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1700087

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Swimming
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the list of successful new bathing water sites following the consultation which closed on 10 March.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	20954
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>Defra plans to publish the outcomes of the consultation on the designation of 27 proposed bathing sites by the start of the 2024 bathing season, which begins on 15 May.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/04/2024 12:47:59 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1700089

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Southern Water: Meters
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure customers of Southern Water are able to install water efficiency measures in their meter chambers.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	20971
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2024 answer text <p>Southern Water is developing its next Water Resources Management Plan and its draft plan included the proposed to update water meters with smart meters across its customers by 2030 through an extensive replacement programme. The company plans to undertake 10,000 household water audits per year. The company is due to reconsult on its plan this summer. It will not be granted permission to finalise its plan until Defra are satisfied that it is appropriate, including assurance that the water efficiency programme is robust, sufficiently ambitious and enables customers to be efficient with the water they use.</p><p> </p><p>Most water efficiency interventions by water companies are directed to water use within properties. Southern Water have not specified measures beyond smart metering that directly involve the meter chamber. Water meters are normally water company property and measures in the meter chamber would not usually be undertaken by customers.</p><p> </p><p>Southern Water reported through its 2022/23 annual review that it had undertaken smart water meter trials in 1500 homes. The average water use across Southern Water households was 128 litres per person per day in 2022/23, in line with its forecasts and below the latest national average of 141. The Environment Agency and Defra track whether water companies are effectively reducing water consumption across household and business customers each year and escalate concerns where applicable.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 24/04/2024 09:43:33 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1700098

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Darwin Plus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing the Darwin Plus fund.
tabling member constituency	Suffolk Coastal
tabling member printed	Dr Thérèse Coffey
uin	21017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The UK Government has recently expanded the Darwin Plus programme to better meet the needs of the UK Overseas Territories. In 2023, Defra introduced to Darwin Plus a new local scheme aimed at building capacity and growing local economies in-territory, and a new strategic scheme for fostering greater innovation, ambition and collaboration in and between Territories.</p><p> </p><p>On 22 April 2024, Defra will open the programme to new applications. The longstanding Darwin Plus Fellowships scheme will be rebranded as Darwin Plus People and Skills to appeal to applicants beyond academia. Under its new name, this scheme will welcome applications from Territory nationals and long-term residents for activities which will upskill them and support them to meet long-term strategic outcomes for their natural environments.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government remains committed to keeping the structure of the programme under review, with a focus on suitability and practical conservation.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/04/2024 14:51:23 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey

1700108

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Tree Planting: Suffolk
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees have been planted on behalf of his Department in (a) Suffolk and (b) Suffolk Coastal constituency since 2020.
tabling member constituency	Suffolk Coastal
tabling member printed	Dr Thérèse Coffey
uin	21027
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The Forestry Commission publishes statistics on new planting of woodland, and trees outside woodland, in England. These can be found in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forestry-commission-corporate-plan-performance-indicators" target="_blank">Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators</a>. These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has not set specific targets for individual constituencies and the reporting statistic the hon. Member has requested is not currently available.</p><p> </p><p>Our England Trees Action Plan has kickstarted tree planting, we have planted nearly 13 million trees over the past 3 years. Last year we planted 3,600 hectares of new woodland and trees outside of woodland, this represents the highest planting rate for nearly a decade and an almost 40% increase on the previous year.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/04/2024 14:48:09 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey

1700177

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Potatoes: Diseases
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect farmers against new strains of potato blight.
tabling member constituency	Moray
tabling member printed	Douglas Ross
uin	21221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach that carefully considers all available plant protection methods and keeps the use of pesticides to levels that are ecologically and economically justified. IPM lies at the heart of our approach to minimise the environmental impact of pesticides and is a key tool for businesses facing the challenges of pesticide resistance, removal of pesticides from the market, and changing pest pressures due to climate change. Within the National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (NAP) we will set out our policies to increase the uptake of IPM by farmers, growers, amenity managers and amateur gardeners.</p><p> </p><p>Having an IPM approach can reduce the risks associated with pesticides, combat pesticide resistance, and support sustainable agricultural productivity. IPM aims to diversify crop protection and reduce reliance on the use of chemical pesticides by making use of lower risk alternatives and promoting natural processes. For example, creating habitats for natural predators of plant pests, or using crop rotations to break pest, weed and disease cycles. When alternative methods are ineffective or unavailable, IPM also aims to optimise and minimise the use of chemical pesticides through targeted and precise application.</p><p> </p><p>We have recently commissioned a package of research projects that will bring together scientific evidence underpinning IPM and to look at ways of further encouraging its uptake. This work will support farmers’ access to the most effective IPM tools available and ensure that we understand changing trends in pest threats across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is also a partner in the European Research Area Network (ERA-Net) Co-Fund on Sustainable Crop Production (SusCrop). This research network aims to enhance cooperation and coordination of different national and regional research programmes focussing on agriculture and climate change, sustainable farming systems and biodiversity, sustainable water management, resource efficiency and resilience in the food chain. It also seeks to increase productivity through technological innovation.</p><p> </p><p>Projects within SusCrop ERA-Net include: ‘Eco-friendly solutions for the integrated management of late and early blight of potatoes (ECOSOL)’ which aims to Identify Effective Biological Control Agents and Plant Resistance Inducers for the Control of Potato Late Blight in the field.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 22/04/2024 14:08:00 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4627 label Biography information for Douglas Ross

1700178

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Fungicides
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Health and Safety Executive’s proposal to withdraw approval for (a) Mancozeb and (b) other multi-site fungicides.
tabling member constituency	Moray
tabling member printed	Douglas Ross
uin	21222
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>Defra is aware of the concerns of GB potato growers about the Health and Safety Executives’ (HSE) proposed decision to withdraw approval of mancozeb. GB pesticides legislation requires that decisions on active substances are solely based on careful scientific assessment of risks, to provide a high level of protection for people and the environment.</p><p> </p><p>HSE has reviewed the approval of mancozeb. In light of new scientific and technical information received, HSE has concluded that the active substance no longer satisfies the approval criteria. The review concluded that mancozeb has endocrine disrupting properties for humans and non-target organisms. In addition, non-dietary exposure exceeded the reference levels. HSE has therefore proposed to withdraw approval of mancozeb in GB. The withdrawal of products containing mancozeb will not be immediate; we expect HSE to set an 18-month grace period (six months for sale and supply, and 12 months after that for storage, disposal and use) to allow existing stocks in the supply chain to be used up.</p><p> </p><p>Under certain circumstances, set out in Article 53 of Assimilated Regulation 1107/2009, it is possible to grant emergency authorisation for the placing on the market of a pesticide containing an active substance that is not approved. There must be special circumstances where limited and controlled use is necessary because of a danger to crops, other plants or the environment, including human or animal health, that cannot be contained by any other reasonable means.</p><p> </p><p>We are not aware of any HSE proposal to withdraw any other multi-site fungicide.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 09/05/2024 13:25:18 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4627 label Biography information for Douglas Ross

1700223

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Rights of Way: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding available to highway authorities to carry out statutory duties on public rights of way.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	21052
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This is an above inflation increase.</p><p> </p><p>Local highway authorities themselves are best placed to understand local priorities and allocate funding accordingly to fulfil their statutory rights of way duties.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/04/2024 14:45:41 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed