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1091291

registered interest
date	19/03/2019
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	Wildlife: Licensing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many wildlife licensing enforcement actions have been undertaken by Natural England in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Workington
tabling member printed	Sue Hayman
uin	234233
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2019 answer text <p>Natural England has published data on the number of enforcement actions it has undertaken for the period 2010-2015 which is publicly available and published on Gov.uk:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/527912/enforcement-annual-report-2014-2015.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/527912/enforcement-annual-report-2014-2015.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>Since 2015 Natural England has not proactively collated this data.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 22/03/2019 10:10:19 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4395 label Biography information for Baroness Hayman of Ullock

1091325

registered interest
date	19/03/2019
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	Plastics: 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 he has made of the potential merits of being party to a legally binding international treaty on plastics with clear targets and standards.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	234113
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government has taken on board existing relevant international agreements and commitments, which include the Basel Agreement, the Oceans Plastic Charter, and G7 and G20 Action Plans on Marine Litter.</p><p> </p><p>Our focus is on immediate action to tackle the pressing problem of plastic pollution and plastic waste. Our recently published Resources and Waste Strategy includes an ambitious set of policies to support elimination of avoidable plastic waste. This includes a commitment to meet the ambition of the EU’s Single-use Plastics Directive.</p><p> </p><p>We have also committed to work with other countries to magnify the impact of our domestic action. Accordingly we have signed up to the Ellen MacArthur New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, and we are spearheading efforts to support developing countries address plastic waste including through the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance and the Global Plastics Action Partnership.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 22/03/2019 10:06:45 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1090897

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
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	Marine Protected Areas
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 estimate he has made of the cost of enforcing marine protected areas per sq km in (a) the UK and (b) UK overseas territories in each of the last four years.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	233444
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>a) We do not currently hold the requested data, however, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) estimates compliance costs for each Marine Protected Area (MPA) byelaw it makes. These estimates are documented in the impact assessment (IA) accompanying each byelaw, which are available on GOV.UK. These estimates include compliance activity such as monitoring and boardings to detect and deter offences, but do not include costs related to any prosecutions for offences committed. These figures relate to England only. There are additional costs arising from the enforcement of Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCA) byelaws but these are not currently centrally compiled.</p><p> </p><p>b) Under the Blue Belt programme, £2 million per year over the past 4 years has been allocated to the MMO to support surveillance and enforcement of designated MPAs, and to support the development of legal frameworks and surveillance and enforcement strategies for further MPA designations.</p><p>At the start of the Blue Belt programme, there was 2.5 million km² of MPAs around the UK overseas territories and by 2020, there will be over 4 million km². Additional funding support for enforcement of Pitcairn Island was provided by Pew Charitable Trusts during years 2015-present.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 21/03/2019 10:10:10 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1090954

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
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	Flood Control: West Midlands
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 his Department has made of the adequacy of flood defences in the West Midlands.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	233453
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>The Environment Agency (EA) and its partner Risk Management Authorities continually assess the adequacy of flood defences across the West Midlands. This includes developing future schemes, maintaining existing assets and operating equipment in response to current flood risk.</p><p> </p><p>The EA asset maintenance programme covers over 3,600 assets in the West Midlands, including barriers, embankments, trash screens and pumps. These assets are all maintained on an annual cycle to ensure their good condition and operational effectiveness at the cost of £3.2 million for 2018/19. 16,906 inspections have been completed on these assets so far in the financial year 2018/19.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the planning and development of new schemes, the EA oversees a programme to efficiently fund, design and build schemes. This currently includes investigating the potential for flood schemes at Binley Road and The Riddings, Earlsdon, in Coventry.</p><p> </p><p>Many assets, equipment and staff are currently in operation at numerous locations across the West Midlands protecting communities and the wider economy from the impacts of flooding.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 21/03/2019 10:07:40 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1090979

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
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
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 merits of using large-scale hydrogen conversion projects to deliver improvements in air quality.
tabling member constituency	Redcar
tabling member printed	Anna Turley
uin	233602
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>This question concerns both energy and air quality. Defra is the Government Department with policy responsibility for air quality and energy policy is within the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.</p><p> </p><p>We are working across Government to ensure future electricity, heat and industrial policies will together improve air quality and tackle climate change. Phasing out coal-fired power stations, improving energy efficiency, and shifting to cleaner power sources will reduce emissions of air pollution, as well as carbon.</p><p> </p><p>As we phase out oil and coal heating, we will ensure this transition improves air quality wherever possible and cost-effective to do so.</p><p> </p><p>Although Defra is unable to comment on hydrogen specifically, as part of our cross-departmental review into the role of biomass for heat and power, we have established a framework of principles and processes to ensure air quality is considered at the outset of policy development and appropriate tools and evidence are used to assess the impact on public health.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 21/03/2019 10:16:44 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4449 label Biography information for Anna Turley

1091004

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
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	Plastics: 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, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the gasification of plastic waste.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	233460
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>Defra has not carried out such an assessment but liaises with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on its work to determine all the potential benefits from gasification and pyrolysis of waste, including plastics.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to improving the recovery of value from residual waste and encourages the development of innovative, emerging technologies to help divert waste from landfill providing they do not compete with greater recycling, reuse and prevention. We recognise the potential that these technologies can have in the decarbonisation of several sectors such as heat and transport.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 21/03/2019 10:14:20 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1091050

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
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
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 his Department holds on the average reading for an air quality sample in (a) the UK, (b) Hampshire and (c) Portsmouth.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	233628
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>Defra’s national network of air quality monitors currently comprises 272 sites across the UK and is managed by the Environment Agency. Sites are organised into networks that gather information for a wide range of pollutants in towns, cities as well as in rural areas. Some monitoring sites are focused on measuring specific sources – e.g. road traffic or industry whilst others are focused on background concentrations.</p><p> </p><p>All monitoring data is made available on our UK-AIR website. Data from the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) is reported in near-real-time and is updated every hour. The website URL is: <a href="https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, National Statistics are produced annually which analyse trends and levels of air pollution for the UK AURN. The website URL is: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><p>On the AURN there are 5 sites within Hampshire (including Southampton and Portsmouth) and 2 sites in Portsmouth. The annual statistics tool on UK-AIR can be used to determine annual mean concentrations of the measured air pollutants.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, local authorities submit their monitoring data and local actions to Defra in their Annual Status Reports. This is a requirement under the Local Air Quality Management process, underpinned by the Environment Act 1995.</p><p> </p><p>Annual mean concentrations of air pollutants in 2003 and 2018 from the Portsmouth sites on the AURN are shown in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>AURN Site</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Pollutant</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Annual Mean Concentration (µg/m<sup>3</sup>)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth</p></td><td><p>Nitrogen dioxide</p></td><td><p>2003</p></td><td><p>26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth</p></td><td><p>Nitrogen dioxide</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth</p></td><td><p>PM<sub>10</sub></p></td><td><p>2003</p></td><td><p>24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth Anglesea Road</p></td><td><p>Nitrogen dioxide</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>31</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth Anglesea Road</p></td><td><p>PM<sub>10</sub></p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey grouped question UIN 233630 question first answered 21/03/2019 15:14:52 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1091051

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
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	Clean Air Zones
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 what circumstances the Government can impose clean air zone on local authorities.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	233629
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>This is a devolved matter and the below information relates to England only. Local authorities already have the power to create clean air zones.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is working closely with those English local authorities where exceedances have been identified to introduce measures to bring forward compliance with nitrogen dioxide limits as soon as possible.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will assess local authority plans to make sure they are effective, fair, good value and will deliver the required improvements in air quality in the shortest time possible. If local plans do not meet that test, the Government will reject the plans and require authorities to take action to achieve legal compliance, which could include a clean air zone.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 21/03/2019 12:50:29 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1091052

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
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: Portsmouth
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 the average air quality sample reading was in Portsmouth in (a) 2003 and (b) 2018.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	233630
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>Defra’s national network of air quality monitors currently comprises 272 sites across the UK and is managed by the Environment Agency. Sites are organised into networks that gather information for a wide range of pollutants in towns, cities as well as in rural areas. Some monitoring sites are focused on measuring specific sources – e.g. road traffic or industry whilst others are focused on background concentrations.</p><p> </p><p>All monitoring data is made available on our UK-AIR website. Data from the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) is reported in near-real-time and is updated every hour. The website URL is: <a href="https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, National Statistics are produced annually which analyse trends and levels of air pollution for the UK AURN. The website URL is: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><p>On the AURN there are 5 sites within Hampshire (including Southampton and Portsmouth) and 2 sites in Portsmouth. The annual statistics tool on UK-AIR can be used to determine annual mean concentrations of the measured air pollutants.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, local authorities submit their monitoring data and local actions to Defra in their Annual Status Reports. This is a requirement under the Local Air Quality Management process, underpinned by the Environment Act 1995.</p><p> </p><p>Annual mean concentrations of air pollutants in 2003 and 2018 from the Portsmouth sites on the AURN are shown in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>AURN Site</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Pollutant</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Annual Mean Concentration (µg/m<sup>3</sup>)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth</p></td><td><p>Nitrogen dioxide</p></td><td><p>2003</p></td><td><p>26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth</p></td><td><p>Nitrogen dioxide</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth</p></td><td><p>PM<sub>10</sub></p></td><td><p>2003</p></td><td><p>24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth Anglesea Road</p></td><td><p>Nitrogen dioxide</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>31</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portsmouth Anglesea Road</p></td><td><p>PM<sub>10</sub></p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey grouped question UIN 233628 question first answered 21/03/2019 15:14:52 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1088709

registered interest
date	14/03/2019
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	High Speed 2 Line
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 ensure that High Speed Two will not affect the protection of woodlands.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	232522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government has a manifesto commitment to ensure stronger protection for our ancient woodlands, and the irreplaceable nature of ancient woodlands is recognised in our 25 Year Environment Plan. Defra and its statutory bodies are working closely with HS2 Ltd. and the Department for Transport to make sure that environmental impacts resulting from HS2, including protection of woodland and loss of ancient woodland, are considered and minimised.</p><p>Natural England and the Environment Agency have service level agreements with HS2 Ltd. to advise on the development of HS2, including on avoiding, as far as practicable, loss to ancient woodlands. Natural England has also provided information to help inform HS2 Ltd.’s Ancient Woodland Strategies.</p><p> </p><p>The HS2 Woodland Fund has been established for Phase 1 to support the restoration of existing plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) and the creation of new native woodland.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England is also working with HS2 Ltd to identify ancient woodland within HS2’s route corridor which is not on the Ancient Woodland Inventory. Natural England and HS2 work together to minimise impacts on ancient woodland and to maximise opportunities for compensatory measures during detailed design, where unavoidable loss occurs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 232524 question first answered 22/03/2019 10:18:08 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett