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1133850

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2019
	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	Radioactive Waste
	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 his Department has made of the environmental effects of the dumping of radioactive waste in Hurd Deep and Atlantic Deep as detailed in the Ministry of Defence archived document entitled British Isles Explosive Dumping Grounds.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
	uin	267753
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>Dumping of radioactive waste (before being banned under the London Convention of 1972 for highly contaminated and in 1993 for low contaminated waste) was subject to approval by the MAFF Approval Committee, whose procedures included careful checks on the containment and transport of the waste. Both the Hurd Deep and Atlantic Deep sites have been subject to monitoring.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Hurd Deep:</strong></p><p> </p><p>From 1946 to 1993, the UK disposed of amounts of both civilian and radioactive waste at sea, in accordance with national policy and legislation, and with later international agreements regulating such disposals. These disposals were seen at the time as routine and uncontroversial.</p><p> </p><p>The total estimated activities in curies (TBq) for these dumpings were: Alpha activity, 400 curies (14.8 TBq); Beta-Gamma activity, 1,200 curies (44.4 TBq). The very low active waste (mainly sludges) dumped into the Hurd Deep was packed in approved light metal drums to permit rapid dispersion of the contents. The UK regularly monitors the Channel Island States and report the results in the annually produced RIFE (Radioactivity in Food and the Environment) report series. These reports can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radioactivity-in-food-and-the-environment-rife-reports" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radioactivity-in-food-and-the-environment-rife-reports</a></p><p> </p><p>In addition, Cefas and the Food Standards Agency have jointly published a peer reviewed paper (MARINE RADIOACTIVITY IN THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, 1990 – 2009) which looked further at time trends over around 20 years. UK monitoring shows that there is no evidence for significant releases of radioactivity from the Hurd Deep site and the effects of discharges from local sources have continued to be of negligible radiological significance.</p><p> </p><p><strong>North Atlantic Dump site:</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA) surveillance of the North-East Atlantic dump site used by OECD/NEA member countries (including the UK) started in 1977 and ended in 1995. In 1985, the OECD/NEA Co-ordinated Research and Environmental Surveillance Programme (CRESP) delivered a report on the dump site. The report concluded that the North-East Atlantic dump site posed negligible human radiological risk although the report noted that in the absence of baseline data on the benthic biology, it was difficult to draw firm conclusions about the environmental impacts. A new report on the dump site conducted by CRESP in 1996 reached the same conclusions.</p><p> </p><p>A summary of the “Historic Dumping of Low-Level Radioactive Waste in the North-East Atlantic” was recently compiled by the Radioactive Substances Committee of OSPAR. OSPAR’s document can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.ospar.org/site/assets/files/1173/factsheet_historic_dumping_final.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.ospar.org/site/assets/files/1173/factsheet_historic_dumping_final.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 28/06/2019 15:32:54 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1133868

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2019
	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	Wood-burning Stoves
	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 is reviewing the planning regulations on the installation of wood burning stove chimneys near residential properties as part of the ongoing review into domestic fuel burners.
	tabling member constituency	Cheltenham
	tabling member printed	Alex Chalk
	uin	267761
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>No. The focus is on the fuels used and guidance on how stoves should be best used.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 28/06/2019 15:44:57 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk

1133898

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2019
	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	Animal Welfare: Sentencing
	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 introduce tougher sentences for animal cruelty.
	tabling member constituency	Newport West
	tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
	uin	267787
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>I am pleased to report that the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 26 June. The Bill, when passed, will increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 from 6 months’ imprisonment to 5 years’ imprisonment.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 01/07/2019 13:43:58 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1133790

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	River Mersey: Plastics
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the Environment Agency are taking to prevent plastic factory waste from polluting the River Mersey.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
	uin	HL16541
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The Environment Agency (EA) regulates a number of activities locally which have the potential to cause plastic waste pollution in the River Mersey. In Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire it is responsible for the regulation of permitted and exempt plastics recycling plants, which includes reviewing inspection and compliance checks to ensure plastics recyclers are complying with their environmental permits. It is also a key partner in driving Greater Manchester’s ambition to be single use plastic free by 2020.</p><p>Across England, the EA investigates any reported incidents of plastic pollution to a watercourse should it pose a significant or major risk to people, property and the natural environment.</p><p>The EA does not monitor levels of plastic in watercourses as part of its monitoring regime as there are no current legislative requirements. However, the EA is working with Defra and academics to understand the different sources, pathways and impacts to develop consistent sampling and assessment monitoring methodologies for plastics. In 2018 the EA visited all facilities which treated or reprocessed plastic waste and checked they were not losing plastic fragments into surface water. The EA also encourages businesses to sign up to Operation Clean Sweep, a voluntary business initiative to take measures to reduce plastic pellet loss.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 04/07/2019 13:24:28 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

1133812

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	Air Pollution: Health Hazards
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of air pollution on public health; whether they intend to introduce legislation to implement World Health Organization standards for fine particulate matter into forthcoming legislation; and if so, when.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Randerson
	uin	HL16563
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>Our Clean Air Strategy recognised the impacts air pollution has on health, and proposed a range of actions to meet our existing emissions reduction commitments to 2020 and 2030 in order to reduce these impacts. The Strategy also committed to the setting of an ambitious long term air quality target to reduce the population exposure to PM2.5, and committed to publishing evidence on the feasibility of meeting World Health Organization air quality guideline levels for PM2.5. This work is ongoing and will be published in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 04/07/2019 13:24:55 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	4230 label Biography information for Baroness Randerson

1133460

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	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	Air Pollution: Health Hazards
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of air pollution on public health; and whether they will legislate to introduce World Health Organisation air quality standards for fine particulate matter to protect the health of vulnerable people in the UK.
	tabling member printed	The Earl of Dundee
	uin	HL16495
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>Our Clean Air Strategy (CAS) recognised the impacts that air pollution has on health, and proposed a range of actions to meet our existing emissions reduction commitments to 2020 and 2030 in order to reduce these impacts. The CAS also committed to the setting of an ambitious long term air quality target to reduce the population’s exposure to PM<sub>2.5</sub>, and committed to publishing evidence on the feasibility of meeting World Health Organisation air quality guideline levels of PM<sub>2.5</sub>. This work is ongoing and will be published in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 01/07/2019 16:47:41 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	2735 label Biography information for The Earl of Dundee

1133043

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2019
	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	Plastic Bags
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of plastic bags which are supplied daily to customers by retail outlets in England not covered by the current single-use plastic bag charge.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hayward
	uin	HL16461
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The single use carrier bag (SUCB) policy has successfully contributed to a more than 80% reduction in the usage of SUCBs by large retailers. The policy excludes retailers with fewer than 250 employees from the charge.</p><p> </p><p>The Government estimates that 3.6 billion SUCBs were supplied by micro and small businesses (MSMEs) not covered by the charge in 2017 alone.</p><p> </p><p>We estimate that the policy to increase the charge to 10p would cause a decline in consumption of SUCBs in MSMEs (assumed to be 23% in the first year of change and 80% within three years (2020-2022)).</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble grouped question UIN HL16462 question first answered 01/07/2019 16:12:24 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	863 label Biography information for Lord Hayward

1133044

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2019
	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	Plastic Bags
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the number of plastic bags which would be supplied daily to customers by retail outlets in England if a 10p single-use plastic bag charge was introduced on all retail outlets not currently covered; and whether any such number represents a decline in the number of such bags supplied.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hayward
	uin	HL16462
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The single use carrier bag (SUCB) policy has successfully contributed to a more than 80% reduction in the usage of SUCBs by large retailers. The policy excludes retailers with fewer than 250 employees from the charge.</p><p> </p><p>The Government estimates that 3.6 billion SUCBs were supplied by micro and small businesses (MSMEs) not covered by the charge in 2017 alone.</p><p> </p><p>We estimate that the policy to increase the charge to 10p would cause a decline in consumption of SUCBs in MSMEs (assumed to be 23% in the first year of change and 80% within three years (2020-2022)).</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble grouped question UIN HL16461 question first answered 01/07/2019 16:12:24 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	863 label Biography information for Lord Hayward

1133045

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2019
	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	Plastic Bags
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many other countries operate (1) a ban, or (2) a partial ban or charge, on the use of single-use plastic bags.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hayward
	uin	HL16463
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government does not collect or hold this information. However, a summary of publicly available information is here:</p><p><a href="https://study.com/blog/which-countries-have-banned-plastic-bags.html" target="_blank">https://study.com/blog/which-countries-have-banned-plastic-bags.html</a><a href="http://www.bigfatbags.co.uk/bans-taxes-charges-plastic-bags/" target="_blank">http://www.bigfatbags.co.uk/bans-taxes-charges-plastic-bags/</a></p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 01/07/2019 14:38:23 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	863 label Biography information for Lord Hayward

1131400

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	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	Horse Racing: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2019 to Question 259406, what further action is being taken following the meeting on 14 May 2019, in order to tackle avoidable harm to horses.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	263250
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is keen that the welfare needs of racehorses are well met, both during their racing lives and afterwards. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses and the BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible. However, both I and the BHA consider that more can be done to make horseracing safer which is why I have been holding regular discussions with the BHA about this. Most recently on 14 May, I met with the BHA as well as the new independent Chair of the BHA’s newly appointed Horse Welfare Board. This was a constructive meeting where the number of fatalities of racehorses was acknowledged, and both sides agreed that further action is required to tackle avoidable harm and make the sport safer.</p><p> </p><p>The Board committed to doing all it can to improve welfare outcomes. I stressed the need for the BHA to develop a robust action plan that will deliver tangible results and intend to stay in regular contact with the industry to continue to press for improvements in racehorse welfare.</p><p> </p><p>The number of racehorse fatalities at UK race tracks is published annually by the British Horseracing Authority. The latest available figures are for 2018 and were published on 29 January, which can be found at <a href="https://www.britishhorseracing.com/regulation/making-horseracing-safer/" target="_blank">https://www.britishhorseracing.com/regulation/making-horseracing-safer/</a>.</p><p>The Government does not hold any data for 2019.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 263251 263252 question first answered 04/07/2019 14:56:52 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi