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

1121473

	registered interest
	date	11/04/2019
	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	Water: Prices
	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 ensure that the price of water is affordable for older people.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	244192
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw, Marion Fellows, on 23 April 2019 to PQ 244155.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 29/04/2019 12:41:27 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1169112

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2020
	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	Hunting
	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 plans her Department has to tackle illegal fox hunting.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	1051
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2020 answer text <p>The Hunting Act 2004 bans the hunting of wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions set out in Schedule 1 to the Act.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 15/01/2020 10:02:30 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1186572

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2020
	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	Plumbing: Key Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if people carrying out essential drain and plumbing work can be classed as key workers to maintain public health.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	32224
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2020 answer text <p>The list of key workers published on the GOV.UK website includes those providing essential roles in the water sector (including sewerage).</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance for tradespeople carrying out repairs and maintenance in people’s homes can be found at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance</a>.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 27/03/2020 10:59:57 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1249712

	registered interest
	date	09/11/2020
	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	Environmental Health and Waste Disposal: 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, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Government funding for (a) refuse collection and (b) environmental health.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	113216
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the Government department responsible for allocating funding to local authorities. Defra officials work closely with those in MHCLG and also regularly meet local authority colleagues to support them on other non-fiscal challenges they face with the delivery of waste and environmental health services during the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is providing over £7.2 billion emergency funding to help authorities deal with COVID-19 pressures. £4.6 billion of this is un-ringfenced and so can be used by local authorities to meet local pressures as they see fit - including refuse collection and environmental health issues.</p><p><br> In addition, councils' core spending power rose by over £2.9 billion this financial year even before additional emergency funding was announced.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 113217 question first answered 17/11/2020 12:56:51 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1249713

	registered interest
	date	09/11/2020
	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	Local Government: Environmental Health
	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 fiscal steps he is taking to support local authorities in the delivery of environmental services during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	113217
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the Government department responsible for allocating funding to local authorities. Defra officials work closely with those in MHCLG and also regularly meet local authority colleagues to support them on other non-fiscal challenges they face with the delivery of waste and environmental health services during the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is providing over £7.2 billion emergency funding to help authorities deal with COVID-19 pressures. £4.6 billion of this is un-ringfenced and so can be used by local authorities to meet local pressures as they see fit - including refuse collection and environmental health issues.</p><p><br> In addition, councils' core spending power rose by over £2.9 billion this financial year even before additional emergency funding was announced.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 113216 question first answered 17/11/2020 12:56:51 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1259207

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2020
	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: Cheshire
	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 effectiveness of the Environment Agency's work with other bodies to reduce flood risk in Helsby, Cheshire.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	126971
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2020 answer text <p>To reduce flood risk in Helsby, Cheshire, the Environment Agency (EA) is working closely with local landowners, Wildfowlers, Councillors, industrial interests and the Manchester Ship Canal Company (MSC Co.)</p><p> </p><p>A key aspect of this work is to find a long-term sustainable option for draining the Ince Marshes, where water exits from the land around Helsby. This has recently included working with the MSC Co to improve the functionally of their assets.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>Helsby also has two properties and three commercial premises that benefit from EA flood defence assets on the Weaver embankment and the MSC embankment assets that keep the tidal Mersey from flooding. The EA regularly speaks to the MSC Co. about these assets.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 16/12/2020 15:30:45 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1259650

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2020
	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	Nitrogen Dioxide: Cheshire
	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 oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from industry and power generation are kept within safe limits in Weaver Vale and Halton constituencies.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	127635
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2020 answer text <p>The Environment Agency’s environmental permitting regime carried out under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 requires operators of “regulated facilities” including industry carrying out certain activities above certain thresholds including chemicals, combustion and energy from waste activities to obtain a permit. In this way the Environmental Permitting Regulations provide for ongoing supervision by the EA of activities which could harm the environment. The aim of the permitting regime is to:</p><p> </p><ul><li>protect the environment so that statutory and government policy environmental targets and outcomes are achieved;</li><li>deliver permitting, and compliance with permits and certain environmental targets, effectively and efficiently, in a way that provides increased clarity and minimises the administrative burden on both the regulator and operators;</li><li>encourage regulators to promote best practice in the operation of facilities; and</li><li>continue to implement European legislation fully.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The majority of environmental quality and specific permitting standards and other related requirements for environmental and human health protection come from Directives. The Environmental Permitting Regulations ensure that those Directives and national policy requirements, and outcomes that can be delivered through a permitting and compliance system, are delivered by the Environmental Permitting Regulations.</p><p> </p><p>The Environmental Permitting Regulations place duties on regulators to exercise their permit-related functions to deliver the obligations and outcomes required by the relevant Directives and, in some cases, national policy. In practice, this means that the EA will ensure, where a permit is granted, that permit conditions achieve the objectives and intended outcomes of any of the Directives or national policy which apply.</p><p> </p><p>The EA has specialist Industry sector groups set up such as 'Energy from Waste', ‘Chemicals’ and 'Combustion' with appropriate expertise in ensuring permit compliance. The EA also has sector plans with periodic review of permits to meet the latest environmental standards. These sector groups also engage with trade bodies and industry sectors to ensure that operators know and understand the requirements, and to implement them in a cost-effective way that also minimises environmental risks.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/12/2020 14:58:43 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1259651

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2020
	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	Nitrogen Dioxide: Cheshire
	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 level of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from industry and power generation in Weaver Vale and Halton constituencies.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	127636
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2020 answer text <p>The information requested for Weaver Vale and Halton constituencies is not held centrally and to obtain it in the time available would incur disproportionate costs. If the hon. Member wishes to write to the Environment Agency it will be able to provide the information.</p><p>For the industrial sites the Environment Agency regulates through the permitting regime, it regularly monitors compliance with permit emission limits:</p><ul><li>By regular inspections and audits for compliance assessment, including the regulation of emissions monitoring;</li><li>By requiring a management-systems approach that makes implementation, auditing and compliance assessment straightforward;</li><li>By specifying accredited and certified measurement services and equipment, and auditing to ensure compliance;</li><li>By banding operators according to risk and performance, to ensure a focused, cost-effective application of effective, proportionate and fair regulation;</li><li>By tracking the performance of operators and taking action where appropriate.</li></ul><p>In addition to the permitting regime, for each permit the operator must report the amount of emissions of each controlled substance every year to the Environment Agency under the Pollution Inventory (PI). The PI provides information about the releases and transfers of substances from the industrial activities we regulate. This helps:</p><ul><li>Provide the public with easy access to environmental information from industrial activities in their locality;</li><li>Protect the environment by providing information to assist us in developing regulation;</li><li>Government to meet its national and international environmental reporting commitments, such as the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register.</li></ul> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/12/2020 14:53:21 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1280181

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2021
	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: Northwich
	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 his recent visit to the Northwich area in Weaver Vale constituency, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the drainage infrastructure following recent flooding; and what support he plans to provide to (a) businesses and (b) households in the context of that matter.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	143082
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2021 answer text <p>Storm Christoph brought over a month's rain in 30 hours onto already wet catchments. This overwhelmed the capacity of the combined foul (waste water) and surface water sewer network in Northwich, owned by the local water company. The Environment Agency is leading a review of the drainage infrastructure, its capacities and possible overflow points before foul and surface water reaches the town centre. Following the review, the Environment Agency and partners will develop a series of options.</p><p>The responsibility for coordinating the management of surface water flooding falls to Lead Local Flood Authorities and they are expected to have well established contingency arrangements in place and to be able to respond and support their local communities. In managing these risks the Lead Local Flood Authority will work with other flood Risk Management Authorities. This includes the local Highways Authorities, who are responsible for highway and gully maintenance, and the water and sewerage companies who operate and maintain the sewer network.</p><p>Water and sewerage companies are under a duty (section 94, Water Industry Act 1991) to maintain their sewers to ensure that their area is effectually drained. Consideration of whether this duty have been breached, and any subsequent enforcement action, would be taken by Ofwat. Following the 2019 Price Review the water and sewerage companies have committed to invest more than £1 billion to protect the environment, homes, businesses and drinking water from flooding.</p><p>Under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 a Lead Local Flood Authority is required to investigate, to the extent that they consider it necessary or appropriate, flooding incidents, including whether Risk Management Authorities have exercised their functions. Once completed the report must be published and the relevant Risk Management Authorities notified.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 28/01/2021 14:28:26 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1281599

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2021
	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	Dredging: Weaver Vale
	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 potential merits of dredging the River Weaver in the Northwich and Sutton Weaver areas of Weaver Vale constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	145135
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2021 answer text <p>Dredging is an important part of the Environment Agency’s (EA) river maintenance regime. The EA will undertake dredging where there is evidence that it will reduce flood risk to local properties cost effectively without increasing flooding downstream.</p><p> </p><p>The River Weaver is a water course modified to act as a navigation and as such the water level is controlled via structures and assets that are owned and operated by the Canal &amp; River Trust. The navigation sections are dredged to maintain standards to allow the draught of vessels.</p><p> </p><p>The EA investigated the potential merits of dredging in 2013 as part of its assessment of options for reducing the risk of flooding in Northwich. The EA looked at different siltation scenarios, including if silt levels and shoals built up, to see what impact there would be on flood risk. The EA concluded that this was not a significant issue in relation to controlling water levels in Northwich, and dredging was not found to be beneficial.</p><p> </p><p>The EA has allocated resource to the future maintenance of the assets – the defence walls and demountable assets – that protect the town from main river flooding. However it has not allocated funding to dredging the River Weaver.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 145136 question first answered 02/02/2021 17:38:33 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury