Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Hayes this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 121–135 of 135 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the risk of flooding in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the Fens.
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government, and that is why we have launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce. It will provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter floo...
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to commission an impact assessment of the agricultural transition plan.
The present Government will not be over-turning the applecart. We are fully committed to the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes set out in the previous Government’s Agricultural Transition Plan. We will optimise these schemes in an orderly way to...
Food and Rural Affairs, how many badgers have been culled in Lincolnshire since the beginning of the current cull regime.
The number of badgers removed during culling operations are published annually on GOV.UK.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to encourage Government Departments in Whitehall to prioritise the (a) procurement and (b) purchase of British produced (i) food and (ii) drink.
As set out in the manifesto, we have an ambition to supply half of all food and drink into the public sector from local, British producers or those certified to higher environmental standards, whilst remaining in line with our World Trade Organization and...
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to help support public bodies to prioritise the purchase of British produced (a) food and (b) drink.
As set out in the manifesto, we have an ambition to supply half of all food and drink into the public sector from local, British producers or those certified to higher environmental standards, whilst remaining in line with our World Trade Organization and...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the decline of seabirds.
Ensuring nature’s recovery is a top priority for this Government. This is why the Government has announced a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to deliver on our legally binding environment targets, including reversing the decline in...
Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
As of 03 September, there are 90 farm businesses with a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement for the South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are part of the Countryside Stewardship scheme in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
As of 03 September, there are 63 farm businesses with a Countryside Stewardship Agreement for the South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the updated UK Food Security Report.
Defra will publish the next UK Food Security Report later this year as required, and in accordance with, the Agriculture Act 2020. The Report will examine past, current, and predicted trends to present the best available understanding of UK food security.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many instances of fly tipping were recorded in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024 to date.
Local authorities are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which the department publishes annually, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env24-fly-tipping-incidents-and-actions-taken-in-england. This data isn't available at a constituency level and excludes the majority of private-land incidents. Data for the period April 2023 to March 2024 will be published at the end of this year.
TTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of directly fully funding internal drainage boards.
Defra has committed to work with the internal drainage board (IDB) sector and MHCLG to review IDBs’ current funding and costs. This will include examination of whether any changes are needed to their funding model. IDBs are local independent statutory public bodies, mainly funded by the beneficiaries of their work. This includes farmers who pay drainage rates and local authorities that pay special levies. Those beneficiaries are represented on the boards of IDBs, where decisions on the forthcoming programme of work and sets the annual drainage rates and special levies.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to help reduce roadside littering.
Local councils are responsible for keeping the majority of trunk roads and other minor roads clear of litter. They have enforcement powers to help them do this, such as issuing a civil penalty to the keeper of a vehicle from which litter is thrown. National Highways is responsible for keeping motorways and certain trunk roads clean and clear of litter. They inspect and grade the Strategic Road Network in accordance with Defra’s Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse and litter is picked almost every day on their roads. Their activities are reported and monitored via its corporate Performance Indicator outlined in the Roads Investment Strategy. At this stage, the Government has not yet made an assessment of what actions to take to address the specific challenges associated with roadside litter.
Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of birds that were killed by onshore wind turbines in each of the last 10 years.
The Department does not hold information on the number of birds that were killed by onshore wind turbines.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent kitten smuggling into the United Kingdom.
The Government is committed to introducing the most ambitious boost in animal welfare in a generation. We are considering the most effective ways to deliver this and will be setting out next steps in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ban the breeding of cats which are predisposed to conditions that cause pain and suffering.
Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations), anyone in the business of breeding and selling cats as pets needs to have a valid licence issued by their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse, vary or revoke licences. Defra has been working on a post-implementation review of the Regulations. This review considers whether the Regulations have met their objectives, and where there could be scope to further improve the protections they provide.