Agriculture and environment
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on agriculture and the environment. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 15.02.2013 | EU Bibliographies: Proposed reform of the Common Agricultural Policy |
| This Note brings together documents relevant to the proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy and its scrutiny in the UK and EU. It is not an attempt to define policy in this area. For information on policy developments contact Emma Downing on extn 6787 | |
| 05.02.2013 | Bin collection - Alternate weekly collection |
| Waste collection can be a contentious issue, particularly when local authorities decide to move away from weekly bin collection to alternate weekly collection (AWC). This note describes the reasons why authorities have chosen to do this, and related issues including the recently announced Weekly Collections Support Scheme. | |
| 17.01.2013 | Antarctic Bill - Committee Stage |
| The Antarctic Bill is presented as a Private Member's Bill by Neil Carmichael MP. This note sets out the issues discussed in the Bill Committee on 21 November 2012. These included: the timing of the enactment of the provisions relating to the liability annex, compatibility with existing shipping liability provisions, and the wider issue of the future of the British Antarctic Survey. | |
| 08.11.2012 | The Forestry Commission and the sale of public forests in England |
| This note sets out information on the sale of public forests managed by the Forestry Commission | |
| 24.10.2012 | Badger Culling: Policy to 2008 |
| This note covers the badger culling trials carried out by the previous Government and policy to 2008. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 10.11.2010 | Sustainable Livestock Bill. Bill 5 of 2010-11 Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill. Bill 12 of 2010-11 |
| The Sustainable Livestock Bill aims to reduce the environmental impacts of livestock production in the UK. It also aims to amend the way agricultural subsidies are used to make them more environmentally friendly. It includes a duty to give consideration to supporting sustainable practices and consumption through public procurement of livestock produce. The Public Bodies (Sustainable Food) Bill would create a duty on the Secretary of State to prepare a Code for Sustainable Food to promote the procurement of healthy and sustainable food by public bodies. This could be made compulsory if uptake was not extensive enough. | |
| 02.06.2005 | Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill (Bill 3 2005-06) |
| Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill (Bill 3 2005-06). House of Commons Library Research Paper 05/39 | |
| 10.10.2002 | Sustainable development and the 2002 World Summit |
| Sustainable development and the 2002 World Summit. House of Commons Library Research Paper 02/55. | |
| 31.03.1999 | Genetically modified crops and food |
| Genetically modified crops and food. House of Commons Library Research Paper 99/38. | |
| 24.06.1998 | Agriculture and the Environment |
| Agriculture and the Environment. House of Commons Library Research Paper 98/70. |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 17.01.2012 | PESTICIDE USE AND POLLINATOR POPULATIONS |
| That this House notes the publication of the scientific paper Multiple routes of pesticide exposure for honey bees living near agricultural fields, reporting the recent findings of ... | |
| 04.05.2011 | FUTURE OF ALLOTMENTS |
| That this House welcomes the strong support for allotments made by the Prime Minister during Prime Minister's Questions on 4 May 2011; acknowledges with approval his endorsement of ... | |
| 27.04.2011 | PROVISION OF ALLOTMENTS |
| That this House notes that under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908, a local authority has a statutory duty to provide a sufficient number of allotment plots to meet demand; ... | |
| 31.03.2011 | NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES AND POLLINATING INSECTS |
| That this House welcomes the decision of Professor Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to initiatea review of all the ... | |
| 16.09.2010 | GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS |
| That this House is concerned that the European Commission has so far not implemented measures called for by the EU Council in 2008 to improve genetically modified organisms (GMO) risk ... |
POST Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 21.12.2012 | Plant-made Pharmaceuticals |
| The use of genetically modified (GM) plants to produce pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines is an emerging technology that offers a low-cost, large-scale alternative to current methods. This POSTnote looks at recent advances in, and the benefits of, the technology, and analyses the associated biosafety and regulatory issues. | |
| 17.09.2012 | Water Resource Resilience |
| The availability of water resources is fundamental for society and economic activities. This POSTnote describes the reasons for uncertainties in water resource availability for future supply and demand and possible responses to managing these risks in the medium term. | |
| 05.09.2012 | Balancing Nature and Agriculture |
| This POSTnote explores two approaches to managing land for balancing nature conservation with sustainable food production. Land sharing integrates the objectives of agriculture and benefits to wildlife on the same land. Land sparing on the other hand separates intensive farming areas from protected natural habitats at larger scales. | |
| 15.06.2012 | GM in Agricultural Development |
| Almost 2 billion people suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. The UK funds research into genetic modification (GM) as one option for agricultural development. This POSTnote examines the potential benefits and challenges of using genetically modified crops to improve food security in developing countries. | |
| 15.05.2012 | Bioenergy |
| Bioenergy is the use of renewable natural material for power, heat and liquid fuels. Currently, the UK sources approximately 3% of its primary energy from bioenergy feedstocks. This POSTnote considers the opportunities and challenges of producing bioenergy sustainably to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets. | |
| 05.12.2011 | Natural Flood Management |
| Natural flood management, defined here as the alteration, restoration or use of landscape features, is being promoted as a novel way of reducing flood risk. This POSTnote reviews the policy drivers of this approach, as well as the scientific basis, and implementation, of inland natural flood management strategies. |
