Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps will she take to ensure farmers are supported in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Eustice
As a responsible Government, we have been working to minimise any disruption to farmers in the event of a no deal.
We have made it clear that we will support vulnerable sectors through Government intervention in a no deal, should this be necessary, and we have contingency plans in place. We will be monitoring the sectors which may be exposed to short-term difficulties as a result of EU withdrawal closely to identify early signs of market disturbance, allowing us to intervene swiftly if necessary.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
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 valuing food security as a public good.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
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 farmers tackle the spread of bovine TB.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
We are pursuing a wide range of interventions as part of the Government’s strategy to eradicate bovine TB in England by 2038, including strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, licensing badger control, and promoting biosecurity on farms to help farmers prevent the spread of Bovine TB. Sir Charles Godfray’s independent review (published in November 2018) is an important contribution that will inform next steps in the strategy.
In my Written Ministerial Statement of 20 June 2019, I announced plans to reinforce TB testing in the High Risk Area, invited applications for a third round of the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme and confirmed the licensing and authorisation by Natural England of three supplementary badger control areas for 2019.
Our partnerships with other organisations have enabled the development of toolkits that support farmers to understand their role in the prevention and eradication of the disease, including the TB Hub, the iBTB website and the TB Advisory Service.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
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 encourage wildflower meadows throughout the country.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
We are taking action to encourage wildflower meadows by managing designated sites, providing incentives for habitat management and creation, and forging strong partnerships with landowners, communities and conservation bodies.
Our agri-environment schemes provide incentives for creation and management of wildlife-rich habitat, including meadows. Since 2011, we have initiated creation of over 130,000 hectares of wildlife rich habitat, including wildflower meadows. Our new Environmental Land Management scheme will reward farmers and land managers for delivering environmental outcomes such as conserving and restoring such habitats.
Our Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) provide protection for approximately two thirds of the total extent of 110,000 ha of semi-natural grassland Priority Habitat in England. Natural England’s 2018-19 SSSI designation programme identifies a further 12 sites containing important wildflower-rich grasslands. The 25 Year Environment Plan commits us to restoring 75% of SSSI areas to good condition.
We work with partners to support the recovery of threatened species and their habitats. For example, Natural England are working with landowners and conservation organisations on the Back from the Brink programme including on the ‘Limestone’s Living Legacies’ project, restoring a network of limestone grassland sites in the West Midlands.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
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 contribution of wildflower meadows to the success of the various bee populations in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Wildflowers provide pollen and nectar resources essential for sustaining wild and honey bees. Wildflower meadows therefore provide vital habitats for bee populations.
Published scientific research has established that range contractions in many of our bee species are linked to the loss of species-rich habitats such as wildflower meadows. It also found that bee populations are more diverse on farms where wildflowers are sown or in landscapes with greater densities of wildflower meadows and other species-rich habitats.
We also know that when we put wildflowers back, bees respond. Landscape-scale studies of wild bumblebee populations in farmed landscapes, led by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and part-funded by Defra, revealed that providing flower-rich habitat enhances the long-term survival of bumblebee families.
Through our programme of agri-environment monitoring, we are currently evaluating how sowing wildflowers on farms is supporting bee populations.