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  • Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made on introducing a Europe-wide groceries adjudicator.

    Anna Soubry

    On 29 January, the European Commission published its report on the existing regulatory and voluntary frameworks for tackling unfair trading practices in the food supply chain. The Commission concluded that there would be no added value in a specific harmonised regulatory approach at EU level at this stage.

    The Commission will continue to monitor the situation and, before the end of its mandate, it will re-assess its position on harmonised regulation.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to improve the standard of hazardous waste management in response to the recommendations contained in the assessment of member states’ performance published by the European Commission in January 2016; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    We welcome the assessment of hazardous waste management across European Union Member States, in particular the recognition of the high levels of support and guidance that UK authorities offer those producing and managing hazardous waste. We are committed to ensuring hazardous waste is managed in a responsible and environmentally sound manner and continue to work in partnership with the waste management industry to achieve this.

    We have started a light-touch review of the 2010 Strategy for Hazardous Waste Management in England and will consider the report’s findings as part of that review. We will publish the results of the review later this year.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government uses the Food Insecurity Experience Scale survey to monitor UK households’ vulnerability to hunger.

    George Eustice

    Defra does not use the Food Insecurity Experience Scale survey to monitor UK households’ vulnerability to hunger.

    There is no single definition of food insecurity and Defra does not estimate numbers of households experiencing food insecurity. The factors that impact on household food security are complex. There are multiple indicators such as quality, variety and desirability of diet as well as total intake, not all of which are measured consistently. It is therefore very difficult and potentially misleading to develop a single classification of food insecurity.

    However Defra does publish statistics annually to show the proportion of household income spent on food by (a) all households and (b) the lowest income 20% of households. The most recent statistics are in the food statistics pocketbook 2015 on the GOV.UK website.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take to improve biosecurity on farms.

    George Eustice

    A joint government and industry bovine TB biosecurity campaign was launched in November 2015 and will run for 12 months. It aims to increase the number of farmers implementing TB biosecurity measures on their farms and whilst trading cattle. The biosecurity campaign already includes a TB Hub bringing together information, advice, guidance and research material on how to prevent TB through biosecurity and risk based trading, an information bTB website allowing farmers to view information on TB breakdowns in their area on an interactive map and a Five Point Plan setting out good practice for TB biosecurity. Several further steps in the biosecurity campaign are being launched throughout 2016.

    More generally, on-farm biosecurity is part of a wider landscape of measures to provide effective protection from animal and plant disease. Defra’s wider activities on biosecurity contribute to improving the resilience of the system as a whole.

    The Rural Development Programme animal health projects have a focus on tackling exemplar diseases in cattle, sheep and pigs sectors through improved farm disease risk management practices. It is intended that this will have a wider benefit in improving farm biosecurity practices.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the sensitivity of the single intradermal comparative cervical tuberculin test for Bovine TB; and what steps her Department is taking to improve testing for TB.

    George Eustice

    The single intradermal comparative cervical tuberculin (SICCT) commonly known as the ‘skin test’ is the legal standard approved in the EU legislation for the diagnosis of TB in live cattle in the UK. SICCT has a very high specificity giving on average only one false positive result for every 5,000 or 6,000 uninfected cattle tested, although it is only moderately sensitive (with about one in five to one in four infected cattle potentially missed by the test).

    The skin test is a good herd screening test and it is supplemented by post-mortem meat inspection at commercial slaughter of cattle. When one or more infected animals are detected in a cattle herd, we apply a number of strategies to improve the overall sensitivity of TB testing until the infected herd regains officially TB free status. This includes testing the herd every 60 days, lowering the positive cut-off of the skin test (‘severe interpretation’) and supplementing the skin test with the more sensitive interferon-gamma blood test.

    We have also increased the number of interferon-gamma blood tests carried out in conjunction with the SICCT to maximise the detection of infected cattle in TB breakdown herds. This number has more than quadrupled since 2009 to reach just over 74,000 blood tests in 2015. The use of this blood test to help remove infected animals from breakdown herds has been compulsory in the Low Risk Area of England since 2006 and in the whole of the Edge Area since January 2014.

    My department plans to launch a public consultation that will set out proposals for enhancing the sensitivity of TB testing in TB breakdown herds.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost of the badger cull was in 2015; how much of that cost was for policing that cull; and what proportion of that cost was spent in (a) Somerset, (b) Gloucestershire and (c) Dorset.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB is the greatest animal health threat to the UK. Based on current expenditure it will cost the taxpayer £1 billion over the next decade if we do not take rigorous action now. The Government is delivering a comprehensive strategy to eradicate the disease and protect the future of our dairy and beef industries. This includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, improving biosecurity, and badger control in areas where TB is rife.

    Total Government costs for the 2015 badger culls have not yet been finalised.

    Policing costs for 2015, which will be funded by Defra, were as follows:

    (a) Avon and Somerset: £555,514

    (b) Gloucestershire: £553,005

    (c) Dorset: £694,728.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many cases of Bovine TB there have been in Somerset in each of the last four years.

    George Eustice

    The latest National Statistics on the incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in Cattle in Great Britain were published on 10 February 2016. These include detailed statistics at county level as at the end of November 2015 and can be found on GOV.UK.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to monitor the disease status of badgers within cull areas.

    George Eustice

    Testing of badgers between 1998 and 2005 via the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and Road Traffic Accident surveys provided evidence of the typical prevalence of TB in badgers in areas of high incidence of TB in cattle. TB was found in around one third of all badgers in these areas.

    We are considering the case for a cost-effective method of testing badgers within cull areas in order to assess the impact of the current policy on badger TB prevalence.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, further to her Written Ministerial Statement of 17 December 2015, HCWS 409, to which areas her Department plans to extend the badger cull in 2016; and what the evidential basis is for selecting those areas.

    George Eustice

    Farmers in a number of areas have signalled their intention to submit applications to Natural England for licences to conduct badger culls this year. Licence applications will need to meet Natural England’s licensing criteria, and applicants will have to demonstrate that they will be able to deliver safe and effective culls in order to be authorised to proceed.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her Written Ministerial Statement of 17 December 2015, Bovine TB, HC 45409, when her Department plans to introduce statutory post-movement TB testing for cattle entering the low-risk area.

    George Eustice

    The legislation that will introduce statutory post-movement TB testing for cattle entering the low-risk area is expected to come into force on the next common commencement date, 6 April 2016.