Tag: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 20 February 2023.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has today (Monday 20 February) demanded water companies share plans on improving Britain’s water infrastructure.

The fresh move is part of the drive for better water quality, building on significant work with industry and regulators, allowing government to track progress of investment and new projects.

The Environment Secretary has demanded a clear assessment & action plan on every storm overflow from every water and sewerage company in England, prioritising those that are spilling more than a certain number of times a year, and those spilling into bathing waters and high priority nature sites.

She has also set out more detail on how water companies will face higher penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.

Any water company caught illegally polluting our waters currently faces enforcement action from the Environment Agency. This can range from Enforcement Undertakings – companies paying to restore damage to the environment – through to prosecution in the courts.

The most serious cases are dealt with through criminal prosecutions. Fines of more than £102 million were handed out in 2021. Last year it was announced that money from these fines will be re-invested into schemes that benefit the environment, rather than being returned to the Treasury.

However, prosecutions can take a long time to bring to a conclusion. That is why the government is consulting on making it easier and quicker for penalties to be issued so that polluters are made to pay immediately when damage is caused to our rivers and seas.

On the upper limit of fines, all options – including £250 million – remain on the table. There will be a public consultation in the spring to find an upper limit that is a real and serious deterrent.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

“People are concerned about the impacts of sewage entering our rivers and seas and I am crystal clear that this is totally unacceptable.

We need to be clear that this is not a new problem. Storm overflows have existed for over a century. The law has always allowed for discharges, subject to regulation. That is how our Victorian sewers are built – wastewater and rain are carried in the same pipe. When it reaches a certain height, it pours into another pipe and into rivers.

And while we have done more about it than any other government – we were the first government to require companies to start comprehensively monitoring spillage so that we could see what was actually going on – there is still significant work to do.

Through the largest infrastructure programme in water company history we will tackle the problem at source, with more investment on projects like the new Thames Tideway super sewer. I am making sure that regulators have the powers they need to take action when companies don’t follow the rules, including higher penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.

I am now demanding every company to come back to me with a clear plan for what they are doing on every storm overflow, prioritising those near sites where people swim and our most precious habitats.”

The Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published last year, required water companies to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in water company history – £56 billion capital investment over 25 years.

More detail on the government’s plans to deliver clean and plentiful water were also set out last month in its Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, a five-year strategy for a cleaner, greener country.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 14 February 2023.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey will call on both the UK and US to continue to stand together to a forge a more secure and sustainable future for agriculture.

In a speech at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Winter Conference in Washington DC later today (15 February), the Environment Secretary will outline how UK and US co-operation is vital to promote sustainable food production and global food security and will pay tribute to the farmers of Ukraine.

NASDA plays a crucial role in US agriculture, with representatives from the Departments of Agriculture in all 50 States and four US territories. The speech will be the first time a foreign minister has addressed the conference – demonstrating the strength of UK and US collaboration on sustainable agriculture, food security and improving nature and biodiversity.

This follows the recent launch of the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan – the five year delivery plan to halt and reverse the decline in nature. The Environment Secretary is expected to highlight how ensuring nature and food production go hand-in-hand is a vital, shared goal between the two countries, with both developing landmark reforms to incentivise and reward environmental stewardship, while also harnessing new markets and tackling threats posed to food security by climate change.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey is expected to say:

It is vitally important that we continue to stand together, in defence of the freedom, democracy, and common decency that our nations treasure so deeply. We must also continue to work together to forge a more secure, more sustainable future for agriculture. We must strengthen the resilience of our environment, our businesses, and our communities, and improve the prosperity and food security of every generation to come.

Farmers are the original friends of the earth, the first to understand that making space for nature can and must go alongside food production. This is not mutually exclusive, but absolutely symbiotic. Working with nature – not against it – is the natural instinct of every farmer I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

As we work together to promote sustainable food production, we need to commend the immense contribution farming makes to our communities, and the sheer grit, ingenuity and determination it takes to keep us fed.

The Environment Secretary will also pay tribute to farmers in the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine, for their efforts in continuing to promote food security across the globe, and will outline the UK’s continued support to Ukraine.

Thérèse Coffey is expected to add:

Amidst the turmoil of war, it is truly extraordinary that the farmers of Ukraine have managed to get so much of the 2022 harvest in. At a time when Ukrainians themselves are suffering so much, the initiative to get grain from Ukraine, to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, is an act of global humanity at its very best.

I was proud to send a contribution to support those efforts, on behalf of our government and our people, as I know the United States have done as well. This forms part of the wider support that we are sending to Ukraine, and the work that the UK has led through the G7 to help identify stolen grain and frustrate Russia’s efforts to profit from that theft.

During her trip to the US, the Environment Secretary also met with US government officials, Senators, and CEOs from agri-tech start-ups. She also visited a brewery which makes craft beers from a combination of American and imported British ingredients, North Carolina State University’s new plant science facility and the Alexandria AgTech Innovation Centre.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 10 February 2023.

The projects range from practical courses in seafood preparation or manning fishing boats through to degree level qualifications.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 9 February 2023.

Councils across England have been awarded a share of £10.7 million to clean up air in local communities.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 8 February 2023.

Over £14 million will be available which allow both local authorities and community groups to access funds for new tree-planting projects.

Hundreds of thousands of trees will be planted in communities across England after two major funding schemes reopened for applications today.

Over £14m will be allocated to successful applicants across both funds, which will support tree planting efforts and contribute to Government commitments to treble tree-planting rates across England by the end of this Parliament, planting 30,000 hectares of trees across the UK per year to meet net zero ambitions.

Round 3 of the Local Authority Treescapes Fund (LATF) will see local authorities drive an increase in non-woodland tree planting across our landscapes. Community engagement is encouraged, and local authorities can bring together residents, schools and environmental groups to restore trees in areas outside woodlands, where treescapes are often highly degraded due to neglect or disease. They are particularly valuable trees to society as they can provide the greatest levels of ecosystem services, including wellbeing benefits, and connectivity to support biodiversity.

Round 5 of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) levels up access to nature across the country, planting trees in socially deprived urban areas with low canopy cover, in proximity to healthcare and educational facilities. Trees make our towns and cities healthier and more pleasant places to be, helping to moderate temperatures, reduce pollution, decrease flood risk and improve people’s quality of life. The UTCF supports planting of large ‘standard’ trees and street trees – making an immediate impact to communities and ensuring other organisations who provide planting for smaller trees can continue to do so.

Forestry Minister Trudy Harrison said:

Trees improve people’s quality of lives and are vital to our ambition to reach net zero by 2050. This funding will continue to level up people’s access to nature, which we committed to doing in our recently published Environmental Improvement Plan. We want to see inspiring projects that plant more trees across England.

Forestry Commission Chief Executive Richard Stanford said:

The Urban Tree Challenge Fund and Local Authorities Treescapes Fund will help to promote resilient treescapes in England, support tree planting efforts and improve the urban environment for future generations.

It will see thousands of trees planted in socially deprived urban areas with limited numbers of trees.  Research is clear that streets with trees in them leads to better wellbeing and health outcomes for residents as well as providing important biodiversity in our towns and cities.  The same applies to green spaces in or close to towns and cities and we need more people to have access to quality woodlands and green spaces.

For both funds, there are important developments for the new rounds to help increase applications. These include:

• This round of LATF welcomes individual applications from borough, district and city councils, as well as county councils, unitary and metropolitan boroughs. Previously, these local authorities needed to form groups with each other or county councils in order to apply. This change opens the fund up to many more local authorities.
• The UTCF will now provide 80% funding of standard costs for planting large trees and their establishment costs for three years following planting, compared with funding 50% of standard costs in previous rounds. UTCF will now only require 20% match-funding by the recipient in either money or labour.
• Both funds are now open year-round, responding to feedback on the challenges of meeting application windows previously. The Forestry Commission still strongly encourage applications during the spring/early summer so successful applicants can start their planting later this year, and funding will be allocated to successful applicants on a first-come-first-served basis.

There are several key differences between the Local Authority Treescapes Fund and the Urban Tree Challenge Fund. These include:

• The Urban Tree Challenge Fund specifically funds projects planting new, large ‘standard’ trees, whilst Local Authority Treescapes Fund projects can plant trees of any size – although ‘standard’ trees in urban areas can only be planted where they are replacing trees that have been lost, for example due to disease.
• Whilst both funds support tree planting in urban areas, the Local Authority Treescapes Fund also supports the planting of trees outside of woodlands in rural areas.
• All projects supported through the Local Authority Treescapes Fund must be led by a local authority. The Urban Tree Challenge Fund is also open to projects led by charities, community groups and other organisations.

This announcement follows a new commitment announced as part of the Government’s Environment Improvement Plan, which will see the public benefit from access green space or water within a 15-minute walk from their home, such as woodlands, wetlands, parks and rivers.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 7 February 2023.

Innovative pilot provides grants, guidance and advice to reduce the impacts of tree pests and diseases and build the resilience of England’s trees, woodlands and forests.

The Tree Health Pilot is today (Tuesday 7 February) being updated to improve the support available to farmers and land managers dealing with tree pest and disease issues.

The innovative Pilot, running between 2021 and 2024, provides land managers with grants, guidance and advice to reduce the impacts of tree pests and diseases and build the resilience of England’s trees, woodlands and forests ahead of the roll-out of a future nationwide Tree Health Scheme. The Pilot is currently available in London, the South East, the North West and the West Midlands.

Following a successful first year, in which more than 80 expressions of interest were received, Defra has worked with the Forestry Commission to evaluate user feedback and make several key changes to the scheme. These include simplifying the payments process, introducing higher payment rates, implementing a new advice package, and improving guidance.

In line with changes being made across the Countryside Stewardship and the England Woodland Creation Offer schemes, payment rates for standard capital cost items – which are one-off projects such as installing deer fencing and tree shelters – are increasing. Maintenance rates, which help ensure newly planted trees are growing healthily, will increase from £300 to £350 per hectare per year for trees planted in woodland. And to help cover coordination costs for group applications, the fee paid to the group facilitator will rise to £24 per hour.

Today’s announcement follows the publication of the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan, which committed to the publication of a revised Tree Health Resilience Strategy to improve the baseline diversity, health and condition of our trees, woods and forests, and drive the long-term changes needed to adapt to climate change and disease pressures such as ash dieback.

Chief Plant Health Officer Nicola Spence said:

This Pilot supports land managers to deal quickly and effectively with tree health issues. By funding innovative methods to fell and restock diseased trees, for instance, using skylines or horse loggers to reach larch trees in remote areas, and encouraging group collaboration to deal more efficiently with roadside ash – it ensures a comprehensive and targeted approach to better protecting our trees.

We have been able to gather meaningful feedback for the design of our future Tree Health Scheme, with a greater focus on tailoring support to land managers where most needed and equipping them with practical tools to reduce and manage future threats in order to create more resilient treescapes.

Forestry Commission Chair, Sir William Worsley, said:

From lone trees to entire woodlands, a thriving treescape is not only fundamental to our health and wellbeing, but crucial for combatting climate change, improving biodiversity and growing local economies.

These improvements will ensure greater participation in the scheme, better knowledge of the issues around tree health, and swifter action to tackle pests and diseases – all helping to protect our trees now and for future generations.

The Tree Health Pilot covers five tree types, including ash affected by ash dieback, oak trees infested with Oak Processionary Moth, and sweet chestnut infected by sweet chestnut blight. Plants and trees deliver around £15.7 billion each year in social, environmental and economic benefits across England so reducing pest and disease risks is crucial in protecting these vital national assets and the environmental benefits they provide.

The Tree Health Pilot is part of a focus on protecting and enhancing the environment alongside producing food sustainably and will inform our future Tree Health Scheme being rolled out through our landmark Environmental Land Management schemes.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 6 February 2023.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 6 February 2023.

Reforms to crack down on dangerous waste cowboys and illegal practices.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 1 February 2023.

Free–range egg marketing derogation comes to an end following Avian Influenza housing order introduced in October.

Egg labelling changes have been introduced for poultry that have had to be housed due to avian influenza.

From today (Wednesday 1 February), eggs originating from free range flocks in the east of England (Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Essex) will need to be labelled as barn eggs. The concession will apply to the rest of England from the 27th February. This in line with Egg Marketing Standards Regulations. The commencement date marks the end of the 16-week grace period given after the introduction of a regional (12 October 2022) and subsequent national mandatory housing order (7 November 2022).

In recognition of current elevated input costs facing the industry along with the impacts of AI, Defra will allow the same packaging concessions that were granted last year. This means where other options are not feasible, such as over-stickering or marketing eggs in “barn reared” egg boxes, industry will be allowed the use of direct print to pack or an affixed label on free-range boxes to communicate to consumers that the eggs have come from hens that are now barn reared.

Over the last two years, the United Kingdom has faced its largest ever outbreak of avian influenza with over 300 cases confirmed since late October 2021 of which over 270 have been in England.

The enhanced biosecurity measures including housing mandated by the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) currently in force in England have been vital in protecting flocks across the country from avian influenza.

Housing combined with stringent biosecurity measures provide greater risk reduction and together these measures have been key in driving the avian influenza case rate down in the face of unprecedented wild bird infections.

The labelling will remain in place until the housing order is lifted.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:

Farmers and poultry producers are facing real pressures as a result of this avian influenza outbreak. We hope the labelling concessions announced today will help ease the burden industry is facing.

We are very mindful of the need to maintain consumer confidence in the free-range brand long-term and appreciate the continued cooperation from the sector as we battle this insidious disease.

As required by the legislation, an indication of the farming method must continue to appear on the outer surface of packs containing the eggs in easily visible and clearly legible type.  Eggs must also be stamped with the appropriate code to show that the farming method has changed from ‘free-range’ or 1UK to ‘barn’ production or 2UK. Eggs should not be stamped with two codes.

Industry must put in place one of the requirements for marketing eggs laid on or after the expiry of the 16-week derogation below. These are, in order of preference:

• Eggs are to be sold in “barn egg” boxes in order to clearly display the farming method of the eggs.
• Over-stickering “free-range” boxes by placing a sticker over the “free-range” text in order to obscure or interrupt it leaving the correct farming method (“Barn Eggs”) easily visible and clearly legible to the consumer. The over-lay sticker must be of suitable material to be affixed to allow for good adhesion and to prevent any labels dislodging before sale to the final consumer.
• The use of direct print to pack or an affixed label on free-range boxes where the words “Barn Eggs” are included in the ‘Best Before’ section for domestic sales. The words “Barn Eggs” should be easily visible and clearly legible.

Clear and transparent Point of Sale (POS) signage is also crucial to ensure consumers are not misled, and to avoid undermining consumer confidence in the free-range industry.

This announcement follows new government support for the poultry industry announced last October, allowing compensation to be paid to farmers from the outset of planned culling rather than at the end. This enables us to provide swifter payments to help stem any cash flow pressures and give earlier certainty about entitlement to compensation assisting farmers and producers with the impacts of bird flu.

All poultry and captive birds must be housed in England until further notice. Bird keepers are required to shut their birds indoors and implement strict biosecurity measures to help protect their flocks from the threat of avian influenza, regardless of whatever type or size. Introducing these steps on farm is the most effective way in reducing the risk of disease spreading. The disease could kill your birds if these actions aren’t taken.

These measures will remain in place until further notice and will be kept under regular review as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza.

Public health advice is that viruses currently circulating in birds in the UK do not spread easily to people and food standards bodies advise that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Do not touch or pick up any dead or sick birds that you find and instead report them using the online reporting system or Defra helpline on 03459 33 55 77.

More information on the current bird flu outbreak can be found in our rolling news story.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 31 January 2023.

Tony Juniper marks the launch of the Environment Improvement Plan.

Thank you SoS for inviting me to speak at what is a defining moment for Nature recovery in this country. As your speech emphasised so clearly, Nature is not a nice to have but vital for our survival, and which is why this Environmental Improvement Plan published today is so important, and so welcome.

We now all know that we are facing into a series of environmental challenges that are very serious, pressing and which are connected to one another. At the global level the heating of our planet and the depletion of Nature are twin evils which drive each other on and place our economies and societies in peril. Their effects are very much felt in England where, in Nature terms, we’ve become one of the poorest countries on Earth.

Countries are beginning to recognise that if we are to secure our future we need to tackle these huge challenges, and do it in an integrated and joined up manner. After the UK government helped to forge global common cause at COP 15, the new Environmental Improvement Plan is a very visible demonstration of this country’s commitment to taking the urgent practical steps needed to reach the targets agreed in Montreal, and indeed those set out domestically while that summit was in progress and as required by the 2021 Environment Act.

The result we have before us today is an ambitious and integrated plan, setting out a package that is broad and geared towards hitting targets. What is required now is a concerted effort across government and society to translate its intent into action.

This can be done, so long as priority is attached to it and we remain focussed on joined-up delivery based on partnerships. Success will not only bring benefits for our depleted natural environment, but also for jobs, food and water security, public health and investment.

The economic benefits arising from Nature recovery are increasingly well understood. Pollination by bees and other insects are worth annually nearly £700 million, sustaining a farming industry worth over £120 billion. In England’s peatlands some 580 million tonnes of carbon are locked away in the ground and out of the atmosphere, at the same time filtering high-quality water into rivers that is worth up to £888 million annually.

A high-quality natural environment attracts visitors and business opportunities. The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site has brought millions of pounds into the local economy and supports up to 2000 jobs, while the England Coast Path generates spending of more than £18 per person per day and health savings of £62 per trip.

Nature recovery thus makes sense at many levels and must begin with halting its long-term decline by 2030. This will not be simple and will take significant new partnerships and integration of effort across the “Four Fs” of farming, forestry, flooding and freshwater.

Each of these elements has its own distinct pressures and goals, but with a holistic approach they can create a real momentum towards meeting the environmental targets and the basis for doing that is in the plan being launched today.

Action to deliver this five-year plan is already well under way and Natural England is proud to be at the forefront of that. In recent years we have been repurposed and revitalised and we are making great strides in working with a wide range of partners to bring Nature recovery to life.

One example is the way we’ve sought to expand the role of National Nature Reserves, designating new sites and joining up neighbouring ones to enable Nature restoration at significant scale.

Over the last three years we have increased the total area of NNRs by 13,000 hectares – equivalent to almost 15% of the total area declared in the previous 67 years since their inception in 1952. We will continue with this programme of expanding NNR coverage through five new significant designations per year during the course of the EIP.

NNRs are among the battery packs of core protected areas that will power the Nature Recovery Network that we and our partners are creating across the country. Containing the finest examples of wildlife, habitat and geology they will also help to power wider Nature Recovery Projects that are now springing into life.

A great example of this is the Somerset Wetlands, where we declared a super NNR last year, which incorporated six existing NNRs within new lands where Nature recovery can take place and which is also at the heart of a new Nature Recovery Project that is ten times the size and which was announced a week later.

We already have six of these large scale Nature Recovery Projects in place and a further 19 are in the pipeline, many of them, like Purple Horizons in the West Midlands, taking Nature recovery into the heart of towns and cities, where many people lack the health and wellbeing benefits that come with connection to the natural world. This and other projects like it will help give effect to the EIP goal of ensuring that every person is no more than 15 mins walk from green space.

On this theme, today also sees Natural England launch a new Green Infrastructure Framework that gives local authority planners and developers the tools and advice they need to ensure that thriving Nature is firmly embedded in their plans for their communities, giving people more opportunity to enjoy the wonders of the natural world.

Today marks a significant new opportunity to change Nature’s fortunes for the better in this country. The EIP charts an ambitious path, and if we can build the partnerships needed to succeed we could during the years ahead begin to see the transformation that we know we must make, marking the moment when we turn from charting Nature’s decline and instead chart its recovery.