Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff 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 protect tigers by (a) helping to curtail the illegal international trade in tiger body parts and (b) promoting UK conservation expertise to countries with remaining tiger populations.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The UK is investing £36 million between 2014 and 2021 to counter the illegal wildlife trade, including work to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement and ensure effective legal frameworks and develop sustainable livelihoods.
The UK has funded work to help CITES review implementation of its Resolution on the conservation of and trade in tigers and other Appendix-I Asian big cats. The UK’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund is supporting several projects featuring tigers, including work in Sumatra tackling illegal wildlife trade across two globally important tiger landscapes and in South East Asia strengthening enforcement.
Institutions such as the Natural History Museum, the Royal Botanic Gardens Research Councils and many British universities are actively engaged in promoting UK conservation expertise globally. This is supported by UK government programmes promoting protection of biodiversity, including the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund and Darwin Initiative.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
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 banning the commercial (a) internal trade and (b) import and export of tigers that have been bred in captivity after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The UK has stricter measures in place for tigers than those required by the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations and by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Applications for import or export of live captive bred tigers are considered on a case by case basis and need to include full details of the destination and intended use of the animal. The sale of live captive bred tigers in the UK is only permitted where the specimens are to be used for conservation purposes.
These strict measures will continue when the UK leaves the EU.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on (a) the country under which vessels fishing in UK waters are flagged and (b) the proportion of those vessels (i) under 24 metres and (ii) covered by The Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Fishing Vessels.
Answered by George Eustice
Of the UK vessels registered as at 1st January 2018, 96% were under 24 metres and 85% under 15 metres and thus subject to the Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Fishing Vessels. Data for non-UK vessels is incomplete.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what impact assessment his Department has undertaken on the consequences to the UK in the event that global temperature rises are not kept within the limits of climate accords.
Answered by David Rutley
Defra publishes a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) every five years which reviews risks and opportunities associated with current and potential future climate change. The most recent CCRA was published in January 2017 and considered a range of scenarios, including global warming of 2⁰C and 4⁰C. The next CCRA will be published in early 2022.
At the end of this month we will release updated UK and global climate projections (UKCP18). These will be available for use by all decision makers to help them build resilience to climate change into their plans, and will form an important part of the evidence base informing the next CCRA.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to review its policy on the tethering of horses, donkeys, ponies and their hybrids; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of (a) making guidance on tethering enforceable by Environmental Officers, (b) introducing a time-limit on tethering and (c) making it an offence to tether an animal in a location that poses a danger to the animal or the public.
Answered by David Rutley
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) it is an offence to fail to provide for an animal’s welfare or to cause it any unnecessary suffering. The 2006 Act is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids (the Code). The Code provides owners and keepers with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their horses and includes a specific section on how to tether a horse. Local authorities have powers under the 2006 Act to investigate allegations of cruelty or poor welfare. In addition, welfare organisations such as the RPSCA and World Horse Welfare (WHW) may also investigate such matters. If anyone is concerned about the way a horse has been tethered they should report the matter either to the relevant local authority or to the RSPCA or WHW who can investigate.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the UK has put forward for continuing co-operation with the EU on monitoring avian influenza in wild birds and domestic poultry.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK is committed to an ongoing programme of surveillance and monitoring for avian influenza in poultry and wild birds, and will continue to publish the findings on GOV.UK and share information with European and international organisations.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to use quantitative metrics based on (a) gross amount of stockpiled food, (b) total amount of food relative to weekly consumption or (c) another measure to define what is an adequate supply of food in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to securing the best deal for the food, fishery and farming sectors, whilst ensuring that consumers continue to have a wide range of choice of food products at affordable prices.
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from third countries. This will continue to be the case as we leave the EU.
While we are making sensible preparations for all eventualities as we leave the EU, there are no plans to stockpile food.
The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry on food supply chain issues and we will be using these to support preparations for leaving the EU.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to ensure that stockpiled food is not rapidly depleted by panic buying in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to securing the best deal for the food, fishery and farming sectors, whilst ensuring that consumers continue to have a wide range of choice of food products at affordable prices.
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from third countries. This will continue to be the case as we leave the EU.
While we are making sensible preparations for all eventualities as we leave the EU, there are no plans to stockpile food.
The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry on food supply chain issues and we will be using these to support preparations for leaving the EU.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with retailers on plans to stockpile food to ensure an adequate food supply in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to securing the best deal for the food, fishery and farming sectors, whilst ensuring that consumers continue to have a wide range of choice of food products at affordable prices.
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from third countries. This will continue to be the case as we leave the EU.
While we are making sensible preparations for all eventualities as we leave the EU, there are no plans to stockpile food.
The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry on food supply chain issues and we will be using these to support preparations for leaving the EU.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff 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 amount of food that will have to be stockpiled by (a) retailers and (b) the Government to ensure an adequate food supply in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to securing the best deal for the food, fishery and farming sectors, whilst ensuring that consumers continue to have a wide range of choice of food products at affordable prices.
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from third countries. This will continue to be the case as we leave the EU.
While we are making sensible preparations for all eventualities as we leave the EU, there are no plans to stockpile food.
The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry on food supply chain issues and we will be using these to support preparations for leaving the EU.