Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 include community groups in the planned consultation on a deposit return scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The consultation on introducing a deposit return scheme (DRS), which will be published shortly, will look at how such a scheme would operate. We are aware that any DRS would need to be accessible for all, and will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders and ensure everyone has a chance to have their say.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 effect on the level of recycling of the (a) cans and bottles return system using ReturPack in Sweden; (b) deposit charge for drinks bottles in Norway and (c) return vending machines in Denmark.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
As the Minister responsible for this policy area, I visited Norway, Sweden and Denmark at the end of 2017, to find out more about the DRS in those countries.
We are drawing upon experience of how DRS systems operate in a range of countries to help shape our proposals for a scheme in England. We have not made specific assessments regarding individual schemes.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on the consultation for a deposit return scheme as announced by his Department on 28 March 2018.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Proposals are currently being developed for the model, scope and scale of a deposit return scheme (DRS), and the consultation will be published shortly.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what change there has been in staffing levels in his Department since June 2016.
Answered by George Eustice
The changes in staffing levels for Defra between 30 June 2016 and 30 June 2018 are shown in the table below:
| June 2016 | June 2018 | Change |
Headcount | 1700 | 3,810 | +2,110 |
Source: Office of National Statistics – Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (June 2016 and June 2018)
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 publish his Department's preparations for no deal.
Answered by David Rutley
We do not want or expect a no-deal Brexit, but a responsible Government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. To help businesses and the public prepare for March 2019 in the event of a no deal scenario, Defra has published 30 Technical Notices covering areas such as standards for animals, plants, food, chemicals, and timber. Defra will continue to plan and work with its stakeholders and partners to ensure they are prepared for all possible scenarios.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.
Answered by George Eustice
Over 80% of Defra’s agenda is affected by the UK’s departure from the European Union. We continue to keep our resourcing plans under review, focusing both on recruitment and increasing the capability of new and existing staff.
Since June 2016, Defra has recruited over 550 additional staff to support our preparations for leaving the EU. The majority of these new staff are employed in the central department where they are working on a range of projects identified to enable a successful withdrawal from the EU.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 potential effect on agricultural exports of there being no deal between the UK and the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
In 2016, UK food, feed and drink exports to the EU were worth £12 billion and EU food, feed and drink exports to the UK were worth £30 billion. It is in the interests of both parties to conclude a comprehensive customs agreement. We are conducting rigorous analysis on various trade scenarios for the future to inform Government policy.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department was consulted by the Department for Exiting the European Union on the economic impact assessments conducted for the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is carrying out an ongoing programme of comprehensive analytical work that will inform our negotiating position with the EU, to define our deep and special partnership with the EU and inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks
Defra is working with officials across government, in close coordination with the Department for Exiting the European Union, to ensure the delivery of a holistic programme of analysis across government.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have received (a) a fine and (b) a custodial sentence of less than six months for animal cruelty offences.
Answered by George Eustice
The number of offenders found guilty and sentenced for offences under Sections 4 to 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in England and Wales from 2014 to 2016 is shown in the table. It should be noted that these figures pre-date the latest Sentencing Council’s guidelines which were introduced in May and, in the case of animal cruelty offences, allow magistrates more flexibility with regard to imposing penalties towards the upper end of the scale.
Offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts of animal cruelty offences (1), England and Wales, 2014 to 2016 (2)(3)(4) |
| |||||
| ||||||
Outcome | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |||
Found guilty | 814 | 622 | 585 | |||
Sentenced | 815 | 624 | 585 | |||
of which | ||||||
Fine | 146 | 97 | 116 | |||
Immediate custody | 82 | 58 | 63 | |||
of which | ||||||
under six months | 81 | 55 | 60 | |||
| ||||||
(1) Defined as being SS4-8 Animal Welfare Act 2006; (2) figures relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the one selected is that for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe; (3) every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, this data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces, so care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when the data is used; (4) the number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty, as a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown Court, may be sentenced in the following year.
Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many crimes relating to animal cruelty have been reported in each of he last three years.
Answered by George Eustice
The number of offenders found guilty and sentenced for offences under Sections 4 to 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in England and Wales from 2014 to 2016 is shown in the table. It should be noted that these figures pre-date the latest Sentencing Council’s guidelines which were introduced in May and, in the case of animal cruelty offences, allow magistrates more flexibility with regard to imposing penalties towards the upper end of the scale.
Offenders found guilty and sentenced at all courts of animal cruelty offences (1), England and Wales, 2014 to 2016 (2)(3)(4) |
| |||||
| ||||||
Outcome | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |||
Found guilty | 814 | 622 | 585 | |||
Sentenced | 815 | 624 | 585 | |||
of which | ||||||
Fine | 146 | 97 | 116 | |||
Immediate custody | 82 | 58 | 63 | |||
of which | ||||||
under six months | 81 | 55 | 60 | |||
| ||||||
(1) Defined as being SS4-8 Animal Welfare Act 2006; (2) figures relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the one selected is that for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe; (3) every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, this data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces, so care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when the data is used; (4) the number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty, as a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown Court, may be sentenced in the following year.
Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice