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1141971

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	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	Seas and Oceans: Pollution Control
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps he is taking to tackle marine pollution.
	tabling member constituency	Aberdeen South
	tabling member printed	Ross Thomson
	uin	912200
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2019 answer text <p>Our Resources and Waste Strategy sets out actions we are taking, including a ban on the sale and/or supply of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds by April 2020. We are leading global efforts through the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance, which we support with a package worth up to £70m. We also work with the International Maritime Organisation to tackle litter from ships and are helping shape a new international action plan on shipping litter.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 25/07/2019 15:55:53 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4599 label Biography information for Ross Thomson

1141968

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	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	Animal Products: Import Controls
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps he is taking to ban products of trophy hunting from being imported to the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Mid Derbyshire
	tabling member printed	Mrs Pauline Latham
	uin	912196
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2019 answer text <p>We must proceed on the basis of evidence. We will publish a Call for Evidence on the impact of international trade in hunting trophies between the UK and other countries, to understand whether further action is needed to address impacts on the species, and the profound ethical concerns involved.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 25/07/2019 15:57:25 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4025 label Biography information for Mrs Pauline Latham

1141965

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	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	Rivers: Sewage
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What recent assessment he has made of the effect of sewage discharges on water quality in rivers.
	tabling member constituency	Keighley
	tabling member printed	John Grogan
	uin	912191
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2019 answer text <p>Last year, the Environment Agency (EA) reported that there had been good progress in meeting water quality targets. Since 1995, investment in sewage treatment has achieved a 61% reduction in the amount of phosphorus and a 72% reduction in the amount of ammonia discharged to rivers. We will continue to work with the water companies.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 25/07/2019 16:19:47 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	382 label Biography information for John Grogan

1134638

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2019
	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	Air 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 he is taking to promote cross-departmental collaboration on adopting World Health Organisation standards for fine particulate matter.
	tabling member constituency	Totnes
	tabling member printed	Dr Sarah Wollaston
	uin	269049
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The Clean Air Strategy sets out our commitments to take bold action across all parts of Government to achieve reductions in air pollution. We are committed to the setting of an ambitious long term target to reduce population exposure to PM<sub>2.5</sub>. Defra continues to work closely with other Government departments and agencies to deliver the Strategy.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 01/07/2019 09:34:55 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4073 label Biography information for Dr Sarah Wollaston

1133643

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960
	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 updating the powers of the Caravan and Motorhome Club under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	267208
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government has not made any recent assessment of the adequacy of the powers under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, or of the merits of updating them. We are not undertaking any work to that effect.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey grouped question UIN 267207 question first answered 28/06/2019 12:29:45 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1142389

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	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	Health Services: Temperature
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the tenth special report of the Environmental Audit Committee, published on 24 October 2018 on Heatwaves: adapting to climate change: Government Response to the Committee's ninth report, HC 826, whether the Government has updated the adaptation guidance for local authorities.
	tabling member constituency	Wakefield
	tabling member printed	Mary Creagh
	uin	282257
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>Yes. On 27 June a new good practice guidance document was published to help local authorities strengthen preparedness to climate change risks: <a href="http://www.adeptnet.org.uk/climategpg" target="_blank">www.adeptnet.org.uk/climategpg</a>.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 06/09/2019 14:07:59 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	1579 label Biography information for Mary Creagh

1142393

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	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	Climate Change
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the tenth special report of the Environmental Audit Committee, published on 24 October 2018 on Heatwaves: adapting to climate change: Government Response to the Committee's ninth report, HC 826, whether the Government plans to reinstate the regional climate change partnerships.
	tabling member constituency	Wakefield
	tabling member printed	Mary Creagh
	uin	282258
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government works closely with an extensive set of stakeholders to build resilience to climate change risks across the whole country, including with the Local Adaptation Advisory Panel (LAAP), the Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport, and Core Cities. In particular we support the LAAP, the forum on climate change adaptation at a local level, which brings together central and local government and agencies to promote and deliver adaptation in the local government sector.</p><p> </p><p>In November last year we launched a new set of UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18), commissioned from the Met Office. UKCP18 is the first major update to the UK’s national climate change projections for nearly ten years, and this time it includes global and regional scenarios. The Government will use UKCP18 to inform its adaptation and mitigation planning and decision making, and the projections will also help local authorities, businesses and communities to take action to improve resilience.</p><p> </p><p>This year we will be releasing a new addition to UKCP18 in the form of local projections on a similar resolution to that of operational weather forecast models (i.e. 2.2km). This will provide locally relevant information to inform decision making on future climate change to enhance resilience.</p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 06/09/2019 14:13:53 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	1579 label Biography information for Mary Creagh

1137176

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2019
	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	Plastics: Rivers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled, Upstream: Microplastics in UK Rivers, published by Greenpeace UK on 18 June 2019, what assessment he has made of the level plastic pollution in UK rivers; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	273795
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>Defra is working with the Environment Agency (EA), academics and the UK water industry to understand the scale of the microplastic pollution problem and to establish detection methods to identify, characterise and quantify the types of microplastics entering our rivers. Although there has been substantive research reporting the presence and impacts of microplastics in the marine environment, little is known about their sources, release and impact on freshwaters and their ultimate transport to the marine environment. Defra has commissioned evidence reviews to further understand these issues and will use the outcomes from these and other research to develop policy options/measures/interventions for removing plastic pollution from rivers.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no consistent sampling, collection or assessment methodologies for measuring micro-plastics in various environmental media (sediments, water column or biota), which means that routine monitoring is not practicable. Defra is also working with the EA, academics and water companies to develop methodologies to enable future monitoring of micro-plastics in wastewater, sludge and the water environment.</p><p> </p><p>The EA takes steps to stop pollution causing harm where they can clearly attribute the source of the substance, as without this information it is not possible for them to take action. One of the sources of plastic pollution comes from small beads used in industrial processes and EA are working proactively to reduce the release of these small plastics pellets from the industries they regulate.</p><p> </p><p>Plastic waste can also provide a source of micro-sized plastics once in the environment. To address this, the Government has set a target to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan (by 2042) and set aside £20 million for research and development managed through the Plastics Innovation Fund in March 2018. A further £10 million was committed in the 2018 Autumn Budget for continued/additional plastics research and development along with £10 million to pioneer innovative approaches to boosting recycling and reducing litter.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey grouped question UIN 273796 question first answered 15/07/2019 09:09:22 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1139808

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	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	Deep Sea Mining
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral evidence given by his Department’s Chief Scientist Professor Gideon Henderson to the Environmental Audit Committee on 16 October 2018, what the implications are for his policies of the statement that deep sea mining will do substantial damage to that local environment on the seabed, and that is pretty much unavoidable; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	278459
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK is pushing for transparent, science-based and environmentally sound regulation of seabed mining by the International Seabed Authority to ensure effective protections of deep sea habitats and biodiversity while allowing UK businesses to realise the commercial opportunities.</p><p> </p><p>We are using our influence to secure the adoption of a mining code in 2020 that provides for robust and accountable oversight of mining activity. This includes (i) enshrining the precautionary principle and an ecosystem approach in the mining code; (ii) ensuring that in addition to the core regulations, effective and binding standards and guidelines to ensure environmentally sound mining have been adopted before exploitation licences are granted, and that these reflect the different environmental and other features of the different mineral deposits; (iii) ensuring that Regional Environmental Management Plans (REMPs) with robust environmental objectives are established before exploitation licences can be granted and that there is a clear regulatory link between the REMPs and exploitation licences; and (iv) allowing for the suspension of mining activities when operators fail to adhere to environmental safeguards or where new evidence of risk of serious harm arises.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 30/07/2019 09:02:38 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1134867

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2019
	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	Southern Water
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the findings of OFWAT's recent investigation into whether Southern Water breached its statutory duties and licence obligations, what assessment he has made of the safety of the water supply in Southern Water supplied areas.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
	tabling member printed	Gill Furniss
	uin	269772
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>Ofwat’s recent investigation related to the release of wastewater to the environment.</p><p> </p><p>Drinking water supplied by Southern Water is safe for consumers. Water companies are required to provide safe, wholesome drinking water. The Drinking Water Inspectorate scrutinises the results of treated water sampling by companies in England and Wales. This amounts to over 4 million sample results, over 230,000 of which are provided by Southern Water.</p><p> </p><p>Water companies are required to take action when there are issues to be addressed. In the event of short term operational issues affecting supplies, there are well practiced procedures in place for protection of consumers. Companies are also required to rectify issues requiring medium to long term mitigation.</p><p> </p><p>Where the Inspectorate is not satisfied with a company’s response, it will take enforcement actions which range from making suggestions and recommendations through to criminal prosecutions. The Environment Agency is responsible for reporting on the quality of water in the environment.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 01/07/2019 16:23:04 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4571 label Biography information for Gill Furniss