Asked by: Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the food and beverage sector in Kent.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government works closely with the full spectrum of food and drink businesses across the country to promote growth, jobs, productivity and exports. As elsewhere, we engage with businesses in Kent, both directly and through trade associations and other businesses groups, to support them in their efforts to address economic challenges, understand and mitigate regulatory and compliance issues and prepare successfully for leaving the EU.
Asked by: Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the proportion of waste from Medway which ended up in landfill in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The table below shows the proportion of waste from Medway Borough Council which was sent to landfill in each of the last five years.
Year | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 |
Proportion of waste sent to landfill |
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The statistics are published annually by Defra and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-collected-waste-management-annual-results.
They will be updated with figures for 2017/18 before the end of the year.
Asked by: Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of animal rescue homes in the South East.
Answered by George Eustice
We have no estimates on the number of such establishments in the South East because they are not subject to a specific regulatory regime.
Asked by: Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What steps his Department is taking to reduce rates of fly-tipping.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The penalties for fly-tipping are on summary conviction: imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine or both; and on conviction on Indictment: imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine or both. The removal in 2015 of the £5,000 cap for maximum fines that magistrate’s courts can impose, means that magistrates can hand down a potentially unlimited fine for a fly-tipping summary offence. In May 2016 we introduced fixed penalty notices of up to £400 for small-scale fly-tipping. This provides local authorities with an alternative to prosecutions and take a more proportionate enforcement response.
In 2014 the Sentencing Council introduced new sentencing guidelines for environmental crimes, including fly-tipping. The guidelines were published to ensure a consistent approach to these offences is taken by courts in England and Wales. Requests for further guidance were received by the Sentencing Council from the National Fly Tipping Prevention Group, chaired by Defra, and the Environment Agency. This was due to concerns that the fines were not high enough to reflect the seriousness of the offences committed or to have a deterrent effect, and that there was an inconsistency in fine levels across the country. The guidelines encourage magistrates to make more use of the highest levels of fines for some of the more serious offences that come before the courts. It also helps sentencers more easily pitch a fine that is proportionate to the means of the offender.
The Sentencing Council reviewed the effectiveness of the guidelines in 2016. The assessment showed that the level of fines for organisations has risen, but fines for individuals have not seen the same increase. We are looking into this and intend to work with the appropriate people in the court system for a consistent application of the guidelines.
Asked by: Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham)
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 increase penalties for animal antibiotic or drug abuse for animals destined for food.
Answered by George Eustice
There are no plans to increase penalties for such offences, which are covered by the Veterinary Medicine Regulations and the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate operates a UK-wide surveillance programme in accordance with the requirements of Council Directive 96/23/EC, which analyses over 30,000 samples from food producing animals every year for residues of veterinary medicinal products and unauthorised substances, including antibiotics.
Where non-compliance with the legislation is found during a follow-up investigation, the producer or keeper presenting the animals or animal produce for the food chain can be referred to the Rural Payments Agency, which can deduct a proportion of their single farm payment for breaching EU CAP cross-compliance rules. Prosecution is considered in the most serious breaches of the legislation.
Results show that the majority of farmers, in conjunction with their advising veterinarians, are using veterinary medicines responsibly.
Results and a summary of follow-up investigations into non-compliant samples are on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/residues-of-veterinary-medicines-in-food-2017. These are updated every two months. A summary of annual results for 2011-2017 is at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/residues-statutory-and-non-statutory-surveillance-results.