Tag: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Flood Resilience Review is considering the findings of London Underground’s flood risk review which identifies 85 stations, tunnels and shafts as at high risk of flooding.

Lord Bridges of Headley

As set out in evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee on 13 April, the National Flood Resilience Review is looking across infrastructure in a number of sectors to identify those assets which the Government thinks need to be more resilient against extreme river or tidal flooding

Separately to the national review, London Underground is in the process of reviewing their own vulnerability to all forms of flooding: this includes river and coastal but also the risk of burst water mains, which can be a much bigger threat in an urban area. This work is primarily for London Underground to agree with Transport for London and the Mayor, but Department for Transport and Cabinet Office officials will stay abreast of the London Underground work to ensure it is coherent with the National Flood Resilience Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with UK supermarkets about the case for supermarkets regularly to check imported products to ensure that those products are properly labelled.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Under the Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 Food business operators are responsible for ensuring that labelling does not mislead the consumer. The rules are enforced by local authorities.

Imported products of animal origin are usually inspected at EU border inspection posts by Port Health Authorities.

As there are well established systems already in place, the Government is not having any specific discussions with UK supermarkets about this issue at this time, but government will continue to monitor this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-11-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a list of invasive non-native species arriving on UK shores that they wish to eradicate, and if so, whether Japanese knotweed is on that list.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Biodiversity is a devolved matter. In England, there are currently five species subject to national eradication programmes. These are Ruddy duck, Monk parakeet, Topmouth gudgeon, American bullfrog and Water primrose.

Nevertheless, in England, the work of Local Action Groups, established with Government support, has reduced or eradicated Japanese knotweed in several places. For example, in Bristol, 95% of the Japanese knotweed surveyed by the Avon Invasive Weed Forum is now under management.

The Government also continues to explore biocontrol options through the controlled release of a psyllid insect.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage supermarkets to redistribute surplus food to charities rather than disposing of surplus via anaerobic digestion or landfill.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

If surplus food cannot be prevented, the next best option is to ensure that it is redistributed for human consumption. Working through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and our voluntary agreements with the grocery sector, we have taken action to ensure that more surplus food is redistributed to people before being put to any other use. All major retailers now have arrangements in place to redistribute surplus food. Signatories to phase 3 of the Courtauld Commitment have reported a 74% increase in food redistribution between 2012 and the end of 2014, and we expect this to increase further.

Last year, the Secretary of State held a meeting with industry and redistribution organisations to take stock of progress on food redistribution. Outcomes from this include the recent publication of a Redistribution Framework to help facilitate closer working between potential donors and recipients of food surpluses. WRAP has commissioned research to identify where and why waste and surpluses occur in the supply chain to inform further action to increase waste prevention and redistribution.

Following the success of earlier agreements, WRAP launched the Courtauld Commitment 2025 in March this year. This is an ambitious new agreement that takes a whole food supply chain approach, and will build on the progress we have already made to prevent waste, including through the redistribution of surplus food.

There will always be some unavoidable food waste. The Government’s Anaerobic Digestion Strategy is in place to reduce the amount of organic material going to landfill and drive the waste that is produced into energy recovery or recycling.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering banning the routine use on farms of antibiotics classified by the World Health Organisation as critically important for treating bacterial infections in people.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The legislation that controls veterinary medicines and medicated feed within the EU is currently under revision. To reflect the rising threat of antibiotic resistance the new proposed frameworks set out additional controls on antibiotics. This includes a ban on the routine preventative use of antibiotics, including those classified as critically important, something the UK supports.

Negotiations on the frameworks are expected to continue until late 2017. There are no plans to significantly revise or amend the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 until the Commission’s work on the review of legislation has been completed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of a report from the Institute of Global Food Security that 25 per cent of samples of oregano tested are contaminated, what discussions they are having with food retailers to ensure that the public can have confidence in the labelling of food products.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Food labelling rules require that information provided about food must not mislead the consumer. Food business operators are responsible for ensuring that labelling complies with the law. The law is enforced by local authorities which set their own policies.

The Food Standards Agency is aware of the oregano sampling exercise earlier this year, which revealed that of seventy-eight samples, nineteen were also found to contain olive or myrtle leaves. Levels ranged between 21% and 69%.

Guidance on the Authenticity of Herbs and Spices, an industry best practice guide developed by representatives from the British Retail Consortium, the Food and Drink Federation, the Seasoning and Spice Association, and the FSA was published on 7 June.

The guidance represents the culmination of a strand of work the FSA undertook together with industry after the recall of a number of products early in 2015 following the discovery of undeclared almond protein in cumin and paprika. The FSA provides advice on supply chain verification and understanding vulnerabilities, as well as on sampling, inspection and testing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-11-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider introducing stronger sentencing powers against those involved in illegal dog fighting.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government recognises the seriousness of offences involving illegal animal fights. We will look to increase the maximum sentence when a legislative opportunity arises.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage coffee chains to recycle paper coffee cups.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Paper coffee cups are captured under the Packaging Waste Regulations. The UK meets its packaging waste recovery and recycling targets through a market-based approach. Packaging producers who put more than 50 tonnes a year of packaging materials on the market, and have an annual turnover of more than £2 million, are required to recover and recycle a proportion of their packaging waste. As a result most major coffee chains pick up a financial obligation to recycle their packaging waste, including paper coffee cups, through this mechanism.

Defra is also working with campaigners and industry to develop a National Litter Strategy for England.

In addition, we are aware of many major chains who are taking their own action to incentivise environmentally friendly behaviour, for example by offering a discount on drinks if customers bring their own reusable cups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to tackle the increase in human campylobacter cases, caught from infected poultry, which are proving to be resistant to the key antibiotic ciprofloxacin.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health concern and a global challenge. The United Kingdom Government has established a 5 year AMR strategy (2013-2018) which sets out our actions to slow the development and spread of AMR. A copy of the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013 to 2018 is attached.

The Government supports industry initiatives on the responsible use of antibiotics, such as those implemented by the British Poultry Council, who introduced a voluntary ban on the use of cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones in poultry in January 2012. This action will in the long-term help reduce the development of resistance in bacteria including campylobacter in poultry.

Campylobacter is the leading cause of infectious intestinal disease in people in the UK and poultry meat is considered to be the main source of these infections. To address this, the Food Standards Agency has worked closely with industry in reducing campylobacter levels in chicken and is tackling this issue throughout the food chain; this has included improved biosecurity measures on farm, interventions such as blast surface chilling or additional heat steps during processing, the introduction of leak-proof packaging at retail and advice for consumers on safe handling of raw chickens within the home. These approaches are expected to reduce the number of campylobacter infections in humans.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there are sufficient obligations on local authorities to inspect food production companies, and on retailers, to ensure that no food crime or mislabelling is occurring.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Food labelling rules are set at European Union level and provide a framework for mandatory information to be provided on food labels as well as ensuring that food information is not misleading. This Government has pressed for better information for consumers during negotiations relating to food labelling in Europe.

Food businesses are responsible for ensuring their products are safe and accurately labelled. The Government backs this up with risk-based checks carried out by local authorities. In addition, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs develops validated testing methods under its Food Authenticity programme to check for mis-description and fraud. These methods are used by public analysts and local authorities to support food law enforcement.

The majority of food law enforcement is delegated to local authorities throughout the United Kingdom who carry out checks of food businesses in their area to ensure compliance with food safety, traceability and labelling requirements. To support this, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) makes funding available to UK Enforcement Authorities for sampling and surveillance of food to help ensure risk-based, targeted checks on food products throughout the food chain.

The Government has set up the National Food Crime Unit to increase the capacity to identify, disrupt and prevent food crime. It does this in part by developing intelligence packages and passing these either to the police service or to a local authority to take forward the investigation.

Measures to co-ordinate food standards enforcement across Local Authorities are kept under continual review by the FSA to improve effectiveness of delivery, working with local authorities and trading standards professional bodies.