Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
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 (a) make an estimate of the level of rapeseed imports in each year since 2013 and (b) commission research on the potential impact of restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids on the level of rapeseed imports.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The details requested for imports of oilseed rape dated back to 2013 can be seen in the below table. These are published annually by Government in Agriculture in the United Kingdom, the data set can be found under Table 7.5 Oilseed rape production, value, supply and use.
Units 1,000 tonnes
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Total imports | 117 | 87 | 87 | 63 | 345 | 206 | 354 | 503 | 926 | 811 |
Oilseeds are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability. Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to respond to market developments, suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy including pest and disease management.
Together with the devolved administrations, Defra has established the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) to monitor and assess the impact of market developments across the UK. It monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Low Pay Commission on the level of the national living wage in 2024-25.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The National Minimum Wage and National Living Wages rates for all eligible workers, including those in agriculture, are set by the Government, based on the advice of an independent advisory group, the Low Pay Commission.
Recruitment and retention of agricultural workers, of which wages are one element, were considered in the independent review of labour shortages in the food supply chain which the Government commissioned in 2022. The review focussed on farming, processing, and food and drink manufacturing as sectors that are critical for food production and food security. The final report was published on 30 June 2023, and the Government Response will follow shortly.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
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 impact of delaying implementation of the forthcoming ban on peat until 2030 on the horticultural sector.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government remains committed to legislating for a ban on the sale of peat as soon as parliamentary time allows. In the professional sector, our proposals include restrictions on the sale of peat from 2026 with a full ban from 2030. We are currently updating our economic Impact Assessment to reflect this.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to provide guidance to local authorities on the control of ragwort.
Answered by Mark Spencer
There are no plans to issue Local Authorities with guidance. The Government Code of Practice on How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort supports the public by providing guidance on the most appropriate means of ragwort control, taking into account both animal welfare and environmental considerations.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on her Department's 25 year plan to eradicate bovine tuberculosis.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra is driving forward an ambitious strategy to eradicate bovine TB in England, which includes a range of evidence-led interventions to tackle the disease in both cattle and wildlife.
Our comprehensive strategy includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, introducing new help for herd owners to improve biosecurity measures on farms and to help manage down the risk of bringing the disease into their herds., and supporting the deployment of badger vaccination Working with our TB Partnership stakeholder group, we’re currently developing a policy proposal for a targeted approach to future wildlife control increasing local ownership in delivering TB against a holistic strategy. This will include a provision for culling in the worst affected areas and where the epidemiological evidence points to an ongoing role of badgers in the disease.
Developing new and better tools is an important part of our programme of work. We continue to fund major research, including on cattle vaccination and improved diagnostics. That funding has already resulted in a major breakthrough by APHA in developing a test that can differentiate TB-infected among vaccinated cattle (a DIVA test). World-leading BCG vaccination trials in cattle began in England and Wales in June 2021. Our aim is to have a deployable TB vaccine for cattle within the next few years.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on developing a vaccine for cattle against Bovine Tuberculosis.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Developing a deployable cattle vaccine is one of the Government’s top priorities.
Defra aims to have a deployable cattle TB vaccine (CattleBCG) in the next few years. In 2021, world-leading cattle TB vaccination field trials began as a result of a
major breakthrough by government scientists on the development of a new DIVA
skin test to Detect Infected among Vaccinated Animals.
The UK is closer to being able to vaccinate cattle across England and Wales than we have ever been before but there is still a lot of work to do. Deployment relies on the success of the field trials, achieving Marketing Authorisations from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (for both CattleBCG and the new DIVA skin test), gaining international recognition for both products, an IT system to record and trace vaccinates and acceptance of vaccination from across the range of stakeholders.
Close partnership working with industry is also an essential component of the TB vaccine programme. A Government-industry working group has been established to co-design initial deployment policy proposals. These proposals will then be further developed with wider stakeholders before going to public consultation.
Vaccinating cattle against TB will be a valuable addition to the measures available to achieve bovine TB eradication but will not replace existing control measures. Maintaining biosecurity measures on farm, avoiding risky movements of cattle, and complying with TB testing protocols remain as important as ever in the fight against bovine TB.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to announce the eligible communities for the Frequently Flooded Allowance.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In July 2022 the Government announced the £100 million Frequently Flooded Allowance to support communities that have experienced repeated flooding. The allowance will help schemes that already qualify for Defra’s Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid funding under the current capital programme but have not been able to secure all the funding necessary to progress their scheme. The Secretary of State has written to all MPs with successful bids in their constituencies. Further details will be set out next week.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to increase the resources of the Animal and Plant Health Agency to (a) identify outbreaks of and (b) undertake virus survivability research on avian influenza.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) leads the Government’s action on animal disease control and during any significant avian influenza outbreak, APHA’s resource capacity and capability are kept under close review. APHA have outbreak response and contingency plans in place, these include measures to contract companies to support eradication and cover such matters as the deployment of non-Government vets and experts in culling and disposal of birds. APHA also works closely with other agencies from within the Defra group to provide additional capacity.
Alongside the Government's continued investment in the Avian Influenza National Reference Laboratory and APHA's Weybridge site, earlier this year an eight-strong consortium 'FluMap' led by APHA and funded by Defra and the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council was launched that received £1.5 million in funding to develop new strategies to tackle avian influenza outbreaks.
This year long research project will help build our understanding in a number of key areas, including why the current virus strains have formed larger and longer outbreaks, transmission and infection in different bird populations, the ability for the virus to survive in the environment and the impact environmental persistence may have on transmission to both wild and/or kept birds. The Government is committed to the strongest possible standards of protection against animal diseases. Defra continues to invest in avian influenza research, and we continue to monitor the current situation both in Europe and globally, as well as the effectiveness of any disease control measures taken.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to amend the system for compensating businesses affected by avian influenza in the next 12 months.
Answered by Mark Spencer
To help producers deal with the impacts of the UK’s worst ever avian influenza outbreak on 28 October 2022, Defra announced a new package of measures to support domestic producers with the impacts of avian influenza. This included changes to the compensation scheme allowing compensation to be paid to farmers from the outset of planned culling rather than at the end. This will give earlier certainty about entitlement to compensation, better reflect the impact of outbreaks on premises and lead to swifter payments to help stem any cash flow pressures. Compensation is paid for birds culled by HM Government for avian influenza disease control purposes is designed to promote prompt reporting of suspicion of disease and is only payable for healthy birds as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981. In addition, in consultation with the Food Standards Agency, Defra announced a relaxation to marketing rules to give farmers who rear turkeys and other seasonal poultry products the option to slaughter birds early, to freeze them and then sell them to consumers defrosted between the period 28 November and 31 December 2022. The Welsh Government announced a similar concession on 3 November as did the Scottish Government via legislation on 28 November. This was introduced to help businesses get their birds off the ground early to avoid losing flocks to avian influenza, and to help them plan ahead for Christmas and ensure the supply of turkeys. Defra will continue to review policy options to support the poultry sector.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to help eradicate bovine tuberculosis; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra is driving forward an ambitious strategy to eradicate bovine TB in England which includes a range of evidence-led interventions to tackle the disease in both cattle and wildlife.
Our comprehensive strategy includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, introducing new help for herd owners to improve biosecurity measures on farms and to help manage down the risk of bringing the disease into their herds and supporting the deployment of badger vaccination.
Developing new and better tools is an important part of our programme of work. We continue to fund major research, including on cattle vaccination and improved diagnostics. That funding has already resulted in a major breakthrough by APHA in developing a test that can differentiate TB-infected among vaccinated cattle (a DIVA test). World-leading BCG vaccination trials in cattle began in England and Wales in June 2021. Our aim is to have a deployable TB vaccine for cattle within the next 5 years.