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1667486

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Marine Management Organisation: Conditions of Employment
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 Civil Service employees from core departments retained continuity of employment for contractual purposes when they transferred from working for their previous department to work for the Marine Management Organisation in 2009.
tabling member constituency	Brent North
tabling member printed	Barry Gardiner
uin	14
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>Continuous statutory service would be transferred as per the protocols. However, Defra does not keep information on staff who have transferred under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)/ Cabinet Office Statement of Practice. All data becomes owned by the organisation that the work moves to, as the staff are theirs as if they had always been their staff.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 14/11/2023 16:30:09 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	146 label Biography information for Barry Gardiner

1667487

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Marine Management Organisation: Secondment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, under which staff-transfer protocol employees of core civil service Departments were transferred to the Marine Management Organisation in 2009; and whether this protocol has been applied to other employee transfers.
tabling member constituency	Brent North
tabling member printed	Barry Gardiner
uin	15
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>Defra follows the correct protocols for each staff transfer as set out in the <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F5a79b86540f0b642860da3ad%2Fstaff_transfers_145.pdf&amp;data=05%7C01%7Ccorporatepqs%40defra.gov.uk%7C94e59467e6664a5c5d5e08dbe438458a%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638354702561563039%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=nVb4Q%2BuJCFNnPSi2Ho5zRDl%2F782qvKprTRkkf%2BoiwmQ%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Statement of Practice</a>.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 14/11/2023 16:26:36 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	146 label Biography information for Barry Gardiner

1667497

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Water Supply: New Forest
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 (a) take steps with stakeholders to understand the (i) circumstances which led to Southern Water cutting off water supplies to households in the Waterside area of New Forest East constituency during the evening of Thursday 2 November 2023, (ii) reasons for which the water supply was not resumed until the morning of Sunday 5 November and (iii) reasons for the lack of advance warning to customers, (b) make an assessment of the adequacy of support given by Southern Water to vulnerable customers whose water had been cut off and (c) make it her policy to require water companies to increase their resilience levels to ensure they can deliver water to customers during periods of similarly heavy rainfall in the future.
tabling member constituency	New Forest East
tabling member printed	Sir Julian Lewis
uin	1
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2023 answer text <p>On 2 November, the effects of Storm Ciaran were seen at Testwood Water Treatment Works in Hampshire. The heavy rainfall and consequent flooding impacted water quality, which meant that it was not possible for the Treatment Works to effectively treat the volume of water needed to maintain supplies. This included to properties in the Waterside area of the New Forest. Southern Water attempted to minimise the impact but as soon as it become apparent that supply would be affected, notifications were provided to customers, through their website and social media.</p><p>Once flooding reduced, Southern Water increased supplies slowly to safeguard safety and drinking water quality standards. Customers had water supply restored gradually over the course of Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 November. Arrangements were put in place to support those customers off supply, including the opening of three bottled water stations, and regular deliveries to vulnerable customers.</p><p>Throughout the water supply outage, my officials engaged closely with Southern Water to ensure steps were taken to resolve the incident as soon as possible. I was regularly briefed on the emerging situation and ensured that Southern Water was supporting customers in the impacted area, particularly those who are vulnerable.</p><p>And on 8 November, I met with Lawrence Gosden, CEO Southern Water, to consider what lessons could be learned from this water supply incident and the actions Southern Water are taking avoid future interruptions at Testwood Water Treatment Works. The company is also providing a detailed report to the Drinking Water Inspectorate, who will carry out a full assessment on the event.</p><p>Ensuring a plentiful supply of water is a government priority with our Plan for Water, published in April 2023, setting out how we will enhance water supply infrastructure and improve resilience to drought as well as managing water demand. Earlier this year, regional water resources groups and water companies, including Southern Water, consulted on their draft Water Resource Management Plans. Within their plans, water companies must consider all options, including demand management and water resources infrastructure for at least the next 25 years.</p><p>Water companies are also using the £469 million made available by Ofwat in the current Price Review period (2020-2025) to investigate strategic water resources options, that are required to improve the resilience of England’s water supplies. Ofwat also recently announced that water companies are bringing forward £2.2 billion for new water infrastructure delivery, over the next two years, with £350 million worth of investment in water resilience schemes.</p><p>Where a company does not meet their performance expectations, Ofwat, the independent water regulator, will take decisive regulatory action. For example, due to underperformance in 2022-23 across several areas, including on supply interruptions and customer satisfaction, draft decisions by Ofwat will mean Southern will return over £42 million to its customers in the 2024-25 financial year.</p><p>Government and regulators will continue to closely monitor Southern Water’s Performance and will not hesitate to hold them to account if they fall short.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 13/11/2023 14:23:59 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	54 label Biography information for Sir Julian Lewis

1667522

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Sewage: 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, if he will introduce legislation to require water companies to report annually on the number of animals killed as a result of raw sewage discharges.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2023 answer text <p>This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.</p><p> </p><p>We do not have plans to introduce legislation that will require this of water companies. However, this Government is clear that the volume of sewage being discharged into our waters is unacceptable. That is why our Plan for Water sets out more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement to tackle pollution and clean up our water.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside this, our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan sets clear and specific targets for water companies, regulators and the Government, to work towards the long-term ambition of eliminating ecological harm from storm overflows. This will protect biodiversity at both a local and national scale.</p><p> </p><p>We have also set a world-leading, legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. This target will drive wide-ranging actions to deliver nature recovery.</p><p> </p><p>We know that to meet our targets we will need large-scale habitat restoration, creation and improved connectivity; to tackle pressures on species including pollution, unsustainable use of resources and climate change; and targeted action to recover specific species.</p><p> </p><p>Action to restore or create freshwater habitats will support species in our indicator that live in and rely on lakes and rivers such as kingfishers, silver bream, perch, and minnow.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 13/11/2023 15:38:12 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1667533

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Animal Welfare: Labelling
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 Summary of Responses to the Call for Evidence on Labelling for Animal Welfare, published by her Department in August 2022, whether she plans to take steps to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce labelling for animal welfare.
tabling member constituency	Stockton South
tabling member printed	Matt Vickers
uin	605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>Defra’s Call for Evidence on Labelling for Animal Welfare gathered data on the impacts of different types of labelling reforms. Based on the information gathered, we will continue to work with stakeholders to explore how we can harness the market to improve food information for consumers. We will continue to gather evidence on the impacts of a wide range of market interventions, as well as how they could align with wider labelling proposals such as eco-labelling.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 14/11/2023 10:58:43 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4844 label Biography information for Matt Vickers

1667536

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Plastics: Health Hazards
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 bring forward legislative proposals to establish an independent body to (a) identify and (b) monitor public health threats from (i) plastic and (ii) microplastic contamination.
tabling member constituency	Falkirk
tabling member printed	John McNally
uin	265
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2023 answer text <p>Defra has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals. Public health threats are the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 15/11/2023 14:36:59 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1667538

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Plastics: Boilers and Water Supply
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 it her policy to ban plastic materials in (a) boilers and (b) water tanks.
tabling member constituency	Falkirk
tabling member printed	John McNally
uin	267
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2023 answer text <p>The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 – which, in part, are designed to prevent contamination of drinking water supplies from water fittings – do not cover the design of boilers or hot water tanks, including the materials they are constructed from. If a consumer suspects that their drinking water is contaminated, they should contact their local water company who will investigate. If the cause of contamination is identified as occurring from plumbing inside the property, water companies will provide instructions to the consumer on remedial action to consider such as replacement or repair of the defective component. All plumbing inside a property is the responsibility of the property owner.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 15/11/2023 13:57:44 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1667575

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Fly-tipping: Greater London
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 information her Department holds on the level of illegal waste disposal in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Enfield North
tabling member printed	Feryal Clark
uin	565
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2023 answer text <p>In the last 12 months the Environment Agency (EA) has received six reports of illegal waste disposal in the London Borough of Enfield. There were three reports of small-scale burning which were all referred to the council, and where two addresses were identified as carrying out burning, letters were sent. There was one small-scale fly tipping incident in the N9 area which was also referred to Enfield Council due to the impact on the highways, and two major fly tipping incidents in the N11 and N18 areas. The EA currently has no outstanding investigations in the illegal disposal of waste in the Enfield area.</p><p> </p><p>The EA continues to work closely with internal and external stakeholders across London and the Southeast to initiate partnership solutions to the multi-faceted issues we deal with, often involving significant investigations of various strands to not only disrupt criminal activity but to hold to account those responsible.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>In addition, local authorities are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which we publish annually <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistical-data-sets%2Fenv24-fly-tipping-incidents-and-actions-taken-in-england.&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7Cf85f063dbc7147bedc3008dbe13cb9cc%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638351423175380207%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=JAJzD%2Bm1c8wqkuXZjAkzz6EUCAorRmS0NfuAIO3lKH4%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 15/11/2023 14:02:28 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4822 label Biography information for Feryal Clark

1667638

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Wood-burning Stoves: Fraud
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 her Department is taking to support local councils to tackle illegal log burning.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	196
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2023 answer text <p>Burning logs is not illegal, but we have introduced policies to reduce emissions from wood burning. These include:</p><ul><li>Restricting the sale of small volumes of wet wood (less than 2m<sup>3</sup>) - wood sold in small volumes must have a moisture content of 20% or less, and</li><li>Making it easier for local authorities to enforce smoke control area rules by replacing the criminal offence for smoke emissions with a civil penalty regime.</li></ul><p>The Environment Improvement Plan (EIP) sets out further measures to reduce emissions from wood burning. These include:</p><ul><li>Publishing outdoor burning best practice guidance.</li><li>Extending the solid fuels legislation, including to fuels burned outside.</li><li>Tightening the limits that new stoves in Smoke Control Areas must meet.</li><li>Driving a shift away from older, more polluting appliances to newer appliances which meet our tough new emission standards.</li><li>Continuing our targeted communications campaign to promote best practice when burning.</li></ul><p> </p><p>As set out in our recent Air Quality Strategy, we also continue to work with local authorities to help them tackle emissions from domestic combustion in their communities. This includes funding relevant local projects through our 2023/24 Air Quality Grant.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 16/11/2023 10:48:17 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1667639

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Wood-burning Stoves: 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 her Department is taking to tackle air pollution from log burners.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	197
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2023 answer text <p>Air quality is a devolved matter. In England, regulations introduced in 2020 put restrictions on the sale of wet wood for domestic burning, placed limits on the emission of sulphur and smoke from manufactured solid fuels and phased out the sale of bituminous coal (traditional house coal). Through the Environment Act 2021, we also introduced measures to streamline the enforcement of Smoke Control Areas (SCAs).</p><p /><p>Since 1 January 2022 all stoves placed on the market in the United Kingdom must be Ecodesign compliant. This is in addition to the separate requirement in Smoke Control Areas (SCAs) that householders can only burn approved fuels or use a Defra exempt appliance.</p><p /><p>The Environment Improvement Plan sets out further measures to reduce domestic combustion emissions. These include:</p><ul><li>Publishing outdoor burning best practice guidance</li><li>Extending the solid fuels legislation, including to fuels burned outside</li><li>Tightening the limits that new stoves in SCAs must meet</li><li>Driving a shift away from older, more polluting appliances to newer appliances which meet our tough new emission standards;</li><li>Continuing our targeted communications campaign to promote best practice when burning</li></ul><p> </p><p>As set out in our recent Air Quality Strategy, we also continue to work with local authorities to help them tackle emissions from domestic combustion in their communities. This includes funding relevant local projects through our 2023/24 Air Quality Grant.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 16/11/2023 10:29:57 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy