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 grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1664498

registered interest
date	13/10/2023
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	Anaerobic Digestion: Subsidies
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 hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the impact of subsidies to the anaerobic digestion industry on the sale of surplus food to charitable organisations.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	202351
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2023 answer text <p>Defra and DESNZ officials continue to work closely to coordinate anaerobic digestion (AD) policy, working with ministers where required.</p><p> </p><p>The Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) launched in 2021, provides tariff-support for biomethane produced via AD and injected into the gas grid. Under the GGSS, at least 50% of all biomethane (by energy content) must be produced using waste or residue feedstocks. In line with scheme guidance, AD site operators should ensure that the waste hierarchy has been applied and alternative markets have been considered before using any waste feedstocks for AD. DEFRA will continue to work closely with other government departments to deliver the best environmental policy outcomes which align with the food surplus and waste hierarchy.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/10/2023 11:08:42 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1654873

registered interest
date	20/07/2023
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	Canal and River Trust: 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 written statement entitled Future funding for the Canal and River Trust of 10 July 2023, HCWS924, for what reason she plans to reduce funding for the Canal and River Trust relative to the funding announced in 2012.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	195525
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2023 answer text <p>When the Canal and River Trust (C&amp;RT) was set up in 2012 to replace British Waterways, the Government agreed to provide an annual grant totalling around £740 million over a 15-year period up to 2027 as the charity established itself. At the time the Government and the C&amp;RT agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding on 28 June 2012 that the C&amp;RT would progressively reduce reliance on Government grant funding.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recently agreed to provide the C&amp;RT with a further £400 million grant over ten years from 2027, while encouraging the C&amp;RT to increase income from alternative sources and reduce reliance on taxpayer funding as an independent charity, consistent with the original strategic intent. There have been incorrect claims made that this new grant represents a £300 million cut to the C&amp;RT’s funding.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has been discussing with the C&amp;RT for some time how the C&amp;RT can increase income from other sources and has been offering support on this.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 08/09/2023 07:39:25 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1626788

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	Deposit Return Schemes: Glass
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 she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including glass in the Deposit Return Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	184463
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2023 answer text <p>UK Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland consulted in 2019 and 2021 on the detail of introducing a DRS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In January 2023 we published the government response to the 2021 consultation, setting out policy decisions and next steps for introducing the scheme (link <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fconsultations%2Fintroduction-of-a-deposit-return-scheme-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C422c69672d1543a3da9208db5210bd30%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638194004100292964%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=0ktMeEtg2IZfiQgLDdyI1e%2FoGB%2BqQtdWq9nAE2AOue8%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a>).</p><p> </p><p>As outlined in the government response, glass bottles will not be captured by DRS in England and Northern Ireland as the respective governments believe the addition of glass will add additional complexity and challenges to delivery of DRS in particular to the hospitality and retail sectors, as well as additional consumer inconvenience. Given concerns raised on managing glass in a DRS, delivery of the scheme will focus on plastic bottles and aluminium/steel cans in England and Northern Ireland.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst not in-scope of the DRS in England and Northern Ireland, glass drinks bottles will be covered by the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging scheme in both nations, which will place targets on producers in relation to glass recycling. The proposed recycling target for glass packaging under EPR is 83% by 2030. Producers will also be responsible for the costs of managing glass packaging in household waste and disposed in street bins provided by local authorities.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 17/05/2023 08:36:53 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1624172

registered interest
date	26/04/2023
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	Food: Packaging
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 the quantity of single use plastics used in food packaging in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	182918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>Defra does not hold the data to calculate the quantity of single use plastics used in food packaging in each of the last five years in England. The Waste and Resources Action Programme has however reported in the Plastics Market Situation Report 2021, that 948,000 tonnes of plastic packaging for grocery products was placed on the UK market in 2017 and 987,000 tonnes in 2019.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 09/05/2023 08:20:08 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1610474

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	Packaging: Recycling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the introduction of modulated fees for Extended Producer Responsibility has been put back until 2025.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	180607
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2023 answer text <p>The Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) summary of consultation responses and Government response published in March 2022 states that modulated fees will be introduced from 2025. As producer fees rates are set based on the tonnages of packaging they supplied in the previous year, introducing fee modulation in the first year of pEPR implementation would not have been technically feasible and would not have left enough time for producers to make more sustainable decisions when designing or purchasing packaging. The introduction of modulated fees in 2025 will ensure that producers and the Scheme Administrator are fully prepared for the introduction of this measure.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 04/05/2023 14:27:47 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1610475

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	Packaging: Recycling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason closed loop recycling systems are not being recognised until 2025 for those manufacturers who have already put in place sustainable processes; and for what reason closed loop recycling incentives will not include meal trays.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	180608
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>Under Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR), producers who collect and recycle consumer packaging waste at their own cost, where it is not commonly collected by local authorities for recycling, will be able to reduce their obligation to pay fees to cover the costs of managing household packaging from 2024. This is intended to support our transition to higher recycling rates as we invest in improved collection, sorting and recycling systems for hard to recycle packaging, or transition to using packaging that is already widely recyclable. Packaging that is already commonly collected from households will not be eligible for this offset as this would reduce the efficiency of household collections and increase the risk of fraud, except where it is part of an established re-use system where the same item of packaging is collected, cleaned and re-used multiple times before being recycled. This will provide an added incentive for producers to move to systems of re-useable packaging.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 19/04/2023 15:44:49 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1545018

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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	Motor Vehicles: 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, whether the Government has made an assessment on the efficacy of installing in-road apparatus to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions and concentrations of particulate matter from motor vehicles on UK roads.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	94832
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2022 answer text <p>The Government is aware of this emerging technology but notes that it is still in development. Currently there is limited peer reviewed evidence available on real world application and the impact of the technology on concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. Defra and DfT will continue to assess the operational relevance of promising science and technology such as this on an ongoing basis.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 30/11/2022 18:23:50 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1545019

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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	Motor Vehicles: 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 she is taking to ensure (a) roadside air pollution is kept under a legal limit and (b) the UK meets its air quality targets set under the Environment Act 2021.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	94833
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2023 answer text <p>The Government has placed a duty on local authorities to keep air pollution within legal limits and we expect them to take action. The Government has provided £883m of dedicated funding to help local authorities develop and implement local NO2 air quality plans and support those affected by these plans. This sits alongside wider funding to support the transition to cleaner, more sustainable transport, including £2bn to kickstart a cycling and walking revolution, and £120m to support zero emission buses as part of the £3bn National Bus Strategy.</p><p>The UK has a high ambition for domestic air quality. The targets to be set under the Environment Act 2021 and the policy paths by which they will be achieved will be announced shortly.</p><p>Using new powers under the Environment Act 2021 we have on 7 December designated National Highways as a Relevant Public Authority which means National Highways will be required to collaborate with local authorities in developing and carrying out their Air Quality Action Plans. This means that all authorities with responsibility for roads in England are now required to work together to ensure that Air Quality Objectives are not exceeded at roadside.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/01/2023 10:56:35 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1545049

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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	Deposit Return Schemes: Cost Benefit Analysis
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 her Department will publish an updated cost-benefit analysis of the introduction of DRS against current recycling rates.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	94834
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2022 answer text <p>Government published a consultation stage impact assessment alongside the publication of our 2021 consultation in March 2021, and can be found here - <a href="https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environment/consultation-on-introducing-a-drs/supporting_documents/Impact%20Assessment.pdf" target="_blank">https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environment/consultation-on-introducing-a-drs/supporting_documents/Impact%20Assessment.pdf</a>. Further details on next steps for DRS will be set out in the upcoming Government's response to the 2021 consultation. We are working towards publication shortly. We are continuing to update our cost benefit analysis and will publish a Final Impact Assessment in advance of the DRS regulations being laid in Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 94836 question first answered 30/11/2022 18:28:26 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1545051

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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	Deposit Return Schemes
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 will be taken in the design of England’s DRS to avoid material switching from smaller formats to larger containers.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	94835
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>In our 2021 consultation, we set out a proposal that the Deposit Management Organisation would be able to decide whether to have a fixed or variable deposit. A variable deposit could help prevent significant shifts in consumer behaviour. Further details on next steps for DRS will be set out in the upcoming Government's response to the 2021 consultation. We are working towards publication shortly.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 01/12/2022 17:11:53 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse