Tag: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 28 September 2024.

Food and farming businesses to benefit from new export access to US.

The government has delivered a significant early victory for British farmers, securing access to the US market for UK beetroot growers.

Following extensive talks between the two Governments and trade representatives, this will open new opportunities for British farmers by increasing export opportunities and raising the profile of British beetroot in international markets – and is a springboard to grow the economy and expand UK trade relationships post-Brexit.

Daniel Zeichner met with his US counterpart, Secretary Vilsack at the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Agriculture today to celebrate the milestone.

For the US, this will allow their processors to diversify their supply to satisfy demand for high-quality beetroot outside the US growing season, giving American consumers to access beetroot all year round from world-leading producers in the UK.

Industry estimates this new access will be worth approximately £150,000 per year in increased exports, with groups such as the NFU recently voicing their desire for the barrier to be resolved to allow British producers to benefit from the enormous potential of the US market, building on the recent successes of UK lamb in the US.

Minister for Food Security, Daniel Zeichner said:

This Government was elected on a mandate to support our farmers in trade deals – that is exactly what we are delivering.

This milestone marks a significant step forward for our beetroot farmers.

But this is only the start – over the coming weeks and months I will work tirelessly to back our British farmers and get our food exports moving again.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw said:

It is great news that after many years of campaigning, British beetroot growers will have access to the market in the United States for the first time. Being able to access the US market, supplementing local production, will help to meet rising consumer demand for this healthy, nutritional crop, creating genuine growth opportunities for farmers and growers in the UK.

I am especially delighted that this announcement comes days after we returned from the US where we were able to make the case for UK beetroot directly to government officials. Industry collaboration with government and especially with the UK’s agri-food attaché based in Washington has been key to resolving this issue.

It shows the type of wins we’re able to achieve with the UK’s expanded network of agriculture attachés following a number of years of campaigning by the NFU for the creation of these positions. Long may the collaboration continue so British farmers and growers can expand into further markets and increase sales of great British food overseas.

British businesses such as G’s Fresh will directly benefit from the opportunity to showcase their premium produce and grow their business in the US.

Graham Forber, Beetroot Product Director for G’s:

I would like to thank all involved in the assistance given to support our Love Beets beetroot development in the USA, in securing permission to import UK Beetroot. This will assist in our development and growth in processing beetroot in New York State while strengthening our supply across the USA.

I would like to thank all the parties who helped with this and particularly the support of the UK’s Agriculture Attaché at the British Embassy in Washington DC.

Defra’s Agri-food attaché in the US was key to delivering this win for the UK, building on the strong relationship between the UK and US. Defra’s technical experts and global network of 16 agri-food attachés are driving sterling progress to remove non-tariff barriers to exports of high-quality UK food and drink, which are worth £24 billion per year.

Defra will work closely with UK beetroot growers and relevant industry bodies to ensure a smooth transition into the US market.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 27 September 2024.

This afternoon (27 September 2024) Floods Minister Emma Hardy and Environment Agency Chief Executive Philip Duffy have met to discuss response to the flooding experienced by the country in the last few days.

During the meeting, the Minister received a briefing on the latest situation on the ground and together they discussed how to bolster the response from the Environment Agency, emergency services and local authorities.

This comes as earlier this week, the Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed and Emma Hardy separately visited communities in Northampton and Leighton Buzzard, to assess the response with agencies on the ground and offer their sympathies to flooded residents.

It follows the Met Office confirming that more than double the average amount of rainfall for September falling in a matter of days, leaving surface water and river flooding affecting large counties such as Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Shropshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. The heavy rain and thunderstorms have led to around 650 properties being flooded. However, the Environment Agency estimates that at least 8,200 have been protected. Over 60,000 properties received flood warnings over the past week.

The Government is working at pace to step up further preparations for the winter. Lessons learned from these floods are being fed directly into the new Floods Resilience Taskforce to speed up the development of flood defences and bolster the nation’s resilience to extreme weather. The Taskforce brings together the Secretary of State and Minister Hardy with representatives from Defra, MHCLG, Home Office, Cabinet Office, the Environment Agency, the Met Office, Local Resilience Forums, Mayoral Offices, emergency responders and the National Farmers Union, among others.

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said:

“These floods have devastated communities, homes, businesses, and livelihoods. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected.

“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe.

“But more must be done to protect people and their homes. That is why the Government is working at pace to accelerate the building of flood defences through our new Floods Resilience Taskforce.”

Chief Executive Philip Duffy said:

“My thoughts are with the people affected, and we will continue to do what we can to help with their flood recovery, and I want to thank teams from the Environment Agency and our partners for their tireless efforts this week.

“With a wet autumn forecast, we are redoubling efforts to repair and maintain our flood defences and work with communities across the country to prepare for more wet weather.”

Environment Agency teams remain on the ground across the country, checking flood defences, erecting temporary barriers, clearing blockages in storm drains and supporting local authorities in their response work.

The Environment Agency has 250 high volume pumps either in action or on standby at strategic locations across the UK. They have also stepped up the maintenance of flood assets – with 216,000 checks on 75,000 flood assets conducted in the past year which is an increase from 150,000 in an average year.

The press release issued by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 26 September 2024.

The mitigation measures will help to prevent the spread of ASF across the border, protecting the pig sector worth over £8 billion to the UK economy.

Immediate measures have been introduced to protect pig farmers and industry from an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.

ASF is a highly contagious and deadly disease in pigs and wild boar that can be transmitted through infected meat, but poses no risk to human health. The new safeguarding rules will help protect UK livestock by mitigating its spread across the border to the UK.

To safeguard the UK’s pig and farming industries, personal imports of pork and pork products from the EEA (European Economic Area), the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Switzerland will be banned from tomorrow (Friday 27th September), unless such products are manufactured and packaged to EU commercial standards and weigh less than a maximum of 2kg.

An outbreak of ASF could have a significant impact on the UK’s £8 billion pig industry, as well as its annual pork and pork product exports worth £600 million. It is estimated that an outbreak could cost the UK between £10 million to £100 million.

Biosecurity Minister Baroness Hayman said:

African swine fever is a deadly disease wreaking havoc in Europe.

These new measures will protect British pig farmers and pork products, preventing infected meat from being brought over the border and threatening our biosecurity.

The UK has never had an outbreak ASF, and commercial meat imports are routinely checked at the border to ensure infected goods do not reach UK shores.

Preventing an outbreak of ASF in the UK remains one of Defra’s key biosecurity priorities, and it keeps policy on personal meat and dairy imports under constant review, as well as works closely with devolved governments on contingency planning and preventing an incursion from infected goods.

Those found to bring pork or pork products illegally may be fined up to £5,000 in England. Products will be seized and destroyed on arrival.

Defra is investing £3.1 million to Dover Port Health Authority for 2024/25 to help Border Force tackle illegal meat imports and keep African Swine Fever out of Great Britain.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 26 September 2024.

Secretary of State Steve Reed visited an Essex farm this week to hear from NFU representatives and a farmer who recently had animals tested for bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3).

The Secretary of State, accompanied by Animal Plant Health Agency staff, including APHA’s Veterinary Head of Outbreaks for England Sascha Van Helvoort, heard about the impact this disease has been having on the industry and the importance of reporting livestock suspected of having the disease.

Bluetongue virus is primarily transmitted by midge bites and affects cattle, goats, sheep, deer and camelids, with case numbers now increasing dramatically in northern Europe. Symptoms include fever, lethargy, ulcers or sores in the mouth or nose, and reduced milk yield.

Disease control zones were put in place to control the movement of potentially affected animals as soon as bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) was detected. These zones have been under constant review and adjustment as the disease situation has developed, such as when evidence of local transmission of disease emerged. A single Restricted Zone is now in place covering the east of England from Lincolnshire to West Sussex.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, said:

I have heard first-hand the experiences of farmers battling this disease and we are working hard to prevent its spread into other areas of England and Great Britain.

We understand restrictions can have an impact but stress the importance of everyone adhering to these. We are committed to working with everyone affected and urge people to report livestock they suspect have the disease.

Sascha Van Helvoort, APHA Veterinary Head of Field Delivery and Veterinary Head of Outbreaks for England, said:

The increasing number of bluetongue virus (BTV-3) cases demonstrate the importance of vigilance from all livestock keepers and farmers.

We have field teams, vets and scientists across the country who are working hard to help tackle bluetongue virus and ensure farmers are being supported.

If you have any suspicions of disease, you must report this to the Animal Plant Health Agency immediately so we can provide assistance.

Defra has permitted use of the currently available unauthorised BTV-3 vaccines, subject to licence. We recommend animal keepers work with their veterinarians to decide if vaccination is right for their animals. To prioritise initial supplies, a general licence allows those in high-risk counties of England to use the vaccine. Specific licences can be applied for through APHA by animal keepers elsewhere in England who wish to use the vaccine

BTV is a notifiable disease. Suspicion of BTV in animals in England must be reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency on 03000 200 301, 03003 038 268 in Wales or your local Field Services Office in Scotland.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 17 September 2024.

The UK has played a key role in securing a declaration to support sustainable agriculture and promote food security at a meeting of G20 Agriculture Ministers in Brazil.

Signing the G20 Agricultural Declaration, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner affirmed the government’s commitment to sustainable agri-food systems.

The Brazilian Presidency led negotiations which positioned agriculture at the forefront of addressing key challenges of fighting poverty, ending hunger, and improving nutrition, while confronting the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

The efforts of the UK ensured that the Declaration encourages more sustainable agricultural practices across the planet, including halting and reversing deforestation.

Speaking at the G20 Agriculture Ministers meeting in Cuiabá, Brazil, Minister Zeichner called on countries to deepen international collaboration, including through trade, to create sustainable agri-food systems. The minister also used the occasion to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to join the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, when it launches in November.

Daniel Zeichner, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs said:

It is vital that G20 countries work together to create sustainable agriculture and food systems, as well safeguard food security.

This declaration will help create sustainable and resilient global agriculture, essential to overcome poverty, climate change and biodiversity loss.

At home, we will continue delivering a new deal for farmers, boosting farmer confidence and food security, as well as stability and economic growth in our rural communities.”

The government will continue to champion UK food and drink on the international stage and Scotch whisky has recently become the first foreign product granted Geographical Indication status in Brazil since 2019. This new status could be worth around £25 million in trade over five years and will give distillers better access to South America’s largest economy, strengthening international recognition for Scotch Whisky.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 16 September 2024.

The new scheme for Toronto Close in Worcester has been welcomed by residents who were evacuated from their homes during devastating floods.

The Environment Agency, in collaboration with Worcestershire County Council, has completed a £2.5 million flood risk management scheme for Toronto Close in the Lower Wick area of Worcester to reduce the risk of flooding to homes.

Toronto Close has a history of flooding from the River Severn and River Teme, which impacts the water level of the nearby Laughern Brook during and after heavy rainfall.

In July 2007 16 properties flooded, with the depth of water reaching up to 800mm.  Further flooding took place in 2020 during Storm Dennis, when many residents had to evacuate their homes.

The scheme consists of an embankment across open land and through residential gardens along Laughern Brook as well as the strengthening and rebuilding of the existing historic wall along Old Road.

Two flood gates have been installed in front of existing accesses from Toronto Close onto Old Road. These gates will normally be open, and only closed in the event of a flood.

Area Flood Risk Manager for the Environment Agency Charlie Chander said:

“We know how devastating flooding can be and the terrible disruption flooding has caused to residents in Toronto Close in the past. We are delighted to have been able to deliver this flood risk management scheme that will help to reduce the risk of flooding to Toronto Close and hopefully help to give residents more peace of mind.”

The new scheme has been welcomed by Toronto Close residents who have experienced the devastation of flooding in the past.

Ray Grundy has lived in the street with his wife since 1980 and for the first 27 years they didn’t experience flooding. It was in July 2007 when flooding hit, following a wet summer and saturated ground led to flood water rising from the Laughern Brook and River Teme and some residents needing to be evacuated.

Ray Grundy said:

“It had been very wet all through June and then we had more than 24 hours of solid rain and the water kept rising.  Our house is slightly higher than some others in the street so fortunately we didn’t flood inside but we’ve had water coming up to the house. It was much worse for neighbours who had catastrophic floods inside and had the devastation of having to move out and stay in temporary accommodation away from the close while their homes were refurbished.”

Another flood hit the road in 2020 leading to further evacuations and more disruption for residents. Ray said the completed scheme has given the residents of Toronto Close peace of mind.

He said: “It means for the first time we can now go away on holiday during the winter and not have to worry if we are going to flood. Everyone is feeling more relaxed.”

Councillor Emma Stokes, Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment said:

“This area has seen some devastating floods in recent years and I’m very pleased that this flood management scheme is now in place. Flooding has had a huge impact on people living in the area and this scheme will reduce the risk of flooding in the future. I’d like to thank everyone involved in making this a reality, in particular Councillor Alan Amos, who has strongly supported the scheme from day one.”

The crest height of the embankments and walls is based on historic flood level and the structures will, at their highest, be around 1.5m above existing ground level, reducing the risk of flooding to properties within Toronto Close from flooding like that experienced in 2007 and 2020.

Make sure you know your flood risk by going the GOV.UK website or search ‘know my flood risk’ to sign up for Environment Agency flood warnings, receive information on the risk in your area and what to do in a flood: https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/.

The press release issued by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 13 September 2024.

The products will not be subject to import checks at the GB border until next year.

The government has today (13 September) extended the easement of import checks on medium-risk fruit and vegetables imported from the EU from January 2025 to 1 July 2025.

Such products will not be subject to import checks at the GB border or charged the associated fees until this date.

This easement is a temporary measure to ensure that new ministers have a full and thorough opportunity to review the planned implementation of further border controls, and an opportunity to listen to businesses across import supply chains.

Defra has also changed the risk categorisation of certain plants and plant products, including deregulation of certain products, following further scientific review of commodities across all plant and plant product risk categories.

Seven commodity groups (including apples and pears) will be recategorised from medium risk to low risk, allowing these goods to move freely into GB from the EU, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

These changes will come into force on 30 January 2025.

Defra will continue the systematic, proactive screening of potential new and emerging biosecurity risks. This is alongside maintaining our responsive approach to changes in risk levels via surveillance, enhanced inspection, regulation, import controls, research and awareness raising.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 10 September 2024.

Environment Secretary and Financial Secretary to the Treasury met with water industry investors today.

The Government has today (10 September 2024) taken further steps to attract billions in private-sector investment into the water sector to rebuild broken water infrastructure and clean up Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas.

A roundtable with water investors this afternoon was hosted by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Steve Reed and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Livermore in the City of London.

Ministers discussed the importance of private sector investment into water companies and how they can work together to clean up our rivers, boost economic growth around the country by creating tens of thousands of jobs, and increase the resilience of our water supply that underpins every single home and business in the UK.

This meeting follows the publication of the landmark Water (Special Measures) Bill last week that will deliver a strong, level regulatory playing field. This is part of the government’s work to create long-term stability and attract billions of private-sector investment into the sector.

The discussion marks a step-change as the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs repositions itself as a key economic growth department.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed said:

With the new Government, the water sector will become one of growth and opportunity.

Working with investors, we will attract billions in private-sector investment that is desperately needed to upgrade our broken water infrastructure and clean up Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas.

Growth Minister Lord Spencer Livermore said:

Private investment is at the core of how we grow our economy, rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.

The water industry has a vital role to play which is why creating a stable and investable water sector is long overdue.

The Global Infrastructure Investor Association represents more than 25 investors in the UK water industry. Chief executive Jon Phillips said:

The roundtable was an important opportunity for the government to hear directly from private investors in the UK water industry. By working together we can attract the investment that is necessary.

We fully support the government’s ambition to put the sector on a stronger footing.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 5 September 2024.

Major legislation to crack down on water bosses polluting Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas is being set out today and includes the most significant increase in enforcement powers in a decade.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill has been introduced to parliament and will give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers.

The introduction of the Bill comes as Secretary of State Steve Reed is set to deliver a speech at Thames Rowing Club on Thursday 5th September to representatives from the water industry, investors, environmental groups and campaigners setting out his plans to transform the water sector.

The Bill delivers on the manifesto pledges to clean up the water sector, including significantly increasing the ability of the Environment Agency to bring forward criminal charges against law-breaking water executives. It will create new tougher penalties, including imprisonment, for water executives when companies fail to co-operate or obstruct investigations.

The new legislation will also ban the payment of bonuses to water bosses if they fail to meet high standards to protect the environment, their consumers and their company’s finances.

Other measures in the Bill include severe and automatic fines for a range of offences, including allowing regulators to issue penalties more quickly, without having to direct resources to lengthy investigations. It will also introduce independent monitoring of every sewage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows. Discharges will have to be reported within an hour of the initial spill.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, said:

“The public are furious that in 21st century Britain, record levels of sewage are being pumped into our rivers, lakes and seas. After years of neglect, our waterways are now in an unacceptable state.

“That is why today I am announcing immediate action to end the disgraceful behaviour of water companies and their bosses.

“Under this Government, water executives will no longer line their own pockets whilst pumping out this filth. If they refuse to comply, they could end up in the dock and face prison time.

“This Bill is a major step forward in our wider reform to fix the broken water system. We will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform how the water industry is run and speed up the delivery of upgrades to our sewage infrastructure to clean up our waterways for good.”

Measures in the Bill

Bring criminal charges against persistent lawbreakers, including imprisonment

• Since privatisation, only 3 individuals have been criminally prosecuted by the Environment Agency without appeal despite widespread illegality.
• The Bill will significantly increase the ability for the Environment Agency to bring forward criminal charges against law-breaking water executives.
• The Bill creates new tougher penalties including imprisonment for water executives when companies fail to co-operate or obstruct Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate investigations. Previously, the maximum punishment for most cases of obstruction was merely a fine. We will increase sentencing powers to include imprisonment, with offences triable in both the Crown and Magistrates’ Court.
• In addition, the cost recovery powers of regulators will be expanded to ensure that water companies bear the cost of enforcement action taken in response to their failings. The Environment Agency will undertake a consultation on the implementation of these new powers.

Ban the payment of bonuses to executives of water companies

• Despite overseeing catastrophic failure, water chief executives have paid themselves over £41m in bonuses, benefits and incentives since 2020.
• This Bill will give Ofwat powers to ban the payment of performance-related pay including bonuses to chief executives and senior leadership of water companies unless they meet high standards when it comes to protecting the environment, their consumers, financial resilience and criminal liability.
• We will go further by requiring Ofwat to set rules requiring water companies to appoint directors and chief executives and allow them to remain in post only when they meet the highest standards of ‘fitness and propriety’, and to ensure customers are involved in company decision-making.

Introduce severe and automatic fines for offences

• Currently, the regulators have to conduct lengthy investigations to the criminal standard of proof (“beyond reasonable doubt”) before they can impose financial penalties, even for minor to moderate offences. They cannot impose Fixed Monetary Penalties for most water sector offences and the current maximum penalty is just £300. This means it is not cost effective for regulators to impose financial penalties for frequent, more minor offences.
• The Bill closes the gap in the Environment Agency’s enforcement powers by lowering the standard of proof to the civil standard (“on the balance of probabilities”) and enabling Fixed Monetary Penalties to be imposed as Automatic Penalties for specific offences – allowing regulators to issue penalties more quickly, without having to direct resources to lengthy investigations.
• The list of water industry offences that will be subject to Automatic Penalties will include pollution offences, failure to comply with information requests and reporting requirements, and water resource offences.
• These offences and the increase in the value of the penalties (from £300) will be set out in secondary legislation, following consultation.

Ensure independent monitoring of every outlet

• Emergency sewage overflows are not currently fully monitored.
• To make it easier and quicker for regulators to investigate and punish wrongdoing, water companies will be required to publish real-time data (within an hour) for all emergency overflows in England in a clear, accessible format. This will create an unprecedented level of transparency, enabling the public and regulators to see what is going on and hold water companies to account.
• This data will be independently scrutinized by the regulators and used as evidence in their investigations.

Wider measures in the bill to strengthen regulation

• To further increase transparency around water company operations, there will be a new statutory requirement for water companies to publish annual Pollution Incident Reduction Plans, setting out steps they are taking to address their pollution incidents to ensure that, wherever possible, they do not happen again.

Wider water sector reform

The introduction of this Bill is the next step in the Government’s three stage approach as the work begins to clean up our waterways.

• Reset: Within a week into office, the Environment Secretary secured agreement with Ofwat to ringfence funding for vital infrastructure upgrades and to ensure this can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.
• Special Measures: Now the Government is introducing its first piece of water legislation to strengthen the power of water industry regulators and to drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry, as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.
• Further legislation: The Government will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform how the nation’s water system operates to tackle pollution and deliver a resilient water supply, boost investment and speed up infrastructure upgrades to clean up the nation’s waterways.

Notes to editors:

The full set of measures will be published on Thursday morning. Measures are subject to consultation, with further information set out in the coming months.

Stakeholder quotes:

Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

We welcome the Water (Special Measures) Bill and the government’s ambition to drive through much needed reform.

The Bill will give us, as regulator, more power to protect our precious water quality and resources, hold water companies to account and ensure the polluter pays. The stronger penalties introduced by the Bill will deter illegal behaviour and allow us to close the justice gap and strengthen our ability to deliver swift enforcement action.

This builds on our ongoing work to deliver our biggest ever transformation in the way we regulate, including recruiting up to 500 additional staff for a specialised workforce and investing in new digital and monitoring systems to identify the root cause of issues.”

David Black, Chief Executive of Ofwat, said:

We fully support the introduction of the Water Bill and are working closely with the Government to ensure its smooth implementation once it has gained Royal Assent. This Bill strengthens our powers and will help us drive transformative change in the water industry so that it delivers better outcomes for customers and the environment.

We welcome the opportunity to establish new rules on water company remuneration, governance and strengthening customer involvement in water company decision-making.”

Tessa Wardley, Director of Communications and Advocacy, The Rivers Trust said:

We are delighted that Defra is prioritising healthier rivers, lakes and seas, and strengthening regulation and enforcement is a really important strand of that work.

We’re particularly encouraged to see that our calls to ensure that polluters pay for the environmental damage they cause are being heeded, and that progress is also being made to improve transparency around pollution incidents and monitoring of emergency overflows. Hopefully the new powers will give regulators the teeth they need to hold polluters to account so we see improved performance across the sector.

Despite this, we know these special measures are not the whole answer to returning our rivers to full health, and we look forward to further work in collaboration with the government, enabling action to restore resilience in our water environment for a healthier future – for us and our rivers.

Jamie Cook, CEO, Angling Trust said:

The angling community have been at the forefront of calling for tougher regulation, so we welcome the long overdue introduction of the principle of cost recovery from polluters in the new Bill along with the other measures to increase penalties, create transparency and improve corporate conduct in the broken water industry.

Wherever possible it should be the polluter that pays rather than the taxpayer.

However, this can only be regarded as a first step, and we look forward to seeing more transformational change and a root and branch upgrade of Britain’s creaking and leaking wastewater infrastructure.

Richard Benwell, Chief Executive, Countryside and Wildlife Link said:

The Water (Special Measures) Bill shows real steel from the Government. Ensuring that companies never profit from pollution is a strong foundation to restore UK rivers. We hope to see this no-nonsense, polluter pays approach applied across the economy, wherever companies are taking advantage of nature.

Restoring rivers is a massive challenge and there’s much more to do, but if DEFRA follows this positive work on pollution with action to support water-friendly farming, stricter chemicals regulation, and investment in habitats to help clean up river catchments, then we can hope for a better future for the UK’s water environment.

Richard Walker, Executive Chairman of Iceland Foods and former Chair of Trustees of Surfers Against Sewage said:

Finally, we have a government prepared to tackle the criminal neglect and abuse of Britain’s waters. This new legislation is long overdue and will strengthen enforcement and hold water companies and their bosses to account.

There remain systemic issues that need to be tackled to end pollution of our waters in the long-term – but this swift action gives me confidence that things can and will start to change.

Mike Keil, Chief Executive, Consumer Council for Water said:

Our research shows consumer trust in the water sector has been badly fractured by concerns over the environment, which is why we welcome the measures laid out by the UK Government to ensure there are more serious consequences for water companies if they harm our rivers and seas.

We’re also looking forward to working with ministers to give people and communities a more powerful platform to hold water companies to account when they fail to deliver on their promises. These changes will complement the work we’re already doing to help transform the culture of companies, so they are focused on providing the best possible service for their customers.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 5 September 2024.

The Secretary of State permitted the use of 3 unauthorised bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccines within the United Kingdom yesterday (4 September). The vaccines are suppressive, meaning they will reduce some of the clinical signs experienced by animals with the disease. They do not prevent infection.

These vaccines must only be used with an appropriate licence being in place. Available licences to allow use will either be geographically targeted general licences, initially in high risk counties as part of a phased approach, or specific licences which can be applied for through the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA). We will publish these imminently.

Unlike some of the authorised BTV vaccines for other BTV serotypes the BTV-3 vaccines reduce rather than prevent viraemia (presence of BTV virus in the blood). This means that they may not prevent your animals from being infected or infectious, rather depending on the vaccine their claims include reduction or prevention of clinical signs experienced or mortality. For this reason, all movement controls and trade restrictions in place will still apply to vaccinated animals.

Vaccination status will not affect movement restrictions which remain in place and apply to all ruminants and camelids moving out of the restricted zone and to the movement of their germinal products within the zone. Farmers are reminded to only move animals within the extended zone where this is absolutely necessary.

Farmers in England are urged to contact your private veterinarian if you want to use any of the available BTV-3 vaccines.

Following several confirmed cases of Bluetongue virus BTV3 across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, the UK Chief Veterinary Officer has declared a bluetongue restricted zone across the region to mitigate the risk of further cases of disease occurring.

Biosecurity Minister Baroness Hayman said:

The permitting of these vaccines forms one part of our efforts against this highly infectious disease.

We are working at pace in order to provide farmers with everything they need to protect their livestock and businesses and would recommend they contact their veterinarians for access to the vaccines. Farmers are also reminded that free testing remains available.

Chief UK Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:

These vaccines are an important step forward and will aid in reducing clinical signs in animals and the impact of disease on farms but it is not a protective vaccine, so we are still urging farmers to follow all of our guidance in order to prevent the disease spreading to their herds and any further.

I urge farmers to contact their veterinarians if they wish to use the vaccines and to continue monitoring their animals frequently for clinical signs and report suspicion of disease immediately to the Animal Plant Health Agency.