Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of specialised staff working in the climate and natural environment sectors; and what assessment they have made of any risks arising from skilled staff transferring to other sectors.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government recognises the challenges to ensuring a skilled workforce to achieve Net Zero and our environmental goals and targets. We have committed to publishing a Green Jobs Plan in 2024, which we are currently working with employers to develop through the Green Jobs Delivery Group. The Plan will outline actions to support the upskilling and retention of staff with specialist climate and environmental skills to develop a skilled and sufficiently sized workforce.
To inform this Plan, we have been undertaking workforce assessments for key sectors, engaging with industry leads to understand the cross-cutting themes, shortages and skills gaps related to the needs of the Net Zero and Nature workforce.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of staffing levels across the climate and natural environment sectors, including (1) the Environment Agency, and (2) Natural England.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the government of Vietnam regarding reports that unchipped and illegal bears in Nghe An Province have not been confiscated due to violence against enforcement officials by illegal wildlife farmers.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
We have made no assessment or held any discussions with the government of Vietnam on the trafficking or illegal captivity of Asiatic Black Bears. However, in April 2023 Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thérèse Coffey visited Vietnam and met with her counterparts in the Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. During this visit the important role of Vietnam in tackling the Illegal Wildlife Trade was discussed.
The UK government fully opposes any intimidation of individuals carrying out official duties and is supportive of a proportionate response that reflects international commitments and due process.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the government of Vietnam regarding the number of unchipped and illegal bears in captivity in Vietnam.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
We have made no assessment or held any discussions with the government of Vietnam on the trafficking or illegal captivity of Asiatic Black Bears. However, in April 2023 Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thérèse Coffey visited Vietnam and met with her counterparts in the Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. During this visit the important role of Vietnam in tackling the Illegal Wildlife Trade was discussed.
The UK government fully opposes any intimidation of individuals carrying out official duties and is supportive of a proportionate response that reflects international commitments and due process.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Nghe An Province in Vietnam is providing a backdoor route for the trafficking from Laos of Asiatic Black Bears, in contravention of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
We have made no assessment or held any discussions with the government of Vietnam on the trafficking or illegal captivity of Asiatic Black Bears. However, in April 2023 Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thérèse Coffey visited Vietnam and met with her counterparts in the Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. During this visit the important role of Vietnam in tackling the Illegal Wildlife Trade was discussed.
The UK government fully opposes any intimidation of individuals carrying out official duties and is supportive of a proportionate response that reflects international commitments and due process.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the social value to people and communities of the canal network; and whether they believe their long-term funding settlement for the Canal & River Trust will increase or decrease that social value.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government recognises that canals provide many public benefits, including social value to people and communities. When the Canal and River Trust was set up in 2012 to replace British Waterways, the Government agreed to provide an annual grant over 15 years to provide a measure of financial stability while the Trust developed alternative income streams. This was on the clear understanding, set out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Defra and the Trust at the time, that the Trust would progressively reduce reliance on Government grant funding. During this 15-year period the total value of the grant payments will be around £740 million. The Government also transferred a property portfolio, generating around £50 million per annum and now worth around £1 billion, to support their costs.
Following a comprehensive evidence-based review of the grant that included consideration of the public benefits provided by canals, and while there was no obligation to do so, the Government has agreed to provide the Trust with a further £400 million grant over ten years from 2027 to support their continued efforts towards providing public benefits and delivering a safe and resilient canal network. This is consistent with the original strategic intent for the Canal & River Trust to reduce dependence on taxpayer funding as an independent charity.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact of their long-term funding settlement for the Canal & River Trust on the condition and safety of the canal network.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government recognises that canals provide many public benefits, including social value to people and communities. When the Canal and River Trust was set up in 2012 to replace British Waterways, the Government agreed to provide an annual grant over 15 years to provide a measure of financial stability while the Trust developed alternative income streams. This was on the clear understanding, set out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Defra and the Trust at the time, that the Trust would progressively reduce reliance on Government grant funding. During this 15-year period the total value of the grant payments will be around £740 million. The Government also transferred a property portfolio, generating around £50 million per annum and now worth around £1 billion, to support their costs.
Following a comprehensive evidence-based review of the grant that included consideration of the public benefits provided by canals, and while there was no obligation to do so, the Government has agreed to provide the Trust with a further £400 million grant over ten years from 2027 to support their continued efforts towards providing public benefits and delivering a safe and resilient canal network. This is consistent with the original strategic intent for the Canal & River Trust to reduce dependence on taxpayer funding as an independent charity.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the application of existing animal welfare offences to content shared on or otherwise facilitated by regulated internet services.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Animal cruelty in England and Wales is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Similar legislation is in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Sentencing Council recently updated its sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines include ‘use of technology to record, publicise or promote cruelty’ as an aggravating factor for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines specify that this includes circulating details/photographs/videos etc of the offence on social media. There is no central recording of the use of such factors in sentencing.
The number of prosecutions in England and Wales for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for the last three years for which we have full data is set out in the table below:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Prosecutions under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 | 1719 | 949 | 965 |
Depending on its nature, digital transmission of animal cruelty content may be an offence under different legislation, such as (but not exclusively) the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and the Communications Act 2007.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions have been brought under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in each of the last three years, in relation to the creation or sharing of online content relating to animal welfare.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Animal cruelty in England and Wales is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Similar legislation is in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Sentencing Council recently updated its sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines include ‘use of technology to record, publicise or promote cruelty’ as an aggravating factor for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines specify that this includes circulating details/photographs/videos etc of the offence on social media. There is no central recording of the use of such factors in sentencing.
The number of prosecutions in England and Wales for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for the last three years for which we have full data is set out in the table below:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Prosecutions under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 | 1719 | 949 | 965 |
Depending on its nature, digital transmission of animal cruelty content may be an offence under different legislation, such as (but not exclusively) the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and the Communications Act 2007.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether data shows that transmission of bovine tuberculosis is higher (1) from badgers to cattle, or (2) between cattle.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Several recent studies using whole genome sequencing data from Mycobacterium bovis isolates in cattle and badgers estimate that, in the UK, transmission of the bacterium occurs more frequently within the same host species (i.e. from cattle to cattle and from badger to badger), than between badgers and cattle. However, the relative rates of transmission between and within the two maintenance host species are not uniform across the country and can vary over time.
Even so, there is broad scientific consensus that badgers are implicated in the spread of TB to cattle. Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s independent review of the science published in 2018, which brought together leading UK experts, concluded that TB spreads within and between populations of badgers and cattle and that spread from badgers to cattle is an important cause of herd breakdowns in high-incidence areas.