Tag: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

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

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

A new action plan to protect plants from pests and diseases was published today (Monday 9 January) by Defra, in partnership with the Forestry Commission and the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

The Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain sets out a five-year vision for plant health, consisting of an action plan to secure national biosecurity, protect native species and drive economic growth. It positions the UK as a global leader in plant biosecurity, setting out our vision to create a new biosecurity regime and bio-secure plant supply chain, which will safeguard food security and help mitigate the effects of climate change. It comes following updated figures which show that plants provide an annual value of £15.7 billion to the United Kingdom.

Specific actions include expanding the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Internet Trading Unit to step up monitoring of online retailers and social media sites for the trade of high-risk plant products, in order to stop potentially devastating pests and diseases from entering the country. Additionally, the strategy sets out how more than 30 signatories, including Defra, the Royal Horticultural Society, National Farmers Union and the Woodland Trust, will deliver an ambitious programme of behavioural change across society through the Public Engagement in Plant Health Accord. This one-of-a-kind collective commitment will kickstart a national conversation around biosecurity and promote the actions that the public can take to protect tree and plant health.

Lord Benyon, Minister for Biosecurity, said:

This landmark strategy sets out how we will protect Great Britain’s plants, with the government, industry and the public working together to tackle the risks posed by plant pests and diseases. In light of climate change, tackling these varied and mounting risks will be critical to maintaining our food security, as well as facilitating safe trade amidst a challenging economic backdrop.

Today’s announcement demonstrates this Government’s ironclad commitment to protecting and restoring our natural environment for future generations, as we deliver on our tree planting targets and ambition to achieve net zero.

Nicola Spence, UK Chief Plant Health Officer, said:

Plant pests and diseases know no borders. As the global trade in plants and plant products continues to grow, our precious ecosystems, native species and biosecurity are at risk. The resultant threats posed to our treescapes, food security and the global economy are all too real.

Therefore, I am proud to officially launch the Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain, which will deliver a step change in our plant health protections, actions and behaviours. This will position Great Britain as a global leader in plant biosecurity and set an example for the world to follow.

Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh Government’s Minister for Rural Affairs, said:

The Plant Biosecurity Strategy emphasises our commitment to protect the health of our plants. Plants are the foundation of our ecosystems and provide life to the whole food chain. The strategy outlines what we will do, working with others, to further protect this vital resource.

Sara Lom, The Tree Council CEO, said:

The Tree Council was created nearly 50 years ago in response to Dutch elm disease and now leads activity into the devastating impacts of ash dieback. From first-hand experience, we know that effective biosecurity is vital in defence of Britain’s trees and plants.

We welcome the launch of the Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain and look forward to working with Defra and partners to protect our treescape.

The Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain will also set out how enhancements to the UK Plant Health Risk Register, which currently lists 1,200 pests and diseases of potential threat to our biosecurity, will improve our understanding of complex and cumulative risks to plant health. As part of this, an array of new plant health IT systems will bolster our outbreak preparedness and emergency response.

Incorporated into the strategy is a commitment to work with the UK Plant Health Alliance to develop a new five-year roadmap for the Plant Healthy certification scheme, which provides biosecurity certification to nurseries, businesses and charities operating in the horticultural sector. RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Yorkshire has become the first public garden in England to be certified as Plant Healthy, in recognition of its work to prevent the introduction and spread of plant pests, diseases and invasive species and promote good plant health.

The strategy also emphasises the collective role and responsibilities we all have in upholding high standards of biosecurity — for example, the importance of not bringing home plants, trees, fruit and seeds from overseas, as doing so could inadvertently cause pests, diseases and invasive species to be introduced or to spread in new areas. This aligns with the UK Government’s long-running ‘Don’t Risk It!’ campaign, which featured on the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Gold Medal-winning stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022.

The strategy builds on the work achieved under the previous 2014 strategy as well as the consultation launched in September 2021 by Defra, the Forestry Commission, the governments of Scotland and Wales, and our agencies and delivery partners. It follows the convening of the world’s first International Plant Health Conference in London last year, which brought together 500 policymakers, academics and experts from over 74 countries to address current and future plant health challenges.

Today’s announcement comes ahead of the publication of the GB Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) Strategy in early 2023. This will set out coordinated actions across society to prevent the arrival of new INNS and tackle the impacts of those established – securing our biosecurity and minimising their environmental and economic impacts.

The Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain (2023 to 2028) is available here.

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

Invasive species are recognised as one of the greatest threats to marine biodiversity worldwide, second only to habitat loss, and cost the UK economy £120 million a year.

But the threat to UK waters could be reduced as pioneering research led by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and funded by Defra sheds new light on invasive species ‘hitchhiking’ across the sea on floating marine debris, such as plastics. In some cases, certain species are thought to have travelled from as far as the east coast of America, thousands of miles away.

By adapting a computer model originally designed to predict the distribution of oil following an oil spill, Cefas scientists were able to uncover the origin of floating marine debris and track how invasive species enter UK waters.

There are 39 recorded marine non-native species, including the Slipper Limpet and Signal Crayfish, considered as harmful to UK native marine biodiversity. It is hoped this advanced modelling technique will enable the UK and countries worldwide to more accurately track the movements of debris and pave the way for an early warning system to prevent and respond to emerging threats from non-native species.

With 80% of marine debris made up of marine plastics, and over 800 million tonnes of plastic ending up in our oceans each year, this research reiterates the importance of tackling global plastic pollution, supporting calls from Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey at the UN Conference of Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15 last year for greater ambition and support to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

International Marine Minister Lord Benyon said:

This research sheds light on a lesser-known consequence of plastics and litter entering our ocean, with floating debris threatening valuable marine biodiversity by transporting invasive, non-native species into the UK.

It underlines the importance of global action that impacts our marine life and the UK is at the forefront of these efforts, mostly recently in championing calls to end plastic pollution by 2040.

In this first of a series of leading research papers, Cefas scientists used a large piece of marine debris collected off the southwest coast of the UK to identify animals, including goose barnacles, hitchhiking their way into UK waters from sub-tropical and tropical waters generally below 40 degrees latitude.

Using the date the piece of debris was found and growth rates of the animals attached to the debris, scientists were able to calculate the time the debris had travelled through the ocean and ‘back-track’ its journey and likely origin. This has enabled the identification of ‘hot spot zones’ along the south west coast (where many of these species from the tropics make first landfall) containing a high concentration of marine debris that can pose a greater risk of transportation of invasive, non-native species.

Dr. Peter Barry, Marine Ecology Scientist at Cefas and lead author of the report said:

While this type of hitchhiking movement has been identified among various species and regions before, there is still a lot we don’t know about how invasive species enter our waters. A real challenge for scientists has been to identify where the hitchhikers have come from. This model allows us to retrace their journey to understand where and how an invasion pathway is operating”.

Although not all non-native species entering the UK will become established, those that do can be incredibly harmful for the environment. With the increase in marine litter in our seas, it’s important for us to understand how these species are being transported, and to identify areas most at risk to help prevent their spread.

Cefas will now research how invasive species can be transported on other marine debris such as seafloor litter, complementing work taking place internationally to better understand the sources of marine debris and how these enable invasive species to spread.

The UK continues to be a leading voice in tackling marine plastic pollution, co-sponsoring the proposal to prepare a new international, legally binding plastics treaty and is a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, a group of 50 countries calling for a target under the treaty to stop plastic from flowing into our lands and ocean by 2040.

The UK took an ambitious stance at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC1) in November last year, pushing for a treaty that will restrain the production and consumption of plastic to sustainable levels, address plastic design, and encourage more recycling and re-use of plastic.

In December last year, the Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey attended the UN Conference of Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15 in Montreal where she called for greater ambition and urged more countries to join the more than 120 nations who already support the pledge to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 5 January 2023.

Farmers will receive increased payments for protecting and enhancing nature and delivering sustainable food production under the Government’s Environmental Land Management schemes, Defra has announced today (Thursday 5 January 2023).

Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference, Farming Minister Mark Spencer announced more money for farmers and landowners through both the Countryside Stewardship and the Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes, which will provide more support to the industry and drive uptake at a time of rising costs for farmers as a result of global challenges. He also confirmed an expanded range of actions under the schemes, which farmers could be paid for, would be published soon.

The changes mean farmers could receive up to a further £1,000 per year for taking nature-friendly action through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). This new Management Payment will be made for the first 50 hectares of farm (£20/ha) in an SFI agreement, to cover the administrative costs of participation and to attract smaller businesses – many of whom are tenant farmers – who are currently under-represented in the scheme. SFI is already paying farmers to improve soil and moorlands, and an expanded set of standards for 2023 will be published shortly.

In addition, farmers with a Countryside Stewardship (CS) agreement, of which there are now 30,000 across England, will see an average increase of 10% to their revenue payment rates – covering ongoing activity such as habitat management. Defra is also updating capital payment rates, which cover one-off projects such as hedgerow creation, with an average increase of 48%.

Meanwhile, capital and annual maintenance payments for the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) and Tree Health Pilot (THP) will also be updated this year, helping to incentivise farmers to incorporate more trees as a valuable natural resource on farms.

Taken together, these changes will mean more farmers taking individual positive actions such as creating hedgerows and flower-rich grass areas on the edge of fields and will support farmers and landowners in making space for nature alongside sustainable food production. This will help us meet the UK’s legally binding environment targets and contribute to our aim of halting biodiversity loss by 2030, agreed at COP15 in December last year, while supporting the industry to farm more home-grown produce and take advantage of innovation.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:

My challenge to our great industry is simple – this year, take another look at the Environmental Land Management schemes and think about what options and grants will help support your farm.

As custodians of more than 70% of our countryside, the nation is relying on its farmers to protect our landscapes as well as produce the high-quality food we are known for, and we are increasing payment rates to ensure farmers are not out of pocket for doing the right thing by the environment.

By increasing the investment in these schemes, I want farmers to see this stacks up for business – whatever the size of your holding.

Under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, which the UK has now left, farmers received payments based on how much land they held, meaning half the available cash went to the top 10%. Outside the EU, the UK is bringing in a new, fairer farming system which is designed in the best interests of our industry, in partnership with the sector. As the UK works towards its targets of halting the decline of nature by 2030 and hitting net zero by 2050 the new system, which is being phased in by 2027-8, puts money into farmers’ pockets and the wider rural economy based on actions taken to enhance nature and drive innovation in agriculture.

These increased payments also recognise the challenges of rising input costs and other pressures which are being felt across the sector. The SFI Management Payment will also help to drive uptake in the scheme among all farmers, including smaller farms who are currently under-represented in environmental schemes. SFI has been designed with tenant farmers firmly in mind, and is more accessible to them thanks to shorter, three-year agreements and allowing tenants on shorter contracts to enter into the scheme without the need for landlord consent.

Today’s announcement follows the government providing a boost to the horticulture industry with the provision of 45,000 visas for seasonal workers in 2023 – an uplift of 15,000 compared to what was available to businesses at the start of 2022. This number will be kept under review with the potential to increase by a further 10,000 if necessary, and contingent on sponsors and growers improving and abiding by worker welfare standards, including ensuring workers are guaranteed a minimum number of paid hours each week.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 30 December 2022.

Christine Middlemiss made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for her services to the veterinary and farming sectors in the United Kingdom.

The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) Christine Middlemiss has been made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the King’s New Year Honours. The Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry and is second only to a damehood or knighthood.

The honour recognises Christine’s crucial role in maintaining the high standard of animal health and welfare in the UK following our departure from the EU, and her significant efforts in managing the largest ever outbreak of avian influenza flu.

Since becoming CVO in 2018, Christine has achieved accomplishments of national and international importance, leading the UK’s approach on numerous vital issues ranging from global animal health issues; biosecurity and disease risk management; and trade and market access agreements.

This year in particular she has been instrumental in the government’s tireless efforts to manage the unprecedented ongoing outbreak of avian influenza, helping to limit the spread of the disease and mitigate its impacts on farmers and the public, as well as international trade. She led efforts to ensure that Ukrainian refugees were able to bring their pets to the UK, and also played a key role in developing the government’s response to the Independent Review on bovine TB and promoting the importance of vaccination and biosecurity on farms.

Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:

I am truly humbled to be awarded this honour. For me, it demonstrates the recognition of the importance of having vets in government and what we do. As we’ve seen over the last few years, vets have a critical role in a variety of issues including new and emerging diseases, food supply and supporting people fleeing conflict with their beloved pets.

I am very proud of the work we do and I am passionate about inspiring confidence in women and girls hoping to pursue careers in science, as well as ensuring that we have highly expert and experienced public sector vets to continue to make a significant positive impact.

Defra Permanent Secretary Tamara Finkelstein said:

Since becoming Chief Veterinary Officer in 2018, Christine has achieved accomplishments of national and international importance, so I am delighted to see her huge contributions to veterinary, farming and the United Kingdom being recognised in this way.

She has repeatedly provided outstanding leadership and valuable expert advice whilst dealing with extremely challenging issues – her honour is thoroughly deserved.

Throughout her time as CVO, Christine has represented the UK on the international stage, including at the G7 summit, Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) discussions at the World Organisation for Animal Health, and at several bilateral trade negotiations.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 23 December 2022.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 20 December 2022.

£3 million capital fund opens for applications. Village halls in England will now be able to apply for grants to renovate vital community assets.

Village halls across England can now apply for grants to improve and modernise their facilities, as the Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Fund opens for applications today (20 December).

Launched to mark the occasion of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, the fund recognises the important role that village halls play in supporting rural communities.

Village halls are key cornerstones in the fabric of rural life, providing essential services and bringing people together through social and recreational activities.

They are vital resources for those unable to travel great distances and are key drivers of community cohesion which positively contribute to the health and wellbeing of rural communities. But many are in poor repair and in need of modernisation to better serve the communities that they represent.

The fund is managed by the charity Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE). It is anticipated that the fund will support around 125 village halls over a three-year period creating bigger, better and brighter village halls for communities to enjoy.

Lord Benyon, Minister for Rural Affairs, said:

The Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund will create a national network of legacy projects to benefit rural communities.

This will be a lasting tribute to the long, exceptional service of Her Late Majesty the Queen and will support village halls, many of which were built in commemoration of Her Majesty’s predecessors, Queen Victoria and King George V. Today, village halls remain a key community asset and efforts to modernise these spaces will ensure that they are used by generations to come.

James Blake, Chair at Action with Communities in Rural England said:

We are delighted to be administering this grant fund. Village halls are the beating heart of rural communities across England. They provide warm, welcoming spaces that bring people together, combat loneliness and support countless livelihoods which is especially important at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is bearing down on many.

This investment, combined with the specialist support and advice of ACRE members will help modernise many of these important buildings so they can continue serving local communities.

The Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Fund will be open to applications from projects aiming to deliver a positive impact on the local environment, reduce rural loneliness, support the rural economy and contribute to community life.

Village halls interested in applying can request grants from £7,500 to £75,000, and up to a maximum of 20 per cent of eligible project costs. Capital grants will be allocated to support infrastructure improvements, the refurbishment of facilities, such as kitchens and toilets, and measures to improve energy efficiency.

The application window will close on 20 January 2023, with successful applicants being able to draw on the funding from April 2023.

For further information, including how to apply for the fund visit: https://acre.org.uk/platinum-jubilee-village-halls-fund/.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 20 December 2022.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 20 December 2022.

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 19 December 2022.

Agreement reached by almost 200 countries at the UN biodiversity summit, COP15, in Canada.

A new deal to protect nature has been agreed by almost 200 countries at the UN biodiversity summit, COP15.

The agreement – which was finalised in the early hours of Monday 19th December in Montreal, Canada – includes a global commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and to protect 30% of land and oceans by the same date.

The framework also commits to ending human-induced extinctions of known threatened species, such as rhinos and gorillas.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

Today’s deal is an historic milestone in protecting our natural environment for future generations.

I want to thank our fantastic UK team of civil servants and ministers in Montreal. This deal builds on the legacy of our own COP and G7 presidencies where we put nature at the top of the global agenda.

The UK has played a leading role in driving forward progress in negotiations throughout the summit, building on the actions agreed during the UK’s own COP and G7 presidencies, including securing the Leaders Pledge for Nature last year which commits world leaders to taking action to drive sustainable food production, end the illegal wildlife trade and tackle climate change.

The deal comes after the commitment last week through the Donor Joint Statement to put billions of dollars towards the protection and restoration of the natural world.

Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England said:

The agreement reached in Montréal today is a real breakthrough, presenting a new opportunity for humankind during the course of this decade to bend historic declines of Nature toward recovery. If we do that, not only will we save threatened species and ecosystems, but bring a range of hugely valuable benefits for people.

We must continue to call for high ambition and work together to achieve stronger outcomes for Nature, with the priority now being all about delivery in the member countries of the United Nations, including across the nations of the United Kingdom. We are very much looking forward to supporting Government in doing that, and ensuring this agreement makes a difference on the ground.