Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
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 effect of UK companies importing soya from the Cerrado region in Brazil of local legislation that permits deforestation of up to 80 per cent on (a) biodiversity, (b) South American river systems and (c) the human rights of indigenous communities.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The UK Government recognises the current challenge of deforestation in the Cerrado for the production of agricultural products such as soya. The Cerrado is a critical biome and home to 5% of the planet’s animal and plant species and 30% of Brazil’s biodiversity. The effect of deforestation on biodiversity, South American river systems, and the human rights of indigenous communities in the Cerrado is significant.
We are committed to tackling deforestation and its social and environmental consequences across our global supply chains, including in the Cerrado. 27% of the soya imported into the UK is sourced in Brazil. Much of this is produced in the Amazon Soy Moratorium region, which is considered to have some of the strictest forest protections in the world. The Government has not made an explicit assessment of UK soy imports from the Cerrado on biodiversity, rivers, and indigenous people’s rights, but continues to work closely with the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya, which it convened in 2018, to ensure the legality and sustainability of imported soya. The problem of deforestation in areas such as the Cerrado can only be comprehensively addressed through international action. That is why, as co-Presidents of COP26, we are working to forge a new alliance between producer and consumer governments to ensure global supply chains are sustainable.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with supermarkets and other high street retailers that sell products associated with (a) legal and (b) illegal deforestation in the Cerrado region of Brazil on their role in combating the climate emergency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Over the past year, Defra Ministers and senior officials have had numerous discussions with supermarkets and other high street retailers regarding sustainable supply chains and products associated with both legal and illegal deforestation. This included, in November 2020, a ministerial roundtable with industry stakeholders to discuss due diligence legislation for forest risk commodities, and the launch event of the Government’s response to the Global Resource Initiative’s (GRI) recommendations.
The GRI taskforce was established by the Government in 2019 to bring together representatives from industry and civil society to recommend actions to reduce the climate and environmental impacts of UK supply chains. The GRI published its report in March 2020 and the Government outlined its response in November 2020. This response included introducing world-leading due diligence legislation for forest risk commodities and working, as co-Presidents of COP26, to forge a new alliance between governments to ensure global supply chains are sustainable. The UK Government will continue working with industry, the GRI taskforce, and other governments to tackle deforestation in the Cerrado and around the world.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what resources his Department is providing to local authorities to help them (a) manage flood risk and (b) improve their flood mitigation measures.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government provides funding to local government to carry out functions including managing flood risk and coastal erosion, through the local government finance settlement. The Government is committed to reforming the funding framework for local government funding so that it is simpler, more up to date, and more transparent. This will include a review of local government funding for statutory flood and coastal erosion risk management functions, including the way in which it is allocated, to ensure it is fair and matches the needs and resources of local areas – recognising that some places face different risks.
In March of this year the Government committed to a record £5.2 billion to better protect a further 336,000 properties across all areas of England, and in July 2020, the government published a long-term Policy Statement which sets out our ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement outlines five ambitious policies and over 40 supporting actions?which will?accelerate progress to?better protect and better prepare the country against flooding and coastal erosion.
In addition, the Government has committed to invest £200 million to deliver innovative actions which will test new ways to improve resilience to flooding and coastal erosion. 25 areas will benefit from this funding in addition to the four areas we announced in July which will trial and develop ways of planning ahead and making wise investment choices for the decades to come in the face of the long-term uncertainties brought by climate change. The Environment Agency will invite Lead Local Flood Authorities and Coast Protection Authorities to work with local partners on expressions of interest later this year.
The Government is also investing a further £2.9 million which is supporting three regional property flood resilience pathfinder projects to create demonstration centres, engage with businesses, and advice portals, to help people to learn about the benefits of installing resilience measures in their homes.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What steps he is taking to maintain food supplies for vulnerable people during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Shielded individuals can opt to receive deliveries of food and essential supplies if they are without a support network of friends and family while self-isolating at home.
We have been working with food retailers, delivery organisations and volunteer groups to help support the non-shielded vulnerable, who are avoiding going to the shops if possible. A range of options are available for those people, including asking for an NHS Volunteer Responder to do their shopping for them – 100,000 people have had help with community tasks like shopping from NHS responders so far. Many charities and community organisations are also providing voluntary shop and drop services, as are neighbours and other community volunteers. If the situation is urgent, local authorities can also offer support and services, and we are working with them to help make sure that they have a range of ways to help those who contact them.
We are also working to help those having difficulty affording food. The Government has announced up to £16 million to provide food for those who are struggling as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The programme will provide millions of meals over the next 12 weeks and be delivered through charities including FareShare and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). At least 5,000 frontline charities in England will benefit, including refuges, homeless shelters and rehabilitation services. It will cover rural areas as well as cities, targeting those who are struggling to get food.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the amount of surplus food disposed of by supermarkets in the UK each year and the quantity of such food that was fit for human consumption at the time of disposal.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Waste and Resources Action Programme estimates that in 2014/15 there were 270,000 tonnes of avoidable food waste in the grocery supply chain fit for human consumption. 47,000 tonnes of this was redistributed to feed people and 37,000 tonnes was used to produce animal feed. 180,000 tonnes went to waste (of which on average around 40% went to anaerobic digestion and other recycling options, 40% for energy recovery and 20% to land spreading).
On 21st December the Secretary of State announced that we will set up a new fund through the WRAP to ensure charities get additional resources to help redistribute food to those who need it rather than letting it go to waste. WRAP will make £0.5 million available to charities and other organisations. The new Food Waste Reduction Fund will provide grants to finance specific projects: fridges or vehicles, IT systems and software, or for training staff and volunteers about food safety skills.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the benefit to the UK of membership of the European Chemicals Agency.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) undertakes assessments, scrutinises and provides opinions on industry applications for authorisations to use some of the most hazardous chemicals, recommends restrictions on other dangerous chemicals and manages data of all chemicals on the EU market. Chemicals must be registered with the ECHA to access the single market.
While the UK remains a member of the EU we will continue to fully participate in the work of the ECHA.
We are committed to maintaining an effective regulatory system for the management and control of chemicals which safeguards human health and the environment and can respond to emerging risks, as well as creating an open and competitive business environment.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on underground coal gasification.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Government has made a firm commitment to reducing the UK’s carbon emissions, and our recent ratification of the historic Paris Agreement shows we are serious about global action on climate change.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) commissioned a report from Atkins into the greenhouse gas implications of underground coal gasification to inform Government policy about its development in the UK. The report was peer reviewed by academics and industry.
The report finds that emissions from underground coal gasification would be too high to be consistent with our commitment to a low-carbon future. The Government is therefore minded not to support the development of this technology in the UK.
A link to the Atkins report has been provided below: