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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings his Department had with the National Farmers’ Union in the six months before the start of the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2013; and whether he advised that union to operate a media blackout during the first phase of the culls.

George Eustice

Meetings were held with the National Farmers Union in the six months prior to the start of the pilot culls in 2013.

There was no media blackout during the pilots. Defra and the National Farmers Union continued to make spokespeople available to talk to the media throughout the period in which culling was taking place.

However, both the National Farmers Union and Defra were always clear that operational information that could compromise the effectiveness of the cull or the safety of those involved would not be disclosed during the operation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the Flood Defence Repair Fund paid to the Environment Agency has been (a) allocated to the Environment Agency and (b) spent by the Environment Agency to repair flood defences to date.

Dan Rogerson

Defra has made available to the Environment Agency an additional £30 million in 2013/14 and up to £135 million in 2014/15, to respond to the winter floods and repair flood and coastal defences. The Environment Agency spent £31.2 million on repairs and emergency response between January and March 2014. This includes £26 million on asset repair costs, £1.5 million of which was paid to local authorities. The remaining £5.2 million was spent on other associated costs, such as incident management and emergency response. These are the latest figures available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the Farming Recovery Fund to cover the cost of restoration of agricultural land following the recent floods has been received by farmers and businesses to date.

Dan Rogerson

As of 10 June 2014 a total of 131 applications have been received with a total grant request of £1,173,310.

Of these, 62 applications have been approved with a total grant request of £403,617.

In view of the continued level of interest in the Farming Recovery Fund we are exploring with officials the possibility of extending the closing date beyond 27 June 2014.

You will also wish to be aware that the Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme (FFIS) which supports investments targeting farming competitiveness closed on 4 April having received more than 2,700 applications and a national grant request of over £27m.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the Support for Fishermen Fund to replace lost and damaged fishing gear has been received by fishermen and businesses to date.

George Eustice

To date, one claim for support to replace lost and damaged fishing gear has been made with a grant value of £2,320, with final validation checks currently being carried out against another three claims worth £14,257. So far, 110 applications have been received with a grant value of £349,218. Of these, 33 projects have been approved so far with a grant value of £74,047.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the Repair and Renew Grant for flooded businesses or households has been (a) allocated to local authorities and (b) received by households or businesses to date.

Dan Rogerson

Local authorities make payments to households and businesses and invoice Defra quarterly for these amounts. We are expecting the first invoices in July.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of his Department’s partnership funding framework has been spent on property level protection schemes to date.

Dan Rogerson

Property Level Protection describes a suite of measures used in places where other solutions are either not cost effective or not practical. The amount allocated to schemes since the partnership funding approach was launched in 2012 is £2.43M. This consists of £2.08M in Grant in Aid from the Government, and contributions of £0.35M from partners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government expects to implement all the measures contained in Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act regarding sustainable urban drainage systems in this Parliament.

Dan Rogerson

The Government remains committed to implementing sustainable drainage systems at the earliest available opportunity, but not in a way that affects development. A statement, which will set out our plans in greater detail, will be made in the summer. It has become clear that, as previously hoped for, we will not be commencing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act in October 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) the Prime Minister or (b) officials in his Office have ever advised the National Farmers’ Union not to communicate with journalists during the commencement phase of the pilot badger culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire in 2013.

George Eustice

Meetings were held with the National Farmers Union in the six months prior to the start of the pilot culls in 2013.

There was no media blackout during the pilots. Defra and the National Farmers Union continued to make spokespeople available to talk to the media throughout the period in which culling was taking place.

However, both the National Farmers Union and Defra were always clear that operational information that could compromise the effectiveness of the cull or the safety of those involved would not be disclosed during the operation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings (a) the Prime Minister and (b) officials in his Office had with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) on the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2013; what advice he has given to the NFU on communications with the media during the commencement of the culls; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice

Meetings were held with the National Farmers Union in the six months prior to the start of the pilot culls in 2013.

There was no media blackout during the pilots. Defra and the National Farmers Union continued to make spokespeople available to talk to the media throughout the period in which culling was taking place.

However, both the National Farmers Union and Defra were always clear that operational information that could compromise the effectiveness of the cull or the safety of those involved would not be disclosed during the operation.