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Written Question
Marine Protected Areas: Fishing Vessels
Thursday 28th 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, what estimate his Department has made of the cumulative days of fishing by vessels carrying (a) bottom trawls, (b) dredges and (c) other bottom-towed gear in the UK’s 63 offshore benthic MPAs in 2023.

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

The designation and management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a devolved competency and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Estimates of fishing effort in offshore MPAs are made as part of the Marine Management Organisation’s (MMO) work to assess and manage the impacts of fishing in all English offshore MPAs. These estimates have been published in economic and fisheries assessments on GOV.UK alongside byelaws for the first two stages of the MMO’s four stage programme to manage fishing activity in all English offshore MPAs. MMO is currently undertaking further analysis covering 43 offshore MPAs which will be published in due course, alongside consultations on any proposed byelaws.


Written Question
Bluetongue Disease
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to mitigate the threat from bluetongue virus as the midge vector increases in activity.

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

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) officials took robust action following findings of cases of Bluetongue virus, following our well-established processes for managing cases of disease. We are planning for a possible resurgence of the disease over the coming months as the weather warms, and the risk of infected midges blowing over from northern Europe increases. We recently held a Ministerial roundtable with key industry stakeholders to discuss the options and understand their priorities over the coming months. Surveillance of susceptible animals and epidemiological assessments continue, and we are actively engaging with vaccine manufacturers on the development of BTV-3 vaccines for use in the UK. We are modelling the risk of incursion and proactively raising awareness with animal keepers in higher-risk areas, and are monitoring vector activity.


Written Question
Horses: Northern Ireland
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost associated with veterinary checks on horses moving from (a) Great Britain to Northern Ireland and (b) Northern Ireland to Great Britain since the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

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

The Government's Movement Assistance Scheme is available to reimburse costs (including veterinary checks), in line with the terms of the scheme, for horses moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Horses moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain have unfettered access.


Written Question
Methane: Pollution Control
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of funding is the Government investing in methane reduction technologies.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As announced in the Government’s Net Zero Strategy 2021, we are bringing forward £295 million of capital funding which will allow local authorities in England to prepare to implement free weekly separate food waste collections for all households in England. This will deliver significant carbon savings over sending food waste to landfill.

Methane reduction technologies are within scope of Defra’s £270 million Farming Innovation Programme and were in scope of its predecessor, Farming Innovation Pathways.

While primarily a safety focussed programme, the Health and Safety Executive-led Iron Mains Risk Reduction Programme (IMRRP) is expected to invest approximately £4 billion in replacing iron gas mains with plastic pipework over the current Ofgem price control period (2021-2026), improving safety and reducing methane emissions. By the conclusion of this programme in 2032, it is estimated that the IMRRP will have achieved a 66% reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions from the gas distribution network since the programme commenced in 2013.


Written Question
Import Controls
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 18133 on Import Controls, what standards goods will be required to demonstrate they meet via an export health certificate in order to be eligible for import into the UK.

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

Specific requirements will vary by commodity, with details available on the Gov.uk pages for certification Import goods into the UK: step by step - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The BTOM will operate a sophisticated approach to risk categorisation, with the intensity of controls calibrated to the level of risk presented by each commodity.

For high-risk and medium-risk goods, we will retain health certification and BCP inspection, albeit with frequently lower inspection rates than under the EU model. Documentary-only checks will be performed remotely instead of all regulated goods having to present documents at a BCP.

For low-risk animal products as a matter of routine we will only require electronic pre-notification, which is already in place. Low-risk plant produce (fruit and vegetables with no known specific disease or pest risk associated) will be removed from import health control requirements altogether. There will no longer be any requirements for pre-notification, with enhanced inland monitoring and surveillance in place to ensure it is compliant with the UK's high food safety and standards and to keep track of any issues. We will simplify Export Health Certificates and make health certificates digital wherever possible.

For medium-risk goods, we will extend the well-established concept of trusted trader into the SPS sphere, by working with industry to pilot new trusted trader authorisations for SPS goods.


Written Question
Import Controls: Fees and Charges
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 17736 on Import Controls, if he will publish a list of all Border Control Posts where imports will (a) be subject to the Common User Charge and (b) subject to other charges.

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

The Common User Charge for the recovery of BCP operating costs applies only to government-run BCPs in England. Commercial operators will independently set charges for their own BCP facilities.

Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels. Defra has used feedback to inform the final policy and rates, which we expect to publish shortly.


Written Question
Import Controls: Disease Control
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2024 to Question 11320 on Import Controls: Disease Control, which categories of consignment will be required to pay the Common User Charge, by risk level.

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

Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels and will publish an update on the Common User Charge shortly. This will include the Government response to the Common User Charge consultation. Further information on the policy and rates will be included in the upcoming publication.


Written Question
Pets and Wildlife: Crime
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)

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 tackle the use of catapults to (a) kill and (b) maim (i) wildlife and (ii) pets.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government takes crimes against wildlife and against pets seriously, including those involving the use of catapults. Under provisions in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and Animal Welfare Act 2006, there are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wildlife and in the event that a member of the public believes such an offence has taken place, they are encouraged to report the matter to the police so they can investigate. In particular where pets are concerned, it is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause an animal any unnecessary suffering. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 realises the Government’s manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty by increasing the maximum penalty for this offence to 5 years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.


Written Question
Marine Protected Areas: Territorial Waters
Thursday 28th 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, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of classifying all territorial waters as Marine Protected Areas.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK has signed up to the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 (30by30 target). Domestically, we have designated a comprehensive network of MPAs covering 40% of English waters, based on recommendations from our scientific advisors (Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee). Our priority is to ensure all sites are managed appropriately to meet our statutory MPA target.


Written Question
Methane: Pollution Control
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the usage of emerging technologies that help directly reduce methane levels in the atmosphere.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Methane reduction technologies are within scope of Defra’s £270 million Farming Innovation Programme and were in scope of its predecessor, Farming Innovation Pathways.

Defra’s evidence programme includes Research & Development exploring ways to reduce emissions from livestock. The portfolio includes research on nutrient and livestock management, feed and grazing regimes, methane suppressing feed products, ways to identify and selectively breed for more sustainable and productive animals, and ways to better manage manures.

Defra considers that Methane Suppressing Feed Products (MSFPs) are an essential tool to decarbonise the agriculture sector. In England, our objective is to establish a mature market for these products, encourage uptake and mandate the use of MSFPs in appropriate cattle systems as soon as feasibly possible and no later than 2030. We are committed to working with farmers and industry to achieve this goal, and in early March convened the inaugural meeting of a Ministerial-led industry taskforce on MSFPs.

The UK catalysed action on methane during our COP26 Presidency, including being one of the first countries to support the Global Methane Pledge - a collective commitment to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030, against 2020 levels. As part of its commitment to the Global Methane Pledge, the UK published a Methane Memorandum in November 2023 during COP27. The Memorandum outlines how the UK has achieved a robust track record in reducing methane emissions and how it continues to explore and implement measures to secure future progress. We were pleased that methane emissions were prioritised at COP28, with more countries joining the Pledge and a particular focus on mobilising finance to support developing countries with their methane emissions. The UK committed £2 million to the Methane Finance Sprint.