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1715302

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
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	Farms: Solar Power
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 criteria his Department use to assess whether to build solar farms on productive farmland.
tabling member constituency	Bridgwater and West Somerset
tabling member printed	Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger
uin	24397
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>Planning decisions on solar development are granted by local planning authorities, or, where applications are for developments over 50MW, with the Secretary of State for Energy.</p><p> </p><p>The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly that local planning authorities should consider all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, when making plans or taking decisions on new development proposals. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality.</p><p> </p><p>The recently published and updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, and the wider benefits from natural capital and ecosystem services – including the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, and of trees and woodland. Where significant development on agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. The availability of agricultural land used for food production should be considered, alongside the other policies in the Framework, when deciding what sites are most appropriate for development.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 09/05/2024 13:57:16 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	1396 label Biography information for Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger

1715333

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
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	Environment Protection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of existing legislation to tackle common nuisances such as (a) smoke, (b) bonfires, (c) smells and fumes, (d) accumulation of rubbish, (e) infestations and (f) litter.
tabling member constituency	Bradford South
tabling member printed	Judith Cummins
uin	24486
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>Local authorities are the main enforcers of the statutory nuisance regime under the Environmental Protection Act, 1990. The Government considers that any issues that could be the cause of statutory nuisance, including smoke, bonfire and smells are best dealt with at a local level. Local authorities need to be able to take account of local circumstances when determining how best to apply the powers available to them, such as issuing abatement orders.</p><p> </p><p>Owners of industrial, trade and business premises are expected to use the best practicable means available to reduce smoke, smells and fumes and other potential sources of statutory nuisance emanating from their place of work in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>The Environmental Protection Act 1990 also sets out clear responsibilities for local authorities with regards to keeping land clear of litter and refuse and provides them with strong enforcement powers to help them do this. Anyone caught littering or fly-tipping may be prosecuted which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment in the case of fly-tipping. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine). We increased the upper limit for fly-tipping and littering fixed penalties to £1000 and £500 respectively in July 2023 and as of 1 April 2024 councils must now reinvest income from these penalties in enforcement and clean up.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, we provide guidance on how councils can discharge their duties and use their enforcement powers and have recently consulted key stakeholders on putting our current litter enforcement guidance on a statutory footing.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State considers the current legislation provides local authorities with the necessary powers to deal with these types of nuisance issues.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 09/05/2024 13:52:51 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4391 label Biography information for Judith Cummins

1715369

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
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	Dangerous Dogs: Enforcement
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of measures to reduce the need to seize dogs which are likely to be exempted from Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
uin	24562
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>Dogs that are prohibited under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and which do not have a valid certificate of exemption could be seized by the Police.</p><p> </p><p>In these cases, there is an interim exemption scheme which allows suspected prohibited dogs to remain with their owners in advance of a court hearing. It is for the Police to determine whether to make use of this scheme on a case-by-case basis.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 09/05/2024 13:50:57 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1715630

registered interest
date	02/05/2024
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	Members: Correspondence
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 write to the hon. Member for Christchurch on the potential impact of the level of phosphates in the River Avon on housing developments in Christchurch.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	24604
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to my letter issued on 7 May 2024.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 09/05/2024 13:43:50 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1715631

registered interest
date	02/05/2024
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	Members: Correspondence
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 write to the hon. Member for Christchurch on the Avon Valley footpath between Burton and Christchurch.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	24605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>Following our recent meeting on the Avon Valley footpath, I will write to the hon. Member shortly.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 09/05/2024 13:42:20 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1715392

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Written Questions
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 answer Question 21855, tabled by the hon. Member for Ealing North on 15 April 2024.
tabling member constituency	Ealing North
tabling member printed	James Murray
uin	24586
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>The answer to Question 21855 was published on 2 May 2024. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 09/05/2024 13:40:00 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4797 label Biography information for James Murray

1702159

registered interest
date	18/04/2024
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	Sewage: Water Sports
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 impact of sewage discharges into waterways on the health of those using the waterways for water sports between 2019 and 2024.
tabling member constituency	Warwick and Leamington
tabling member printed	Matt Western
uin	22605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for detecting, investigating and managing outbreaks of infectious diseases including those linked to water sports. They have not made a specific assessment about the impact of sewage discharges into waterways on the health of those using waterways for water sports between 2019 and 2024.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government takes the health of users of our waterways very seriously and is clear that the current volume of sewage being discharged to our waters is unacceptable. Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will eliminate ecological harm from all storm overflows by 2050. It also requires all storm overflows discharging to designated bathing waters to be improved by 2035.</p><p> </p><p>Where a waterway is a designated bathing site, information about the quality of the water is displayed by local authorities on signage and online on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website, to allow bathers to make informed decisions before entering the water.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 09/05/2024 13:37:44 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4617 label Biography information for Matt Western

1701467

registered interest
date	16/04/2024
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	Farmers: 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 steps his Department is taking to provide financial assistance to farmers in debt.
tabling member constituency	North Shropshire
tabling member printed	Helen Morgan
uin	22189
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>The recent ‘Balance Sheet Analysis’ publication highlights that average liquidity in the sector has been consistently improving over the latest five years of data and reached a ten-year high in the latest year of data (2022/23). This suggests that levels of debt in the farming sector are lower than average.</p><p> </p><p>We support farmers in a range of ways to ensure they have profitable and sustainable businesses. This includes free business advice as well as access to a wide range of Government funding to improve business resilience, productivity and environmental performance.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 09/05/2024 13:29:22 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4934 label Biography information for Helen Morgan

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

1715168

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
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	Water Companies: Capital Investment
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 had recent discussions with Ofwat on water companies outsourcing capital programmes to separate companies.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	24537
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2024 answer text <p>Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) involves a water or wastewater company competitively tendering for services in relation to the delivery of certain large infrastructure projects, resulting in the selection of a third-party competitively appointed provider.</p><p> </p><p>As part of Ofwat’s Price Review 2024, companies are encouraged to consider the use of DPC approach for discrete projects over £200 million. Outsourcing delivery via DPC has a range of possible benefits, including lower capital and operational costs, lower financing costs, and the provision of benchmarks for efficient costs.</p><p> </p><p>Whether a project is delivered via DPC is a decision for Ofwat.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 09/05/2024 07:40:59 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds