Blog

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Old Scone on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage universities to provide courses that will meet the future needs of the rural economy.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

The Government requires the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to consider the changing patterns of demand and supply in relation to all subjects. Through the Strategically Important and Vulnerable Subjects advisory group, HEFCE seeks to identify where action might be necessary to ensure that the supply of graduates meets the needs of the economy and society. The advisory group includes representatives of agriculture, tourism and other related subjects that affect the rural economy.

The Government supports Universities offering subjects that benefit the rural economy. Subjects such as agriculture and forestry attract high cost ‘band B’ funding. The Government has also provided funding to projects that enhance the impact of higher education in agriculture and related industries including the ‘National Centre for Precision Farming’ at Harper Adams University, the ‘Biovale’ programme at the University of York and the ‘Agri-Food Resilience Programme’ led by the N8 Research Partnership.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Old Scone on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of graduates entering the rural economy.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

The Government requires the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to consider the changing patterns of demand and supply in relation to all subjects. Through the Strategically Important and Vulnerable Subjects advisory group, HEFCE seeks to identify where action might be necessary to ensure that the supply of graduates meets the needs of the economy and society. The advisory group includes representatives of agriculture, tourism and other related subjects that affect the rural economy.

The Government supports Universities offering subjects that benefit the rural economy. Subjects such as agriculture and forestry attract high cost ‘band B’ funding. The Government has also provided funding to projects that enhance the impact of higher education in agriculture and related industries including the ‘National Centre for Precision Farming’ at Harper Adams University, the ‘Biovale’ programme at the University of York and the ‘Agri-Food Resilience Programme’ led by the N8 Research Partnership.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Old Scone on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to consult stakeholders on the further devolution of forestry, including the cross-border functions and shared services of the Forestry Commission.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The UK Government, after being approached by Scottish Ministers in June, have agreed that officials will work jointly to consider options for the transfer of Forestry Commissioners’ powers and duties, as they relate to Scotland, to Scottish Ministers.

No decisions have been taken yet and any legislative reforms will be subject to the usual Parliamentary scrutiny.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Old Scone on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure collaboration across all government departments regarding the implementation of biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of pests and diseases affecting trees and woodland.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Protecting our country from plant and tree pests and diseases is important for our economy, the environment and society and is one of Defra’s strategic priorities.

In 2013 the independent Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce assessed the threat to the health of our plants from pests and diseases and made eight recommendations to strengthen our approach, which were all accepted by Defra. The Plant Biosecurity Strategy sets out our plans to enhance existing risk-based activity and to develop new and innovative approaches such as the now publicly available plant health risk register.

As part of our risk-based approach, agreed management approaches for pests and diseases are periodically reviewed so that we can ensure our responses are appropriate and lessons are learned for the future.

Defra’s spend on plant health policies is now around £30 million per year, which includes policies to protect tree health.

Defra is the lead department for plant and tree health. We published the Tree Health Management Plan in April 2014, setting out priority areas for action and outlining how the Government is working with others to manage tree pests and diseases. We work with other Government departments and agencies, as well as stakeholders from across industry and non-government organisations to address different plant and tree health issues. This work includes a programme of training and awareness-raising about biosecurity risks for other Government Departments and stakeholders such as food retailers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Old Scone on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what resources are being allocated to prevent the spread of pests and diseases affecting the natural environment, including trees and woodland, and what assessment they have made of whether they are sufficient.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Protecting our country from plant and tree pests and diseases is important for our economy, the environment and society and is one of Defra’s strategic priorities.

In 2013 the independent Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce assessed the threat to the health of our plants from pests and diseases and made eight recommendations to strengthen our approach, which were all accepted by Defra. The Plant Biosecurity Strategy sets out our plans to enhance existing risk-based activity and to develop new and innovative approaches such as the now publicly available plant health risk register.

As part of our risk-based approach, agreed management approaches for pests and diseases are periodically reviewed so that we can ensure our responses are appropriate and lessons are learned for the future.

Defra’s spend on plant health policies is now around £30 million per year, which includes policies to protect tree health.

Defra is the lead department for plant and tree health. We published the Tree Health Management Plan in April 2014, setting out priority areas for action and outlining how the Government is working with others to manage tree pests and diseases. We work with other Government departments and agencies, as well as stakeholders from across industry and non-government organisations to address different plant and tree health issues. This work includes a programme of training and awareness-raising about biosecurity risks for other Government Departments and stakeholders such as food retailers.