Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 environmental impact of vaping products.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the environmental impact of disposable vapes in the UK.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 has taken to help ensure that the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill is compatible with the provisions of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.
Answered by Steve Double
Precision breeding technologies, such as gene editing, have the potential to improve the health and welfare of animals through enabling new traits to be developed more precisely and more efficiently than traditional breeding. We want to enable responsible innovation through these new measures, and we recognise that there is a need to safeguard animal welfare. That is why we are introducing proportionate regulatory measures to ensure that the health and welfare of animals that have been produced through these technologies is protected, in line with existing animal welfare legislation. In particular, the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill would require developers intending to market a precision bred vertebrate animal to provide a declaration confirming that they do not expect the health and welfare of the animal (and its offspring) to be adversely affected by any trait resulting from precision breeding.
Defra’s Secretary of State will need to be satisfied with the declaration before issuing a precision bred animal marketing authorisation, which will be required before the animal can be marketed. This process will also involve an independent scientific assessment by an expert committee of the declaration and supporting evidence provided by the developer.
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 supports Ministerial accountability to Parliament in relation to all central government policy decisions that might affect the welfare of animals, including those set out in the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the advertising and offering for sale of attractions, activities, or experiences that cause distress to animals, such as low welfare elephant venues.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We will bring forward one of the toughest bans on the import of hunting trophies in the world and we are exploring a range of legislative options to further protect animals abroad.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the animals abroad bill was not included in the legislative programme announced in the Queen’s Speech 2022.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We will bring forward one of the toughest bans on the import of hunting trophies in the world and we are exploring a range of legislative options to further protect animals abroad.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 impact of (a) agreements reached and (b) funding commitments made at COP26 on the future of grasslands (i) in the UK and (ii) internationally.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Significant global progress was made at UNFCCC COP26 this year. As presidents of COP26, the UK amplified the critical role of nature and secured agreement of the importance of its protection, conservation and restoration. We actively promoted Nature Based Solutions, which include grasslands, to tackle both climate change and biodiversity loss.
The UK is advocating for the protection of at least 30% of land and ocean globally by 2030. Effective protection, management, and restoration of wildlife rich habitats will be vital for securing nature's recovery. At COP26, we welcomed the support of 11 new countries for this vital 30by30 target, bringing the total to over 100 countries.
The environment is a devolved matter. However, I can advise that in England, our Environment Act requires a new legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. A domestic 2030 species target will not only benefit wildlife species but the actions necessary to deliver it will help drive wider environmental improvements, including to grasslands.
We also recognise the value of our own grasslands. England’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest protect our most important grasslands, which will form an important part of progress towards our domestic 30by30 commitment. We are investing in nature restoration and in nature-based solutions to support grassland creation and restoration, for example, through over £750 million investment in the Nature for Climate Fund and £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Funds.
We are also introducing three new environmental land management schemes - the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery. These schemes will reward the delivery of environmental benefits including creation and preservation of grassland.
We will maintain strong UK leadership on nature and climate over our COP26 Presidency year to ensure promises are kept, working closely with partners to advance rapid progress.