Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice she has received from the Animal Welfare Committee on the use of high concentrations of CO2 to stun and kill pigs.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Animal Welfare Committee’s (AWC) predecessor, the Farm Animal Welfare Council provided advice to the Government in 2003 which concluded that “the use of high concentrations of CO2 (80% and above) to stun and kill pigs is not acceptable”; and recommended “Government and the industry should fund research and development into the use of non-aversive gas mixtures. The use of aversive gas mixtures should be phased out within five years.” The Government has supported research into the use of alternatives. This includes inert gas mixtures, where there are practical constraints which have so far restricted commercial update. The Government has also part-funded research into low atmospheric pressure stunning (LAPS), however results demonstrated that LAPS is associated with poor welfare in pigs. We continue to engage with AWC on the need for alternatives to high concentration CO2 stunning of pigs.
We accept that there are longstanding animal welfare concerns associated with high concentration CO2 gas stunning of pigs. Following publication in 2021 of the Post Implementation Review of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 and as part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are currently considering a number of improvements that could be made. We have also met with industry to discuss alternatives to high concentration CO2 stunning of pigs.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
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 effectiveness of his Department's policies for reducing light pollution.
Answered by Steve Double
We take a broad approach to tackling all impacts on biodiversity, such as artificial light, and have indicators set out through the 25 Year Environment Plan reporting mechanisms which assess the effectiveness of this wider work towards nature recovery.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many actions under the statutory nuisance regime have been taken regarding light pollution since that regime came into force.
Answered by Steve Double
Defra does not hold information about Light Pollution cases investigated under the Environmental Protection Act. This information is only held at Local Authority level.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to implement the 25-Year Environment Plan's commitment to ensure that light pollution management eases potential impacts on wildlife.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra has funded or co-funded national and international assessments of drivers of change on insects and wider biodiversity such as the global Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES) Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production. This report notes the effects of artificial light on nocturnal insects may be growing.
Defra has worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure that the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that policies and decisions should limit the impact of light pollution on local amenity, dark landscapes and nature conservation.
Furthermore, Defra has contributed to the development of the DLUHC Planning Policy Guidance on light pollution, published in November 2019, which emphasises the importance of getting the right light in the right place at the right time and sets out the factors that are relevant when considering the ecological impacts of lighting.
A range of measures are in place to ensure that light pollution is effectively managed through: controls in the planning system; the statutory nuisance regime; and improvements in street lighting.
We continue to work with partners including leading scientists to review the latest studies related to light pollution and ensure we continue to address key threats to biodiversity.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Pollinator Advisory Steering Group (a) last met formally and (b) will meet next.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Pollinator Advisory Steering Group last met formally on Friday 19 November 2021.
The date for the next quarterly meeting is not fixed yet, but we have been working closely with members of the group during the development of the Pollinator Action Plan for 2021 to 2024, which will be published soon.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when a Minister from his Department last attend a Pollinator Advisory Steering Group meeting.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Pollinator Advisory Steering Group is intended to be a working level meeting between officials and partners in stakeholder organisations. As such, Ministers are generally not invited to join their meetings, and so attendance by a Minister would be by exception.
The last time a Defra Minister attended the Pollinator Advisory Steering Group meeting was on 9 May 2016.