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Written Question
Agriculture: Nature Conservation
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)

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 help farmers secure long term private finance for nature restoration.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As we set out in our Agricultural Transition Plan update in January, we want farmers and land managers to be able to confidently and securely access payments from both the public and private sector for the environmental benefits they produce.

The Government is:

  • supporting farmer-led innovation through Round 3 of the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund and two rounds of Landscape Recovery. These schemes will further test how nature markets and private investment can work with public funds and provide examples of how farmers can access both sources of income and deliver more for the environment.
  • developing standards for high integrity private investment into nature through the BSI nature investment standards programme.
  • committing £30 million of investment into a blended finance Big Nature Impact Fund, which will unlock significant private investment into UK nature projects (e.g. tree planting) that can provide a return on investment.
  • designing the environmental land management offer to make it easier for farmers to identify what private sector income they can access alongside any public payments.
  • helping farmers with advice and support on accessing nature markets; for example, Defra supported the Green Finance Institute to develop a Farming Toolkit for Assessing Nature Market Opportunities, which was published in January.
  • exploring with industry representatives ways to provide clarity on the taxation of nature markets.

We published an update on 12 March on progress to implement other measures in the Nature Markets Framework, and we will consult on specific steps and interventions needed to support growth of high integrity carbon and nature markets in the coming months.


Written Question
Dogs: Imports
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to introduce a complete ban on the commercial movement of pregnant dogs, and (2) to increase the age at which puppies can be imported to six months.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill contains powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom, including prohibiting the import of heavily pregnant dogs over 42 days gestation and puppies under six months old.


Written Question
Marine Protected Areas: Fishing Vessels
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

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 it his policy to ban fishing using bottom trawling apparatus in marine protected areas.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Devon, on 22 January 2024, PQ UIN 9706.

A byelaw restricting the use of bottom-towed fishing gear in 13 Marine Protected Areas mentioned in that answer came into force on 22 March 2024.


Written Question
Marine Protected Areas: Fishing Vessels
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)

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 it his policy to prohibit the use of bottom-towed fishing gear in Marine Protected Areas.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Devon, on 22 January 2024, PQ UIN 9706.

A byelaw restricting the use of bottom-towed fishing gear in 13 Marine Protected Areas mentioned in that answer came into force on 22 March 2024.


Written Question
Seed Potatoes: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Douglas-Miller on 11 March (HL2836), whether the requirement for moving seed potatoes between registered professional operators in Great Britain to professional operators in Northern Ireland prevents individuals from moving seed potatoes for personal use.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Under the Windsor Framework, seed potatoes can now move again from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the terms of the NI plant health label scheme. This means professional operators in Great Britain can send seed potatoes to professional operators in Northern Ireland for commercial growing in Northern Ireland. Once these are planted in Northern Ireland and grown into potatoes for consumption, or used to produce further seed potatoes, they can be sold into Northern Ireland retailers and garden centres for personal use.


Written Question
Dogs: Imports and Sales
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a complete ban on the (1) importation, and (2) sale, of dogs which have had (a) their ears cropped, or (b) their tails docked, for cosmetic reasons.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation, including the cropping of a dog’s ears or the docking of their tails. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 creates tougher penalties for anyone convicted of such an offence face, either being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.

The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill contains powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears and docked tails. This will prevent the import of non-exempted mutilated dogs for onward sale in the United Kingdom.


Written Question
Marine Protected Areas: Fishing Vessels
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)

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 his Department has made of the impact of bottom trawling on Marine Protected Areas.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Slough, on 6 July 2023, PQ UIN 192154.

A byelaw restricting the use of bottom trawling in 13 Marine Protected Areas mentioned in that answer came into force on 22 March 2024.


Written Question
Fishing Vessels: Regulation
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)

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 take steps to prohibit bottom trawling.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Bottom trawls are used by all parts of the fishing fleet, from small day boats to large offshore vessels. In 2021, fishing with bottom towed gears in the UK Exclusive Economic Zone by the UK fleet represented approximately 30% of the total tonnage, by value this was 45%. The economic importance to coastal communities varies, but there are significant trawler fleets in the South West of England. There is currently no commercially viable replacement for bottom trawling to catch the high-value species targeted (e.g. cod, haddock, scallops). There is work underway to progressively address the environmental effects of bottom trawling, working alongside the fishing industry, academia, and other stakeholders including through Fisheries Management Plans, the first of which were published in December 2024. The issue needs to be approached carefully to ensure the environmental, social and economic pillars of sustainability are balanced.


Written Question
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many studies the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science has (a) conducted and (b) completed using close-kin DNA analysis; and on what species those studies focused.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Close-kin DNA analysis is a relatively new scientific method for assessing the genetic profile and abundance of animal populations. While it has been used in fish populations elsewhere, including on thornback ray in the Bay of Biscay, the planned scientific study with pollack in the English Channel would be the first time Cefas have used it in the UK.


Written Question
Inland Border Facilities: Ashford
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce safeguards to ensure that, under their Border Target Operating Model, there can be no interference with consignments which enter the UK via the Port of Dover prior to inspections being carried out at the Sevington inland border facility.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Goods selected for inspection will not be legally cleared for sale or use within the UK until they have attended and been cleared at the BCP. Where the BCP has concerns, either due to non-attendance or evidence of non-compliance, there are existing provisions, including requiring return or destruction of the goods, or for the goods to be referred for inland controls by the local authority.

Any vehicles suspected to be carrying illegal imports (e.g. those for which customs declarations and pre-notification have not been made or suspected to have been made in bad faith) will continue to be stopped and dealt with by Border Force at the point of entry to the UK, not sent to Sevington.