Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
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 potential merits of using fines collected from water companies to support angling societies to replenish fish stocks.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Plan for Water, we announced the Water Restoration Fund which will channel environmental fines and penalties collected from water companies into projects that improve the water environment. The Fund will support a wide range of projects to improve the environment such as removing invasive non-native species; creating and restoring water-dependent habitats; removing barriers to enable fish and other species’ natural movement in rivers. Further details will be announced later in the year.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings (a) they and (b) other Ministers in their Department have had with the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser from (i) 1 December 2021 to 28 February 2022, (ii) 1 March to 31 May 2022 and (iii) 1 June to 31 August 2022.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra draws from a range of scientific advice and expertise. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings he had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser from (a) 1 March to 31 May 2021, (b) 1 June to 31 August 2021 and (c) 1 September to 30 November 2021.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Secretary of State attended 13 meetings with his Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) between 1 March 2021 and 31 May 2021; 11 meetings between 1 June 2021 and 31 August 2021; and 16 meetings between 1 September 2021 and 30 November 2021.
The Department’s junior Ministers also attend meetings with their CSA.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to his oral response to the Urgent Question from the hon. Member for Barnsley East of 8 February 2021, Official Report, column 37, on UK Shellfish Exports, what progress his Department has made on that matter; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
In 2019 correspondence between the UK CVO and the EU Commission, the Commission assured us that aquaculture Live Bivalve Molluscs (LBMs) for purification could be exported to the EU after the end of the Transition period. We understood that there would be a temporary export ban on wild harvested LBMs only, pending the introduction of new European Health Certificates (EHCs) in April 2021. The relevant correspondence was placed in the House of Commons library on 17 February. Following the end of the transition period, the Commission stated that LBMs from GB class B waters cannot be imported to the EU for purification. It is unacceptable that the Commission has changed its position regarding the export of live bivalve molluscs from Class B waters. There is no scientific or technical justification for this, and it is already impacting businesses on both sides of the channel. Defra intends to raise this issue through the SPS Committee under the TCA, now that the agreement has been ratified.
Defra officials have continued to engage with the Shellfish Association of Great Britain and individual businesses to understand the impacts of this issue and adaptation options. The number of businesses experiencing significant direct impacts is small, but those impacts are extensive. The UK Government provided up to £23m in early 2021 through the Seafood Response Scheme (SRF) and Seafood Disruption Support Scheme. The SRF provided fixed cost support for eligible seafood business across the UK. Some LBM businesses benefitted from grants of up to £10k. In addition, £32.7m was committed to replace previous European seafood funding across the UK. In England the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme launched in April 2021. This scheme is open to shellfish fishers, cultivators, and processors, including those wishing to invest in infrastructure to help them adapt to new markets.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has considered proposals from industry for changes to the process for classifying shellfish harvesting areas. The FSA agreed there was scope for improvement and, as a first step has reviewed its approach for Class A beds. The FSA is extending the criteria for excluding E. coli testing results that are uncharacteristically higher than those usually seen in an area. These changes will help ensure decisions affecting classification of harvesting areas are proportionate, provide appropriate levels of public health protection, and remain compliant with the legislation in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The FSA advises that there is no added risk to consumers from the changes. It has applied rigorous scientific evidence so public health will continue to be protected. In addition, the FSA has reviewed monitoring data for borderline Class B areas and, to date, 20 shellfish harvesting areas in England and Wales have been awarded Class A status for all or part of the year. These changes and updated classifications have the potential to impact a small number of individual harvesting areas and exports to the EU, illustrating the Government's commitment to support businesses while maintaining the existing high standards of consumer protection.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
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 performance of Urbaser Ltd in respect of (a) local authority refuse and recycling collections and (b) street cleaning.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has made no assessment of the performance of Urbaser Ltd or any other waste company in respect of local authority refuse and recycling collections or street cleaning.
Local councils are responsible for keeping their public land clear of litter and refuse. It is up to councils to decide how best to meet their statutory duty to keep their relevant land clear of litter and refuse.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser from (a) 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020, (b) 1 June 2020 to 31 August 2020, (c) 1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020 and (d) 1 December 2020 to 28 February 2021.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Secretary of State attended six meetings with his Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) between 1 March 2020 and 31 May 2020; 14 meetings between 1 June 2020 and 31 August 2020; 22 meetings between 1 September 2020 and 30 November 2020; and 12 meetings between 1 December 2020 and 28 February 2021.
The Department’s Junior Ministers also attend meetings with their CSA.
Asked by: Greg Clark (Conservative - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings (a) he and (b) his predecessor had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser (i) from 1 September to 30 November 2019 and (ii) from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The current Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been in post since 13 February 2020. Between 13 February and 29 February 2020, he attended one meeting with his Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA).
The previous Secretary of State attended one meeting with her CSA between 1 September and 30 November 2019, and two meetings between 1 December 2019 and 12 February 2020.
Between 1 September and 1 October 2019, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs did not have a CSA in post.
The Department’s Junior Ministers also attend meetings with their CSA.