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1140605

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2019
	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	Birds: Conservation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to include provisions in the proposed Environment Bill to tackle the use of netting on hedges, hedgerows and trees on development sites.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	279456
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2019 answer text <p>The Environment Bill measures are currently being finalised and will be published in due course.</p><p>On netting specifically, while it is not an offence to use netting to exclude birds from potential nesting sites, such action should only be used to help protect birds during development. It is for those who take exclusion measures to ensure the mesh size of netting is suitable for the species involved and is properly maintained so they don’t harm wild birds. We expect local planning authorities to look at these practices closely and take appropriate action where necessary.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 29/07/2019 16:20:38 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1347439

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2021
	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	Water: Somerset
	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 assessment he has made of the effectiveness of potential measures to reduce phosphorous discharge into the surface water catchment area for the Somerset Levels and Moors Special Protection Area.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	34001
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2021 answer text <p>There are a range of potential measures that can be deployed to reduce phosphorous discharge in the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment. Natural England and the Environment Agency are working with all the relevant parties, including local planning authorities (LPAs) and Wessex Water as well as landowners and developers to evaluate and implement the various options.</p><p> </p><p>To prevent additional phosphorous loading from new development, mitigation measures such as wetland and woodland creation will need to demonstrate that they will be effective in the long term. It is clear from other catchments facing nutrient loading that they have a key role to play in removing nutrients, enabling nutrient-neutral development. Several mitigation schemes for specific developments have been assessed and approved and the LPAs in Somerset are developing a strategy to support wider rollout of these mitigation schemes. There will be significant further investment of up to £57 million over the next three years by Wessex Water to reduce phosphorous discharge from water treatment works.</p><p> </p><p>In the farming sector there are many joint projects underway and more is likely to be needed. The current approach is to encourage the uptake of voluntary measures to reduce the amount of phosphorous entering the system, including Catchment Sensitive Farming. These include a focus on river and habitat improvements, better farming infrastructure, and enforcement by the Environment Agency where necessary.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/07/2021 12:52:43 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1352897

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	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	Phosphates: Pollution
	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 his Department is taking to help ensure that the Environment Agency has sufficient funding and resources to manage phosphate pollution in (a) Somerset and (b) England.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	43615
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>The water environment faces multiple pressures, including from population growth and climate change. Improving our water environment will be challenging and requires a combined effort of government, industry, businesses and civil society. The Government and its agencies, including the Environment Agency, are taking action. We are committed to our goal of delivering clean and plentiful water, as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.</p><p>Defra and its agencies received a £1 billion increase in overall funding at the 2020 spending review so we can do more to tackle climate change and protect our environment for future generations. Discussions are underway about the allocation of funding through the upcoming spending review to support delivery of the government's environmental priorities.</p><p>In addition, from 2020 to 2025 water companies are investing £7.1 billion to protect and improve the water environment. This includes £600 million of additional funding for the environment enabled through the Government and regulators' Green Recovery scheme.</p><p>The Government is aware of the impact of phosphate and other pollutants on the degradation of waterbodies in Somerset and nationally. We are working closely with Natural England and the Environment Agency (EA) to provide the tools to address this problem. I have also been working with MHCLG on the nutrient pollution taskforce, which meets every four to six weeks, to ensure action is coordinated and joined up.</p><p>Regulations, including the Farming Rules for Water, are in place to protect the water environment from diffuse agricultural pollution.</p><p>We have increased agricultural inspections in Somerset and other affected areas to address phosphate pollution at source by recently allocating the EA an additional £1.2 million to significantly increase the number of inspectors visiting farmers. We have also escalated our efforts to help farmers take voluntary action beyond regulatory requirements to reduce water pollution by expanding the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme - jointly run by Natural England, EA and Defra - to operate across the whole of England.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 43616 43620 question first answered 09/09/2021 13:34:25 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1352900

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	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	Rivers: Pollution Control
	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 effect on the health of England's rivers of reductions in funding allocated to the Environment Agency since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	43616
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>The water environment faces multiple pressures, including from population growth and climate change. Improving our water environment will be challenging and requires a combined effort of government, industry, businesses and civil society. The Government and its agencies, including the Environment Agency, are taking action. We are committed to our goal of delivering clean and plentiful water, as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.</p><p>Defra and its agencies received a £1 billion increase in overall funding at the 2020 spending review so we can do more to tackle climate change and protect our environment for future generations. Discussions are underway about the allocation of funding through the upcoming spending review to support delivery of the government's environmental priorities.</p><p>In addition, from 2020 to 2025 water companies are investing £7.1 billion to protect and improve the water environment. This includes £600 million of additional funding for the environment enabled through the Government and regulators' Green Recovery scheme.</p><p>The Government is aware of the impact of phosphate and other pollutants on the degradation of waterbodies in Somerset and nationally. We are working closely with Natural England and the Environment Agency (EA) to provide the tools to address this problem. I have also been working with MHCLG on the nutrient pollution taskforce, which meets every four to six weeks, to ensure action is coordinated and joined up.</p><p>Regulations, including the Farming Rules for Water, are in place to protect the water environment from diffuse agricultural pollution.</p><p>We have increased agricultural inspections in Somerset and other affected areas to address phosphate pollution at source by recently allocating the EA an additional £1.2 million to significantly increase the number of inspectors visiting farmers. We have also escalated our efforts to help farmers take voluntary action beyond regulatory requirements to reduce water pollution by expanding the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme - jointly run by Natural England, EA and Defra - to operate across the whole of England.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 43615 43620 question first answered 09/09/2021 13:34:25 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1352901

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	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	Phosphates: Pollution Control
	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 enforcement activity the Environment Agency has undertaken to help control the release of phosphates from the agricultural sector in the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar catchment area.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	43617
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>We are increasing agricultural inspections in Somerset and other affected areas, which will help address phosphate pollution at source, by recently allocating the Environment Agency (EA) an additional £1.2 million to significantly increase the number of inspectors visiting farmers. We have also escalated our efforts to help farmers take voluntary action beyond regulatory requirements to reduce water pollution by expanding the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme - jointly run by Natural England, EA and Defra - to operate across the whole of England.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 09/09/2021 14:15:41 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1352904

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	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	Phosphates: Pollution Control
	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 the speed of investment in sewage water treatment by Wessex Water to reduce phosphorous discharge.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	43618
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>To address water company derived phosphates, the Environment Agency sets limits based on achieving statutory objectives. Improvements to treatment works or through changes to land use are planned on a 5 year cycle of asset improvements with the water companies. Wessex Water is expecting to invest up to £57m across Somerset to achieve phosphate removal targets by 2024.</p><p>In addition to regulatory requirements, the EA is working with Wessex Water to trial nature-based solutions such as wetlands and woodlands as part of the government's green recovery initiative. This involves rewarding landowners and farmers for land use changes that will significantly reduce phosphate releases.</p><p>There is more to be done to reduce phosphorous discharge from sewage water treatment. The Strategic Policy Statement for Ofwat, which is currently out for consultation, outlines the government's ambition for Ofwat to drive water companies to be more ambitious in their environmental planning and delivery to contribute towards our environmental goals and enhance the quality of the water environment.</p><p>We have also introduced the requirement for at least one legally binding water target in the Environment Bill. This target will complement existing regulations and legislation, moving us closer to achieving our goal of clean and plentiful water set out in Defra's 25 Year Environment Plan.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 09/09/2021 13:25:36 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1352908

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	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	Environment Agency: 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, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of doubling the annual grant-in-aid allocated to the Environment Agency for environment and business activities in the upcoming comprehensive spending review.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	43619
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>Discussions on the future funding of the Environment Agency will take place as part of the Spending Review process. We are in the middle of this process and cannot pre-empt the outcome.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 09/09/2021 13:08:28 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1352913

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	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	Phosphates: Somerset
	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 potential effect of funding reductions to the Environment Agency over the last 10 years on the level of phosphates in Somerset.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	43620
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>The water environment faces multiple pressures, including from population growth and climate change. Improving our water environment will be challenging and requires a combined effort of government, industry, businesses and civil society. The Government and its agencies, including the Environment Agency, are taking action. We are committed to our goal of delivering clean and plentiful water, as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan.</p><p>Defra and its agencies received a £1 billion increase in overall funding at the 2020 spending review so we can do more to tackle climate change and protect our environment for future generations. Discussions are underway about the allocation of funding through the upcoming spending review to support delivery of the government's environmental priorities.</p><p>In addition, from 2020 to 2025 water companies are investing £7.1 billion to protect and improve the water environment. This includes £600 million of additional funding for the environment enabled through the Government and regulators' Green Recovery scheme.</p><p>The Government is aware of the impact of phosphate and other pollutants on the degradation of waterbodies in Somerset and nationally. We are working closely with Natural England and the Environment Agency (EA) to provide the tools to address this problem. I have also been working with MHCLG on the nutrient pollution taskforce, which meets every four to six weeks, to ensure action is coordinated and joined up.</p><p>Regulations, including the Farming Rules for Water, are in place to protect the water environment from diffuse agricultural pollution.</p><p>We have increased agricultural inspections in Somerset and other affected areas to address phosphate pollution at source by recently allocating the EA an additional £1.2 million to significantly increase the number of inspectors visiting farmers. We have also escalated our efforts to help farmers take voluntary action beyond regulatory requirements to reduce water pollution by expanding the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme - jointly run by Natural England, EA and Defra - to operate across the whole of England.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 43615 43616 question first answered 09/09/2021 13:34:25 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1352914

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2021
	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	Phosphates: Pollution Control
	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 the Government's task force on nutrient pollution has made on tackling phosphate pollution, including that which prevents local authorities from granting planning permission.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	43621
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>The task force on nutrient pollution meets every 4 to 6 weeks and brings together Defra, Natural England, Environment Agency and MHCLG to develop strategic solutions to the phosphate and wider nutrient pollution issues. We want to enable much needed development whilst at the same time protecting and enhancing the environment.</p><p> </p><p>Environment Agency and Natural England are working in partnership to understand the causes of pollution within areas, and ways of addressing them. They report back regularly to the task force on progress.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England has already developed several tools which enable local authorities to understand possible mitigations that can be put in place. Natural England works closely with affected local authorities to support them to develop workable solutions.</p><p> </p><p>Planning Advisory Service have also organised a number of virtual “lessons learnt” events on nutrient pollution during July for local authority planners. Natural England, the Environment Agency and Defra attended and shared good practice.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 09/09/2021 13:15:35 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton

1610427

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2023
	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	Sewage: Waste Disposal
	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 she has made of the impact of sewage spillages on river water quality.
	tabling member constituency	Somerton and Frome
	tabling member printed	David Warburton
	uin	180560
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2023 answer text <p>We have been consistently clear that the failure of water companies to adequately reduce sewage discharges is totally unacceptable. That is why in August 2022, we published the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/storm-overflows-discharge-reduction-plan" target="_blank">Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan</a> - the most ambitious plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows in water company history.</p><p> </p><p>Environment Agency data shows that 7% of waterbodies in England failed to reach Good Ecological Status because of storm overflows in 2019, a significant contribution to the 36% affected by the wider water industry. This compares to agriculture affecting 40% of water bodies and urban and transport affecting 18%.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to increasing transparency. We have increased the number of storm overflows monitored across the network from 7% in 2010 to 91% in 2022, and we will reach 100% cover by the end of the year.</p><p> </p><p>Earlier this month, we launched our consultation on Continuous Water Quality Monitoring and Event Duration Monitoring. This outlines the Government’s proposals to enhance the monitoring of storm overflow and final effluent discharges.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/04/2023 12:57:59 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4526 label Biography information for David Warburton