Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with representatives of the agricultural industry on the impact of the rising cost of (a) fuel, (b) grains and (c) fertiliser on that sector.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The UK's food supply is highly resilient. Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.
Agricultural commodity prices are closely linked to global gas prices. Farmers are facing increased input costs including for fertiliser, feed and fuel. We are working closely with the industry to identify where further mitigations are available to tackle the challenges they face.
The Secretary of State recently announced a range of measures in support of the current situation, such as delaying changes to the use of urea fertiliser to help farmers manage their costs and improving statutory guidance for use of slurry. There have been three meetings of the Fertiliser Taskforce (the latest of which was on 21 July) with key industry bodies to discuss potential mitigations to the challenges which global supply pressures are causing. Ministers will continue to meet with key industry bodies for further Fertiliser Taskforce sessions in the coming months, to help identify and mitigate potential risks.
In addition, the 2022 Basic Payment Scheme payment will be made in two instalments to give farmers an advance injection of cash. Farmers with eligible applications will receive half of their payment from the end of July, and the rest from December. By doing this, the Government intends to inject cash into farm businesses, helping them to make business decisions sooner, with more confidence.
We continue to keep the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 effect of the use of Asulox on bracken control.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Bracken control is important to protect grazing land and sensitive habitats. Physical methods, for example crushing, are often used but are impractical or less effective in some situations. The Health and Safety Executive has granted an emergency authorisation for the limited and controlled use of Asulox to control bracken between 1 July and 12 September. This decision was taken in accordance with the requirements set out in pesticide legislation and took account of an assessment of potential risks to human health and the environment.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 announced in the Queen’s Speech; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals on (a) hunting animals for trophies and (b) attractions, activities or experiences that lead to the neglect of elephants and other animals.
Answered by Jo Churchill
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 17 May 2022 to the hon. Member for Rotherham, PQ 1511.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 publish the findings of The Fur Market in Great Britain call for evidence.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Government made a commitment to explore potential action in relation to animal fur, as set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. We continue to gather information and speak to a range of interested parties about the issues involved.
We are reviewing the evidence gathered both from our Call for Evidence and wider engagement with the fur trade and stakeholders, and a summary of responses will be published soon.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his plans his Department has to encourage the food processing and production industry to make food and drink packaging more accessible to people with sight loss.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible and clearly legible. Information shall not in any way be obscured and depending on the package size, there is a minimum font size.
That said, we welcome work by industry, especially companies developing new digital technologies like NaviLens with the potential to provide the means for people with visual impairment to access food information. As part of the upcoming Food Strategy White Paper, we will look at optimising food information, including labelling, so all consumers, are better able to make informed choices.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to work with companies to help improve the accessibility of packaging for people with sight loss.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible and clearly legible. Information shall not in any way be obscured and depending on the package size, there is a minimum font size.
That said, we welcome work by industry, especially companies developing new digital technologies like NaviLens with the potential to provide the means for people with visual impairment to access food information. As part of the upcoming Food Strategy White Paper, we will look at optimising food information, including labelling, so all consumers, are better able to make informed choices.