Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Official Development Assistance programmes that his Department funds focus on supporting women and girls.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes deliver primarily on climate and biodiversity objectives but consideration is given to the contribution of all activities to reducing gender inequality, in line with the Gender Equality Act 2014.
Some Defra ODA-funded programmes directly support women and girls, such as the International Climate Finance Blue Forests Initiative in Madagascar and Indonesia, a £10.1 million project to reduce the deforestation of mangrove habitat, create new sustainable livelihoods, support community health and women's empowerment and increase climate resilience in coastal communities. The Darwin Initiative funds hundreds of biodiversity projects worldwide, including the 'Partnering with Business for Restoration of Mt Kenya ecosystem services' project, which has worked with women in community-based organisations in Kenya, supporting them to fill leadership positions where they can voice their concerns and positively contribute to community-led initiatives.
Further examples of Darwin projects that have supported women and girls can be found in a recent Darwin Initiative newsletter: www.darwininitiative.org.uk/assets/uploads/Darwin-Newsletter-March-2020-Gender-Equality-Empowerment-FINAL.pdf.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the government plans to allocate funding to build a flood protection scheme in Prestolee.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Allocation of funding to build a flood protection scheme in Prestolee will depend on the outcomes of the Spending Review for funding beyond March 2021. The Environment Agency will work with partners to secure other funding sources in addition to Government funding and local levy support from the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Environment Agency has to build a flood protection scheme in Prestolee, Bolton South East constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has removed sediment from the River Irwell since Storm Eva, assessed the viability of temporary defences and sprayed invasive species on the river bank so that construction of any potential flood wall can be done as efficiently as possible if this proves to be a feasible option. The EA has also supported the creation of a flood group who can share project updates, share real time flood information and flood forecasts, and gather knowledge and experiences to help understand the flood risk and help develop practical options.
Running parallel to this, the EA has been working hard with its partners, including Bolton Council, to understand flood risk in Prestolee and Stoneclough and to develop measures that could be put in place to reduce that risk. The EA has surveyed the River Irwell at this location and completed a Strategic Business Case for a potential flood scheme. The next phase is to identify a preferred option. There is a funding gap to deliver the construction phase of this project and partners will need to step forward to close this before detailed design or construction can commence. The EA is holding a community drop-in session on 11 March 2020 to provide residents with an update and to hear their experiences over the last month.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
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 is taking to prevent clashes between British and French fishermen in the English Channel.
Answered by George Eustice
During the transition period the UK will continue to abide by the current rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, which apply to all UK, EU and other vessels fishing in UK waters. The safety of the UK fleet remains our highest priority and we continue to monitor the presence and activities of vessels in the English Channel, as we do across the rest of our waters. We have already taken measures to strengthen our surveillance capacity and make sure that the appropriate fisheries enforcement capability is in place to patrol our waters and enforce regulations.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to reintroduce the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill.
Answered by George Eustice
In line with the manifesto commitment to introduce tougher sentences for animal cruelty, we remain fully committed to increasing the maximum custodial sentences for animal cruelty offences from six months to five years. This will enable courts to take a firmer approach to cases such as dog fighting, abuse of puppies and kittens, or gross neglect of farm animals. The necessary legislation will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time permits.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
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 (a) the sentience of cephalopods and (b) their capability to feel pain; and whether cephalopods are included in the definition of animal in the draft sentience Bill.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are continuing to engage with stakeholders to further refine the Government’s proposals on animal sentience. As part of this we are continuing to assess which animals should be covered by those proposals.