Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the context of rising prices for feed, fertiliser and fuel, if he will take steps to provide extra support with energy costs to farmers and crofters.
Answered by Mark Spencer
While no national Government can control the global factors pushing up the cost of energy, we will continue to support British farmers and crofters.
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to ensure that all businesses, including chemical companies, and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. Non-domestic customers do not need to take action or apply to the scheme – support will automatically be applied to bills.
HM Government is also supporting businesses to improve their energy efficiency by at least 20% by 2030. This could deliver up to £6 billion in cost savings by 2030.
We have extended the Energy Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme by three years and more than doubled its budget.
We have also provided these sectors with broader support, bringing forward half of this year’s BPS payment as an advance injection of cash to farm businesses. Payments will be paid in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period.
We have issued statutory guidance providing clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter. We have delayed changes to the use of urea fertiliser until spring 2023 and introduced new slurry storage grants to help farmers comply with the Farming Rules for Water, reducing dependence on artificial fertilisers.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help address skills shortages in the red meat industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer
HM Government supports a competitive red meat sector and we are working closely with industry to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the sector's workforce.
The Skilled Worker route is open to all those eligible who wish to come to the UK to work in a skilled job they have been offered, including butchers in the red meat industry. This is coupled with an emphasis on employers investing in, and training, the domestic workforce. Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and farming sectors among the United Kingdom workforce. HM Government and industry have also established a new professional body for the farming industry: The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH). TIAH will enable the industry to drive greater uptake of skills, creating clear career development pathways, and promoting the sector as a progressive, professional, and attractive career choice.
As announced in the Government Food Strategy in June, HM Government has now commissioned an independent review which will consider how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages in the food supply chain. The review will focus on farming, processing, and food and drink manufacturing as sectors which are critical for food production and food security.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to tackle potential concerns that the consultation on the UK Environment Act lacked critical information and did not allow sufficient time for consultation.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
There is no additional evidence pack for the Nature Recovery Green Paper. The initial proposals set out in the Nature Recovery Green Paper are based on publicly available evidence and advice from our experts. Alongside the Nature Recovery Green Paper, we published a summary of the HRA Review Working Group's findings, as well as guidance on regulation 9 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
The Nature Recovery Green Paper consultation was published on 16 March and will run for 8 weeks, closing on 11 May.
The evidence reports and impact assessments for the Environmental Targets consultation are currently undergoing final assurance. The length of the consultation response period will be extended to reflect the length of delay in publishing the underlying evidence reports.