Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The following is a combined list of subscriptions that the Defra Library and Communications have paid for over the last three financial years. Some are in print and some are online. Not everything on the list was purchased in all three years – subscriptions change on demand and to reflect usage. Information on any subscriptions from other team budgets is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
Defra Library purchases magazines and journals for Defra, Animal and Plant Health Agency and Natural England staff to support them in their role. The Communications team purchases newspapers for monitoring the media coverage of issues in Defra’s remit.
Angling Times magazine | Environmental Finance | Lyell Collection |
Animal Health Research Reviews | Estates Gazette | Materials Recycling World |
Argus Fertilizer Europe | Ethical Consumer | Microbiology Society |
Avian Pathology | Executive Support magazine | New Zealand Veterinary |
BioOne | Farmers Guardian | Planning Resource |
Bird Study Pack | Farmers Weekly | Privacy and Data Protection |
Bloomberg | Financial Times | Professional Update |
British Archaeology magazine | Fishing News Weekly | Responsible Investor |
British Poultry Science | Freedom of Information Journal | Royal Forestry Society |
British Wildlife Magazine | Fresh Produce | Sunday Times |
Conservation Land Management | Geoheritage | Telegraph |
Daily Express | Goat Veterinary Journal | The Economist |
Daily Mail | Guardian | The Grocer Magazine |
Daily Mirror | Habitats Regulations Assessment | The Sun |
Daily Telegraph | Harvard Business Review | The Times |
Dairy Industry Newsletter | Horticulture Week | UK Livestock magazine |
Dods People and Monitoring | I | Veterinary Pathology |
Econlit | ICES Journal of Marine Science | Washington Trade Daily |
Elsevier Freedom Collection | iNews | Water Report |
Ends Europe | Inside Housing | Wiley STM Collection |
Ends Report | Insurance Post | Yorkshire Post |
Ends Waste & Bioenergy | Nature.com |
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Environment Complete | Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation |
|
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Southern Water on updating its sewage infrastructure, in the context of recent sewage discharges into the River Test.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular engagement with water companies to discuss a range of issues including measures to reduce sewage discharges, and improvements to water company infrastructure.
For example, in December 2023, he wrote to all water company Chief Executives, requesting that they improve sewer maintenance programmes over the next twelve months to help prevent storm overflow discharges.
Southern Water’s forward investment plan for sewage infrastructure, including planned improvements near the Test, is detailed in their draft business plan for the next Price Review period, which will run from 2025 - 2030. This is currently being reviewed by Ofwat. Ofwat’s determination will be issued later this year.
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, whether the common user charge will include costs related to the processing of imports via the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Port Health Authorities (PHAs) have charging mechanisms in place for covering the costs of checking SPS consignments, and the Government, in conjunction with devolved administrations, is working with them to review fee levels and support the implementation of new checks of imports from the EU in early 2024.
Commercial BCP fees are a business decision for the operators of those sites.
The Common User Charge is to recover the costs of operating government-run BCP facilities in England. 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.
PHAs or local authorities undertake checks on animal products and High-Risk Feed or Food Not of Animal Origin (HRFNAO) at BCP. APHA is the competent authority with responsibility for the inspections of plants and plant products at all BCPs and control points.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have asked to forego a ministerial salary, either full or in part; and who were those ministers.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.
It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:
Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)
The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office
The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.
The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.
The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.
The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice
The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.
The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)
The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.
It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.
It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.
Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 ministers have been asked to forego a ministerial salary; and what were the reasons for those requests.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.
It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:
Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)
The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office
The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.
The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.
The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.
The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice
The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.
The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)
The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.
It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.
It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.
Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times since 2015 a minister has foregone a ministerial salary at the request of the Cabinet Office.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.
It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:
Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)
The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office
The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.
The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.
The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.
The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice
The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.
The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)
The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.
It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.
It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.
Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a cap on the combined total for ministerial salaries in any financial year.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The number of ministerial salaries available to the government at any one time is 109. This is a statutory limit governed by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.
It is routinely the case that some ministers will be asked to serve in an unpaid capacity given the statutory limitations on the number of available salaries. A list of ministers who are currently serving in an unpaid capacity are as follows:
Richard Holden MP, Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio) in the Cabinet Office (receives a salary from the Conservative Party)
The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister of State and Paymaster General, Cabinet Office
The Lord Johnson of Lainston CBE, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office.
The Earl of Minto, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.
The Rt Hon. the Earl Howe, Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Benyon, Minister of State, jointly at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education and Government Equalities Spokesperson in the Lords.
The Lord Douglas-Miller OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Lord Markham CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice
The Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Lord Offord of Garvel CVO, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The Lord Cameron of Lochiel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office.
The Lord Roborough, Lord in Waiting (Government Whip)
The list of all government ministers on GOV.UK is updated following each reshuffle. The current government list is on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.
It would be a significant undertaking to calculate the exact number of unpaid ministers since 2015, especially given some ministers have dual roles (where they are paid in one role but not in another) such as if they hold more than one ministerial position. We can estimate however that over the last decade, this number has been approximately 10-20 at any given time.
It is ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide how to organise the executive and which ministers are paid a salary. While the Cabinet Office provides advice to the Prime Minister on the number of salaries available, the department does not decide the allocation of salaries.
Ministers are continuing to voluntarily waive part of their salaries, foregoing any pay increase to their Ministerial salaries. This means ministers in the Commons’ salaries have not increased since 2010; and ministers in the House of Lords have received frozen salaries since 2019. Further information is published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-data.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of the impact of the (a) design and (b) manufacture of textiles on microplastic pollution.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department has not made (actual) assessments of the impact of the design and manufacture of textiles on environmental microplastic pollution. Defra recently funded a project to develop and validate methods to detect, quantify and characterise microplastics and microplastic fibres from textiles used in clothing in rivers and their sediments. The techniques were tested on urban and rural rivers, and it was found higher levels of microplastics were present in the urban river.
Defra provided grant funding of £860000 to WRAP's Textiles 2030, which began in 2021. The programme brings together brands & retailers representing more than 62% of all clothing placed on the UK market to drive industry collaboration on circular design, circular business models, (resale, rental, subscription, repair, recycling) and closing the loop on materials (recycling).
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 an assessment of the potential merits of including a grant scheme for saltmarshes in the Nature for Climate Fund.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK recognises the important role that saltmarsh can play in climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. Saltmarsh habitats are also richly biodiverse, benefit fish stocks and provide a crucial buffer from coastal flooding.
Building on this recognition, the UK Government is supporting blue carbon restoration efforts through various initiatives, for example by providing £640,000 funding for domestic blue carbon habitat restoration.
This includes funds to support the development of a Saltmarsh Code to help drive investment flows from the private sector towards nature. This funding has also increased the capacity of the Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef initiative (ReMeMaRe), helping to create a pipeline of restoration projects in saltmarsh and other key estuarine and coastal habitats.
Defra has set up the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership in partnership with the Devolved Administrations to address evidence gaps that currently prevent the inclusion of saltmarsh habitats in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI). Inclusion of saltmarsh in the GHGI and the development of a Saltmarsh Code will allow blue carbon to be marketed and traded as a carbon offset, leveraging private investment into these vital natural carbon stores.
In addition, funding has been made available for saltmarsh restoration through the Landscape Recovery and Countryside Stewardship Environmental Land Management schemes. In the ELMS Countryside Stewardship scheme approximately 5,000 hectares of saltmarsh is being maintained or restored to a good condition.
The £750m of Nature for Climate funding is due to end in March 2025 and the Programme will be delivering against its agreed Business Case in that time. The Fund’s impact is being evaluated and any future funding for Trees, Peat and Saltmarshes will be a matter for the next Spending Review. We are continuing to explore further means of supporting saltmarsh restoration.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help improve (a) 4G and (b) 5G coverage in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is taking steps to improve both 4G and 5G coverage across the country.
Across the East Midlands, our £1bn agreement with the industry to deliver the Shared Rural Network (SRN) will see 4G coverage from all four Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) rise to 94%, up from 90% when the programme began in 2020.
In addition to the SRN programme, the MNOs independently invest around £2 billion annually across the UK in enhancing and improving their networks.
According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report, basic, non-standalone, 5G is available outside 93% of premises in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency from at least one MNO. The Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, published in April 2023, set out the Government’s vision for wireless connectivity and announced a new ambition for nationwide coverage of higher quality standalone 5G in all populated areas by 2030. The strategy includes a series of measures to help the private sector invest in 5G networks by supporting competition, driving down deployment costs and driving the take-up of innovative, 5G-enabled tech by the business and the public sector.
The Department provides extensive guidance for local authorities and operators to help facilitate broadband and mobile deployment through the Digital Connectivity Portal. We have also taken steps to make it easier and cheaper for operators to deploy 4G and 5G. This includes reforming the planning system in England. Alongside this, measures within the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, will support the deployment of wireless infrastructure, including 4G and 5G.