Tag: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their priorities for the UN Open Ended Working Group on nuclear disarmament, taking place from 22 to 26 February, and what expertise the UK can offer on issues of non-proliferation.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK is not attending the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on nuclear disarmament in Geneva. The UK, along with the four other Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States, voted against the resolution establishing the OEWG at the UN General Assembly First Committee. The Government works with international partners and various organisations to ensure that UK experience and expertise helps to tackle the threat of weapons proliferation but believes that productive results can only be ensured through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how soils research sponsored by the Research Councils is translated into practical measures that can be readily adopted at farm level.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The findings from soils research are translated into practical measures that can be applied at farm level in a number of ways. This includes testing of measures as part of the research, reviews of the evidence base feeding into the development of farmer guidance or direct knowledge transfer as part of the research project.

No formal assessment has been made of how soils research sponsored by the Research Councils is translated into practice. However, the part-Defra funded Soil Evidence Review, published in 2015 as part of the Natural Environment Research Council’s Soil Security Programme, emphasised the importance of engagement between researchers and farmers as being a priority to ensure understanding of agricultural issues (e.g. practical and economic challenges) and to aid the effective implementation of new knowledge and technologies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider hosting a conference on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear war similar to those hosted by Oslo, Nayarit and Vienna.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has no plans to host such a conference.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what surveys of earthworm populations and diversity in arable soils in England have been carried out since 1996, and for each project what was the contractor’s budget, and where the final report can be found on the gov.uk website.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Defra has not carried out any surveys of earthworm populations and diversity specifically in arable soils.

However, Defra carries out research on earthworms as part of a wider programme of research on sustainable land management because of their important role in developing soil structure, water movement, nutrient dynamics, and plant growth.

Defra has contributed funding to the Open Air Laboratory (OPAL) Soil and Earthworm Survey in England launched in 2012. Two technical reports detailing the analysis of the first set of results of the Soil and Earthworm Survey are publicly available on the website of Imperial College London.

Defra’s delivery partner Natural England has previously funded the London Natural History Museum to survey earthworms in a number of semi-natural sites across England and Scotland, but also included sampling from 6 arable sites. This work was captured in a report published by Natural England in April 2014 entitled “Earthworms in England: distribution, abundance and habitat”. The report is available on Natural England’s website, reference NECR145.

In 2014 Defra funded the establishment of the Sustainable Intensification Research Platform (budget £4,111,184), supporting research into sustainable productive farming techniques, which includes current assessment of earthworm abundance under contrasting arable systems at the Allerton Project at Loddington.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which of the permanent members of the UN Security Council support the UK’s proposal to the Conference on Disarmament, as set out by the UK Permanent Representative to that Conference in his letter of 19 February (CD/2055).

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Discussions on this are still at an early stage and it would be inappropriate for the UK to comment on other States’ positions before they are made public. However, we hope that all members of the UN Conference on Disarmament can support the UK proposal to establish a working group and an associated programme of work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current health and status of earthworm populations in English arable soils, and based on research and surveys carried out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ commissioned research and research of other organisations, what trends they have identified in the last two decades.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Defra is working closely with the research councils and is funding research to improve our understanding of the role of soil biodiversity in contributing to soil condition. This research includes a Defra-funded review of the current available UK-affiliated evidence base. The Report of the review was published in March and has been placed in the House Library.

We are looking closely at its findings, including whether there is a need to carry out analysis of trends in biodiversity in order to understand better how the functions it supports, such as soil structure, water movement, nutrient dynamics and plant growth, contribute to soil condition across a range of ecosystem services and management practices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether planting more trees in England is one of their policies and what assessment they have made of whether planting more trees constitutes a public benefit.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government is committed to planting 11 million trees during this Parliament, primarily through the Rural Development Programme’s Countryside Stewardship scheme.

In July 2012 the Independent Panel on Forestry reported to the Government that England’s woods and forests provide significant public benefits, including through improving water quality and biodiversity as well as access and recreation.

The Government recognised these benefits in its Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement of January of 2013 which included the response to the Independent Panel Report.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many soil scientists are currently employed by (1) universities and colleges, (2) research institutions, and (3) the private sector, in the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

This level of detail is not held by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any studies that have been conducted in the UK about integrating the cultivation of trees, crops and livestock on the same agricultural area, and of the conclusions of those studies.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Natural England commissioned a report from the Organic Research Centre and Abacus Organics considering the potential for agro-forestry options in the Countryside Stewardship scheme. The Land Use Policy Group commissioned an independent review of the evidence on agro-ecology including a consideration of agro-forestry, which was published in June 2015.

The Government has not yet made an assessment of these studies but officials will be exploring the evidence base for agro-forestry and how this measure might operate in practice within the Rural Development Programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the expenditure on soil research by all UK research councils in each year since 2006.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The annual spend on research related to soil science through the Research Councils is provided in the table below.

Financial Year	Spend
2005-06	£13.3M*
2006-07	£16.9M*
2007-08	£19.7M*
2008-09	£15.4M*
2009-10	£17.3M*
2010-11	£24.1M
2011-12	£20.6M
2012-13	£24.2M
2013-14	£31.2M
2014-15	£20.8M
2015-16	£45.1M

*Data is not available for the Arts and Humanities Research Council prior to 2010-11.