Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member was not agreed to by (a) a Minister and (b) their office on behalf of a Minister in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mark Spencer
This information is not centrally collated and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Ministers will regularly seek to engage with hon. Members, while balancing wider ministerial and parliamentary responsibilities.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Scottish government on taking steps to align the (a) deposit return scheme and (b) extended producer responsibility scheme across the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Secretary of State has regular meetings with counterparts in the Devolved Administrations to discuss a range of issues including alignment on the Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers. The Extended Producer Responsibility scheme (EPR) is UK-wide and will be introduced through a single UK-wide Statutory Instrument. Most recently I discussed EPR with the Devolved Administrations on 28 June.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many sewage leaks have been recorded within their Department's estate in the last twelve months.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra has had no sewage leaks on our estate over the last 12 months.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s announcement on 23 March 2023 that it plans to introduce a phased reduction in the use of peat for the professional horticultural sector from 2026, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of that ban on the on the capacity of UK growers to supply garden centres with the same number of tree and plant varieties.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
An impact assessment was completed alongside our consultation in 2022. As the plans for the legislation evolve that assessment will be updated alongside our legislative proposals. The Government is currently co-funding research into peat free growing media with the RHS and industry leaders over the next three years; this research will expand the knowledge base regarding the quality of peat free growing media and our understanding of particular technical difficulties.
Technical exemptions have already been identified for plugs using less than 150ml of substrate and for casing material for mushroom production. Evidence provided for other plant types or production processes requiring a technical exemption will be considered and we will be engaging with the sector to refine any of these. We are proposing that the legislation will be framed to allow ministers to amend the dates, or modify the exemption, where exigent circumstances mean that the removal date is shown to be unachievable. The proposed legislation will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s announcement on 23 March 2023 that it plans to introduce a phased reduction in the use of peat for the professional horticultural sector from 2026 onwards, how will the technical exemptions be determined; and what her planned timescale is for announcing what these will be.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
An impact assessment was completed alongside our consultation in 2022. As the plans for the legislation evolve that assessment will be updated alongside our legislative proposals. The Government is currently co-funding research into peat free growing media with the RHS and industry leaders over the next three years; this research will expand the knowledge base regarding the quality of peat free growing media and our understanding of particular technical difficulties.
Technical exemptions have already been identified for plugs using less than 150ml of substrate and for casing material for mushroom production. Evidence provided for other plant types or production processes requiring a technical exemption will be considered and we will be engaging with the sector to refine any of these. We are proposing that the legislation will be framed to allow ministers to amend the dates, or modify the exemption, where exigent circumstances mean that the removal date is shown to be unachievable. The proposed legislation will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of how the cost of any difference in the usage of utilities by workers in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme can be (a) accounted for and (b) passed on to workers; and if she will publish further guidance for employers on the usage of utilities by workers in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.
Answered by Mark Spencer
While individual farm businesses are responsible for charging seasonal workers for their usage of utilities, approved scheme operators must comply with requirements outlined in the sponsor guidance. This includes ensuring farm businesses with whom they have placed workers do not impose additional, unnecessary charges on workers, whether directly or indirectly. The new team within the Home Office compliance network will focus specifically on farm businesses in this sector and ensure sponsors are adhering to this guidance and fulfilling their sponsorship responsibilities.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release of 16 December entitled Government provides boost to horticulture industry with certainty over seasonal workers, what is the guaranteed minimum of paid hours each week for workers on the scheme; who is responsible for monitoring that this is received by workers for the duration of their 6 month visa; and what are the channels for redress if workers are not paid.
Answered by Mark Spencer
All recruitment operators for the Seasonal Workers visa route offer a guaranteed minimum number of hours for seasonal migrant workers, with most working in excess of these hours. The usual rules prohibiting zero hours contracts continue to apply. Recruitment operators can transfer seasonal workers between farms to ensure these minimum hours are met and they also have welfare measures in place to ensure workers are well cared for.
The Home Office and Defra continue to monitor the visa route closely to make sure operators and growers adhere to the stringent requirements set for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the seasonal workers, including redress if workers are not paid. The operators of the Seasonal Worker visa route are licensed via a rigorous government selection process. As a minimum requirement, operators must be licensed by the Gangmasters Labour and Abuse Authority (GLAA). This makes sure that all workers are only placed with farms that adhere to all relevant legislation. Should a scheme operator lose their GLAA licencing at any point, their sponsor licence will be revoked with immediate effect.
Defra run an annual workers survey and liaise regularly with operators to monitor any issues. A new team will also focus on ensuring sponsors are abiding by workers' rights by improving training and processes for compliance inspectors and creating clear policies and guidance for robust action for scheme operators where workers are at risk of exploitation.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of including UK ornamental horticulture and landscaping in the Government's global export strategy.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
With production of ornamentals being worth £1.4 billion in the UK at farm-gate in 2020, the Government recognises the importance of the ornamental horticultural industry sector to our economy. Last year the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group published their 'Unlocking green growth: A plan from the ornamental horticulture & landscaping industry'. This identifies how barriers to the sector's growth can be unlocked through a collaborative approach between government and industry, with one of the opportunities for the sector's growth identified as the inclusion of UK ornamental horticulture and landscaping as part of the government's global export strategy. We are working with industry and across government to explore how this can be achieved.
Exports of ornamentals were worth £68 million in 2020. DIT works closely with the Commercial Horticulture Association (CHA), providing support to horticultural exporters from across the UK (including tree and plant growers, ornamental horticulture and landscaping). Jointly, DIT and CHA have developed a capability brochure showcasing UK capability in horticulture, which is available on the Agri-Tech UK portal www.agritech-uk.org. The portal is used by DIT commercial officers overseas to support companies listed in the searchable company directory expand their business overseas.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
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 is taking to ensure that tree and plant growers are globally competitive and able to meet demand.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We have already made £1 million available to UK nurseries and seed suppliers through the Tree Production Innovation Fund to encourage the adoption of innovative technologies and ways of working in the nursery sector. We have also opened a new Tree Production Capital Grant, providing capital support to modernise facilities and improve the quantity, quality, diversity, and biosecurity of sapling supply. These actions are fulfilling commitments made in the England Trees Action Plan, highlighting the vital role of these sectors to support our ambitions on tree planting, woodland creation and management.
With production of ornamentals being worth £1.4 billion in the UK at farm-gate in 2020, the Government recognises the importance of the ornamental horticultural industry sector both to local economies and to people's well-being. Defra meets regularly with the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group (OHRG), who last year published their ‘Unlocking green growth: A plan from the ornamental horticulture & landscaping industry’. This identifies how barriers to the sector’s growth can be unlocked through a collaborative approach between government and industry. We are currently working with the OHRG on the opportunities outlined in their plan to accelerate the sector's growth.