These new policies will protect our planet and the animals that live with us

My postbag and email inbox are often filled with constituents who are rightly concerned about environmental issues or animal welfare issues. So I am pleased with the near barrage of announcements coming from the Department for Environment & Rural Affairs and its new Secretary of State recently. Michael Gove has hit the ground running in one of the most important yet understated roles in Government.

With these new policies, Michael Gove has not only listened to the public and the issues they care about but he has taken advice from experts to ensure the policies announced really get to the crux of the problem . He has already made numerous announcements on several keys areas that I have been lobbying on for some time now. These include a ban on the sale of ivory, making it mandatory for slaughter houses to have CCTV, a ban on harmful neonicotinoid pesticides to protect bees, banning of microbeads which do so much damage to our marine wildlife, consulting on return schemes for drinks containers and increasing prison sentences for animal cruelty.

The UK has also become one of the first countries to ratify the Kigali amendment to the UN Montreal Protocol which commits nations to reducing hydrofluorocarbon greenhouse gases (HFCs) by 85% between 2019 and 2036.

These new policies will protect our planet and the animals that live with us. They are just the start of things to come. It is so important that we become the first generation to leave the environment in a better state to the next generation, otherwise the consequences for them and future generations could well be catastrophic. The measures set out by this Government will help ensure that we can reach that goal for the good of future generations.

Constituents who have lobbied me for such changes have welcomed these announcements from the Department for Environment, because in the constituency of Lewes, more than most, we see the impact and benefits of protecting our rural and marine environments first hand. Those who have contacted me on these issues are very pleased that we have been listened to and that Michael Gove wants to bring about a green revolution, where we can protect both the environment and animals. The more we can do to treat animals fairly and the tougher protections for our environment that we have in place the better a society we will become.