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  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of flood defences in Earby.

    Rory Stewart

    May I pay tribute to the community of Earby and their fortitude following the terrible floods this Christmas.

    We have been working closely with the local community and partners in Earby to investigate options for reducing the risk from all sources of flooding.

    We have allocated £50,000 to this study.

    The study will also update the flood map for Earby, improve flood warning and improve planning decisions.

    In addition to this, the Environment Agency is carrying out £500k of work to repair and reduce the risk of blockage of the Victoria Clough culvert.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support UK fishermen (a) in general and (b) in the under 10 metre fleet.

    George Eustice

    UK-led Common Fisheries Policy reforms have given UK fishermen a more sustainable long-term future.

    The inshore fleet will particularly benefit from an extra 1,000 tonnes of quota this year. This comes on top of the permanent transfer of under-used quota to the Under-10s, which was worth an extra 678 tonnes in 2015.

    In addition, over £100m of European (EMFF) Funding is now available to support the UK catching, processing and aquaculture sectors.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on ensuring that farmers receive a fair price for milk.

    George Eustice

    We continue to support our hard-working dairy farmers by reducing inspections, extending the system of tax averaging, and opening new export markets.

    The £26.2 million aid package we secured from the European Commission has helped to provide some immediate relief. A number of supermarkets have also pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to continue funding the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government remains committed to tackling wildlife crime.

    We are currently allocating our Spending Review settlement. Future funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit will be decided as part of that process.

  • Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many acres of farmland she plans will be protected by government investment in flood defences over the next six years.

    Elizabeth Truss

    As a result of the Government’s £2.3 billion, six year capital investment programme more than 420,000 acres of farmland will be better protected by 2021.

    Together with our investment in the last parliament this means that more than a million acres of farmland will be better protected from flooding over this decade.

  • Mrs Sheryll Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mrs Sheryll Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sheryll Murray on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support UK fishermen (a) in general and (b) in the under 10 metre fleet.

    George Eustice

    UK-led Common Fisheries Policy reforms have given UK fishermen a more sustainable long-term future.

    The inshore fleet will particularly benefit from an extra 1,000 tonnes of quota this year. This comes on top of the permanent transfer of under-used quota to the Under-10s, which was worth an extra 678 tonnes in 2015.

    In addition, over £100m of European (EMFF) Funding is now available to support the UK catching, processing and aquaculture sectors.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the potential effect of the date of the EU referendum on mayoral, local, and devolved institutions’ elections.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission recently wrote to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, following that Committee’s recent evidence session, on a number of issues, including the potential impact of the date of the referendum if it were to be held in June. A copy of the letter is available on the Committee’s website.

  • Johnny Mercer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Johnny Mercer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Johnny Mercer on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Pollinator Strategy since its introduction.

    George Eustice

    In November 2015 Defra published an implementation plan highlighting progress in the first year of the National Pollinator Strategy. As an example, over half of mid–tier applications to our new £900 million Countryside Stewardship scheme, launched in July 2015, contain the Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package. Monitoring and evaluation of the scheme will include measures to establish the impact on pollinators.

    The Strategy has also taken steps to promote public awareness and engagement, including holding the first Pollinator Awareness Week in July 2015.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to ensure that its buildings are open for wider community use.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The Church of England’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Division developed the open and sustainable churches initiative five years ago, and now 80% of churches provide a function beyond purely worship, with 54% of Anglican parishes running at least one organised activity to address social or community need. Churches are being used as citizen’s advice bureau, post offices, shops, night shelters and food banks. Two recent examples of local projects where the Church has opening its buildings for the wider community in the Lincoln Diocese include:

    St Peter & Paul Church, Algarkirk has been successful in getting through the first stage of HLF funding for a project to host a local heritage center, explaining the history of the area including an oral history project and fascinating details about this Grade I medieval church. The Parish Church has a collection of Victorian stained glass of national quality and furnishings by J.G. Grace who also furnished the Houses of Parliament.

    All Saints Church, Winterton is a Grade 1 Medieval church which has been restored with new community facilities installed to make it more accessible with the help of HLF and other grants.

  • Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Barnett Formula applies to government funding of emergency flood relief.

    Greg Hands

    The government is investing nearly £200 million to help communities recover from Storm Desmond and Storm Eva. The Barnett Formula has been applied to this funding in the normal way.