Sarah Gibson.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the cause of the persistent odour affecting residents in Calne, Wiltshire; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Environment Agency and local authorities have the resources and enforcement powers required to identify and address the source of the smell.

The Environment Agency is aware of persistent odour reports in Calne and continues to treat the issue as a priority. Officers from the Environment Agency’s Wessex Area team have been deployed daily since last Thursday to investigate the sou…read full →

How many children under the age of 18 were newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in each of the last five years, and how many of those cases involved hospital admission through accident and emergency departments.

The information is not held in the format requested.Information is held on the count of finished admission episodes on emergency admissions and those made through accident and emergency (A&E) departments for patients aged between zero a…read full →

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to retain dedicated payment rates for (a) organic conversion and (b) organic maintenance within the revised Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Yes, recent announcements have confirmed that DEFRA is retaining dedicated payment rates for organic conversion. Defra has also confirmed that it is removing three actions relating to maintenance of organic land; however, organic farmers wi…read full →

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the new Sustainable Farming Incentive offer will include long-term organic maintenance payments that take into account the level of similar payments offered in the EU and devolved Administrations.

Defra reviews environmental scheme approaches used internationally, including those in the EU and the devolved nations, to inform our thinking. However, the department ultimately designs and implement schemes that we believe are most approp…read full →