Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have occurred or proceedings commenced as the result of seizure of illegally imported puppies taken into Dogs Trust's care via its puppy pilot quarantine scheme since the start of that initiative.
Answered by George Eustice
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is working with the Dogs Trust and Kent County Council to identify and seize dogs and puppies which were not compliant with the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme as part of a pilot project responding to intelligence on potential non-compliance. However any prosecutions or proceedings commenced as a result of the puppy pilot would be undertaken by the Local Authorities.
Local Authorities are required to submit a return to Parliament each year (under Section 80 of the Animal Health Act). The reports do contain high level details of all prosecutions, and the report for 2016 shows that 5 prosecutions were taken in relation to the illegal import of dogs. However we do not hold information on whether these successful prosecutions were as a result of the Puppy Pilot.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 take steps to ensure that her Department's purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.
Answered by George Eustice
The Department's purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service. In addition, in 2014 the government introduced the plan for public procurement of food and catering services and Defra has adopted the use of the ‘Balanced Scorecard’ approach to sourcing food which recognises factors like celebration of provenance, local food traditions and consumers’ connection to producers.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has allocated for the maintenance and restoration of peatlands in 2016-17.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Chancellor announced budgets for all Government Departments covering the Spending Review period (2016/17 to 2019/20) on 25 November 2015. Defra is currently deciding how this translates into internal allocations for both the core Department and its Network Bodies. Budget decisions for 2016/17 are expected to be confirmed before the end of February.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 effect on British agriculture of the Nairobi Package agreed by the World Trade Organisation on 19 December 2015.
Answered by George Eustice
The tenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation concluded with a historic deal for agriculture, specifically on export competition rules. The outcome included the elimination of export subsidies for agricultural products and disciplines on measures with equivalent effect. This should provide greater confidence for UK agriculture producers by reducing the scope for volatility on global markets and constraining the ability of other countries to use measures such as export finance to support their exporters.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the consultation documents for the review of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations will be published.
Answered by George Eustice
On current plans it is our intention to issue a public consultation on proposals to update and improve the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations, together with the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Ports of Entry) Regulations, early in the new year.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 designate sea bass as a species which can only be fished during recreational angling.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to managing the marine environment for the benefit of all users, including both recreational and commercial fishermen. We have no plans to designate sea bass as a species which can only be fished during recreational angling.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 preserve stocks of sea bass in UK waters.
Answered by George Eustice
Given the widely distributed nature of the sea bass stock, the Government has been pushing for effective EU-wide conservation measures that will ensure the stock recovers and becomes sustainable. We expect to see EU proposals for bass conservation measures published shortly, which take account of the latest science and the socio-economic importance of this stock. The Government will also consider the need for any additional domestic management of bass in the context of these EU proposals.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on implementing the agreed action from the London Summit on International Wildlife.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra is working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, the Home Office and other parts of Government to ensure the UK is playing a major role in helping to tackle the scourge of the illegal wildlife trade and in implementing the commitments made at the London Conference. Actions are taking place in four main areas: eradicating the market for illegal wildlife products; ensuring effective legal frameworks and deterrents; strengthening law enforcement; and supporting sustainable livelihoods and economic development. In particular, Defra is: