Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
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 8 October 2020 to Question 98994, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers pilot scheme; and when he plans to make an announcement on that scheme's future.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
On 22 December 2020, the Government extended the Seasonal Workers Pilot for one year and expanded the number of visas from 10,000 to 30,000.
The extension and expansion of the Pilot for 2021 will allow for further evaluation of the pilot, including how growers will reduce their reliance on migrant labour now we have left the EU, whilst also easing some of the pressure felt on farms when they are at their busiest. The first-year evaluation information will be published later this year.
Defra is working closely with industry and the Home Office to better understand the effectiveness of interventions and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce beyond 2021.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) migrant representative organisations and (b) trade unions to assist (i) the evaluation assessing the impact of the Seasonal Workers Pilot in the agricultural sector; and (ii) the design of any future scheme to bring seasonal workers into UK agriculture.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
On 22 December 2020, the Government extended the Seasonal Workers Pilot for one year and expanded the number of visas from 10,000 to 30,000.
The extension and expansion of the Pilot for 2021 will allow for further evaluation of the pilot, including how growers will reduce their reliance on migrant labour now we have left the EU, whilst also easing some of the pressure felt on farms when they are at their busiest. The first-year evaluation information will be published later this year.
Defra is working closely with industry and the Home Office – who engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, when designing and implementing immigration policy – to better understand the effectiveness of interventions and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce beyond 2021.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
Whether he plans to maintain food and drink standards after the transition period.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
This Government is committed to upholding our high environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards as we leave the EU. The EU Withdrawal Act will transfer all existing food safety provisions, including existing import requirements, onto the UK statute book after the Transition Period. These requirements include a ban on using artificial growth hormones in domestic and imported products, and set out that no products, other than potable water, are approved to decontaminate poultry carcasses.
Our manifesto is clear that in all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.
We are already engaging with the agricultural sector as part of our trade discussions and we will continue to work closely with the National Farmers’ Union and other relevant stakeholders across the food chain to understand the concerns about the impact of new trade deals, as well as the opportunities. The Government has in place a range of stakeholder groups to feed into our policy development on trade. These include the Strategic Trade Advisory Group, the Agri-Food Expert Trade Advisory Group and various supply chain groups.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
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 responses to Annex A of the Seasonal Workers Pilot Request for Information submitted by (a) Pro-Force Limited and (b) Concordia UK.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra has no plans to publish the responses to the Request for Information, as this could potentially harm the commercial interests of the parties who responded to it.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who his Department consulted in assessing responses to Annex A of the Seasonal Workers Pilot Request for Information.
Answered by George Eustice
The responses to the request for information (RFI) were assessed by a panel of Defra officials, against the criteria set out in the RFI. The review process included assessment by commercial and finance specialists. The Pilot was designed by Defra and the Home Office, with input from industry.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what was the cost was of (a) electricity and (b) natural gas used by (i) his Department, (ii) the Forestry Commission, (iii) the Water Services Regulation Authority, (iv) the Animal and Plant Health Agency, (v) the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, (vi) the Rural Payments Agency, (vii) the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, (viii) the Consumer Council for Water, (ix) the Environment Agency, (x) the Marine Management Organisation and (xi) Natural England in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra Group Energy usage and total cost is published each year as part of our Annual Report and Accounts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018
Table 1, attached, is an extract of the sustainability section and is our Greening Government Commitment performance which includes the following bodies:
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The costs cited include the costs of energy and non-energy related costs such as meter reading fees, regulatory charges etc.
The Water Services Regulation Authority and the Consumer Council for Water are below exemption criteria for reporting this information under the Greening Government Commitments:
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the quantity was of (a) electricity and (b) natural gas used by (i) his Department, (ii) the Forestry Commission, (iii) the Water Services Regulation Authority, (iv) the Animal and Plant Health Agency, (v) the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, (vi) the Rural Payments Agency, (vii) the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, (viii) the Consumer Council for Water, (ix) the Environment Agency, (x) the Marine Management Organisation and (xi) Natural England in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra Group Energy usage and total cost is published each year as part of our Annual Report and Accounts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018
Table 1, attached, is an extract of the sustainability section and is our Greening Government Commitment performance which includes the following bodies:
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The costs cited include the costs of energy and non-energy related costs such as meter reading fees, regulatory charges etc.
The Water Services Regulation Authority and the Consumer Council for Water are below exemption criteria for reporting this information under the Greening Government Commitments: