Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many contracts have been signed whit companies for the building of incinerators with a lease of over 20 years, in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra does not collect this information.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of Yorkshire farmers receive direct payments and rural development support from the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
There are 12,346 farm holding in the Yorkshire and Humberside Unitary Authority of which 9,971 submitted an application for Basic Payment Scheme and 6,434 submitted applications under the various Agri-Environment Schemes.
A range of businesses have been able to access grants and since the launch of the Rural Development Programme for England in 2014 a total of 348 projects in Yorkshire have received funding from 2,666 offered across England.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 29 December 2017 to Question 120348, when Natural England will finalise the allocation of funding for national trails for 2018/19.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Pursuant to my answer of 29 December 2017, business planning and financial allocations for 2018/19 have not yet been completed, and Natural England is not yet in a position to announce the allocation of funding for national trails for 2018/19.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 11 October 2017 to Question 106302, what funding he plans to allocate to national trails for 2018-19; and how much funding has been allocated to maintain the Pennine Way.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Natural England (NE) has not yet finalised the allocation of funding for national trails for 2018/19.
NE has recently written to each of the national trail partnerships making an interim offer of 50 percent of the funding made to each of the national trails in 2017/18. The offer is an advance contribution towards the costs the partnerships would incur in 2018/19 in the absence of NE currently being able to confirm its overall funding position for 2018/19. NE’s interim offer for the Pennine Way in 2018/19 totals £99,626.50.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy farmers in Yorkshire will receive the same amount of subsidies from the Government as they do from the EU Common Agricultural Policy after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
This Government has pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of the parliament, expected in 2022. This is a greater level of security and certainty for farmers and landowners than anywhere else in the EU, where funding is guaranteed only to 2020. This total includes all EU and Exchequer funding provided for farm support under both Pillar I and Pillar II.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 has plans to bring forward legislative proposals banning the keeping of game birds in cages; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
The welfare of game birds is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes, provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their game birds, as required by the Act. The Code recommends that barren cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used and that any system should be appropriately enriched. The Act and Defra’s Code are enforced by the Animal and Plant Health Agency. We are not currently planning to change these requirements.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) residential properties and (b) businesses have been flooded in the Colne Valley in each year since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Kirklees Council has advised the Environment Agency that approximately 20 residential properties and one business have been flooded in the Colne Valley since 2010. This includes flooding from all sources.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of neonicotinoids on the native bee population.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra has supported a range of research relevant to improving understanding of the effects of neonicotinoids (and other pesticides) on bees. Recently completed work includes studies on: quantifying the exposure of bumblebees to neonicotinoids and mixtures of pesticides (commenced 2013), interpreting pesticide residues in honeybees (published 2015), using radio-frequency identification devices to assess effects of pesticides on foraging bees (commenced 2013), and protection goals for bee colonies (commenced 2015).
The Government considers that decisions on the use of pesticides should be based on a careful scientific assessment of the risks. Pesticides that carry unacceptable risks to bees should not be authorised. The Government keeps the developing evidence on neonicotinoids under review, advised by the independent UK Expert Committee on Pesticides. On the basis of current available evidence, we support the existing restrictions.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the EU paid in subsidies to farmers in (a) Colne Valley constituency and (b) West Yorkshire in each of the last seven years.
Answered by George Eustice
There are several schemes which offer EU subsidies to farmers. The main scheme for direct subsidy is the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) which replaced the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2015. Figures below are for BPS and SPS.
Year | Amount | Amount |
| Colne Valley | West Yorkshire |
SPS |
|
|
2010 | £1,206,660 | £16,284,594 |
2011 | £1,099,675 | £15,853,687 |
2012 | £1,032,367 | £14,747,827 |
2013 | £1,038,170 | £14,882,482 |
2014 | £904,551 | £13,459,240 |
BPS |
|
|
2015 | £979, 517 | £13,016,020 |
2016 | £1,093,615 | £14,338,213 |