Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1140862

registered interest
date	22/07/2019
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	Biodiversity
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 enhance biodiversity.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	280128
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2019 answer text <p>Domestic biodiversity policy is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only, except in relation to our international activity.</p><p>The 25 Year Environment Plan marks a step-change in ambition for wildlife and the natural environment internationally and in England. It sets out over two hundred actions to enhance the environment and has long-term goals for recovering nature.</p><p>We are already delivering the 25 Year Plan commitments. We are bringing forward the first Environment Bill in over 20 years with ambitious measures to address the biggest environmental priorities of our age: air quality, thriving plants and wildlife, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and clean and plentiful water.</p><p>Agri-environment schemes provide financial incentives for farmers and land managers to look after the environment. We are developing a new Environmental Land Management scheme that will reward farmers and land managers for delivering environmental outcomes such as conserving and restoring habitats which will support our biodiversity goals.</p><p>We work with partners to support the recovery of threatened species and their habitats. For example, Natural England are working with landowners and conservation organisations on the Back from the Brink programme, which aims to put over 100 threatened species on the road to recovery by 2020.</p><p>At sea, we are expanding our protected areas. An ambitious third tranche of 41 Marine Conservation Zones were designated in May 2019.</p><p>Nature matters, but the ongoing decline in nature is a global problem that requires leadership and global action. Our Darwin Initiative programme funds projects to protect biodiversity and the natural environment in developing countries, with £10.3 million awarded in 2018/19. The UK Government is investing more than £36 million between 2014 and 2021 to counter the illegal wildlife trade and we are introducing one of the world’s toughest ivory bans.</p><p>The UK has committed to continuing its leading role in global biodiversity conservation, including calling for at least 30 per cent of the ocean to be in Marine Protected Areas by 2030 and negotiating hard to agree a global post-2020 framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity that is both ambitious and transformational.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 29/07/2019 16:41:17 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1140864

registered interest
date	22/07/2019
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	Sewage: 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 ensure water companies reduce the number of pollution incidents.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	280130
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2019 answer text <p>Since 1995 over £25 billion has been invested in improving sewage treatment and sewerage collection systems. This has achieved a 61% reduction in the amount of phosphorus and a 72% reduction in the amount of ammonia discharged to rivers. Bathing waters and rivers are cleaner than ever but there is still more to do. The recent deterioration in the environmental performance of the water industry, particularly in respect of pollution incidents is unacceptable. The Environment Agency (EA) expect the industry to minimise serious pollution incidents and approach a zero target by 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The EA has begun a new Improving Water Company Performance programme which will toughen regulation to encourage the companies to meet their environmental targets. The programme will include:</p><p> </p><ul><li><p>Enhancing the EA’s regulatory tools and approaches, including more inspections, increasing the number of in-depth audits and greater use of technology to remotely monitor operations twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.</p></li><li><p>Maximising the use of enforcement and sanctions powers so they act as a powerful deterrent.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Updating the Environmental Performance Assessment targets for the 2021-2025 period to include a broader range of measures with tightened standards where appropriate.</p></li><li><p>Working with Ofwat to develop greater links between environmental performance and financial penalties and incentives.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Requiring water companies to produce root cause analysis reports for serious pollution incidents and to learn from them.</p></li><li><p>Requiring water companies to produce a pollution reduction plan signed off at CEO level which they will be accountable for.</p></li><li><p>Requesting that they proactively share good practice as an industry wide response to the problems we are facing</p></li></ul> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 29/07/2019 16:43:20 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham