Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support rural farmers.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are backing British farmers with £3.7bn of investment per year, including £620m per year for Scotland. This is ringfenced UK Government funding for farming to support profitable and sustainable food production and environmental and animal welfare outcomes.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department has collected on the (a) quantity, (b) type and (c) harmful effects of plastic pollution in the UK’s marine environments.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK collects data on the quantity and type of marine litter in our waters including on seafloor litter, floating litter and beach litter, following methodologies agreed through the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) Convention’s monitoring and assessment programmes. Data is available through the Marine Online Assessment Tool: https://moat.cefas.co.uk/
We fund and conduct research to improve our understanding of the impacts of plastic pollution in the marine environment. This includes an evidence review published in February 2020 which covers the impacts of marine plastic pollution, including microplastics, on marine life. This can be accessed at:
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What plans he has to support the livelihood of English and Welsh upland farmers in the event that the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
Leaving the EU presents a major opportunity for us to design new policies which are based on public money for public goods. Traditional upland landscapes provide many environmental and cultural benefits which we value. The Government is looking at the implications of proposed policy changes and will consult before the introduction of the Agriculture Bill.