Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce an additional grant scheme for people working in the agricultural sector that are facing market disruption as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government is aware that coronavirus represents a very significant challenge, affecting daily life and every part of the economy. The agricultural sector plays a vital role in maintaining the UK’s food security. We are working closely alongside the agricultural industry to ensure that we understand and manage the impacts to the industry.
The department has been in close discussion with banks to ensure the farming sector has access to financial support to ease cashflow problems during this period, including through the HMG backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBIL), and the Bounce Back Loan scheme, which was announced on 27 April, and is the latest step in a package of support measures announced by the Chancellor. The Government will provide lenders with a 100% guarantee on each loan, to give lenders the confidence they need to support small businesses. These loans will be from £2,000 up to £50,000, capped at 25% of firms’ turnover, and the Government will cover the first 12 months of interest payments and fees charged to the business by the lender. Almost all UK businesses will be eligible to apply for a loan under the scheme.
In March, Defra worked with BEIS to introduce new measures to support businesses in the food sector keep food supply flowing on to shelves and into homes. These included a temporary relaxation of competition rules to allow supermarkets to work together. The legislation to bring in this change was introduced on 27 March and has a retrospective effect from 1 March.
In April, we temporarily relaxed further elements of competition law to support the dairy sector during this period. Legislation was laid before Parliament on 1 May to enable collaboration between dairy farmers and producers, supporting them to adapt to changes in the supply chain including decreased demand from the hospitality sector. The legislation will apply retrospectively from 1 April 2020.
On 6 May, Defra announced a new fund to support English dairy farmers who have seen decreased demand due to the loss of the food service sector. Dairy farmers access this funding for those qualifying months, with no cap set on the number of farmers who can receive this support or on the total funding available. Eligible dairy farmers who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May due to coronavirus disruptions will be eligible for funding of up to £10,000 each, to cover around 70% of their lost income during the qualifying months to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare. The Welsh Government announced the opening of a similar scheme on 12 May.
The availability of this funding followed the launch on 5 May of a joint Government and Devolved Administrations backed £1 million campaign aiming to boost milk consumption and help producers use their surplus stock. This 12-week campaign is being led by Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Dairy UK. This follows a similar on-going campaign led by AHDB and retailers to promote the consumption of beef products.
While the Government has made a wide-ranging package of measures available to businesses to support them through this difficult period, we continue to keep the situation in each sector under review. Legal powers were included in the COVID-19 Bill enabling us to offer further financial support if we believe it is necessary.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
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 ensure that schools are reducing their use of single use plastic.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Whilst Defra does not directly work with schools to reduce their use of single use plastics, the Government published the Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) in December 2018, setting out our plans to reduce, reuse and recycle more plastic than we do now. Our target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the life of the 25 Year Environment Plan, but for the most problematic plastics we are going faster - that is why we are committing to work towards all plastic packaging placed on the UK market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
Our landmark Environment Bill will enable us to significantly change the way that we manage our waste and take forward a number of the proposals in the RWS. The Bill will enable us to create extended producer responsibility schemes; introduce deposit return schemes; establish greater consistency in the recycling system and charge for single use plastic items, all of which will assist with reducing and dealing with single use plastics in schools.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), supported by Defra, works to deliver practical solutions to improve resource efficiency. Through RecycleNow, a national recycling campaign for England, they run an engagement programme targeted towards primary school children and encouraging them to think about recycling and sustainability.
In addition, Keep Britain Tidy runs an England-wide Eco-Schools programme, working with schools to educate young people about the dangers of littering.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
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 is taking steps to seek the removal of plastics from supply chains; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan published on 11 January sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. We will do this through a four point plan that takes action at each stage of the product lifecycle – production, consumption and end of life. At the production stage, this includes encouraging producers to take more responsibility for the lifespan of their products. This involves designing products that are recyclable and made from recycled materials. At the consumer stage we want to reduce demand for single use plastics and make it easier for people to recycle. We will increase the amount of plastic being recycled, including through reforming the packaging waste regulations and exploring the scope for extending producer responsibility to other areas. There will be more detail in our Resources and Waste Strategy which will be published later this year.
A call for evidence on how taxes or charges could reduce waste from single use plastics closed on 18 May. The Treasury is reviewing the responses and we are working with them on future policy options.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
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 improve the efficiency of plastic recycling schemes.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan published on 11 January sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. We will do this through a four point plan that takes action at each stage of the product lifecycle – production, consumption and end of life. At the production stage, this includes encouraging producers to take more responsibility for the lifespan of their products. This involves designing products that are recyclable and made from recycled materials. At the consumer stage we want to reduce demand for single use plastics and make it easier for people to recycle. We will increase the amount of plastic being recycled, including through reforming the packaging waste regulations and exploring the scope for extending producer responsibility to other areas. There will be more detail in our Resources and Waste Strategy which will be published later this year.
A call for evidence on how taxes or charges could reduce waste from single use plastics closed on 18 May. The Treasury is reviewing the responses and we are working with them on future policy options.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
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 tackle fly-tipping in urban areas.
Answered by David Rutley
Fly-tipping is a serious crime which damages the environment and blights local communities. The Government is committed to tackling the scourge of fly-tipping in both urban and rural areas. We ensure that local authorities (LAs) have the tools that they need to tackle urban fly-tipping. In recent years we have given LAs the power to issue £400 fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping offences and have enhanced the powers available to LAs and the Environment Agency, such as the ability to search and seize the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.
Earlier this year we published our consultation on proposals to introduce a new fixed penalty for householders who pass their waste to a fly-tipper. We also intend to provide updated guidance for householders about how to ensure their waste is disposed of correctly. We are currently analysing consultation responses. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, we will seek to implement the changes later this year. As two thirds of fly-tipping contains household waste, these additional measures will further help tackle fly-tipping.
As part of this Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy, we are developing our strategic approach to waste crime. This will include plans to enhance partnership working and intelligence sharing to tackle fly-tipping in both urban and rural areas. We are also committed to working with the the court system to ensure that sentences act as a suitable deterrent.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
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 ensure the effective operation of the Central Equine Database.
Answered by George Eustice
The Central Equine Database (CED) has been set up to record the information on equine identification required by EU legislation. Defra’s supplier conducted extensive user testing during development of the CED to ensure that historical information held by equine Passport Issuing Organisations was checked for accuracy and cleansed before it was imported into the CED. The Central Equine Database is now operational and accessible to regulatory bodies including Defra, the Food Standards Agency and Local Authority Trading Standards.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
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 takes to (a) enforce the Welfare Code for game birds and (b) ensure that cages used for breeding pheasants and partridges meet animal welfare standards.
Answered by George Eustice
The welfare of gamebirds is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their gamebirds, as required by the Act. The Code recommends that barren cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used and that any system should be appropriately enriched. The Act and Defra’s Code are enforced by the Animal and Plant Health Agency.