Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
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 made an assessment of the adequacy of the support available for the biopesticide industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Biopesticide applicants in the UK are supported via the Biopesticide Scheme. Support provided through the scheme includes dedicated Health & Safety Executive (HSE) biopesticide champions, free pre-submission advice, and capped fees for biopesticide active substance approval.
We are considering where approvals and permissions for biopesticides might be made simpler and faster without compromising the environment or human health standards. This would aim to reduce the burden for manufacturers and bring more biopesticides to the market.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help reduce the transition costs for farmers moving to regenerative agricultural methods.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farming in England is going through the biggest change in a generation. We have listened to the needs of farmers and our approach to working with the farming sector is also changing. We are improving our policies and services to make them more effective, fair, flexible, accessible, and workable for farmers.
Environmental land management is the foundation of our new approach. Our new schemes will pay for sustainable farming practices (such as reducing carbon emissions, creating, and preserving habitat, and making landscape-scale environmental changes) and improvements to animal health and welfare. This is an important step towards achieving important environmental outcomes such as net zero, climate change adaptation, biodiversity, and water quality.
In late June 2022, we launched the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). SFI pays farmers for actions that support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, whilst also protecting and improving the environment.
The SFI scheme contains standards that can support a regenerative approach and are designed so that there are options available for all types of farmers. The standards include:
• hedgerows standard
• integrated pest management standard
• nutrient management standard
• arable and horticultural land standard
• improved grassland standard
• low input grassland standard
We are rolling out the SFI2023 in a controlled way, making sure we offer everyone the right level of support. We invited Basic Payment Scheme eligible farmers to register interest for SFI2023 with the Rural Payments Agency from 30 August 2023. Over 14,000 farmers have done so, representing one in six. This process is already being simplified, with the majority of farmers no longer needing to registrations of interest as of the week commencing 16 October 2023. We started to accept applications from 18 September, and I am pleased to confirm the first payments were made on 17 October 2023.
The Landscape Recovery scheme also supports a regenerative approach to agriculture. It focusses on restoring nature across a wider landscape, bringing together landowners and managers who want to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. Round two pilot applications opened on 18 May 2023 and closed on 21 September 2023. Applications were open to any individuals or groups who want to come together on projects of over 500 hectares and public bodies will need to apply in collaboration with other land managers – for example, with neighbouring landowners, farmers, and tenants. Projects involving elements of regenerative farming could apply.
Our Countryside Stewardship scheme includes actions that can form part of a regenerative or restorative farming approach; to improve soil quality, enhance biodiversity, decrease water pollution, and restore, create, and manage habitats.
We are offering farmers and land managers, including those who take a regenerative approach, funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment through the Farming Investment Fund. This offers funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment. This fund provides grants to farmers, foresters, and growers (including contractors to these sectors) so that they can invest in the things they need to improve productivity and enhance the natural environment.
We are also offering support to drive adoption of new innovation by farmers and growers. The Farming Innovation Programme encourages groups of farmers, growers, businesses, and researchers to get involved in collaborative research and development. We believe that by working together, they will be able to solve challenges and exploit opportunities for increasing productivity and environmental sustainability in the agricultural and horticultural sectors in England. Farmers testing out regenerative approaches to agriculture will be able to apply for these grants.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of regenerative agriculture on achieving the Government's climate goals while increasing UK food security; and whether her Department is taking steps to increase the adoption of regenerative farming practices.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farming in England is going through the biggest change in a generation. We have listened to the needs of farmers and our approach to working with the farming sector is also changing. We are improving our policies and services to make them more effective, fair, flexible, accessible, and workable for farmers.
Environmental land management is the foundation of our new approach. Our new schemes will pay for sustainable farming practices (such as reducing carbon emissions, creating, and preserving habitat, and making landscape-scale environmental changes) and improvements to animal health and welfare. This is an important step towards achieving important environmental outcomes such as net zero, climate change adaptation, biodiversity, and water quality.
In late June 2022, we launched the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). SFI pays farmers for actions that support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, whilst also protecting and improving the environment.
The SFI scheme contains standards that can support a regenerative approach and are designed so that there are options available for all types of farmers. The standards include:
• hedgerows standard
• integrated pest management standard
• nutrient management standard
• arable and horticultural land standard
• improved grassland standard
• low input grassland standard
We are rolling out the SFI2023 in a controlled way, making sure we offer everyone the right level of support. We invited Basic Payment Scheme eligible farmers to register interest for SFI2023 with the Rural Payments Agency from 30 August 2023. Over 14,000 farmers have done so, representing one in six. This process is already being simplified, with the majority of farmers no longer needing to registrations of interest as of the week commencing 16 October 2023. We started to accept applications from 18 September, and I am pleased to confirm the first payments were made on 17 October 2023.
The Landscape Recovery scheme also supports a regenerative approach to agriculture. It focusses on restoring nature across a wider landscape, bringing together landowners and managers who want to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. Round two pilot applications opened on 18 May 2023 and closed on 21 September 2023. Applications were open to any individuals or groups who want to come together on projects of over 500 hectares and public bodies will need to apply in collaboration with other land managers – for example, with neighbouring landowners, farmers, and tenants. Projects involving elements of regenerative farming could apply.
Our Countryside Stewardship scheme includes actions that can form part of a regenerative or restorative farming approach; to improve soil quality, enhance biodiversity, decrease water pollution, and restore, create, and manage habitats.
We are offering farmers and land managers, including those who take a regenerative approach, funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment through the Farming Investment Fund. This offers funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment. This fund provides grants to farmers, foresters, and growers (including contractors to these sectors) so that they can invest in the things they need to improve productivity and enhance the natural environment.
We are also offering support to drive adoption of new innovation by farmers and growers. The Farming Innovation Programme encourages groups of farmers, growers, businesses, and researchers to get involved in collaborative research and development. We believe that by working together, they will be able to solve challenges and exploit opportunities for increasing productivity and environmental sustainability in the agricultural and horticultural sectors in England. Farmers testing out regenerative approaches to agriculture will be able to apply for these grants.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to reply to the correspondence of 26 April 2023 from the Rt Hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby on supermarket profits, food security and other issues.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 21 June 2023.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to reply to the correspondence of 24 May 2023 from the Rt. hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby on the time taken to complete full checks on EU SPS imports and on the EU’s Entry/Exit System and Short Strait agrifood flows.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A reply was sent the hon. Member on 21 June 2023.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to reply to the correspondence of 26 April 2023 from the Rt hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby on Supplementary Estimate 2022/23 and Post-Implementation Reviews.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 21 June 2023.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many breaches of the Heather & Grass Burning Regulations 2021 have required official action, since those regulations came into force.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
To date, we have received 1,584 individual reports of alleged breaches of the Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations since the regulations came into force on 1 May 2021.
Of these, 1022 could not be assessed because they included insufficient location information.
490 reports have been assessed by Defra and Natural England. Many of these were established to be duplicates or were established to not amount to offences under the regulations.
A total of 72 reports, related to the current burning season, are currently undergoing assessment by Defra and Natural England.
A small number of reports have progressed to formal investigation with one instance resulting in the issue of a formal warning. It would be inappropriate to comment on the ongoing investigations.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many alleged breaches of the Heather & Grass Burning Regulations 2021 have been reported to Defra, since those regulations came into force.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
To date, we have received 1,584 individual reports of alleged breaches of the Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations since the regulations came into force on 1 May 2021.
Of these, 1022 could not be assessed because they included insufficient location information.
490 reports have been assessed by Defra and Natural England. Many of these were established to be duplicates or were established to not amount to offences under the regulations.
A total of 72 reports, related to the current burning season, are currently undergoing assessment by Defra and Natural England.
A small number of reports have progressed to formal investigation with one instance resulting in the issue of a formal warning. It would be inappropriate to comment on the ongoing investigations.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
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 make it his policy to not support industrial fishing for sandeel in English waters, on a similar basis to the policy of the Scottish Government, as part of the upcoming publication of the Joint Fisheries Statement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We are concerned about the impacts on the marine ecosystem by the removal of forage fish by industrial fishing. Following a recent call for evidence, Defra is presently working with others, including the Devolved Administrations, to develop a management strategy for industrial fishing in UK waters. We will consult on the introduction of any new measures in English waters.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the proportionality of the plant health regulatory regime for the import of seeds, plants and trees; and whether he has plans to revise that regulatory regime.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
High plant health and biosecurity standards keep harmful pests and diseases, like Xylella fastidiosa, out of the UK, benefiting both the horticultural trade and the environment in the long term. The UK has some of the highest plant health and biosecurity standards in the world, and we have been clear we will not compromise on these standards. They are integral to supporting and protecting the horticultural industry overall as well as sustaining our food supply and natural environment.
The UK Plant Health Risk Group is continuously reviewing risks to plant biosecurity and identifying actions needed to mitigate the most significant threats. These include keeping our regulatory regime up to date, carrying out focused surveillance and inspections, contingency planning, research, and awareness raising as well as identifying areas where intervention would not be helpful or justified.
Since plant health controls on high-priority plants and plant products imported from the EU to GB were introduced on 1 January 2021, 94 interceptions of harmful organisms have been made, which all had the potential to lead to a damaging outbreak in GB.
In addition, more than 300 other instances of non-compliance have been identified.
These cases demonstrate the importance of effective import controls to safeguard commercial plant production; protect food supply and avoid the serious impacts on our natural environment which pest/disease outbreaks can lead to.
We have recently consulted on a permanent system of import checks and frequencies which will deal with imports from EU Member States and other third countries consistently.
This system is based on technical assessments of risk and retains the default position of 100% inspections for imported plants and trees. However, it also considers cases where a lower percentage of checks can be adopted for certain categories of plants where there is an identifiable lower risk (examples could be annual plants, because they are short lived, or house plants, because they are kept indoors).
The consultation closed in early 2022 and we expect to update stakeholders on the outcome of this consultation in March.