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1245086

registered interest
date	20/10/2020
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	Domestic Waste: 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, which local authorities have taken enforcement action under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	106287
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2020 answer text <p>Defra does not hold information on which local authorities have taken enforcement action under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in each of the last three years.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/10/2020 10:49:14 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1244385

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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	Flood Control: Taxation
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 assessment he has made of the potential benefits of bringing forward legislative proposals to allow local councils to raise flood levies.
tabling member constituency	Windsor
tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
uin	105348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government is investing a record £5.2 billion of capital funding in the flood and coastal defence programme from 2021-27. As well as central Government funding there are a number of other funding sources for flood and coastal erosion risk management. Partnership funding can be secured from a range of sources including through local levy, local beneficiaries, partners and growth funds. The Environment Agency (EA) may issue levies to the lead local flood authority for an area (local levy) subject to approval of the relevant Regional Flood and Coastal Committee. In 2018/19, £35.5 million of local levy funding was raised by the EA in this way.</p><p> </p><p>Coastal authorities may carry out coast protection work in accordance with a works scheme under the Coast Protection Act 1949. This Act provides coastal authorities with powers to levy coast protection charges from those with an interest in the land that would benefit from the coast protection works.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published a long-term Policy Statement in July 2020 setting out our ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement includes more than 40 actions which we will take to accelerate progress to better protect and better prepare the country against flooding and coastal erosion in the face of more frequent extreme weather as a result of climate change.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this, the Government has committed to consider options to expand and promote the use of local powers which local authorities can access to secure additional funding to manage flood and coastal erosion risk. We have also committed to explore the actions which the Government can take to support the right conditions for local investment where there is appetite to do so.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 27/10/2020 12:00:21 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

1244395

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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	Buses: Electric Vehicles and Hydrogen
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 discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on bringing forward the £3 billion investment for 4,000 hydrogen and electric buses announced in February 2020.
tabling member constituency	South Antrim
tabling member printed	Paul Girvan
uin	105511
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>My department works closely with the Department for Transport through our shared Joint Air Quality Unit. As a result, officials in both departments have regular engagement to ensure evolving bus policy considers the potential impacts on air quality, including the development of the policy on 4,000 new zero emission buses.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 27/10/2020 12:24:21 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4633 label Biography information for Paul Girvan

1244397

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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	Zoo Animals Fund
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 extend the scope of the Zoo Animals Fund to allow (a) more zoos and (b) larger zoos to access that funding.
tabling member constituency	Rotherham
tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
uin	105377
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>On 3 August we announced the Zoo Animals Fund. This fund is an envelope of up to £100 million for England's zoos and aquariums and builds upon the previous Zoos Support Fund which operated until the end of July. The current Zoo Animals Fund provides financial support to zoos facing financial difficulties. The eligibility criteria for the current fund were extended beyond those of the initial fund. In particular, grant payments to zoos now begin when zoos reach their final 12 weeks of financial reserves, rather than 6 weeks. Zoos can now also apply for funding at any time before reaching this 12 week point to help with their business planning. This fund is there to help zoos which, due to a coronavirus-related drop in income, are experiencing financial difficulties and therefore need support in caring for their animals. If zoos are downsizing or rehoming their collection the fund can also provide support for this to ensure the animals' welfare. Due to the Coronavirus State Aid Temporary Framework any support from this fund has to be committed by 31 December 2020, and the deadline for applications is 16 November. Grants which are awarded this year will be able to cover the financial difficulties zoos are facing up to 31 March 2021. Zoo licence holders, including larger zoos, are already able to access the fund if they need to.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 22/10/2020 14:35:47 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1244398

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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	Zoos: 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, what steps he is taking to support zoos conservation work worldwide before they reach their final financial reserves.
tabling member constituency	Rotherham
tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
uin	105378
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>The Darwin Initiative is a UK Government grant scheme that helps to protect biodiversity and the natural environment through locally based projects worldwide. The Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund also provides support to projects around the world that are tackling the illegal wildlife trade.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also announced a doubling of the UK’s contribution to International Climate Finance, to £11.6 billion from 2021-2025, including for nature-based solutions; a £220 million International Biodiversity Fund, including a new £100 million Biodiverse Landscapes Fund; significant uplifts to the Darwin Initiative and funding to tackle illegal wildlife trade; £30 million in funding to stop illegal deforestation and £9.6 million for a Just Rural Transition programme to help make farming more sustainable.</p><p> </p><p>Zoos are able to apply for the full range of Covid-19 financial support that the Government has made available. The Zoo Animals Fund is an animal welfare fund, in addition to all of the other financial support being provided to zoos.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 22/10/2020 14:46:42 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1244414

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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	Agriculture: Seasonal Workers
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 (a) hold discussions with industry (i) bodies and (ii) leaders on the proportion of seasonal agricultural workers that were from the UK workforce and (b) use the results of those discussions when presenting proposals for the future of seasonal agricultural work to the Home Secretary.
tabling member constituency	Angus
tabling member printed	Dave Doogan
uin	105543
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>Defra works closely with industry bodies and leaders, regularly speaking with recruiters, growers, unions and associations, and making use of all available information and evidence to understand the labour supply picture for the agri-food supply chain.</p><p>Industry reports that supply of seasonal labour has been sufficient across the main horticultural sectors so far this year. Through the ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign, Defra has collaborated with industry to raise the profile of seasonal work on farms. The Pick for Britain website has received nearly 2 million unique page views since its launch but Defra does not hold any information about specific vacancies, interviews or people in jobs as that information is held by individual companies.</p><p>The horticultural sector will continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Around 3.7 million EU citizens and their families have been granted settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and the application deadline is not until 30 June 2021. EU nationals who have settled status can continue to travel to the UK to do seasonal work in 2021.</p><p>On 19 February, the Government announced that the annual quota for this second year of the Seasonal Workers Pilot scheme would increase from 2,500 to 10,000 places. The Pilot has provided thousands of non-EU workers to farms across the UK this year to undertake seasonal employment in the edible horticulture sector.</p><p> </p><p>Defra will continue to work closely with the Home Office on seasonal agricultural workers and the needs of the sector.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 27/10/2020 13:13:10 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4736 label Biography information for Dave Doogan

1244420

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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	Symphony Environmental: Plastics
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 assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Symphony Environmental Technologies' d2p oxo-biodegradable technology.
tabling member constituency	Chipping Barnet
tabling member printed	Theresa Villiers
uin	105307
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>The government recognises that innovation into biodegradable plastics could help reduce the environmental impacts of plastics if they are disposed of in the right way. However, this is often not the case. We are concerned that, in the absence of robust and comprehensive standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the market place, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal.</p><p> </p><p>In 2015, a government report concluded that existing biodegradable standards are only applicable to very specific conditions such as industrial composters.  A review of oxo-biodegradable plastics has also conducted by the Hazardous Substance Advisory Committee in 2019. This can be found on their website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/hazardous-substances-advisory-committee" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/hazardous-substances-advisory-committee</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As a consequence of these concerns, the government published a call for evidence last year to help consider the development of product standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence closed on the 14 October 2019 and we are currently analysing the responses received. We will publish a government response before the end of the year. You can find out more information here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standards-for-biodegradable-compostable-and-bio-based-plastics-call-for-evidence" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standards-for-biodegradable-compostable-and-bio-based-plastics-call-for-evidence</a></p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 105308 question first answered 27/10/2020 12:18:07 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers

1244421

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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	Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association: Plastics
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 assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association's campaign on oxo-degradable plastic.
tabling member constituency	Chipping Barnet
tabling member printed	Theresa Villiers
uin	105308
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>The government recognises that innovation into biodegradable plastics could help reduce the environmental impacts of plastics if they are disposed of in the right way. However, this is often not the case. We are concerned that, in the absence of robust and comprehensive standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the market place, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal.</p><p> </p><p>In 2015, a government report concluded that existing biodegradable standards are only applicable to very specific conditions such as industrial composters.  A review of oxo-biodegradable plastics has also conducted by the Hazardous Substance Advisory Committee in 2019. This can be found on their website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/hazardous-substances-advisory-committee" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/hazardous-substances-advisory-committee</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As a consequence of these concerns, the government published a call for evidence last year to help consider the development of product standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence closed on the 14 October 2019 and we are currently analysing the responses received. We will publish a government response before the end of the year. You can find out more information here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standards-for-biodegradable-compostable-and-bio-based-plastics-call-for-evidence" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standards-for-biodegradable-compostable-and-bio-based-plastics-call-for-evidence</a></p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 105307 question first answered 27/10/2020 12:18:07 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers

1244438

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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: Wakefield
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 protect ancient woodlands in Wakefield constituency.
tabling member constituency	Wakefield
tabling member printed	Imran Ahmad Khan
uin	105612
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>The irreplaceable nature of ancient woodlands as a habitat is recognised in our 25 Year Environment Plan.</p><p> </p><p>We therefore strengthened the protection of ancient woodlands through the National Planning Policy Framework and guidance to planners. These outline that developments should be refused if they would lead to the deterioration of ancient woodland and veteran trees, unless there are exceptional reasons and suitable compensation measures.</p><p> </p><p>This change reflects the importance of ancient woodlands to native biodiversity, our landscapes, and our communities.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 27/10/2020 12:21:14 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4841 label Biography information for Imran Ahmad Khan

1244440

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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	River Calder: Pollution Control
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 reduce pollution in the river Calder.
tabling member constituency	Wakefield
tabling member printed	Imran Ahmad Khan
uin	105614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>The River Calder comes under the Humber River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) which provides a framework for protecting and enhancing the water environment. The Environment Agency (EA) is currently updating the RBMP to make it more ambitious in addressing plastic pollution and managing water in a changing climate. The EA is considering responses to a recent consultation on these proposals and will produce draft plans for each catchment, setting out comprehensive measures to protect and enhance the water environment, meet the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and support regulation of those sectors that may cause pollution. The Lower Calder’s (around Wakefield) WFD status is ‘moderate’.</p><p> </p><p>To improve water quality, the EA is working on a range of partnership projects with local communities across the Calder catchment. One example is the £1.3 million ‘Calder Greening’ project near Mytholmroyd. Here the EA is working with Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to create a wetland area, improve river bank habitats, and is working with landowners to reduce sediment and treat invasive plant species. The EA also supports the River Calder Catchment Partnership, hosted by the Calder and Colne Rivers Trust to deliver strategic catchment plans for the river and wider environment.</p><p> </p><p>To prevent pollution of the River Calder, the EA regulates a wide range of industrial and waste management sites. This includes Yorkshire Water Services Ltd and discharges to the River Calder from their sewage treatment sites. The EA provides 24 hour pollution incident response cover, including attendance at serious water pollution incidents.</p><p> </p><p>The EA also works with Wakefield Council and Canal and Rivers Trust to provide advice and guidance to local businesses to improve water quality through the use of effective surface water management plans.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 27/10/2020 12:03:37 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4841 label Biography information for Imran Ahmad Khan