Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hen harrier nesting attempts there were in England in 2020; how many of those nests were successful; what the known causes for nest failures were; and how many chicks were fledged.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In England in 2020 there were 24 hen harrier nesting attempts recorded. Nineteen of these were successful and 60 chicks have fledged.
Based on information held by Natural England, ten of these nesting attempts were on land where the RSPB had primary control over the access, with five of these being failed attempts.
There were a number of reasons for the five failed nests. One was thought to be predated by a fox, two were abandoned for unknown reasons and a further two nests may have failed due to the disappearance of a breeding male.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hen harrier nesting attempts in England in 2020 were located in areas where the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds had primary control over access; how many of those nests failed to have any chicks fledge; and what were the known causes of those nest failures.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In England in 2020 there were 24 hen harrier nesting attempts recorded. Nineteen of these were successful and 60 chicks have fledged.
Based on information held by Natural England, ten of these nesting attempts were on land where the RSPB had primary control over the access, with five of these being failed attempts.
There were a number of reasons for the five failed nests. One was thought to be predated by a fox, two were abandoned for unknown reasons and a further two nests may have failed due to the disappearance of a breeding male.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for individual licences were made in 2020 for the control of common pest and predatory corvids to conserve wildlife within European protected sites and 300m buffer zones; and how many of those have been granted.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England has received approximately 160 applications to control Corvid species on or close to European protected sites. To date, 26 of these applications have been granted, 8 rejected, with 126 still to be determined or have been withdrawn. For some applications, not all corvid species for which a licence has been requested have been granted.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to amend the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 after the transition period to increase the effectiveness of protections for vulnerable species and increase biodiversity.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 will be amended at the end of the Transition Period under powers in the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This will ensure that the regulatory framework in this area maintains existing environmental protections and that the UK continues to meet its international obligations.
We have no other plans to amend the Regulations.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment he has made of the merits of a risk-based approach to wildlife licensing compared to one based on the EU interpretation of the precautionary principle.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s policy on wildlife licensing already follows a risk-based approach. We believe that people should be free to manage wildlife within the law where they need to do so. Legislation provides statutory authorities with the parameters within which they may licence otherwise prohibited activities where there is a demonstrable need to do so. In taking a licensing decision the authorities balance a number of risks and issues before coming to a decision, involving taking a precautionary view of the risks where necessary in the circumstances.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
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 effect of restrictions imposed by Natural England on the ability of land managers to control the impact of gulls.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Herring and lesser black-backed gull populations have both declined in recent decades. An assessment carried out by Natural England (NE) has indicated that the scale of activity carried out under licences in recent years, were it to continue, would be above a sustainable level and would be likely to have a harmful impact on the population levels of both species. For this reason, it has been necessary to scale back the lethal control of these gull species.
In rural areas, where populations overall are known to be in decline, NE has set upper ‘safe’ number of birds that could be killed. Upper ‘safe’ levels have not been identified for lethal control in urban populations of gulls, as these are faring better.
Beyond a class licence for air safety, gull control is now via individual licence. In taking this decision, it was recognised that there would be an impact on the level of control particularly in rural areas, but this was considered necessary given the situation, so that licensed activity would need to be prioritised. NE considers the strength of need in each licence application individually but generally protecting human life and health is the overriding priority.
Any control to be undertaken under other purposes such as preventing serious damage and conserving wild birds and flora or fauna will need to be targeted. If applicants do not receive an individual licence, they may still be able to achieve some of their objectives by using alternative non-lethal measures.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to work with stakeholders to ensure that the wildlife licensing system is fit for purpose.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department is in the process of carrying out a review of General Licences for certain bird species. This has involved extensive stakeholder engagement including a public survey which generated over 4,400 responses and a series of workshops with licence users and other stakeholders. The resulting General Licences will draw on a detailed assessment of the scientific literature, identified user needs and stakeholder views and knowledge. To further help stakeholders we intend to allow time for them to familiarise themselves with the new licences before the changeover takes place.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Buckingham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the timely issuance of new general licences for the control of pest birds in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State granted general licences for the lethal control of certain wild birds in June 2019, which are valid until 29 February 2020. Since June 2019, Defra has been undertaking a review of these general licences, including a public survey which generated over 4,400 responses, a review of scientific evidence and a series of workshops with licence users and other stakeholders. The Secretary of State will make an announcement soon on licensing arrangements from 1 March.