate and robust action. Affected animals have been humanely culled and Temporary Control Zones have been put in place to prevent potential spread of disease by restricting movements of ruminant and camelid animals. Surveillance of susceptible animals and epidemiological assessments within these zones continue and we will review the need for the Zones when this is complete.
Keepers of ruminants and camelids in the Zones can apply for licences to move for most purposes, including for welfare, movements into and within the zones and direct to slaughter. We continue to work closely with industry representatives to ensure that keepers are kept up to date with developments and that issues and concerns are addressed promptly.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of regulations applying to winemakers.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra is currently reforming and implementing retained European Union wine legislation to boost the wine industry, allowing continued innovation and growth to the economy. Our first Statutory Instrument (SI) entered into force on 1 January 2024, and included labelling reforms to benefit importers and exporters, and removal of wine certification arrangements to reduce burdens. Our second SI was approved in Parliament on 17 January 2024, and will come into force in July 2024. This protected the specialist product “ice wine” and updated winemaking practices to enable wine producers to use the latest technological advancements. There are plans for further reforms in 2024, which will cover a wide range of topics including low and no wine and in-market transformation, which will free up industry through increased choice.
Asked by: Flick Drummond (Conservative - Meon Valley)
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 size of the populations of (a) nightingales, (b) turtle doves and (c) corn buntings; what steps he plans to take to protect those bird populations.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Avian Population Estimates Panel (made-up of representatives from the main bird conservation organisations and Government conservation agencies) estimates that the breeding populations for the three species are as follows:
Species | Population estimate (Number of breeding territories) |
GB | |
(a) Nightingale | 5,550 |
(b) Turtle dove | 3,600 |
(c) Corn bunting | 11,000 |
Agri-environmental schemes, such as the current Countryside Stewardship scheme, are the principal mechanism for supporting farm land birds, including these three species. The schemes deliver significant areas of habitat in England by providing suitable nesting and foraging conditions.
In addition, nightingales are an interest feature of a number of woodland Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in England, most notably the Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill SSSI which supports a nationally significant breeding population.
The turtle dove is the focus of a joint Natural England-RSPB Species Recovery Programme project for over ten years which has involved developing novel land management solutions for the species.