Thérèse Coffey quizzed by Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
The DEFRA Secretary of State, Rt Hon Dr Thérèse Coffey MP, to answer questions from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on a wide range of subjects including food security, food inflation, bird flu and other stresses in the farming sector, water pollution, the crustacean die-off off the Northeast coast of England and the prospects for plastic waste recycling.
Meeting details
The Secretary of State is likely to be asked what the Government is doing about the bird flu outbreak that has left over 7 million reared birds – including chickens, ducks and turkeys – dead or culled. Large numbers of wild birds have also died.
Following reports of beaches closing over the summer due to sewage pollution, the level of fines for water companies that discharge effluent into waterways and the sea could also arise at the evidence session.
The Secretary of State’s rejection both of any further investigation into the cause of the mass die-off of crustaceans off the Northeast coast, and financial support for those affected, are also likely to be explored.