Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce air pollution.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The action we are taking to continue improving air quality is set out in our recently published Environmental Improvement Plan.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making cat abduction a criminal offence in the Kept Animals Bill.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have listened carefully to the views expressed during the passage of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill that the new pet abduction offence should be extended to cats. We are currently considering this issue further.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of promoting charitable help and information to reduce pet abandonment in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is concerned about the impact of the rise in the cost of living on all aspects of people’s lives, including the rise of costs associated with maintaining the welfare of companion animals.
Defra officials regularly meet stakeholders to understand the issues and trends affecting the sector, including the impact of the rise in the cost of living on those who care for companion animals and any changes in pet abandonment rates.
Sector groups are closely monitoring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and identifying where more support may be needed. We welcome the support they are currently providing through pet food banks and financial support with veterinary treatment which is helping to reduce the pressure on pet owners.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce deforestation.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The UK Government is committed to a package of measures to tackle deforestation both in the UK and abroad.
In England, when a felling licence is issued, there is a presumption to replant after tree felling. The Forestry Commission also has an enforcement capability under the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended) to combat unlicensed and illegal felling, with additional measures in the Environment Act 2021 that commenced on 1 January 2023 enhancing these enforcement tools.
The UK Timber Regulations aim to tackle illegal logging internationally and to create a demand for legally harvested timber. Illegal logging is a major global driver of deforestation, leading to loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity, and contributing to climate change. It also affects rural communities that rely on forests for livelihoods, and results in revenue loss to Government and legitimate business. The UK Timber Regulations prohibit the placing of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the market and requires operators, those first placing such products on the market, to exercise due diligence on their supply chains.
The UK Government has introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to help tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. In 2021-22 we ran a consultation to seek views on how we should implement Environment Act provisions, including which commodities we should regulate through the first round of secondary legislation, and have since published a summary of responses, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-illegal-deforestation-in-uk-supply-chains.
The UK is also tackling deforestation through International Climate Finance (ICF), which the Government has committed to double to £11.6 billion from 2021/22 to 2025/26, spending at least £3 billion of this on climate change solutions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity. Through the ICF, we support a range of sustainable agriculture programmes that aim to reduce deforestation and land degradation caused by conversion of land to agriculture whilst improving the sustainability and resilience of food systems.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) impact of the use of thiamethoxam on the UK’s bee population and (b) potential merits of banning the use of thiamethoxam.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Risks to bees were assessed as part of the process for considering whether to allow the use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet crops this year. The main area in which potential concerns were flagged was the risk to bees from thiamethoxam taken up by crops planted in the same field after treated sugar beet. For this reason, a restriction has been imposed on such crops which will significantly reduce that risk. Only a specific list of crops, none of which flower before harvest, are permitted to be planted within 32 months of treated sugar beet. This is one of a number of strict conditions designed to mitigate any impact of the treatment on bees and other wildlife.
The Government continues to support the existing restrictions on neonicotinoids. We will continue to ensure that decisions on the use of pesticides are based on careful scientific assessment of the risks, with the aim of achieving a high level of protection for people and the environment.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing (a) the Dangerous Dogs Act and (b) breed specific legislation.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We currently have no plans to review Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. The Government firmly believes that these restrictions play a very important part in our overall approach towards tackling dangerous dogs.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of prohibiting (a) preventative antibiotic group treatments on farm animals and (b) antibiotics being used to compensate for poor hygiene or inadequate husbandry on farms.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not support the routine or predictable use of antibiotics, including where antibiotics are used to compensate for inadequate farming practices.We have been consistent that the focus of tackling antimicrobial resistance must be on reducing all unnecessary use of antibiotics, because resistance is promoted whenever an antibiotic is used, regardless of the reason.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of making it a requirement to include swift bricks in new-build housing in the context of declining swift populations in the UK.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
All local authorities have a duty to have regard to conserving biodiversity as part of their policy or decision making. As well as this duty, national planning policy states that the planning system should minimise impacts on biodiversity and provide net gains in biodiversity where possible. Planning Practice Guidance published to help implement planning policy makes clear that relatively small features can often achieve important benefits for wildlife, with incorporating ‘swift bricks’ in developments in particular highlighted as an option. Specific biodiversity features, such as swift bricks, would normally be required for developments through either the relevant local plan or through the local authority’s development control team.
Through the Environment Act 2021, we have introduced a mandatory duty for developers to deliver a ‘biodiversity net gain’, which will mean that habitats for wildlife must be left in a measurably better state than they were before any development.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve water quality in the River Brent.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government is committed to improving water quality. In August 2022 we published our £56 billion plan to reduce sewage discharges. To tackle agricultural pollution, in November we launched a grant scheme to improve slurry storage on farms, alongside the £17 million expansion of our Catchment Sensitive Farming programme. In December we announced our ambitious suite of legally binding Environment Act targets including four targets to address pressures on the water environment and published the updated River Basin Plans which target specific action to improve all of our rivers and catchments, including the Brent, were published.
The Environment Agency (EA) is working closely with partners in the Brent Catchment Partnership and Thames Water to deliver river improvement projects throughout the catchment. This includes both work to assess the impact Combined Sewer Overflow discharges have on the water quality of the River Brent and the restoration of overly modified sections of the Brent and its tributaries to allow for a more natural flow regime, flood performance benefits, and biodiversity enhancements.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing The Environment Agency's environmental protection budget to 2009-2010 levels.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Funding for the Environment Agency's work is closely monitored and regularly reviewed against the Government's strategic and statutory goals for the environment, and to ensure that the EA can continue to carry out its statutory duties.
This includes tackling environmental offences - last year record fines were handed to water companies, making clear polluters will pay. The EA's total budget this year is £1.650 billion, 18% of Defra's budget. This includes new ring-fenced money for specific enforcement activities as well as 4,000 more farm inspections and 500 more sewage treatment works inspections per year.
We are currently going through aspects of business planning for the next financial year and will have a discussion with the agency about the priorities for the Government funding.