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Infant Foods: Scotland | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

The Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007 is a devolved matter. Defra does not hold any information on how many retailers have been fined since it was introduced.

Slaughterhouses: Animal Welfare | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

Official veterinarians (OVs) from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are present in all approved slaughterhouses in England and take a prompt, proportionate and risk based approach to enforcement action when animal welfare breaches are identified. The numbers of these cases identified by the FSA for the period from April 2014 to June 2016 were published on the FSA website in August 2016 following a Freedom of Information Act request. The FSA have developed an action plan in regards to animal welfare in slaughterhouses which aims to “Deter, Prevent, Detect, Enforce”. An Animal Welfare Steering Group was set up by the FSA to oversee the delivery of its animal welfare action plan.

Defra works closely with the FSA to ensure that the welfare of animals is maintained in all slaughterhouses. There is a wide ranging, systemic programme of animal welfare activity including strengthened verification of compliance through the establishment of welfare assurance teams; a welfare themed audit programme; targeted unannounced inspections; additional checks for non-compliant business operators; and improved education and instruction through an animal welfare publicity campaign in slaughterhouses.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: iNHouse Communications | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has no record of communication with iNHouse Communications Ltd on its tendering system and has not awarded any commercial contract to iNHouse Communications Ltd in the last five years.

January Agriculture Council | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Written Ministerial Statements

Agriculture and Fisheries Council will take place on January 23 in Brussels. I will represent the United Kingdom.

As the provisional agenda stands, the primary focus will be an exchange of views on agricultural products in free trade agreements.

There will also be an information item on the Dairy Market and milk package report. This will be followed by a Council discussion.

The Maltese Presidency, whose Presidency term commenced on January 1, will present their 6 month Work Programme to the Council.

There is currently only one item scheduled under ‘Any Other Business’:

- Conclusions of the 40th Conference of Directors of Paying Agencies (tabled by the Slovak delegation).

Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. The outcome of these negotiations will determine what arrangements apply in relation to EU legislation in future once the UK has left the EU.

Helston’s Youth Cafe Seeks Volunteers!

Cllr Andrew Wallis - Thu, 19/01/2017 - 12:54

The Community Interest Company that runs the venture are now recruiting for new volunteers for their busy evening sessions on either Tuesdays or Fridays.

Helston is home to the unique youth café, named by the young people as ‘The Furry Youth Café’ This cafe sits above Warrens in Meneage Street, hence the rabbit logo on the swing sign.

As the Chairman of the Furry Youth Café CIC as well as the other directors we are keen to hear from local people who can spare a few hours a month to help support the sessions. The key ingredient is a willingness to help and support young people, you don’t have to have an interest in catering, you may have other skills or you may be experienced in volunteering and just want to give something back to help the youth of the town, we would love to hear from you whatever your background and expertise.

My fellow director and former town Mayor, Cllr Mike Thomas hopes the people of Helston and the surrounding area get behind this and come forward, as you really will make a difference.

Volunteers alongside trained youth workers and we hope you will get something out of the experience too.  The town is fairly unique in having this amazing facility and we are looking forward to hearing from you.”

Training will be provided including safeguarding, introduction to youth work, and other useful aspects of engaging with young people…. we hope to attract a real mix of new volunteers to help the café have a really good season.

Make your volunteering really count – to find out more, please contact me,  Charlotte Caldwell on Tel: 07741 304606.

Categories: Local Politics

Fisheries: Sustainable Development | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

We continue to make progress towards more sustainable fishing, with more stocks than ever now being fished in line with their Maximum Sustainable Yield. This year, there will be 29 stocks that are of interest to the UK and which will be fished at or below Maximum Sustainable Yield - an increase on 2016. The UK has been and will continue to be an advocate of sustainable fishing.

Agricultural Products: UK Trade with EU | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

Defra is working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for International Trade to ensure the UK gets the best possible deal on market access for our agri-food sector when we leave the EU.

In particular, we want a reciprocal deal that delivers no tariffs on trade between the UK and EU. We are also working to minimise burdensome non-tariff-barriers to such trade, while maintaining high standards for food safety, animal welfare and the environment.

Food: Prices | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

Commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices are known to be the most important drivers of retail food price inflation. It is too early to tell what, if any, impact leaving the EU might have on these factors.

Topical Questions | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

The US represents US interests in negotiations; the UK Government will represent the UK in any future trade negotiations. As I made clear earlier, we will not compromise on issues such as animal welfare and food safety.

Topical Questions | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

I am aware of the concerns, particularly about pulse trawling in the southern North sea. I have asked CEFAS, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, to look at the issue, do a review of current literature and give me a report on what we know about the science. In addition, there is a working group in the EU on the matter.

Topical Questions | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

As the Secretary of State said earlier, we have now paid 92.8% of basic payment scheme claims for the current year. As a fellow Cornishman, I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that 97% of claims in Cornwall have now been paid.

Topical Questions | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

We will be looking at representations from all people. If we want to improve the farmed environment, we have to look at the whole farmed environment and not restrict our ambitions to the uplands or, indeed, the moorland areas. We are looking in a range of areas at how we can improve soil management and water quality.

Topical Questions | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

The Prime Minister gave the assurance that we seek a good deal, and that no deal is better than a bad deal; I do not think that anybody can disagree with that. I will simply say that in food and drink alone, we have a trade deficit with the EU of some £10 billion, so the EU has a great interest in having tariff-free access to the UK market.

Topical Questions | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

As I said earlier, I have experience in the soft fruit industry. I know many of the growers in Evesham, and indeed I have had correspondence recently with Angus Davison, from one of the largest growers in the west midlands, on this issue. We understand the concerns and we are in discussions with departmental colleagues on it. We want to get the right approach so that we can control immigration but ensure that we have the labour where it is required.

Rural Economy | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

These issues are very much a matter that we will be discussing with all the devolved Administrations as we move forward. The Prime Minister made that absolutely clear in her excellent speech earlier this week. We are going to discuss this right across the UK and agree what the right UK approach should be.

Rural Economy | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

One of the things that I ran on my own farm was a very large soft fruit enterprise, where I had experience of employing over 200 people, so I am familiar with the challenges that certain sectors in agriculture bring to me. We are in discussion with a number of the leading players in this area to try to get an understanding of their needs, and it goes without saying that we are in discussion with colleagues in other Departments.

Rural Economy | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

I can reassure my hon. Friend that, having grown up on a farm and worked in the farming industry for 10 years, I will be very much listening to farmers and their views, and wanting to learn from their experience. We will be listening to everybody as we develop future policy.

Rural Economy | Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Commons debates

I had a very constructive meeting with members of NFU Scotland on Monday. We had a meeting for almost two hours, where we discussed a range of issues that are of concern to the industry, but also some of the opportunities that we have. As we move forward, we will work closely with all the devolved Administrations and with industry throughout the UK. When it comes to labour, we have heard the representations. We will be looking at those issues. It is a Home Office lead, but we are contributing to that debate.

We all want fairer funding in Cornwall’s Schools

Cllr Andrew Wallis - Wed, 18/01/2017 - 14:35

I have been contacted by parents and teachers about information being put in the public domain about school funding in Cornwall. I, as has Cornwall Council, have long campaigned for fairer funding in schools in Cornwall. However, some of the information released by a Union is rather flawed. This has resulted in misinformation being shared.

I am also not often in agreement with the DfE on its funding formula but I share the concerns of the Department for Education over the accuracy of the figures produced by the unions’ calculator.

In the case of Cornwall the figures appear to be based on an assumption of 65,092 pupils in our schools. According to the Autumn census (the most recent figures available), there are currently 70,263 school aged pupils on role in schools in Cornwall (including those in sixth form but excluding those in nursery and colleges.

The level of inaccuracy in the pupil figures used by the unions means that the figures for any cuts in funding are also inaccurate.  We know that education in Cornwall has historically been underfunded by successive Governments but using inaccurate figures in this way does little to support the unions’ case for additional funding and creates concern among schools, teachers, parents and pupils.

The Council has robustly responded to the consultation on the proposed new national funding formula and remain hopeful that, if introduced by the Government, it could mean millions of pounds of extra funding for schools in Cornwall. However, as we said previously, we need to look closely at the detail to see how the formula could impact on individual schools in Cornwall.  The difference in funding allocation will affect schools in different ways, and not all schools will see an increase in their funding.

I am not disagreeing with the sentiment of Cornwall being underfunded and how that must change. However, if you are going to raise the issue, you have to get your data facts right. Therefore, Cornwall Council felt it necessary to issue statement to clarify the situation and in turn stop unnecessary angst with teacher and parents.

 

 

Categories: Local Politics

Fisheries: EU Law | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

We are currently analysing all EU fisheries legislation. No decision has yet been made on the extent to which the EU legislation governing the Common Fisheries Policy will be incorporated into domestic law.

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