Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 estimate the annual cost to her Department of (a) stationery and (b) postage incurred when sending a ministerial reply to hon. Members; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
This information is not recorded.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 any plans to increase the number of replies within her Department's working day standard; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Guidance for Departments on handling correspondence from Members of Parliament allows Departments to set a target for replying of up to a maximum of 20 working days. Within this limit, Core Defra has set a target of 15 working days.
Core Defra continually reviews processes with a view to improving the service we provide.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the fishing industry.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government's objective for fisheries is to have healthy fish stocks, a prosperous fishing industry and a healthy marine environment. The fundamental reform of the Common Fisheries Policy that the UK worked so hard to achieve has an important role in ensuring this, and the Government will continue to make financial support available under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund to help the sector achieve these objectives.
Regionalisation provides a process to work with other Member States and the industry to making fisheries management decisions closer to the fishery and those affected. This is an important step away from the ‘one-size-fits-all' approach to fisheries management. Legally binding requirements to set fishing rates at sustainable levels ensure an end to the overfishing we have seen in the past. The landing obligation will see an end to the wasteful practice of discards and improvements in avoiding unwanted catches in the first place.
All of this will improve fish stocks, allowing greater catches to be taken and thereby providing a more economically and environmentally sustainable future for the fishing industry.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 estimate the total number of ministerial replies from his Department to hon. Members in a parliamentary session; and what proportion of such replies are sent (a) by letter and (b) by email.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the member for Horsham, Mr Maude, on Thursday 3 July: Official Report, column 5-6W.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to increase the number of replies sent electronically to letters from hon. Members.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the member for Horsham, Mr Maude, on Thursday 3 July: Official Report, column 5-6W.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
There are no current plans for the Department to relocate staff or offices to Brighton.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment he has made of the performance of programmes in the UK and other EU countries which aim to reduce litter; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The Government has not carried out any comparative assessment of the performance of litter reduction programmes in the UK and the rest of the EU.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 deter inappropriate development in National Parks in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
Policy on national parks and planning are devolved matters. For Wales, they are a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government. National parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty are given the strongest protection from damaging development through the National Planning Policy Framework.
Defra works closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure planning policies take account of the special character of England's protected landscapes. For example, as made clear on 6 March by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Nick Boles, the extended permitted development rights for conversion of agricultural buildings to a dwelling house will not apply in national parks or areas of outstanding natural beauty (6 Mar 2014, Official Report, column 50WS).
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 promote the health of (a) domestic and (b) wild rabbits; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
No specific initiatives are currently underway to promote the health of domestic or wild rabbits.