Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of reclassifying fresh (a) fruit and (b) root vegetables from the EU as medium risk on retailers.
Answered by Mark Spencer
No assessment on impacts will be made as there has been no change to the risk category of fruit and vegetables. A temporary easement has been put in place for fruit and vegetables imported to GB.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
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 potential impact of pausing proposals reclassifying (a) fruits and (b) root vegetables from the EU as medium risk on (i) retailers and (ii) consumers.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Defra is not reclassifying fruit and vegetables. A temporary easement has been put in place for fruit and vegetables imported to GB.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the environmental condition of the River Gipping in Suffolk.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency, whilst taking account of the aspirations of other river users, works with partners to restore a more naturally functioning river which will support natural habitats and a rich biodiversity.
Using Defra’s Water Environment Improvement Fund, the Environment Agency has worked with Suffolk Wildlife Trust on several projects to enhance wildlife and the resilience of the river environment to the impacts of climate change. The Environment Agency has also funded Groundwork to deliver the Yellow Fish Project (http://oilcare.org.uk/avoid-pollution/yellow-fish) which focused on pollution prevention messages to the community, businesses and schools in the towns of Needham Market and Stowmarket in 2019/20. A further Yellow fish project is currently running in Ipswich in 2023-4 including on the lower River Gipping funded by the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency continues to hold water companies to account to reduce pollution, tackle storm overflows and invest more into the environment; work with farmers to support environmentally friendly farming that doesn’t damage water quality; respond to environmental incidents to stop and reverse damage to our rivers as well as prosecute the most serious polluters. As well as the protection of water quality, the Environment Agency has a permitting and regulatory system that protects water quantity. Additionally the Environment Agency has a regulatory role to ensure that physical modification does not reduce the ecological and biological value of the river. This could include things such as the removal of bankside trees and vegetation.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
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 adequacy of the environmental condition of the River Gipping in Suffolk.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency monitors the water quality, ecology (plants, invertebrates and fish) rainfall, river flows and groundwater levels of the River Gipping and its catchment. The Environment Agency delivered a fish survey report in 2019 for the River Gipping which indicated that fish populations within the river are stable, with an average of 10 species being recorded at each of the five survey sites. A further survey was completed this year and the results are still being analysed. The river is currently at Moderate Ecological Potential, with a target to achieve Good Ecological Potential by 2027. The main sources of pollution are agriculture and the water industry and there is a growing threat from plastics and forever chemicals.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the environmental condition of the River Gipping in Suffolk.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government is committed to improving water quality. In August 2022 we launched the storm overflows plan which will require water companies to deliver their largest ever environmental infrastructure investment - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years. In December we announced our ambitious suite of legally binding Environment Act targets, including four targets to address pressures on the water environment. The Environment Agency works with partners to restore a more naturally functioning river which will support natural habitats and a rich biodiversity. Using Defra’s Water Environment Improvement Fund, the Environment Agency has worked with Suffolk Wildlife Trust on several projects to enhance wildlife and the resilience of the river environment to the impacts of climate change. The Environment Agency has also funded Groundwork to deliver the Yellow Fish Project (http://oilcare.org.uk/avoid-pollution/yellow-fish) which focused on pollution prevention messages to the community, businesses and schools in the towns of Needham Market and Stowmarket in 2019/20.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
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 environmental condition of the River Gipping in Suffolk.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency monitors the water quality, ecology (plants, invertebrates and fish), rainfall, river flows and groundwater levels of the River Gipping and its catchment. The Environment Agency delivered a fish survey report in 2019 for the River Gipping which indicated that fish populations in the river are stable, with an average of 10 species being recorded at each of the five survey sites. A further survey was completed this year and the results are still being analysed.
The river is currently at Moderate Ecological Potential, with a target to achieve Good Ecological Potential by 2027.