Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Marine Management Organisation has made of the impact on fishermen of removal of the type approval for inshore vessel monitoring systems by the Maritime Systems Ltd.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Fishers who purchased a Maritime Systems device and their industry representatives are being kept directly informed, and have been provided with guidance, including being signposted to further support from the Marine Management Organisation.
The costs associated with supporting fishers and re-starting the I-VMS Project is still being assessed.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 9 January 2023 to Question 110866 on Animal Welfare: Public Consultation, when she plans to hold discussions with the poultry industry on suitable timing for a consultation on the use of cages for laying hens.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government is committed to exploring the use of cages. However, no formal timelines for consultations have been confirmed as yet.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of potential border control posts in Northern Ireland as a result of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer
A business case for the construction of SPS inspection facilities in Northern Ireland will be prepared. I will provide an update to the House in due course.
The latest information available as to costs borne by DAERA is set out in my answer to the Rt Hon member for Lagan Valley of 28 November to PQ 92116.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of potential cost to the public purse of staffing border control posts as a result of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer
A business case for the construction of SPS inspection facilities in Northern Ireland will be prepared. I will provide an update to the House in due course.
The latest information available as to costs borne by DAERA is set out in my answer to the Rt Hon member for Lagan Valley of 28 November to PQ 92116.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many border posts her Department plans to erect in Northern Ireland as a result of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer
My officials have commenced work to assess how Defra will exercise the powers contained in the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023. My officials have commenced assessment and will provide an update to the House in due course.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the damage caused to marine life as a result of the detonation of abandoned unexploded munitions on the sea floor.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is responsible for licensing marine activities in the seas around England, including the removal of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) from the seabed. In determining any application for a marine licence, the MMO considers all relevant matters including the need to protect the marine environment. This involves assessing any potential impacts on marine life under an environmental assessment. Such assessments are made on the specifics of each case and involve consultation with the MMO’s primary advisors, including Natural England.
In the last five years, the MMO has received, assessed and issued nine marine licences involving the removal of UXOs from the seabed.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many unexploded munitions on the seafloor have been disposed of by detonation in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is responsible for licensing marine activities in the seas around England, including the removal of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) from the seabed. In determining any application for a marine licence, the MMO considers all relevant matters including the need to protect the marine environment. This involves assessing any potential impacts on marine life under an environmental assessment. Such assessments are made on the specifics of each case and involve consultation with the MMO’s primary advisors, including Natural England.
In the last five years, the MMO has received, assessed and issued nine marine licences involving the removal of UXOs from the seabed.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 publish the arrangements for importing plants into Northern Ireland from Great Britain from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Defra and DAERA are working together to ensure that both trade and the movement of goods will continue at the end of the Transition Period. Outcomes from this work, including the process by which controls are conducted and their frequency (including the level of physical checks required), are being discussed with the EU in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee. Discussions are being taken forward in the context of the provision in the Protocol that both parties must use their “best endeavours” to avoid controls at Northern Ireland ports. Defra and DAERA continue to work with industry, traders, representative bodies and local authorities to ensure they are engaged, supported and properly prepared to continue trading from January 2021. This will include the publication of Q&As on the DAERA website that will be updated to reflect ongoing discussions and new arrangements.
EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary law will apply to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol, upholding the longstanding status of the island of Ireland as a single epidemiological unit. This means there will be no change to the import arrangements for plants moving from the EU to Northern Ireland after the end of the Transition Period.