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1672609

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Nature 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, with reference to the speech entitled Environment Secretary speech on 25 Year Environment Plan progress, published on 19 July 2023, what the geographical location is of the over a quarter of a million hectares of priority habitats that have been created and restored since 2010; what is the type of those habitats; and what proportion of those habitats are in a favourable condition.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2023 answer text <p>The figure that over a quarter of a million hectares of priority habitat have been created or restored since 2010 is reflective of action taken towards target 1B (an increase in the overall extent of priority habitats by at least 200,000 ha by 2020) in Biodiversity 2020 (the Government’s biodiversity strategy for England up to 2020, published in 2011). This activity was not recorded in a spatial way, but this is something we are looking to change with reporting towards the Environment Act target to restore or create over 500,000 hectares of wildlife rich habitat outside of protected sites by 2042.</p><p> </p><p>In the <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-environment-policy/consultation-on-environmental-targets/supporting_documents/Biodiversity%20terrestrial%20and%20freshwater%20targets%20%20Detailed%20evidence%20report.pdf#:~:text=The%20Environment%20Act%202021%20mandates%20that%20at%20least,Species%20Extinction%20Risk%2C%20Wider%20Habitats%20and%20Protected%20Sites." target="_blank">evidence report</a> for the Environment Act biodiversity targets, on page 26, we published a breakdown of habitat created and restored between 2011 and 2019. Although this does not cover the whole time period referenced, it is indicative of the general split between habitat types created and restored.</p><p> </p><p>Our best data on the location of priority habitat is the <a href="https://naturalengland-defra.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/Defra::priority-habitat-inventory-central-england/about" target="_blank">Priority Habitat Inventory</a>. This is a spatial data set that shows where priority habitat has been recorded. Habitat must be of a sufficient quality to be considered priority habitat. Habitat is added or removed from the inventory as evidence on gains and losses become available.</p><p> </p><p>Indicator 2a in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/england-biodiversity-indicators" target="_blank">England Biodiversity Indicators</a> provides more information about the condition of priority habitats in England. The indicator outlines the percentage area of priority habitats under several condition categories. Detail on how condition is assessed is given in the background section. The D1 outcome indicator of the 25 Year Environment Plan is undergoing further development and in time will describe the quantity, quality and connectivity of all major habitats across England; priority habitats would be included within this wider picture, although not at a disaggregated level.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 01/12/2023 16:53:16 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672610

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Environment Protection: EU Law
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 potential impact of the provisions in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 on levels of environmental protection.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>It has not been necessary to carry out such an assessment. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 will only remove from the UK statute book pieces of Retained EU Law (REUL) specifically cited in the revocation schedule. These are being removed because they are obsolete, expired, duplicated, no longer relevant to the UK, or have been superseded by new legislation. The Government remains fully committed to upholding environmental standards. Ministers made commitments at all stages of the Bill’s passage not to reduce environmental standards and protections. Since the start of November Ministers have had a legal duty to have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement under the Environment Act 2021 when making policies using the REUL Act’s powers. This Government uses expert advice, including that of many independent experts, when making provisions that relate to the environment.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 29/11/2023 16:44:19 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672733

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Biodiversity: Property Development
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 the Government will provide specific (a) guidance and (b) resources for local planning authorities to monitor and enforce the Biodiversity Net Gain system that is due to come into force from January 2024.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3460
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>Government will publish a package of guidance on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) shortly. This guidance will include advice for landowners, developers, and Local Planning Authorities around their role and responsibilities in delivering mandatory BNG. This guidance will include information on monitoring and enforcing BNG.</p><p> </p><p>Significant biodiversity gains on the development site must be legally secured by planning condition, planning obligation or conservation covenant. Biodiversity net gain sites away from the development site must be legally secured by planning obligation or conservation covenant. Authorities can charge a monitoring fee through section 106 planning obligations, to cover the cost of monitoring and reporting on delivery of that section 106 obligation. Monitoring fees can be used to monitor and report on any type of planning obligation, for the lifetime of that obligation. For gains that are secured with conservation covenants, we expect costs for monitoring and enforcement activities to be reflected in the price of biodiversity units.</p><p> </p><p>The planning enforcement regime will be the principal way of enforcing delivery of BNG.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 29/11/2023 16:38:59 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672308

registered interest
date	22/11/2023
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	Office for Environmental 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, with reference to the Answer of 18 October 2022 to Question 65693 on the Office for Environmental Protection, when she plans to publish the summary of the business case for the Office for Environmental Protection.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3178
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>Defra will publish a summary of the business case for the Office for Environmental Protection.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 29/11/2023 16:28:37 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672309

registered interest
date	22/11/2023
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	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, with reference to the Answer of 16 June 2020 to Question 57159 on Environment Protection, when he plans to embed the environmental principles detailed in Section 17 of the Environment Act 2021 into HM Treasury’s Green Book.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3179
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>The Environment Act 2021 places a new legal duty on Ministers to have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement when making policy. The policy statement sets out how to interpret and proportionately apply the five environmental principles, to put the environment at the heart of policy across government. The duty came into force on 1 November 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Application of the policy statement in appraisals is part of the Green Book process. The Green Book landing page on GOV.UK highlights the new legal duty and revised guidance on Enabling a Natural Capital Approach provides additional detail. The Green Book itself will be updated next year to reflect the duty.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 29/11/2023 16:24:25 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1672310

registered interest
date	22/11/2023
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	Forests: Commodities
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 Schedule 17 of the Environment Act 2021, what his timetable is for the publication of regulations to implement due diligence obligations on specified forest risk commodities.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	3180
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>We ran a consultation from 3 December 2021 to 11 March 2022 to seek views on the details of regulations that will implement the Environment Act provisions, to ensure that these are designed effectively. The Government published a summary of responses to this consultation on 1 June 2022 and is committed to implementing due diligence provisions at the earliest opportunity through secondary legislation.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 29/11/2023 16:21:17 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1662125

registered interest
date	19/09/2023
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	Packaging: 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, with reference to the press release entitled, Update on packaging reforms to help drive down inflation, published by her Department on 25 July 2023, what assessment she has made of the impact of deferring the extended producer responsibility scheme on the delivery of the (a) Government’s waste target under the Environment Act 2021 and (b) interim targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	200267
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2023 answer text <p>The decision to defer producer payments under Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging was taken jointly with the Devolved Administrations in light of the pressure facing consumers and businesses in the current economic context, but internal analyses conducted by my Department prior to the announcement of the deferral estimated only a very small impact on our statutory target and the interim targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan. My department will continue to engage closely with all of our stakeholders on the design of core aspects of pEPR as we look to deliver an enduring scheme that provides the systemic change required to meet our environmental objectives.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 16/10/2023 15:17:21 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1662126

registered interest
date	19/09/2023
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	Packaging: 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, with reference to the press release entitled, Update on packaging reforms to help drive down inflation, published by her Department on 25 July 2023, what assessment she has made of the impact of deferring the extended producer responsibility scheme on the delivery of the (a) fifth and (b) sixth carbon budgets.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	200268
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2023 answer text <p>The decision to defer producer payments under Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging was taken jointly with the Devolved Administrations in light of the pressure facing consumers and businesses in the current economic context, but internal analyses conducted by my Department prior to the announcement of the deferral estimated only a very small impact on the delivery of Carbon Budgets 5 and 6. My department will continue to engage closely with all of our stakeholders on the design of core aspects of pEPR as we look to deliver an enduring scheme that provides the systemic change required to meet our environmental objectives.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 16/10/2023 15:10:02 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1650566

registered interest
date	05/07/2023
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	Southern Water: 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, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Environmental Quality and Resilience of 28 June 2023, Official Report, column 282, and to the Consultation on change of ownership for Southern Water Services Limited, published by Ofwat in August 2022, what steps Ofwat is taking to work with Southern Water on its financial resilience; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	192752
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2023 answer text <p>Ofwat monitors and assesses the financial resilience of each company on an individual and ongoing basis and challenges companies where they identify the need. Each year, in its Monitoring Financial Resilience Report, Ofwat sets out its key messages and observations on financial resilience across the sector.</p><p> </p><p>Ofwat has used intervention and regulatory guidance to encourage Southern Water to improve financial resilience and outcomes for customers and the environment.</p><p>In 2021, Southern Water’s investors injected around £530 million to improve operational performance and support its financial position. Southern Water was also required to prepare a turnaround plan, which sets out how it will improve its overall performance. Progress against the delivery of its plan is being closely monitored by Ofwat.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Act 2021 gave Ofwat improved powers to modify water company licenses without consent from water companies. This has enabled Ofwat to strengthen its existing ring-fence framework and to intervene at an earlier stage where companies are experiencing financial resilience challenges. This allows greater engagement between Ofwat and water companies so that they can seek timely improvements and/or mitigating actions, to better protect water customers.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 13/07/2023 16:16:23 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1626495

registered interest
date	10/05/2023
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	Water Companies: Investment Income
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 she will make an estimate of shareholder dividends as a proportion of customer water bills for each water company in each of the past five years.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	184347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2023 answer text <p>The Secretary of State does not intend to make an estimate of shareholder dividends as a proportion of customer water bills. This would not be an accurate method to compare dividends between water companies. All water companies publish their water charges as well as their dividends payments on their websites, and therefore the information requested is already publicly available.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 24/05/2023 11:31:28 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas