Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
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 help prevent deforestation in (a) Brazil, (b) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (c) Indonesia.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra works alongside the Department for International Development and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to prevent deforestation overseas. Together, our three departments have committed to spending £5.8 billion in international climate finance (ICF) between 2016 and 2021, which includes programmes that aim to reduce emissions from deforestation and land use change. Since the ICF began in 2011, the UK has spent just over £800 million on forest and land use programmes, which includes projects that aim to reduce deforestation in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia.
For example, the UK has made a £118 million commitment to support forests and sustainable land use in Brazil, focused on State governments and creating new businesses. This includes Defra’s £64.9 million investment that aims to protect over 200,000 hectares of forest in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Cerrado regions and to support over 5,000 farmers to transition into low carbon sustainable agriculture.
Through its Blue Forests programme, Defra is investing £10.1 million, to reduce deforestation of mangroves habitats in Madagascar and Indonesia. The programme aims to protect around 20,000 hectares of mangrove forests; deliver around 13.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide savings and benefit over 100,000 people.
The UK has also invested £115 million in the BioCarbon Fund – Initiative for Sustainable Forested Landscapes which seeks to improve landscape management and reduce emissions from the forest and land use sector in countries including Indonesia, while promoting alternative livelihoods that help take the pressure off the country’s primary forests and peatlands.
The UK has also invested in the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Carbon Fund, which includes both Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UK’s share of payments through the Fund will be up to about £20 million, phased over several years, if Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo successfully preserve their forests and deliver verified emissions reductions.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
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 regulate animal rescue homes and centres.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government takes the welfare of pets very seriously. The Government is committed to banning the third party sale of puppies and kittens in England and the necessary secondary legislation will be laid before Parliament later in this session.
We recognise the concern that some unscrupulous breeders may consider setting up as rescue and rehoming centres, and we will provide guidance to local authorities to help them distinguish between genuine rescue and rehoming centres and other commercial operations.
In parallel we are working with stakeholders to understand the impact any licensing scheme would have on the sector. Further detail on the Government’s overall approach to the licensing of animal rescue and rehoming centres was set out in a Westminster Hall debate on animal rescue homes on 26 February 2019.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of dog attacks in each of the last five years involving breeds of dog not covered by the the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Answered by David Rutley
The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 covers all dogs by making it an offence to allow a dog (of any breed or type) to be dangerously out of control. The Office of National Statistics collect data on the number of people attacked by dogs that results in them being admitted to hospital. However, the data does not contain the breed or type of dog involved.
The Government wants to reduce the number of dog attacks and has begun a research project which will, among other things, include identifying and examining the risk factors and situations that may cause dog attacks. We anticipate findings from the research towards the end of this year.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of best before dates on eggs.
Answered by David Rutley
Regulation (EC) No 589/2008, which lays down marketing standards for eggs, requires raw, shell eggs to be marked with a best before date which should be no more than 28 days after laying. Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, which lays down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, requires eggs to be sold within 21 days of laying.
‘Best before’ is used on most foods, to indicate that the quality of the food may not be at its best after that date has expired. It is not an indication of safety and, where safe to do so, food may continue to be sold and used after this date. Good use of these indications, in line with recent Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) guidance, will ensure that consumers will be able to make the best use of food and reduce waste.
Food labelling will be reviewed following EU Exit to ensure continued consumer confidence in the food they buy.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
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 reduce the amount of food wasted by (a) consumers, (b) supermarkets and (c) restaurants.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
In December last year, the Government launched its Resources and Waste Strategy which sets out a new approach to address food waste from farm to fork.
Last autumn, the Secretary of State announced a new pilot scheme to reduce food waste, supported by a £15 million fund, specifically addressing surplus food from retail and manufacturing. The first £5 million round of funding is currently being allocated to food redistribution organisations. The Government has also appointed Ben Elliot as the food waste champion who will work with business leaders including from restaurants and supermarkets to tackle food waste.
The strategy also sets out how the Government will consult on annual reporting of food surplus and waste by food businesses and support cross-sector collaboration through the Courtauld 2025 agreement, affecting both supermarkets and restaurants.
In addition the Government:
(a) called on food businesses, local authorities and the third and public sectors to actively support the development and use of the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s national messaging to promote food waste prevention among citizens, and to play an active part in piloting interventions and in scaling up those pilots which prove most successful;
(b) published key industry guidance and best practice on food waste for retail and food businesses. In the autumn, a transparent survey will be published which reports progress; and
(c) will produce guidance for the hospitality sector including best practice examples such as offering a range of portion sizes and a take-home service for leftovers.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of marine plastic pollution.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Government has not made an estimate of the costs to the public purse of marine plastic pollution, but last week scientists from Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the Arctic University of Norway, the University of Stirling and the University of Surrey estimated an annual loss of between $500 billion and $2.5 trillion in the value of benefits derived from marine ecosystem services globally. This is a first step in understanding the true cost of marine plastic pollution, and we are developing the evidence base as part of our wider developments in marine natural capital evidence.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of longer sentences for people found guilty of puppy smuggling.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government has zero tolerance for unscrupulous dealers and breeders who abuse the Pet Travel Scheme to traffic underage puppies into the UK. This is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to the smuggled dogs and puts the health of pets and people in the UK at risk. Defra is working hard to tackle the problem through a comprehensive approach that seeks to target both the supply and demand of illegally imported dogs. This approach includes international engagement, enforcement, public communications and tighter regulation.
We are considering a number of options for improved enforcement as part of a long term strategy for pet travel. This includes the possibility of introducing Fixed Penalty Notices.
We are committed to the highest standards of animal welfare and the Government has announced that it will increase the maximum custodial penalty for animal cruelty from 6 months to 5 years imprisonment as soon as Parliamentary time allows. This will help deter those motivated to traffic underage puppies into the UK at the expense of their welfare.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of flood defences in the West Midlands.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Environment Agency (EA) and its partner Risk Management Authorities continually assess the adequacy of flood defences across the West Midlands. This includes developing future schemes, maintaining existing assets and operating equipment in response to current flood risk.
The EA asset maintenance programme covers over 3,600 assets in the West Midlands, including barriers, embankments, trash screens and pumps. These assets are all maintained on an annual cycle to ensure their good condition and operational effectiveness at the cost of £3.2 million for 2018/19. 16,906 inspections have been completed on these assets so far in the financial year 2018/19.
As part of the planning and development of new schemes, the EA oversees a programme to efficiently fund, design and build schemes. This currently includes investigating the potential for flood schemes at Binley Road and The Riddings, Earlsdon, in Coventry.
Many assets, equipment and staff are currently in operation at numerous locations across the West Midlands protecting communities and the wider economy from the impacts of flooding.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths that can be attributed to poor air quality in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK in each year since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The latest advice from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, published in August last year, is that the mortality burden of the air pollution mixture (based on both PM2.5 and NO2) in the UK is equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths per year. Mortality burden is a statistical way of assessing the impact of diseases and pollution. The equivalent figures at a more localised level are not available. Public Health England has, however, estimated the fraction of adult mortality attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution at local authority level in the Public Health Outcomes Framework, available to view and search online at: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-framework.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
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 representatives of the farming industry on the food standards element of a future trade deal with the US.
Answered by David Rutley
Ministers and officials meet regularly with representatives of the farming industry to discuss the UK’s departure from the EU and future trade opportunities. We have been clear that any future trade agreements must work for consumers, farmers, and businesses in the UK. We will maintain our standards on food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection as part of any future trade deals.