Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that meat is labelled clearly to inform consumers about provenance from (a) animals reared and slaughtered (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad and (b) meat grown in a lab.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Country of Origin labelling is compulsory for prepacked unprocessed beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry meat. For beef an indication of where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered is required while for the other meats, reared and slaughtered is required. The word ‘origin’, where used on unprocessed fresh or frozen meat, means it is from an animal that was born, reared and slaughtered in the indicated country. Additional labelling rules apply for foods with primary ingredients. Where meat is the primary ingredient of a food product, for example a sausage or bacon, the origin of the primary ingredient must be given if different to the origin that is provided for the food product (which will be where the product is manufactured). This means consumers can have confidence in provenance and quality of the food they buy.
Each ingredient of pre-packed food must be included on the label. The ingredient must be the legal name of the food or, if there is no legal name, the customary name or a name that is sufficiently descriptive to enable consumers to know its true nature and distinguish it from other products with which it might be confused. Lab-grown meat is not meat as defined in food labelling legislation and does not therefore require its origin to be given, unless the omission of this information would cause a consumer to be misled. It is however required to be clearly labelled as an ingredient.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to (a) estimate the economic cost of wildlife crime, (b) record wildlife crime and (c) measure trends in wildlife crime; and whether she has taken steps to address the recommendations in the UN Office on Drugs and Crime report entitled Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit Report: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 6 August 2021.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The UK Government does not hold a figure for the economic cost of wildlife crime in this country but in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2016 report: The rise of environmental crime: A growing threat to natural resources peace, development and security, estimates are made that, globally, poaching and illegal wildlife trade is worth up to £17 billion a year; and natural resources worth as much as USD $91 billion to $258 billion annually are being stolen by criminals, depriving countries of future revenues and development opportunities. This includes illegal logging and fishing.
In terms of recording wildlife crime and measuring trends in wildlife crime, at a UK level the Office for National Statistics publishes police-recorded crime statistics, including statistics on wildlife crimes, where available. However, most wildlife crimes are not categorised as notifiable so there is no obligation for UK police forces to report on them. This makes it more challenging to measure trends in wildlife crime and gauge its true extent. Any decision to make offences notifiable sits with the National Crime Registrar at the Home Office. The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), funded partly by Defra and the Home Office, gathers intelligence from a number of organisations in addition to police forces and Border Force. This intelligence informs a Strategic Assessment of wildlife crime in the UK, which is produced every two years and contributes to the setting of the UK’s wildlife crime priorities.
With regard to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report (published on 21 December 2021), the Government welcomed this piece of work and the fact it recognised the UK's global leadership in fighting wildlife and forestry crime. We invited the UN to undertake this analysis and we are proud to be the first G7 country to request this assessment. We have carefully considered all the recommendations of the report and they are informing our work to help us build on the positive progress we have already made in tackling wildlife crime. This will include strategic engagement with our partners that have responsibilities where individual recommendations are concerned such as the devolved administrations, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the NWCU. Progress has already been made in response to the report. For example, in 2022 Defra more than doubled its funding of the NWCU from a total of £495,000 over the three previous years to £1.2 million for the three-year period of 2022-25. Additionally, Border Force has increased numbers in its team specialising in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Defra is not under any obligation to formally respond to the UNODC's assessment and has no plans to do so, but we will identify where we can act, including with stakeholders, to strengthen the UK's approach to tackling wildlife and forestry crime.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will set out a timetable for bringing forward a ban on live exports.
Answered by Mark Spencer
We remain committed to ending the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter. There have not been any live exports for fattening or slaughter since 2020 and we want to make this permanent. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to announce the members appointed to the Animal Sentience Committee.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 25 May 2023, we announced that the Animal Sentience Committee has been established. The Committee is chaired by Michael Seals CBE, who was appointed on 02 September 2022. He is joined by five experts in animal welfare, who were appointed on 25 May 2023.
The five new members are Professor Richard Bennett, Richard Cooper, Dr Penny Hawkins, Professor Anna Meredith and Professor Christine Nicol.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to restore (a) saltmarshes, (b) native oyster reefs and (c) seagrass meadows in the UK.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises that protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing coastal and marine habitats such as saltmarsh, seagrass and native oyster reefs can provide benefits for society, biodiversity and climate adaptation, as well as for carbon sequestration.
We are working to protect these habitats, including through the Marine Protected Area network, which already contains the majority of saltmarsh and seagrass habitats in the UK. A number of estuarine and coastal habitat restoration initiatives are also underway including the Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative which aims to reverse centuries of coastal habitat decline by restoring seagrass meadows, saltmarsh and native oyster reefs to bring benefits to people and nature. The Environment Agency’s restoration handbooks and restoration potential maps are also a key tool to support restoration of coastal blue carbon habitats in the UK and beyond.
In addition, the Government’s £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund has supported a range of nature recovery projects across England, some which have included saltmarsh and seagrass restoration.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to create an extended producer responsibility scheme for fishing gear in order to reduce global ocean plastic.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The UK is committed to protecting the marine environment from all human-induced stressors, including marine litter such as abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). We are exploring methods to recycle and reuse ALDFG as well as end of life gear at ports and aquaculture farms with the intention of moving the sector towards a circular economy model. This involves assessing all potential options and considering proportionality and value for money. We will consult on the most appropriate solution to managing end of life fishing gear.
In addition the UK is also working collaboratively at the International Maritime Organisation to further address actions that have been identified under its 2018 Action Plan and 2021 Strategy on marine plastic litter from ships, in particular ALDFG.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to implement the recommendations of the Benyon review Into Highly Protected Marine Areas.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government confirmed earlier this year that the first three Highly Protected Marine Areas in English Waters will be designated before 6th of July 2023 and further sites will be identified by the autumn.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in view of the incidence of fly tipping, whether she is taking steps with local authorities to increase access to recycling and refuse centres.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Last year, Defra issued a call for evidence on booking systems at household waste recycling centres alongside the consultation on preventing charges for DIY waste at household waste recycling centres. The consultation and call for evidence closed on the 4th of July 2022. Alongside this, we commissioned research into the use of booking systems at household waste recycling centres to see if they have had an impact on fly-tipping levels. The government’s position on booking systems will be outlined shortly as part of the government response to the consultation on preventing charges for DIY waste at household waste recycling centres.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
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 adequacy of food (a) labelling practices by supermarkets and (b) processing legislation.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels, whether that be mandatory or voluntary, so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy
All food sold on the UK market must comply with food labelling rules. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food.
Responsibility for assessing business compliance with the majority of food legislation rests with Local Authorities (LAs). The Food Standards Agency (FSA) provides a framework for LAs to regulate food businesses. A key aspect of this is the statutory Food Law Code of Practice (Code) and associated Practice Guidance, which establish a set of expectations for the activities LAs are responsible for under food law and how these are to be delivered.
Food law provides a robust framework that protects public health and requires food businesses that produce, process, and distribute food to apply food safety controls that ensure food they place on the market is safe. The FSA completed a Post Implementation Review of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England ) Regulations 2013 in 2020.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure the accuracy of food labelling.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels, whether that be mandatory or voluntary, so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy
All food sold on the UK market must comply with food labelling rules. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food.
Responsibility for assessing business compliance with the majority of food legislation rests with Local Authorities (LAs). The FSA provides a framework for LAs to regulate food businesses. A key aspect of this is the statutory Food Law Code of Practice (Code) and associated Practice Guidance, which establish a set of expectations for the activities LAs are responsible for under food law and how these are to be delivered.
The FSA’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) works closely with the Food Industry Intelligence Network (FIIN), whose members include supermarkets and many businesses within their supply chains.