Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he will publish the outcome of the 2024 Fairer Food Labelling Consultation.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Gareth Snell on 23 December 2024, PQ UIN 20692.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the the European Commission announcement entitled Vision for Agriculture and Food, published on 19 February 2025, if he will hold discussions with animal welfare organisations on the potential merits of implementing the same regulations as proposed in the EU on (a) phasing out the use of cages for farmed animals and (b) introducing animal welfare labelling.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department is engaging with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare.
The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are considering very carefully.
A public consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
We await the EU Commission proposals on phasing out the use of cages for farmed animals and animal welfare labelling with interest.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press notice entitled Government announces reforms to boost profits for farmers with a cast iron commitment to food production, published on 9 January 2025, whether his Department plans to monitor food currently bought by (a) all public sector bodies and (b) Government departments.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At the Oxford Farming Conference in January, I announced that, for the first time ever, the government will review food currently bought in Government Departments and the wider public sector, including where it is bought from. This is in line with the National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February alongside the Procurement Act coming into effect, which sets out the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to include an exemption in the veterinary agreement that is being negotiated with the European Union that would protect the United Kingdom's ability to implement animal welfare method-of-production labelling, including on imports.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to resetting our EU relationship, including by seeking to negotiate an SPS agreement. We have been clear that an SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. It’s too early to discuss any specific areas in detail and we will not be providing a running commentary on discussions with the EU.
A public consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 19 March 2025 to Question 38358 on Fisheries, what steps his Department is taking to update the data it provides to the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is responsible for updating UK fishing vessel data on the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels. The MMO last updated the record on 24 March 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 an assessment of the potential merits of operating a carding system to (a) warn and (b) sanction states which (i) export seafood to the UK and (ii) do not cooperate with efforts to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK, after leaving the European Union, retained the powers originally set out in the EU’s Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Regulation (1005/2008) to ban imports from countries that do not cooperate with efforts to tackle IUU fishing. Import bans are currently in place on seafood from Cambodia, Comoros and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The UK’s legislative framework also requires the banning of imports and landings of seafood from fishing vessels that are included on the UK’s IUU vessel list as having been identified as engaging in IUU fishing. Other control measures are also in place to manage imports of seafood into the UK from other countries. Such measures include the operation of a catch documentation scheme to ensure seafood imported into the UK is caught in line with national and international regulations on fisheries conservation and sustainable management. Defra will continue to keep under active review steps to combat IUU fishing.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to tackle the use of products created through illegal deforestation in supply chains.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the need to take action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation, and we will set out our approach to addressing this in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent microplastics entering nature from washing machines.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is concerned about the possible risks to public health and wildlife from microplastics which enter the environment from the atmosphere and road runoff and from washing machines.
Previous collaborative work with the water industry found that microplastic from clothing and textiles make up a small proportion (around 1%) of the total microplastics found within wastewater treatment works.
We are continuing to investigate microplastics and the risks they may have to public health and to the environment. Defra is working with water companies to investigate microplastics detected during wastewater treatment and their potential to enter the receiving aquatic environment.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the progress of industry and businesses in developing cost-effective microplastic filter solutions for washing machines.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials gratefully received information which the honourable member kindly provided in her recent letter to me. The information was reported by a washing machine filter technology group describing solutions to tackling microplastics and microfibres as a product of washing textiles and clothing. Officials are currently assessing the details.
The Government is concerned about the risks microplastics in our water environment may pose to public health and to the environment. Defra is working with water companies to investigate microplastics detected during wastewater treatment and their potential to enter the receiving aquatic environment.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 13 February 2025 to Question 27227 on Shellfish: Animal Welfare, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including all animals recognised as sentient beings in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 27227, no policy decisions about these animals in relation to the Animal Welfare Act (2006) have been made whilst the evidence-base is being built.