Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 representatives from supermarkets on ensuring that appropriate adjustments have been made to enable as many disabled people as possible to shop safely during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government has been working closely with supermarkets to ensure that disabled people have access to the food and essential goods that they need.
We have published guidance online that explains what steps people can take if they are unable to access food. This guidance has been shared with local authorities, retailers and charities to help them respond to enquiries from those seeking help. The guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-accessing-food-and-essential-supplies.
Supermarkets have been working at pace to expand the total number of delivery and click and collect slots. We have secured a limited number of supermarket delivery slots for the dedicated use of vulnerable people who are having difficulties in securing access to food and who have no other options available to them. We are working closely with local authorities and charities to help make sure these delivery slots are made available to those who need them most. We have built a bespoke digital service to enable local authorities and a number of charities to directly refer individuals for access to the prioritised slots.
Most supermarkets also offer protected in-store shopping hours to the disabled and their carers.
All major supermarkets have introduced cashless volunteer shopping cards that can be purchased online and used by volunteers to purchase foods on behalf of those self-isolating or in vulnerable groups.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Agriculture Bill, what criteria his Department will use to determine a public good that is eligible for financial assistance; and whether stakeholders will be able to propose schemes to be considered as a public good.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Agriculture Bill gives the Secretary of State powers to provide financial assistance for particular listed purposes, including: managing land or water to protect or improve the environment; protecting or improving the health and welfare of livestock; supporting public access to and enjoyment of the countryside, farmland or woodland; protecting or improving the health of plants; and protecting or improving the quality of soil. Funding such purposes will enable the delivery of a number of Defra’s future policies, including the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which will be the cornerstone of our future agricultural policy.
Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions. Land managers will be paid for delivering the following public goods set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan:
We are working closely with a range of environmental and agricultural stakeholders to collaboratively design the new scheme so that it is fit for purpose. We are currently running a programme of Tests and Trials, the priorities for which are the building blocks we will need for the National Pilot. The National Pilot will provide a critical opportunity to test and refine the scheme design prior to full rollout of the ELM scheme across England.
We are also working closely with stakeholders to inform the design of other future financial assistance schemes which we intend to introduce using the financial assistance powers during the seven-year agricultural transition period from 2021 to 2028.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many properties in (a) Fairbourne, Gwynedd, (b) Dwyfor Meirionnydd and (c) Wales have access to affordable flood insurance through the Flood Re scheme.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Flood Re (FR) covers the UK, including Wales. It is available through more than 85 insurance brands representing 94% of the home insurance market. FR does not deal directly with homeowners, but instead allows insurance companies to choose whether to pass the flood risk element over to them for a set, below market-cost, premium.
As of 30 September 2019, there were 12,567 policies in Wales backed by FR. In Dwyfor Meirionnydd, there were 388 policies. The lowest granularity FR can provide figures for is at a constituency level so FR cannot provide a number for Fairbourne, Gwynedd.