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 2015-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what benefits they found resulted from the national Ugly Mugs Scheme piloted by the Home Office; whether it was assessed as good value for money; and if so, what was the result.
Lord Bates
The National Ugly Mugs Scheme is a mechanism for reporting crimes committed against people involved in prostitution. The Home Office provided £108,000 for the pilot scheme that ran from April 2012 to March 2013, coordinated by the UK Network of Sex Worker Projects. The evaluation of the pilot is available on its website.
The previous Government supported the pilot as part of its drive to end violence against women and girls. This Government is pleased that the evaluation of the scheme shows that it was successful in increasing access to justice and protection for those involved in prostitution. Police forces have been encouraged to contribute financially to the scheme, given its crime prevention focus and its role in encouraging reporting and contributing to intelligence. That is a decision for individual forces, and the Home Office does not collect information regarding which forces have contributed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-10-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which police forces contributed to the national Ugly Mugs Scheme during 2014–15.
Lord Bates
The National Ugly Mugs Scheme is a mechanism for reporting crimes committed against people involved in prostitution. The Home Office provided £108,000 for the pilot scheme that ran from April 2012 to March 2013, coordinated by the UK Network of Sex Worker Projects. The evaluation of the pilot is available on its website.
The previous Government supported the pilot as part of its drive to end violence against women and girls. This Government is pleased that the evaluation of the scheme shows that it was successful in increasing access to justice and protection for those involved in prostitution. Police forces have been encouraged to contribute financially to the scheme, given its crime prevention focus and its role in encouraging reporting and contributing to intelligence. That is a decision for individual forces, and the Home Office does not collect information regarding which forces have contributed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Land Use Policy Group published in June, The role of agroecology in sustainable intensification.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra officials have reviewed this report and contributed to its development. The report concluded that agroecological practices have the potential to benefit the sustainability of farming without adversely affecting productivity and profitability. It also found that agroecological approaches can particularly reduce the impact of farming on biodiversity, water quality, soils and greenhouse gas emissions. The report has informed further research, which is being undertaken through the Defra Sustainable Intensification Research Platform.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they intend to make to evaluation metrics at both farm and regional and landscape levels to take account of natural capital in policy-making decisions.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government formally launched the development phase of its 25 year environment plan on 14 October 2015. This process will run through 2016 and capture all aspects of natural capital. We will draw on the Natural Capital Committee to help develop it. A key part of it will be to ensure we have the right tools to improve decision-making at all scales so that we can get the most from our resources in order to deliver on our goal of having the best environment possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to promote the Rural Development Programme vocational skills measures in order to enhance the knowledge and skills of food producers.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Vocational skills offers can be delivered under a number of Rural Development Programme schemes. These are either national or have offers tailored to the needs of the local area. Defra publicises its schemes in a variety of ways including through the GOV.UK website. Local organisations such as Local Enterprise Partnerships also promote relevant local offers to their areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulations apply to smallholders with flocks of less than 50 laying hens if they (1) want to sell their eggs to the public, (2) want to sell products to the public such as cakes made from the eggs laid by their hens, and (3) want to sell their eggs to third parties who wish to make cakes from them for resale at venues such as country markets and farmers’ markets; whether the regulations covering the third category are national regulations, and if so, which regulations; and whether those regulations are liable to local authority interpretation.
Lord De Mauley
The sale of eggs in England (equivalent regulations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) is regulated by the Eggs and Chicks (England) Regulations 2009, the Control of Salmonella in Poultry Order 2007 and European Union food hygiene and food safety regulations. Any exemption from the legislation is subject to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002.
1) Exemption from rules on quality and grading is available to smallholders with fewer than 50 laying hens providing their eggs are sold at the production site, door-to-door or directly in local markets without any marketing indication (e.g. grading) directly to the final consumer. Producers supplying fewer than 360 eggs per week (Food Standards Agency (FSA) guidance) directly to consumers or to local retailers and caterers are exempt from the requirements of Regulation (EC) 852/2004, which establishes basic food hygiene requirements for registered food businesses.
2) Smallholders with fewer than 50 laying hens who use their own eggs for cakes and other food products sold to the public as part of a regular and organised operation are required to register as a Food Business Operator with the local authority and comply with the food hygiene regulations. The FSA has issued advice for local authorities as to which operations require registration to ensure that charity and community food operations are not disproportionately burdened.
3) There is no obligation on smallholders with fewer than 50 laying hens to ascertain what use customers will make of their eggs.