Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish its response to its consultation on Amending the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998, which closed on 23 November 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We received 369 responses to this consultation from a wide range of stakeholders. We have been carefully analysing those detailed responses, while also discussing with the devolved administrations the best approach to consistent and effective policy implementation across the UK. We expect to publish a summary of responses and Government response later this summer, concurrent with any necessary notification to the WTO.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 introduce a new single water affordability scheme for England and Wales as recommended by Consumer Council for Water’s independent review of water affordability.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 February 2023 to the hon. Member for Blaydon, PQ 135453.
Water is a devolved matter and therefore it is for the Senedd to decide how best they can support Welsh water consumers, not Defra.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of (a) ordinary and (b) named-day written questions their Department answered on time in 2022.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence, and officials seek to provide the highest level of service.
All departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.
To complement the work of the Parliamentary Capability Team, Defra provides tailored training and advice for Defra staff specific to PQs and correspondence to drive up the quality and timeliness of our responses.
Response rates for 2022 are in the table below:
Question type | Due for answer | Answered on time | Percentage |
Named Day | 835 | 494 | 59% |
Ordinary Written | 1944 | 1213 | 62% |
Total | 2779 | 1707 | 61% |
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on UK carbon emissions of switching from diesel to hydrogenated vegetable oil as a transition fuel for industrial machinery.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra has made no such assessment and is not taking steps to incentivise this switch.
The supply of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as a fuel in road transport and in non-road mobile machinery is supported under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme. In 2021 HVO biodiesel supplied under the RTFO provided an average 89% greenhouse gas emissions saving compared to diesel. No data is gathered on the split between road vehicle and other end uses covered by the RTFO. It is also worth noting that the carbon reduction benefits of biofuels will vary depending on how they are produced. In 2021 the vast majority of HVO supplied was produced from used cooking oil. The average carbon reductions of some crop-based biofuels are significantly lower.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to incentivise switching from diesel to hydrogenated vegetable oil as a transition fuel for industrial machinery.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra has made no such assessment and is not taking steps to incentivise this switch.
The supply of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as a fuel in road transport and in non-road mobile machinery is supported under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) certificate trading scheme. In 2021 HVO biodiesel supplied under the RTFO provided an average 89% greenhouse gas emissions saving compared to diesel. No data is gathered on the split between road vehicle and other end uses covered by the RTFO. It is also worth noting that the carbon reduction benefits of biofuels will vary depending on how they are produced. In 2021 the vast majority of HVO supplied was produced from used cooking oil. The average carbon reductions of some crop-based biofuels are significantly lower.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy the potential merits of including the restoration of saltmarshes for blue carbon in the Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Nature-based solutions, including blue carbon habitats such as saltmarsh, have an important role to play in preventing biodiversity loss and supporting adaptation and resilience to climate change, alongside their carbon sequestration benefits. In the UK, there are currently significant evidence gaps that prevent the accurate reporting and therefore inclusion of emissions from coastal wetland habitats, including saltmarsh, into the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, UK Administrations are working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Defra to address key research questions relating to blue carbon, including to support the potential future inclusion of saltmarsh within the inventory. The first aim of the Partnership has been to identify and then clearly set out the most pressing research questions relating to blue carbon in an Evidence Needs Statement that will act as a signal to the research community. The UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership plans to publish the Evidence Needs Statement in spring 2023.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence, and officials seek to provide the highest level of service.
All departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.
To complement the work of the Parliamentary Capability Team, Defra provides tailored training and advice for Defra staff specific to PQs and correspondence to drive up the quality and timeliness of our responses.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for the publication of the findings of the cross-Administration UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, UK Administrations are working with BEIS and Defra to address key research questions relating to our policy on blue carbon. One of the first aims of the Partnership has been to identify and then clearly set out the most pressing research questions relating to blue carbon within an Evidence Needs Statement that will act as a signal to the research community. The UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership plans to publish the Evidence Needs Statement in Spring 2023.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 rising costs of Packaging Recovery Notes on businesses, and if he will implement a cap on PRNs.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We are aware that prices of PRN/PERNs have increased in recent months, in particular prices for glass PRN/PERNs. We have regular engagement with industry, through our Advisory Committee, and with the regulators to understand if there are any issues within the market and the likely impact on business.
The UK operates a market-based mechanism to support the provision of evidence to show compliance with producers’ recycling obligations. Price fluctuations are a feature of any market system. Higher prices usually result from supply side issues, which in turn encourage increased activity by operators in the market, thereby increasing the level of reprocessing and reducing PRN prices. We will continue to keep the matter under review, but currently have no plans to intervene in the market and to cap PRN prices.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 prevent potential food shortages.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response, the UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production, as well as imports through stable trade routes.
The Government will shortly be publishing a food strategy. This will address food security, and the importance of international resilience and open markets, but also the importance of domestic production and how that contributes to our resilience. It will also address the role of the food industry in our levelling up agenda.
In England, our new farming schemes are supporting farmers to improve profitability and productivity.
We have increased the Farming Investment Fund for small technology grants from £17 million to more than £48 million, supporting thousands of farmers with their investment plans this year.
Food production and environmental protection must go hand in hand. For the first time we will be safeguarding the assets that support domestic food production, by taking the health of our soils as seriously as the size of our yields.
Food security rests not just on maximising domestic production (which is market driven), but on making best use of land types and good farming practices. Our schemes will ensure our long-term food security by investing in the foundations of food production: healthy soil, water, and biodiverse ecosystems.
Finally, the Government has also set out a legal obligation to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. It recognised the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience, and the importance of strong domestic production to our food security. This report serves as an evidence base for policy work, safeguarding food security in the UK for years to come.