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1719123

registered interest
date	17/05/2024
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	Minerals: Recycling
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve recycling infrastructure and technologies to enable the increased recovery of critical minerals and other materials.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL4761
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>Defra is committed to delivering a more sustainable future for the UK and world. Supporting this we announced in February the world’s first United Nations-backed International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management in the Circular Economy. The centre will deliver solutions that will promote recycling and Circular Economy solutions across a range of important minerals and metals, including Critical Minerals. In partnership with national and international partners the centre will deliver environmentally sustainable primary extraction of Critical Minerals and map the flow of these critical and priority minerals across their complete life cycle, from extraction to reuse, recovery to disposal.</p><p> </p><p>Further, Government recently consulted on proposals to reform the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations and will consult in the summer on reforms to the Batteries Regulations, with the intention in both cases of improving the collection and treatment of waste products and materials at end-of-life.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 23/05/2024 15:04:21 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1719126

registered interest
date	17/05/2024
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	Environment Agency: Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the performance of the Environment Agency in relation to (1) monitoring water quality, and (2) taking appropriate remedial action.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL4764
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>DEFRA works closely with the Environment Agency to ensure it is equipped to carry out its functions effectively and deliver for the public and the environment.</p><p> </p><p>The EA is accountable to Parliament via the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As the principal sponsor of EA, DEFRA works closely with EA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on EA performance and delivery.</p><p> </p><p>The EA currently operates a network of monitoring programmes which fulfil different legislative, regulatory and policy needs. These programmes have been designed by technical experts to reflect a diverse range of parameters used to understand water quality, at the scale and frequency the data is required.</p><p> </p><p>In 2023 over 70,000 samples were collected and analysed to understand water quality from a range of programmes. The EA also has continuous monitoring in place for water quality at over 200 sites at any given time.</p><p> </p><p>It is critical that we continue to build and maintain a robust evidence base which strengthens our understanding of the state of the environment, and the pressures and risks impacting it. This allows action to be taken in the right places to improve the environment when needed.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 24/05/2024 12:31:46 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1719127

registered interest
date	17/05/2024
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	Drinking Water and Sewage: Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address public concerns concerning (1) the quality of drinking water, and (2) the discharge of untreated waste into the sea, rivers and lakes.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL4765
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>It is important not to conflate the quality of raw water and drinking water. Drinking water quality in England is of an exceptionally high standard and among the best in the world. Compliance with drinking water quality standards has been consistently high for a number of years, with a rate of 99.97% in 2022.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published the Plan for Water in April 2023 – our comprehensive strategy for managing our water environment. It brings together the significant steps we have already taken with a suite of new policy actions. It aims to change the way that we manage water, improve water quality, and continue to secure our water supply through increased investment, stronger regulation and enforcement.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is clear that the amount of sewage discharged into our waters is unacceptable. The Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP) sets out stringent targets to protect people and the environment; and prioritises for early action areas used for bathing, for growing shellfish or with high ecological importance. The SODRP will drive £60 billion investment between now and 2050 to improve storm overflows, the largest infrastructure programme in water company history.</p><p> </p><p>We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, the regulators will not hesitate to hold companies to account.</p><p> </p><p>The recent cryptosporidium outbreak in Brixham is extremely unfortunate and it is a horrific experience for the people who have been made ill. The Drinking Water Inspectorate is actively investigating the cause, extent and actions of the company, and will take actions including enforcement action in due course to prevent this type of event happening again.</p><p> </p><p>Thankfully, these events are very rare, and elsewhere consumers should continue to have confidence in their high quality drinking water.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 24/05/2024 13:29:52 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1718790

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
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 and Food: Wellingborough
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 encourage (a) farmers and (b) food producers to use sustainable farming methods in Wellingborough constituency.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Gen Kitchen
uin	26822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>Defra is investing in sustainable farming methods, in the Wellingborough constituency and across England, through our environmental land management schemes, in particular the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). The SFI aims to support the environment and food production, and it rewards farmers for practices that will help to produce food sustainably and protect the environment at the same time, while also providing them a reliable income for doing so. That is because we know that food production and nature preservation go hand in hand. Those practices will help to look after farms in the short and long term by improving soil health or mitigating the impact of extreme weather.</p><p> </p><p>The aim is for the scheme to be flexible for farmers in both the actions that they can take and the land on which they farm. Rather than prescribing what farmers must do, they should have a menu from which to choose what works best for their farm and to their advantage. That is helping those farmers to make their businesses more sustainable.</p><p> </p><p>What is more, Defra is listening to and acting upon farmer feedback about environmental land management schemes. In 2024, we are increasing payment rates for the SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS) by an average of 10, increasing the number of actions on offer in our environmental land management schemes with up to 50 new actions, making schemes more flexible and easier to access, and continuing to prioritise an ‘advise and prevent’ approach across schemes and regulation, which will make things fairer for all farmers participating in schemes. We will begin to offer SFI and new CS Mid Tier and Higher Tier agreements through rolling application windows this summer with the first agreements starting from the autumn. As a result, applicants will get agreements quicker and earlier than the current annual cycle for CS agreements. These, and other changes, will make it easier for our schemes to slot into farm businesses, providing more money for farmers deliver change and ensure we get the scale and ambition we need to positively impact the environment.</p><p> </p><p>We have already seen strong demand for SFI agreements, with 22,209 applications received and 21,243 agreement offers issued across England.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 21/05/2024 08:52:34 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	5011 label Biography information for Gen Kitchen

1718792

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
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	Tree Planting: Wellingborough
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 data his Department holds on the number of trees planted in Wellingborough constituency since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Gen Kitchen
uin	26823
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2024 answer text <p>The Forestry Commission publishes statistics on new planting of woodland, and trees outside woodland, in England. These can be found in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forestry-commission-corporate-plan-performance-indicators" target="_blank">Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators</a>. These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has not set specific targets for individual constituencies and the statistic the hon. Member has requested is not currently available.</p><p> </p><p>Our England Trees Action Plan has kickstarted tree planting over the past 3 years. We reported over 3,600 hectares of new woodland and trees outside of woodland planted in 22/23. This represents the highest woodland planting rate for nearly a decade and an almost 40% increase on the previous year. The figures for planting in 23/24 are scheduled to be published as part of Official Statistics in June 2024.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 22/05/2024 12:43:57 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	5011 label Biography information for Gen Kitchen

1718793

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
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	Motor Vehicles: Wellingborough
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 help prevent off-road vehicles used for recreational purposes from causing damage to (a) farmland and (b) the countryside in Wellingborough constituency.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Gen Kitchen
uin	26824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2024 answer text <p>We recognise that these unsealed routes often provide essential vehicular access for residents and businesses without causing damage or disturbance. Whilst many users make use of their rights in a responsible way, we are aware of disturbance caused by excessive use of off-road motor vehicles on some unsealed routes. We consulted on banning vehicles from green lanes as part of the 2019 Landscapes Review, but a legislative ban to remove vehicular rights was not supported by the public. We believe that the current Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process is legally robust enough to protect these routes on farmland with carefully targeted local action to protect sensitive areas, while allowing vehicle users to responsibly enjoy the countryside. It is the responsibility of local authorities to issue Traffic Regulations Orders to protect sensitive areas where necessary.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 22/05/2024 13:14:27 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	5011 label Biography information for Gen Kitchen

1718801

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Motor Vehicles
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 and what proportion of (a) cars and (b) other vehicles used by his Department were made in Britain.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	26642
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government Car Service (GCS) provides vehicles to a number of Government departments. Due to logistical and operational reasons the type of vehicles deployed at each department can vary on a daily or weekly basis. The GCS fleet currently has 122 vehicles, 58 (48%) of which are vehicles made in Britain.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 23/05/2024 16:26:59 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1718803

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
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	Swimming: Safety
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 press release entitled Record number of new bathing sites get the go ahead, published on 13 May 2024, whether the new wild swimming spots will be safe to swim in 365 days a year.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Charlotte Nichols
uin	26782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The current Bathing Water Regulations 2013 aim to drive improvement to water quality at sites where people swim, by putting in place duties on the Environment Agency, local authorities, sewerage undertakers and others to investigate pollution incidents at bathing water sites so that remedial measures can be put in place, and by encouraging collaboration around these issues.</p><p> </p><p>This year, Defra will consult on reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. The proposed changes will drive work to improve bathing water quality, enhance monitoring, and enable more flexibility around the dates of the bathing water monitoring season – the current bathing water monitoring offer will be maintained as a minimum. These changes will allow us to increase monitoring outside of the bathing water season in the future, to better embed water quality improvements within processes and to prevent automatic de-designation of existing bathing water sites.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 13:41:46 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4799 label Biography information for Charlotte Nichols

1718848

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
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	Solid Fuels: 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, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2024 to Question 21619, what his planned timetable is for (a) completing the Emission Factors for Domestic Solid Fuels Work Package 1 project and (b) assessing the implications for his policies of the outcomes from that project; and whether he plans to publish that assessment.
tabling member constituency	Cleethorpes
tabling member printed	Martin Vickers
uin	26671
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>The Emission Factors for Domestic Solid Fuels Project – Work Package 1 Report was published on 5 January, there are two remaining work packages which are expected to be completed to feed into the annual publication of the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory in February 2025.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to undertake regular monitoring of emission sources of air pollutants to inform future policy. There will be an assessment of the implications for policies following the completion of the whole Emissions Factors for Domestic Solid Fuels Project. We would not expect this assessment to be published.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 24/05/2024 11:51:41 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	3957 label Biography information for Martin Vickers

1718903

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
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 Environment
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 help support coastal habitats.
tabling member constituency	Southport
tabling member printed	Damien Moore
uin	26729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>Coastal habitats play a crucial role in absorbing carbon dioxide, providing flood defence, supporting fisheries, enhancing water quality, and contributing to biodiversity and well-being.</p><p> </p><p>The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out our focus on enhancing nature in marine and coastal environments, including the steps we are taking to restore and protect marine habitats and marine wildlife.</p><p> </p><p>These include delivering the UK Marine Strategy, which sets our ambition for Good Environmental Status (GES) across our seas. To help achieve GES we have created a series of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to protect and restore our marine biodiversity. We are focused on strengthening the protection of this extensive network of 178 sites covering 40% of English waters, which represents the range of species and habitats found in our seas.</p><p> </p><p>To complement the MPA network, the first three Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in English waters came into force on 5 July 2023. HPMAs will provide the highest levels of protection in our seas, allowing nature to fully recover to a more natural state and helping the wider ecosystem, including coastal habitats, to thrive.</p><p> </p><p>We actively invest in coastal habitat restoration, allocating significant funding to protect and enhance these vital ecosystems. For example, last year Defra announced a £640,000 funding commitment which is supporting vital restoration and creation of blue carbon habitats in the UK. The Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative aims to reverse centuries of coastal habitat decline by restoring seagrass meadows, saltmarsh and native oyster reefs to bring benefits to people and nature.</p><p> </p><p>In February we awarded £25 million funding to 40 schemes around England for improving flood resilience through a new natural flood management programme.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund has supported a range of nature recovery projects across England, some which have included saltmarsh and seagrass restoration. Defra is also funding coastal and marine restoration projects under its flagship £37 million Marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment R&amp;D programme.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/05/2024 14:46:33 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4669 label Biography information for Damien Moore