Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 Answer of 5 July 2023 to Question 191886 on Animal Welfare: Veterinary Services, what the outcome was of the workforce modelling across the veterinary sector undertaken by the Royal Colleague of Veterinary Surgeons; and how many qualified vets will be needed by 2028 to respond to animal welfare issues.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ (RCVS) workforce modelling of the veterinary sector is ongoing and will be published in due course. This workforce modelling will explore future veterinary capacity required to deliver on animal welfare and public health commitments.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will continue to support the vital work of the veterinary profession and works closely with the RCVS.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made towards reducing PFAS emissions through UK REACH restrictions; and what assessment she has made of the impact of restrictions on PFAS in fire-fighting foams on levels of those emissions.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 4 April 2023, we welcomed the HSE’s publication of the PFAS Regulatory Management Options Analysis (RMOA), which represents a significant milestone in the UK’s efforts to protect people and the environment. One of the RMOA’s recommendations, which Defra ministers have accepted, was that work be progressed to reduce PFAS emissions by developing UK REACH restrictions, beginning with a restriction on PFAS in fire-fighting foams, and by exploring further restrictions covering a wide range of industrial and consumer uses. These actions form part of the commitments made within the Plan for Water published in April last year.
Work has begun to scope out the restriction on PFAS in firefighting foams as well as potential further restrictions on other uses of PFAS. The Environment Agency has launched a study collecting further information on dispersive uses of PFAS (other than fire-fighting foams), alternatives to PFAS and other information that could be used to assess the impacts of a potential UK REACH restriction of certain PFAS uses.
We will share further details in upcoming UK REACH Work Programmes.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 implications for his policies of trends in the volume of food waste reported by businesses in the last three years.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to tackling food waste both in the home and across the supply chain and we are working towards eliminating all food waste being sent to landfill by 2030.
This year more than £2 million will be spent on a food waste prevention programme delivered by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) which includes working with businesses to measure, report and take action on reducing their food waste. Latest data from WRAP shows that between 2018-21 retail food waste fell by 8.5% and manufacturing food waste fell by 9.2%. Furthermore, in line with the commitment in the Net Zero Strategy, we are exploring options for the near elimination of municipal biodegradable waste, including food waste, to landfill from 2028. We issued a call for evidence on 26 May 2023 to support detailed policy development. A Government Response to this call for evidence and further information will be published in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 proportion of farming land that will be organic by the end of 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government supports the development of organic farming through both Countryside Stewardship and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). These schemes reward farmers for farming practices that help produce food sustainably and protect the environment. Farmers are able to choose from a range of standards which are suitable for their farms. We continue to work with organic farmers to understand how their farming practices might match the standards, including at higher levels of ambition.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 hold discussions with the Forestry Commission on promoting woodland creation.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Woodland creation is regularly discussed between the Forestry Commission and the Forestry Minister on behalf of the Secretary of State.
The Forestry Commission continues to keep Defra ministers up to date on the progress of woodland creation. Defra and Forestry Commission officials meet regularly to coordinate efforts to promote the creation of woodlands, supporting schemes such as the Forestry Commission’s flagship England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO).
EWCO and Woodland Creation Planning Grant will transition to become part of the Countryside Stewardship scheme – one of the new environmental land management schemes. The future Countryside Stewardship woodland creation offer will largely mirror the EWCO offer.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on the Digital Assistance Scheme.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The total spend to date (as at 31 October 2023) by Defra on the Digital Assistance Scheme has been £42.33 million. The breakdown is below:
Type of Spend | FY 2020-21 £m | FY 2021-22 £m | FY 2022-23 £m | FY 2023-24* £m | Total |
DAS Programme and Staff Costs | 0.25 | 5.94 | 12.2 | 3.1 | 21.49 |
DAS Capital Costs | 3.2 | 7.79 | 4.4 | 5.45 | 20.84 |
Total | 3.45 | 13.73 | 16.6 | 8.55 | 42.33 |
*Spend to October 2023
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 hold discussions with the RSPCA on possible changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State always considers representations from stakeholders, including the RSPCA.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 support charities that engage in food waste reduction programmes.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Over £2m will be spent this year with the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a charity that helps business and citizens to waste less.
Included in this work is the development, provision of, and roll out of advice, best practice and guidance to help the supply chain redistribute more surplus food to the charitable sector.
Redistribution charities continue to benefit from the increased capacity and capability from the £13m that has spent since 2018 on infrastructure such as warehousing, vehicles, fridges and freezers.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled Review of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013, published on 2 February 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Veterinary medicines play a vital role in protecting our animals’ health and welfare. Defra is updating the Veterinary Medicines Regulations in respect of Great Britain, to ensure the Regulations continue to be fit for purpose, and we consulted on these changes earlier this year. We are finalising the response to the consultation, where we will set out the changes we are taking forward. We are aware that there is significant interest in our proposed changes and we are taking our time to make sure we get it right.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the Independent review into labour shortages in the food supply chain, published 30 June 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government is currently considering the 10 recommendations from the Independent Review into Labour Shortages and intends to publish a Government Response shortly.