🗣️ Speeches and Debates
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I must, of course, begin by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Anna Firth) for presenting the Bill. She has a commendable record in respect of animal welfare issues and supporting the Government on those issues, and I congratulate her on the success of her Pet Abduction Bill. I also recognise the contribution of all the other Members who have supported the welfare issues...
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I must start, of course, by congratulating my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) on guiding the Bill through the House, and by thanking her for all her detailed work, including the holding of roundtables with farmers and country people in her constituency, which was absolutely the right thing to do in order to hear about the matter from the horse’s mouth. I also...
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Loud cheers from behind me. We are making great progress on delivering so many of those measures that were originally intended in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. I think the record shows, as does today’s Bill, that the Government are dedicated and committed to improving animal welfare. Indeed, we have the highest welfare score of the G7, according to the World Animal Protection...
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It is a pleasure to speak on what I consider to be a very important Bill. Not only is it important to many countryside lovers, but it has been very much supported by the National Farmers Union and the National Sheep Association, and it will play an important role in strengthening our legislation to deter livestock worrying. I must thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr...
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It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Rees. You are keeping everyone to time—excellent. I thank the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) for securing this debate. I expect no less of her: this is the kind of subject that we have heard her speaking about, certainly throughout the time that I have been in Parliament. Although we have our differences, we have certainly...
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I have to take issue with that, because I am trying to say that we have the framework and targets in place. The OEP came out with a somewhat critical report, but it will have better evidence next time. We will produce the next environment improvement plan in the summer, and it will only be the second one. As the hon. Lady knows, this is tricky and complicated. We have teams of people working...
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That has been raised by many. We have a bee unit in DEFRA working on that, with our bee pollinator strategy, and on invasives such as the Asian hornet. We have to tackle all those issues. That is why integrated pest management is one of the planks of the new sustainable farming initiative. That pays farmers to do other things so that they do not have to use pesticides, such as use...
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The point is that we have legally binding targets and a remit to report on them, so everything that we are doing is so that we can drive towards our targets. We have targets and carbon budgets, and we report all the time. That is how we work; we will aim to hit our targets, and the OEP will hold us to account on that. Do not forget that it was this Government who set up the Office for...
More of Rebecca Pow's speeches and debates
✍️ Written Questions and Answers
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The total funding provided to the National Bee Unit between 2019 and 2024 was £10,508,452 (this includes funding received from Devolved Administrations). The headcount has remained static over this period at between 54 and 64 per annum depending on vacant positions at any given time.
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In March 2023, Planetary Technologies and South West Water asked the Environment Agency to authorise their carbon sequestration trial in St Ives Bay. Varying South West Water’s EPR (Environmental Permitting Regulations) permit would not have been appropriate for a short term trial (less than one month) so the approach would be to issue a Local Enforcement Position. The current EPR permit...
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The pilot proposed by Planetary Technologies and South West Water involves the addition of alkaline material into the sea to assess the extent to which this results in the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as a method of engineered greenhouse gas removal. The Environment Agency commissioned the Water Research Centre (WRC) to independently audit Planetary Technologies’...
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Greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies are technologies that seek to remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Technologies such as Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) are currently being considered under this category. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change now considers GGR technologies to be essential in limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. The Government...
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Coastal habitats play a crucial role in absorbing carbon dioxide, providing flood defence, supporting fisheries, enhancing water quality, and contributing to biodiversity and well-being. The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out our focus on enhancing nature in marine and coastal environments, including the steps we are taking to restore and protect marine habitats and marine wildlife. ...
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The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is not currently considered established in the UK and therefore is still being addressed via rapid response measures. The Asian hornet contingency plan covers the action that will be taken against Asian hornets with the NBU responding to credible sightings to locate and destroy any nests. For a species to be considered established, there should be...
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The Biodiversity Expert Committee is a subgroup of Defra’s Science Advisory Council; and members, terms of reference and meeting notes will be published on their website in due course. Upcoming agendas are not published as they can be reactive.
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The Government has set a target to mobilise over £500m per year of private finance into nature’s recovery in England by 2027, rising to over £1 billion by 2030. We are making progress towards the target by supporting the development and integrity of nature markets through the British Standards Institution Nature Investment Standards Programme; delivering Biodiversity Net Gain; committing...
More of Rebecca Pow's written questions
