Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 ensure that false marketing of fresh, wholegrain, artisan and sourdough bread will be prohibited by law in order to protect the customer and prevent SME Real Bread bakeries from being undercut by large manufacturers using such descriptors to market fundamentally different products.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Consumers are already protected from false and misleading marketing by both general consumer protection law and specifically by food information law. The rules on the provision of food information to consumers, taken together with requirements on the control of additives in food production, ensure that food is produced safely and labelled effectively in order for consumers to make informed choices on the food they buy and consume.
Bakers, including traditional and artisan bakers of high-quality bread, have the ability to effectively market their products on their own merits and legislation supports such marketing so long as it is not misleading. Any information provided with food, whether in words, pictures or symbols, must not be misleading to consumers.
Officials have had extensive discussions with the Real Bread Campaign over a number of years, have taken their views fully into account and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the proposed date is to reinstate the General Licence for Gatherings to permit the return of pigeon racing.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The ban on gatherings for birds remains in place. No date for lifting the ban has yet been set.
The general licence for bird gatherings was suspended on 11 November 2020. This followed the first case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in England in 2020 and the risk assessment which concluded that the likelihood of the presence of infection in wild waterfowl had increased to high and the likelihood that poultry would be exposed to disease to be medium.
The risk assessment also found that the likelihood of disease introduction through gatherings was increased because of the cumulative risk relating to multiple places of origin of the birds attending and that the impact of an introduction of infection to poultry because of gatherings could be very severe. The ban is regularly reviewed, including whether gatherings of bird species of lower risk, such as pigeons, might be permitted before allowing gatherings of higher risk species such as ducks and geese.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the seven participating supermarkets in the priority delivery slots scheme on reducing minimum spends on deliveries for people using those slots so that they are not penalised financially for following official guidance to stay at home.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra is continuing to hold regular conversations with each of the seven supermarkets participating in the priority access to online deliveries offer: Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. The department uses these meetings as an opportunity to convey any concerns raised by charities or local authorities around topics such as delivery charges and minimum spends. Although Defra cannot legally dictate the delivery costs and minimum spends applied by supermarkets, our regular conversations ensure that supermarkets understand the impact that delivery charges and minimum spends can have in preventing a clinically extremely vulnerable person from being able to access food.
Alongside encouraging supermarkets to seriously consider the impact delivery charges and minimum spends can have on clinically extremely vulnerable people, the department also monitors delivery charges and minimum spends and circulates this information to local authorities to allow them to advise their residents accordingly.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to end all sewage discharges into UK bathing waters by 2030.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
During periods of significant rainfall, untreated sewage diluted by rainwater will discharge through storm overflows to prevent streets, premises and sewage treatment plants from being flooded. Storm overflows are a last resort in modern sewer design, but the age of our sewerage systems means their complete elimination is not practicable or affordable.
However, I recognise that there is more to do with regard to the management of sewage pollution. To achieve this, I have set up a new Taskforce bringing together government, the water industry, regulators and environmental NGOs to work urgently on options to tackle this issue.
As announced on 22 January, this Taskforce has agreed a long-term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows. Water companies have also agreed to make real-time data on sewage discharges available at bathing sites all year round. This data will be made available to help surfers, swimmers and other recreational water users to check the latest information and make informed choices on where to swim.
We recognise there is more that needs to be done beyond providing more and better information, and so we will continue to work with the industry to reduce frequency and harm of discharges from storm overflows.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 potential merits of the request made to his Department by the PCS union under Regulation 9 of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 to form a building-wide health and safety committee for 2 Marsham Street.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Consideration has been given to the request made to Defra by the PCS union to form a building-wide health and safety committee for 2 Marsham Street. For the purposes of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 health and safety remains a delegated matter for which each individual departmental employer is responsible.
However, in recognition of Defra’s responsibilities for cooperation and coordination with other employers in shared workplaces, Defra is supportive of trade union health and safety representatives joining the existing 2 Marsham Street joint “House Committee”. We consider this to be a positive step forward in the interest of constructive trade union dialogue in relation to the spaces that are shared between the separate employers based in the building.
I understand that other departments who occupy 2 Marsham Street are also supportive of this approach and the Home Office, who are the lead occupier at 2 Marsham Street, will be working with PCS to take this forward on behalf of all occupants.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of penalties for fly-tipping in reducing the occurance of that offence.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fly-tipping is an unacceptable blight on local communities and the environment, and in its manifesto, the Government committed to increase the penalties for fly-tipping.
Local authorities have a range of powers available to tackle fly-tipping. These include the power to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to £400 for fly-tipping offences, including to those caught fly-tipping and householders who pass their waste to a fly-tipper. Local authorities also have enhanced powers to search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. Recent figures showed that there were 76,000 fixed penalty notices issued by Local Authorities in 2018/19, up by 11% from 2017/18.
Local authorities also have the ability to take those accused of fly-tipping to court. If a prosecution is successful, then a fly-tipper can receive a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment if convicted in a Magistrates' Court, or an unlimited fine and up to 5 years imprisonment if convicted in a Crown Court. Local authorities carried out a total of 2,397 prosecutions for fly-tipping offences in England in 2018/19, an increase of 7% on 2017/18. The value of total fines increased by 29% to £1,090,000 compared to 2017/18. The success rates for prosecution actions against fly-tipping are consistently above 95% and have been since records began in 2007/08.
The Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) published in December 2018 includes a number of commitments to improve sentencing of fly-tippers, including working with the Sentencing Council to increase magistrates’ awareness of the prevalence and importance of waste crime; helping local authorities improve the quality of cases; and ensuring the Environmental Offences Definitive guideline is kept up to date and magistrates are effectively trained on it. Defra will continue this work to help to secure tougher penalties in line with our manifesto commitment.
The Environment Bill also delivers commitments set out in the RWS. The Bill amends the Environment Act 1995 to make it easier for enforcing officers to search premises to seize evidence. Additionally, the Bill ensures that FPN levels can be revised as needed to keep them at an adequate level to be an effective and proportionate enforcement tool for local authorities.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 13 February 2020 to Question 14705 on Cremation, when the next process guidance review for crematoria will take place.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Crematoria process guidance was last reviewed in 2012. In line with the Government ambition to review process guidance notes every 6-8 years it is due to be reviewed shortly.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 take steps to prohibit the opening of any new crematorium that is not fitted with DENOx Technology used to reduce the release of toxic nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All crematoria are required to have an environmental permit in accordance with standards set out in the relevant statutory Process Guidance Note (PGN). The PGN contains guidance on how crematoria can reduce nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide during the cremation process.
PGNs are reviewed on a cyclical basis, as part of a collaborative approach with industry. When the PGN for Crematoria is next reviewed, we will take into account latest developments in best available abatement technologies and techniques for reducing NOx during the cremation process.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 introduce a requirement for all crematoriums to install DENOx Technology, to reduce the release of toxic nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, within the next 12 months.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All crematoria are required to have an environmental permit in accordance with standards set out in the relevant statutory Process Guidance Note (PGN). The PGN contains guidance on how crematoria can reduce nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide during the cremation process.
PGNs are reviewed on a cyclical basis, as part of a collaborative approach with industry. When the PGN for Crematoria is next reviewed, we will take into account latest developments in best available abatement technologies and techniques for reducing NOx during the cremation process.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 increase in the National Living wage announced by the Government on 31 December 2019, what discussions she is having with private sector companies undertaking facility management work for her Department to ensure that the cost of wage increases for their employees are not passed on to her Department.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra’s facilities management (FM) contract will not be affected by the announcement on 31 December 2019 of the increase in the National Minimum Wage. This is because we require, and the contract states, that the FM provider will pay the Foundation Living Wage which is already higher than the National Living Wage. As a result there is no need for a contract variation or engagement with the supplier on this subject.