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  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has estimated the cost to the agricultural and horticultural industry in West Lancashire of flooding in December 2015.

    George Eustice

    In 2014 the value of agricultural and horticultural output for the north-west of England was £1.96 billion and gross value added (contribution to economy) was £0.82 billion. In 2013, there were 12,198 commercial agricultural holdings in the north west region. The total farmed area on these holdings was approximately 909,000 hectares and the agricultural labour force was made up of almost 32,000 people, 0.94% of the workforce in the region.

    Within West Lancashire in 2013 there were 406 commercial agricultural holdings. The total farmed area on these holdings was approximately 23,000 hectares and the agricultural labour force was made up of almost 2,300 people.

    Although farmers in West Lancashire are still uncovering the full extent of the damage caused by the recent flooding, we understand some arable producers have been badly affected. Under the Farm Recovery Fund these farmers will be able to receive funding towards the cost of restoring their agricultural land to the state it was in before it was flooded. Applications for this funding should be submitted by 1 April 2016.

  • Richard Benyon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Richard Benyon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Benyon on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to incentivise small-scale on-farm anaerobic digestion systems.

    George Eustice

    Defra and DECC officials are working together on a review of the support for renewable energy schemes through both Feed in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive. This includes the support for farm-scale anaerobic digestion. Consultations on the schemes will be published in the coming months.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the two emergency authorisations covering the use of two neonicotinoid pesticides on a small proportion of the UK oilseed rape crop to expire; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    Both emergency authorisations expired on 20 November 2015.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate her Department has made of the square mileage of the UK which has (a) permanent wind farms installed, (b) has been granted planning permission for wind farm installation and (c) is being considered for wind farm installation; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The renewable electricity planning database (REPD – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extract) extracts data on planning from authorities across the country but it does not collate information on the square mileage of projects

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  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) economic contribution of pollinator activity across the UK and (b) potential last economic value if pollinator populations continue to decline at present rates; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    Bees and other pollinators play an essential role in our £100 billion food industry. In 2014, Defra published an independent review of the evidence on the status and value of pollinators[1]. The review estimated the total value of all pollinators through the value of insect-pollinated crops in the UK as approximately £600 million, updating estimates of around £400 million in previous Defra-funded research. It also concluded that there was insufficient data to calculate the ‘lost economic value’ of ongoing or likely future changes in pollinator populations.

    [1] http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&Completed=0&ProjectID=18916

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  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 14627, what estimate her Department has made of the total funding available to the Waste and Resources Action Programme in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    No final decisions on budget allocations have been reached and Defra’s Business Planning process is due to conclude at the end of February. Until this time it would not be appropriate to comment on planning assumptions, including total funding for the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the online sale of puppies; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    Defra is currently consulting on proposals to modernise the licensing of animal related activities including the regulation of pet shops. The consultation includes a proposal to clarify that those trading pets commercially on-line should be licensed.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the number and countries of origin were of dogs imported into the UK for (a) non-commercial reasons under PETS and (b) commercial reasons.

    George Eustice

    For imports under the Pet Travel Scheme, a record is made of the country that prepared the relevant documentation. This will not always be the country of origin.

    The majority of pets entering Great Britain have UK pet passports, suggesting that they are returning with their owners from a holiday or visit abroad.

    Data is collated by a range of third parties, typically transport companies approved to carry pet animals and it is not possible for the Government to guarantee the accuracy of the statistics.

    I have attached the available information on commercial and non-commercial imports of dogs for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which local authorities received funding from her Department’s air quality grant scheme in each year of the last 10 years.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra’s Air Quality Grant Funding Scheme apportions funds on a Financial Year basis. The list covers records of local authorities awarded funding in each of the years between 2006/7 and 2014/15 (9 years). The list excludes 2015/16 because a formal announcement of the winners is yet to be made. It is important to note that records only go back to 2006/7 as that was the first year of a grant-based scheme. Prior to that, similar schemes such as Supplementary Credit Approvals and Supported Capital Expenditure were in place when Local Air Quality Management LAQM (LAQM) started in 1997. Those schemes served a similar function to today’s grant, namely to support local authorities’ statutory duties as prescribed under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995. The information will be placed in the library.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the conclusions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s assessment of the neoniocotinoid imidacloprid, published on 6 January 2016.

    George Eustice

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency has published a “Preliminary Pollinator Assessment to Support the Registration Review of Imidacloprid”. The Agency aims to produce the final assessment at the end of 2016. The preliminary assessment indicates a risk to honey bees from uses of imidacloprid on cotton and some uses on citrus. Risks from use on a number of other crops were low and a shortage of data meant that the risks from use on other crops were uncertain.

    The US assessment cannot be read across to the UK situation as there are many differences in the crops, methods of applying the pesticide and environmental conditions.

    The European Food Safety Authority has begun a scientific evaluation of the risk to bees from imidacloprid, as well as two other neonicotinoids (clothianidin and thiamethoxam). The UK will participate fully in that review.