Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 his Department's press release entitled Red tape cut for wine imports to save British wine lovers £130m a year, published on 25 July, what his timescale is for implementing the removal the requirement for VI-1 certificates on all imports of wine into Great Britain.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
On 25 July, the Government announced its intention to remove the requirement of VI-1 certification for all wine imports entering Great Britain. The removal of this barrier will cut unnecessary red tape for importers from both the EU and Rest of the World. This is great news for businesses and consumers, who will now see a significant trade burden lifted, which will ultimately lead to a reduction in the cost of wine. Industry analysis suggests that on average VI-1 certificates add 10p to every bottle of imported wine; British wine consumers can expect to save up to £130 million each year.
We are taking the necessary steps to begin the implementation process. On 9 September, we launched the consultation process for the removal for businesses who are directly impacted by the change. Once we have completed the consultation, we will then look to ensure that the necessary legislation is put in place as soon as possible.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions, on the effect on the food redistribution sector of his Department's decision to award £16 million of emergency funding in May 2020 and an additional £16 million Winter Support Grant in December 2020 to food redistribution charities; and what steps his Department is taking to monitor the effectiveness of that funding.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
From the May 2020 funding of £16 million, £1.8 million is supporting over 100 not-for-profit organisations to carry out key redistribution activities such as storage and repackaging and redistributing to charities and/or end beneficiaries through the Covid-19 emergency food surplus redistribution programme. This programme is administered on behalf of Defra by the Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) and is focused on preventing surplus food from becoming waste.
In addition, the Government has put in place a winter package to support the economically vulnerable. This package includes a £170 million Covid Winter Support Grant distributed by the Department for Work and Pensions to local authorities to support households with food and other costs, and £16 million of funding for Defra to support charities with food distribution to the vulnerable, which is being managed by the food redistributor FareShare.
After eight weeks of the £16 million grant scheme, the equivalent of 6.8 million meals have been distributed to 3,449 organisations across England. FareShare and Defra staff meet weekly for performance reviews, where FareShare presents delivery statistics against key performance indicators set at the start of the scheme.
Frequent discussions are ongoing at ministerial and official level to support this and wider work linked to this scheme.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2020 to Written Question 60862, if he will commit to undertaking an impact assessment on the decision to require import certificates on wine from 1 January 2021 on (a) UK wine exporters, (b) UK wine importers, (c) UK wine consumers and (d) the hospitality industry.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 will transfer existing EU wine regulations, including import certification requirements, onto the UK statute book. This will mean that EU wines will become subject to the same import requirements as wine arriving from countries like Australia, USA, Chile and South Africa, which currently account for 50% of wine on UK shelves. There are no plans to carry out an impact assessment of what this change will mean for EU wine imports or to estimate the effect it will have on Exchequer receipts. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has estimated that the cost of fulfilling new import certification arrangements would add approximately 10 pence to each bottle of EU wine, which equates to less than a 2% increase on an average priced wine.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2020 to Question 60862, what estimate he has made of the revenue to the Exchequer resulting from the decision to roll over EU import VI-1 certificates for wine.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 will transfer existing EU wine regulations, including import certification requirements, onto the UK statute book. This will mean that EU wines will become subject to the same import requirements as wine arriving from countries like Australia, USA, Chile and South Africa, which currently account for 50% of wine on UK shelves. There are no plans to carry out an impact assessment of what this change will mean for EU wine imports or to estimate the effect it will have on Exchequer receipts. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has estimated that the cost of fulfilling new import certification arrangements would add approximately 10 pence to each bottle of EU wine, which equates to less than a 2% increase on an average priced wine.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether regulations that enable wineries to produce wine from grapes imported from EU countries will remain in place after the transition period.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
UK-produced wine has a growing international reputation and the Government is committed to supporting a thriving UK wine industry.
After the Transition Period, the effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act means it will not be possible to use grapes from third countries (including those from the EU) for the purpose of producing wine in Great Britain (GB).
It will continue to be possible to use grapes from EU countries for the purpose of producing wine in Northern Ireland.
During the Transition Period, production of wine in the UK from grapes imported from the EU is permitted. This period allows GB operators time to adapt their practices in readiness for our departure from the single market and customs union.
The Government will keep the rules on the production and marketing of wine under review.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce air pollution levels (a) throughout the UK, (b) in inner city communities and (c) in the London Borough of Southwark.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Air quality is a key policy area for this Government and a great deal of work is being done to tackle air pollution. Implementing the commitments set out in the Clean Air Strategy (CAS), which was published last year, will help to clean up our air faster and more effectively in towns and cities.
The upcoming Environment Bill, which will shortly be reintroduced to Parliament, will deliver some key commitments in the CAS. This includes introducing a duty to set a legally binding target for fine particulate matter concentrations, the pollutant of most harm to health. The Bill will also ensure that local authorities have a clear framework for tackling air pollution, and are better able to tackle a key source of fine particulate matter emissions – domestic solid fuel burning. It will also provide the Government with new powers to enforce environmental standards for vehicles and machinery.
The Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) is also working with a number of local authorities to deliver compliance with legal limits for nitrogen dioxide in the shortest possible time. JAQU provides these local authorities with guidance and support to develop local plans to identify and implement suitable measures to achieve this objective, supported by £572 million dedicated funding. In some instances local authorities will be implementing charging clean air zones to deliver these reductions, and the Government is working closely with these authorities to ensure the necessary IT systems are in place and ready to use.
Further, Defra’s Air Quality Grant Programme provides funding to local authorities, funding projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions affecting schools, businesses and residents. Defra has awarded over £60 million in funding to local authorities since the grant started in 1997.
These measures will improve air quality across the country, including in inner-city areas. For London, air quality is the responsibility of the Mayor of London.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to take steps to tackle urban fox population growth.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Government has no plans to control the number of urban foxes in England.
The Government’s policy is that individuals should be free to manage wildlife within the law. The decision on whether or not to control foxes lies with the owner or occupier of the property where the problem occurs.
Advice on the management of foxes can be obtained from Natural England.