Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Marine Management Organisation on regulation of small inshore fishermen.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I regularly engage with the MMO on a range of issues that impact on the inshore fleet.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing warning labels for ultra-processed foods to help consumers make more informed choices.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Food labelling rules require that information should not be misleading to consumers and should allow consumers to make informed choices. The rules include the requirement to list ingredients in detail on all prepacked food along with nutrition labelling which sets out the energy value and amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt. By viewing this information, consumers can know what is in a food and its key nutritional properties. A requirement to add a warning to food labels is reserved for cases where there is an identified and specific risk to all or a section of consumers, about which they need to be alerted. Such warnings are included in food information regulations relating, for example, to the presence of caffeine above certain levels or aspartame being a source of Phenylalanine as a warning for sufferers of Phenylketonuria (PKU). We are not considering warning labels for Ultra-processed food.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) the Welsh Government, (b) Powys County Council, (c) Thames Water, (d) Seven Trent Water and (e) United Utilities on proposals to redirect water supplies from Llyn Fyrnwy to the South East of England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
As agreed in the Intergovernmental Protocol on Water Resources, Water Supply and Water Quality, Defra and the Welsh Government work together on water resources management.
Water companies in England and Wales have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically. Statutory water resources management plans show how companies will continue to meet this duty and manage water supply and demand sustainably for at least the next 25 years. In their plans, water companies must consider all options, including demand management and water resources infrastructure. Collaborative regional water resources groups and water companies have been consulting on their draft water resources management plans. This includes United Utilities, Severn Trent Water and Thames Water. Within the draft plans produced by Thames Water, Severn Trent Water and United Utilities, are descriptions of a transfer of water from the reservoir Vyrnwy (Llyn Efyrnwy) through the River Severn and then into the upper part of the River Thames. This is known as the Severn to Thames transfer. Following public consultation, the water companies are now reviewing how they will change their plans. The companies will produce a Statement of Response that will detail whether this transfer will continue. The scheme is also being reviewed through RAPID (Regulators Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development).
Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales issued joint water resources planning guidance to water companies, which takes account of policy in England and Wales. They are also statutory consultees on the plans, as relevant. The plans will be referred to the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers for approval later in the year.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in relation to proposals to introduce an offence of pet abduction announced in September 2021, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on those proposals; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including cats, as well as dogs, in the scope of those proposals.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra officials regularly discuss animal welfare issues including the new pet abduction offence with their Welsh Government counterparts.
We have listened carefully to the views expressed during the passage of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill that the new pet abduction offence should be extended to cats. We are currently considering this issue further.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
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 trends in the (i) level of supply and (ii) cost of agricultural fertiliser and (b) impact of supply and cost of agricultural fertiliser on domestic food production.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Gordon on 26 November 2021, PQ UIN 77505 and 77506.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
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 planning to take to tackle unfair practices in the egg supply chain.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Agriculture Act 2020 contains powers to introduce statutory codes of practice which would apply to businesses when purchasing agricultural products directly from farmers. We intend to use these powers in a targeted way where there is clear evidence of unfair practices in specific agricultural sectors and statutory codes will help address the issues. The Government will continue to work closely with all sectors, including the egg industry, to discuss any supply chain issues.