Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 reduce the risks of helium balloons and sky lanterns to livestock keepers and the wider agricultural community.
Answered by George Eustice
We have been taking forward a series of non-regulatory measures, aimed at minimising the risks associated with sky lanterns and helium balloons and driving up safety standards. These include a voluntary Code of Practice for sky lanterns to ensure that sky lanterns are manufactured to be safe and are sold responsibly. NABAS the National Association of Balloon Artists and Suppliers, (the trade association for the balloon industry), has also published a code of conduct on balloon releases.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timetable is for his Department to introduce legislative proposals to raise the maximum sentence for animal cruelty to five years; and whether his Department plans to do this by means of primary legislation.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government proposes to introduce legislation to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty offences as soon as Parliamentary time permits.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 Written Statement of 13 March 2018, Spring Statement, HCWS 540, if he will publish a list of where the £310 million in EU exit funding for his Department will be allocated.
Answered by George Eustice
£310m has been allocated to Defra. This will support ongoing work to ensure a successful EU exit across Defra’s portfolio, from agriculture to the environment, including:
Developing new IT systems to maintain smooth trade in agri-foods and chemicals, and supporting the associated trade negotiations;
Ensuring that the UK has a robust environmental regulatory framework after exit;
Developing the Government’s approach to farming and fisheries.
As with all Reserve funding, finalised allocations will be confirmed at Supplementary Estimates 2018-19 in early 2019.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the changes required in (a) domestic standards, (b) international standards and (c) domestic legislation once the UK has left the EU to provide for the mandatory labelling of the (i) origin and (ii) methods of production and processing of imported meat and dairy ingredients in (A) fresh, (B) processed and (C) pre-prepared products sold in the UK.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is proud of our high standards of food safety and these will not be watered down when we leave the EU. We will keep our existing UK legislation, and the EU Withdrawal Bill will convert EU law into UK law as it applies once we have left the EU.
This means that origin labelling for foods will be required where the consumer would be misled if it were not given. In addition, the rules for compulsory origin labelling of beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry meat, fish and shellfish, honey, olive oil, wine and most fruit and vegetables will be in place. The majority of meat and dairy products sold at retail have transparent origin labelling provided voluntarily for the meat or dairy ingredients, and we continue to support the voluntary principles on country of origin labelling.
Method of production labelling is not required for food although some producers provide it on a voluntary basis. If it is provided it must be accurate and must not mislead the consumer: the Government has no plans to change this once we leave the EU.
When we leave the EU, there will be an opportunity to review labelling requirements for all foods, to ensure that we maintain the highest standards of quality and transparency for consumers and take the greatest opportunities for marketing our great British food across the world.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 changes required in (a) domestic standards, (b) international standards and (c) domestic legislation once the UK has left the EU to provide for the mandatory labelling of the (i) origin and (ii) methods of production and processing of imported meat and dairy ingredients in (A) fresh, (B) processed and (C) pre-prepared products sold in the UK.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is proud of our high standards of food safety and these will not be watered down when we leave the EU. We will keep our existing UK legislation, and the EU Withdrawal Bill will convert EU law into UK law as it applies once we have left the EU.
This means that origin labelling for foods will be required where the consumer would be misled if it were not given. In addition, the rules for compulsory origin labelling of beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry meat, fish and shellfish, honey, olive oil, wine and most fruit and vegetables will be in place. The majority of meat and dairy products sold at retail have transparent origin labelling provided voluntarily for the meat or dairy ingredients, and we continue to support the voluntary principles on country of origin labelling.
Method of production labelling is not required for food although some producers provide it on a voluntary basis. If it is provided it must be accurate and must not mislead the consumer: the Government has no plans to change this once we leave the EU.
When we leave the EU, there will be an opportunity to review labelling requirements for all foods, to ensure that we maintain the highest standards of quality and transparency for consumers and take the greatest opportunities for marketing our great British food across the world.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has discussed food products covered by the (a) protected designation of origin, (b) protected geographical indication and (c) traditional speciality guaranteed schemes with US trade negotiators.
Answered by George Eustice
UK spirit, drinks and wines, covered by the Protected Food Name scheme, are included in a number of existing EU-US bilateral agreements. The US-UK Trade and Investment Working Group, established in July 2017, is working to secure continuity in the effect of these agreements on the day we leave the EU.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research has been done by his Department into the levels of temporary labour and agency workers from the EEA in food processing and agriculture; and whether his Department plans to commission further research on this topic.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra is considering the latest data, and working closely with industry to understand labour demand and supply within these sectors.
Until 2016, Defra published data on the estimated number of seasonal agricultural workers in all UK countries in “Agriculture in the UK”, which is a Defra publication. Since 2016, data is published for England only, collected by the June Horticulture and Agriculture Survey. Defra does not collect data on the nationality of those workers.
This information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/structure-of-the-agricultural-industry-in-england-and-the-uk-at-june
Defra Ministers have ongoing discussions with a range of Government departments, including the Home Office, about securing the workforce that the farming industry needs.
The Government has also commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to assess the role that EU citizens play in the UK economy and society, and how to align future immigration framework with a modern industrial strategy.
For the future we will continue to monitor the situation, work with stakeholders, and assess the current and future evidence to support our ability to secure the workforce the food and farming industry needs.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department plans to ensure independent scrutiny and enforcement of environmental standards after the UK leaves the EU; and what consultations with outside bodies it will undertake.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
On 12 November the Secretary of State set out plans to consult on a new, independent and statutory body to hold the Government and potentially public authorities to account on the environment once we have left the European Union.
We are already gathering views from stakeholders and will consult widely when we bring forward our proposals for this body.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 seek substantive contributions from the Welsh and Scottish Governments on drafting new environmental legislation after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We are working closely with the devolved administrations on EU withdrawal matters and this includes discussions on the environment.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on establishing the biodiversity net gain approach in environmental law after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will ensure that the whole body of existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law to provide businesses, communities and stakeholders with maximum certainty as we leave the EU. We will then have the opportunity, over time, to ensure our legislative framework is outcome driven and delivers on our overall commitment of improving the environment within a generation.
The UK has a long history of environmental protection and we will safeguard and improve on this record. Producing a 25 Year Environment Plan is key to setting out how we will improve our environment as we leave the EU and take control of our environmental legislation again.