Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of nature on mental health and wellbeing.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the health and wellbeing benefits of spending time in nature and has committed to ensure that everyone lives within a 15-minute walk of a green and blue space. The Environmental Improvement Plan, published on 31 January this year, states that the “evidence is clear that spending time in nature is beneficial for our physical and mental health” and sets out our plans to incorporate green and blue spaces into the healthcare system.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the green social prescribing projects announced in July 2020.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In October 2020, the Government launched a £5.77 million programme, led by Defra, aimed at preventing and tackling mental ill health through green social prescribing. The programme has already recorded over 6,000 referrals.
The programme is being evaluated by a consortium led by the University of Sheffield, and is assessing processes, outcomes and value for money, in order to inform implementation and future policy and practice. The interim evaluation report provides us with some very encouraging findings about the success of the programme so far and is due to be published shortly. A full evaluation report will follow in June 2023.
After the programme closes in March 2023, we will continue to take action to embed and scale green social prescribing across Government and within society.
The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out our current policy position on green social prescribing. The Secretary of State does not plan to make any further statement.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on green social prescribing; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In October 2020, the Government launched a £5.77 million programme, led by Defra, aimed at preventing and tackling mental ill health through green social prescribing. The programme has already recorded over 6,000 referrals.
The programme is being evaluated by a consortium led by the University of Sheffield, and is assessing processes, outcomes and value for money, in order to inform implementation and future policy and practice. The interim evaluation report provides us with some very encouraging findings about the success of the programme so far and is due to be published shortly. A full evaluation report will follow in June 2023.
After the programme closes in March 2023, we will continue to take action to embed and scale green social prescribing across Government and within society.
The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out our current policy position on green social prescribing. The Secretary of State does not plan to make any further statement.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she made an assessment of the potential impact of the authorisation of the emergency use of neonicotinoids for a third year on global pesticide reduction targets.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We remain absolutely committed to the targets agreed in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. UK diplomatic leadership was critical to agreeing the framework and we will continue to champion the framework’s implementation
We welcome target 7, which talks about “reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half including through integrated pest management, based on science, taking into account food security and livelihoods”. IPM lies at the heart of the UK's approach to minimise the environmental impact of pesticides, both domestically and internationally and this is set out in our 25 Year Environment Plan.
We have strict restrictions that do not permit the general use of neonicotinoids to protect crops. The decision to allow use on sugar beet crops was based on an assessment and balancing of environmental risks and benefits to food production and livelihoods. The emergency authorisation we have issued is subject to strict conditions to mitigate risks to pollinators and the wider environment.
We expect the steps needed to achieve Target 7 to vary by country, according to their current usage levels, and the agricultural and regulatory context. The pesticide specific indicator for Target 7 will be developed further over the coming year, informed by a group of independent global specialists.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 has taken to work with the (a) Environment Agency and (b) trade unions to provide a settlement to end industrial action.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
My Department works closely with the Environment Agency through the provision of its Corporate Services, including HR, to support it in developing a pay offer for its staff that whilst ensuring it meets the requirements of the government’s pay guidance of the day. The Environment Agency, as a non-departmental public body, recognises trade unions for the purposes of collective bargaining including pay, and rightfully conducts its own relevant consultation and negotiations on such matters.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to protect seals from disturbances since the Seals (Protection) Bill was introduced to the House.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Marine mammals, including seals, are protected in the UK under legislation that makes it an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take any wild marine mammal. The level of protection is therefore already very high and enforced by law. However, work to explore the possibility of further strengthening legislation in respect to seals is underway.
In the meantime, we are taking forward various initiatives to increase public awareness about the impact of disturbance on marine mammals. Defra is drafting a Marine and Coastal Wildlife Code to help minimise disturbance and the risk of harm to marine wildlife, including seals, from encounters with the public. We are aiming to publish this later in 2023.
‘Operation Seabird’ aims to tackle increases in disturbance to marine wildlife, including seals, by providing education and guidance to prevent wildlife disturbances from occurring and, to prosecute with the support of local police forces where necessary. Targeted ‘Days of Action’ involving Police, the MMO and RSPCA, in partnership with other organisations, take place across UK coastlines across to focus on specific concerns regarding marine life for that area.
Together with the Seal Research Trust, Defra launched a Government-backed campaign in 2021, ‘Give Seals Space’, to help raise awareness of the impact that human disturbance can have on seals and to help reduce it. As part of this campaign, Defra is providing funding for signs to be put up on the banks of the Thames to help raise awareness of the impact of disturbance on seals and the importance of keeping dogs under close control.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of puppies smuggled into Great Britain each year; and what steps she is taking to prevent puppy smuggling.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
APHA does not hold specific data on the total number of puppies illegally smuggled into Great Britain each year.
APHA seized 691 puppies in 2021 and 264 puppies in 2022 which landed in Dover and were not compliant with our import requirements.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill includes measures to tackle puppy smuggling. The Bill was re-introduced to the House of Commons in May 2022.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of healthy dogs that are euthanised each year in the UK; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to legally require vets to scan for rescue back up contact details on microchips and confirm the person presenting the animal is registered on the microchip prior to euthanising a healthy or treatable animal.
Answered by Scott Mann - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department does not hold data on the number of dogs euthanised each year.
We committed in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare to seek greater assurance that alternatives to euthanasia are explored before a healthy dog is put down.
In 2021, we worked closely with the veterinary profession to develop an approach that works for all parties. Following these discussions, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons agreed to incorporate the principle of scanning before euthanasia into the guidance that underpins their Code of Professional Conduct, which applies to all veterinary surgeons practising in the UK.
The Code requires veterinary surgeons to scan for a microchip in dogs prior to euthanasia where, in their professional judgement, it is not necessary to put the dog down on animal health or welfare grounds.
In addition, we recently held a consultation on proposed changes to the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 to consider whether a microchip database record should include a ‘back-up support’ field to record the contact details of a person who may offer the animal an alternative to euthanasia in certain circumstances. We are currently analysing the consultation responses and will issue our response to the consultation later this year.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 the Nature Recovery Green Paper on the protection of (a) bats and (b) bat habitats.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
No specific assessments of the potential impact on the Nature Recovery Green Paper on the protection of bats and their habitats have been made. The Nature Recovery Green Paper set out our proposals to create a legislative system for nature which better reflects the latest science and impending impacts of climate change, tailored to our native species such as bats.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to bring forward its Animals Abroad Bill; and whether that proposed legislation will include a ban on the import of hunting trophies.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have already introduced our Animal Sentience and Kept Animals Bills to Parliament and published the Government's Action Plan for Animal Welfare. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare demonstrates this Government's commitment to animals both at home and abroad.
We have pledged to bring forward legislation to ban imports of hunting trophies from thousands of species. This ban looks to go beyond our manifesto commitment and it will be among the strongest in the world, leading the way in protecting endangered animals and helping to strengthen and support long-term conservation. We intend to bring this forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.