Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 changing the criteria of the proposed EPR fee tariff to a units-based metric.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is not considering the adoption of a units-based metric. In accordance with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, Extender Producer Responsibility disposal fees for packaging are calculated in £ per tonne of household packaging placed on the market. Producers report the packaging they supply on a weight basis, and the costs for managing different material types, such as glass, are apportioned according to relevant cost drivers for their collection and management, including the volume of the container in bins and collection vehicles. This ensures the fair apportionment of costs between material types in line with the regulations.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is considering an exemption to the new Extended Producer Responsibility for packing regulations for closed loop systems.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, which reform the UK’s producer responsibility system for packaging came into force on 1 January 2025. Extended Producer Responsibility is a major reform that will be iterated over several years to incentivise packaging producers to reduce their material footprint and use more recyclable packaging. We are considering further improvements to the scheme, including how to treat businesses which run closed loop recycling systems for packaging that is commonly collected by Local Authorities, and my officials are reviewing options to bring forward an offset for closed loop recycling systems at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support she is giving to gleaning organisations as a method to help reduce on-farm food waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food redistribution charities in England can apply for a new £15 million Government scheme to help get surplus food from farms to those in need.
Applications are welcome from the gleaning community before the deadline of 13 March 2025. More information about the fund and supporting guidance about how to apply can be found here on the Defra eCommercial System.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether extended producer responsibility will apply to sales from January 2024 or from April 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, a producer will only be liable for pEPR fees during assessment years that run from the 1 April to 31 March, if they meet the regulations definitions of a Producer on the 1 April, or any part of that assessment year.
Only when a producer meets these definitions in all or any part of assessment year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 will they be liable for pEPR fees. Packaging placed on the market data provided by a producer in the previous calendar year (2024) will be used to determine their share of pEPR fees during the assessment year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Natural England plans to reintroduce beavers into the wild in 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Defra are continuing to work with Natural England to develop our approach to beaver reintroductions and management in England. Further information on this will be published in due course.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 ensure the financial viability of National Landscapes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to empowering Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder, and more accessible to all. We understand the uncertainty around resourcing remains a challenge for Protected Landscapes bodies like National Landscapes. Defra business planning is ongoing and we will communicate the outcomes of this as soon as possible.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timetable is for proposed reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Welsh Government have concluded a six-week consultation on proposed reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, which closed on 23 December. In this consultation, we asked for responses to three core reforms and nine technical amendments and called for evidence on two wider reforms for potential future development. We encouraged all parties to respond to the consultation to ensure a balanced and representative response. A Government response, outlining next steps, will be issued in due course following the analysis of responses.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 review the use of exemptions within the Hunting Act 2004 for stag hunting.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans in a generation to improve animal welfare and that is exactly what we will do. The Government has already committed to a ban on trail hunting which will provide significant protections to wild animals including foxes and hares. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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) bring forward legislative proposals to (i) formally recognise, (ii) protect and (iii) otherwise support the management of Cornish hedges and (b) provide funding for such hedges in the form of (A)Sustainable Farming Incentives and (B) capital grants.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Certain hedgerows are protected from removal under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 if they meet specific criteria. The Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 introduced management rules into domestic legislation to protect hedgerows on land used for agriculture in England.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive was developed to recognise the large variety of locally and nationally important hedges and hedgerows we see across England. In 2023, the hedgerow offer was launched and expanded in 2024. This includes an offer to maintain earth banks or stone-faced hedge banks (BND2). Those with Cornish hedges will be eligible to apply for both offers to ensure their hedgerow is maintained. We will continue to review what additional policies may be required to protect and enhance the ecological and cultural value of hedges and hedgerows in England.
Grants have been made available to support Cornish hedges under the Capital Grants offer. In 2024 the scheme supported agreements to plant over 4,000 miles of new hedgerows across England, creating essential habitats for at-risk species of birds and mammals. In November, the Capital Grants scheme was closed to new agreements following unprecedented demand this Autumn. We are forecast to spend more on capital grants this year than ever before. We currently are reviewing the Capital Grants offer to ensure funding goes further to improve outcomes for food security and nature conservation and will provide an update in early 2025. We have allocated the largest ever budget for sustainable food production through the farming budget.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) hunting with hounds and (b) trail hunting on rural communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only.
The Government is committed to banning trail hunting as part of a wider drive to introduce ambitious plans to improve animal welfare. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and, to date, no assessment has been made on either the impact of hunting with hounds or trail hunting on rural communities.