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1719562

registered interest
date	21/05/2024
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	Bamboos: Weed 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, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to restrict the planting of monopodial bamboo.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	27300
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The “bamboo” family is a collection of more than 1500 species, some of which are considered invasive.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is aware that, if left uncontrolled, bamboo can in some cases become challenging to manage. It is advised that a physical barrier is used to prevent the uncontrolled spread of bamboo. Where the growth of bamboo poses an issue, the Government recommends that this is addressed by cooperation between owners and affected parties.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Government recognises that many bamboo species are vigorous and fast-growing, they are not currently thought to pose a significant threat to wildlife or to socio-economic interests nationally. Defra utilises horizon scanning exercises to identify potentially invasive species. As a result, a risk assessment of Black Bamboo (<em>Phyllostachys nigra</em>) was recently undertaken, however this showed the species to be of low risk to the country and therefore no further action was taken.</p><p> </p><p>Although the Government are not currently considering changing the legal status of one, or any, of the species of bamboo currently found in Great Britain, we keep matters such as these under review and continue to carry out horizon scanning and risk assessments for potential threats.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer grouped question UIN 26974 question first answered 23/05/2024 09:35:28 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1719577

registered interest
date	21/05/2024
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	Waste: Crime
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 steps he has taken to help tackle waste crime in rural areas.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	27267
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, and we are preparing significant reforms to continue to increase the pressure on illegal waste operators. Reform of the waste exemptions regime will close loopholes and prevent exemptions from being misused to permit risky and illegal activity. Our planned electronic waste tracking reforms will make it harder than ever to mis-identify waste or dispose of it inappropriately. Planned changes to the Carriers, Brokers and Dealers licensing regime will modernise licensing and make it harder still for rogue operators to escape detection. These will come in addition to measures in the Environment Act 2021 which gives agencies stronger powers of entry and access to evidence in prosecuting waste crime as well as providing the Environment Agency with the ability to recover costs of investigation, intervention and enforcement at illegal or non-compliant waste sites.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also launched the Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC). It brings together the Environment Agency, HM Revenue &amp; Customs, the National Crime Agency, the police, waste regulators from across the UK and other operational partners to share intelligence and tasking to disrupt and prevent serious organised waste crime. Since its launch the JUWC has worked with 131 partner organisations and engaged in 253 multi-agency days of action, which have resulted in 180 associated arrests by other agencies.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside this we are working with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, to share good practice including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. We are also currently funding a post within the National Rural Crime Unit to explore how the police’s role in tacking fly-tipping can be optimised, with a focus on rural areas.</p><p> </p><p>Across three rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme we have now awarded nearly £2.2 million to help more than 50 councils tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots, including in rural areas, such as by installing CCTV and raising awareness of the household waste duty of care. Case studies from completed projects have been published so that others can learn from successful interventions.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 14:26:52 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1719589

registered interest
date	21/05/2024
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	Flood Control: 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, how much funding has been allocated to each of the devolved institutions to help tackle flooding in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	27366
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>Flood defence spending is a devolved matter so questions about flood management spending and policy should be addressed directly to the devolved administrations.  Defra does not have information on devolved administration spending.</p><p> </p><p>The Barnett formula is applied in the normal way to any new funding provided to UK Government departments when the funding is allocated to those departments’ budgets. ‘Barnett’ funding to Devolved Administrations is not ring fenced.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 12:43:48 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1719630

registered interest
date	21/05/2024
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	Hornets
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 17 May 2024 to Question 25464, whether her Department has plans in place to move from a rapid response to a management phase for the Asian hornet, in the context of their growing presence in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	27314
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Asian hornet (<em>Vespa velutina</em>) is not currently considered established in the UK and therefore is still being addressed via rapid response measures. The Asian hornet <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalbeeunit.com%2Fassets%2FPDFs%2F2_Diseases_and_Pests%2FAsian-Hornet%2F2023-01-03_Asian_hornet_contingency_plan_Public_version_English-AC.pdf&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7Cc91427138ce5472f8db308dc7a47c122%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638519695828819352%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=rhuOR4NNosNv3Qhn3m4vTci7W9Vzl1TQlE%2FPtgF6jmM%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">contingency plan</a> covers the action that will be taken against Asian hornets with the NBU responding to credible sightings to locate and destroy any nests.</p><p> </p><p>For a species to be considered established, there should be evidence of a reproducing population having been present in the wild for a significant number of generations, that is considered viable in the long term without any human intervention. Whilst there has been presence of overwintered hornets produced from a nest found and destroyed late last year, it is not considered to be strong evidence of an established population.</p><p> </p><p>Defra will continue to follow an eradication strategy against Asian hornets until this becomes unviable at which point a change in approach will be required.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/05/2024 14:27:13 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1719894

registered interest
date	21/05/2024
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	Thames Flood Barrier
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is the life expectancy of the Thames Barrier; and whether there are any plans to alter the current pattern or frequency of use in order to manage its expected lifespan.
tabling member printed	Lord Lee of Trafford
uin	HL4817
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Thames Barrier forms part of a complex system of assets along the Thames and its tributaries to manage the risk of flooding in London. The barrier is expected to provide the required standard of protection out to 2070 based on projected rates of sea levels rise and with significant investment to upgrade and improve the mechanical, electrical, forecasting and supporting systems.</p><p> </p><p>The Thames Barrier needs to be maintained to ensure its operational reliability. Closing it too frequently could reduce its reliability, because it would make it difficult to maintain to the required standards, as well as negatively impacting on shipping. As such the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan sets out a strategy to manage the frequency of closures and its lifespan. This includes implementing measures to manage non-tidal flooding (i.e., flooding driven by high river flows coming down the Thames) in west London without relying on the Thames Barrier by 2035, as well as raising defences upstream of the barrier by 2050 to allow higher tides upriver, thereby reducing the number of times the barrier needs to close.</p><p> </p><p>The Thames Estuary Plan takes an adaptation pathways approach, planning for a range of future climate scenarios with a light touch review every five years and a comprehensive review every 10 years. At present all end of century options for upgrading or replacing the Thames Barrier remain available, with a decision needed by 2040 so that an option can be in place by 2070.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 23/05/2024 15:04:36 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	1132 label Biography information for Lord Lee of Trafford

1719186

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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	Water Companies: Nationalisation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have made for the nationalisation of water companies.
tabling member printed	Lord Sikka
uin	HL4793
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>Water companies are commercial entities. However, as you would expect, the Government prepares for a range of scenarios across its regulated industries – including water – as any government would.</p><p> </p><p>The Defra Secretary of State and Ofwat (with consent of the Secretary of State) have the power to request the court to place a company in Special Administration Regime so that its business can either be rescued or transferred as a going concern to new owners.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 23/05/2024 14:34:36 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	4885 label Biography information for Lord Sikka

1719262

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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	Biodiversity
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 publish the (a) members, (b) terms of reference, (c) agendas and (d) summaries of meetings of his Department's Biodiversity Expert Committee.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	27007
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Biodiversity Expert Committee is a subgroup of Defra’s Science Advisory Council; and members, terms of reference and meeting notes will be published on their website in due course. Upcoming agendas are not published as they can be reactive.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/05/2024 14:23:25 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1719364

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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: Greater London
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 planned timeframe is for the completion of the Environment Agency (a) works and (b) removal of scaffolding located by the bridge on the Silkstream on Colindale Avenue in Colindale.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	27015
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Environment Agency is aware of the scaffolding next to the bridge over the Silk Stream on Colindale Avenue. This scaffolding is not associated with any Environment Agency work. The Environment Agency has been in contact with the third party who arranged for the scaffolding to be erected and has asked them to remove it. As the scaffolding and sandbags appear to still be in place, this will be followed up to expedite the removal.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 12:37:10 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1719384

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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 Protection: 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 progress has been made on the Environment Improvement Plan’s objective to secure £500 million of private finance for nature restoration by 2027.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	27016
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government has set a target to mobilise over £500m per year of private finance into nature’s recovery in England by 2027, rising to over £1 billion by 2030. We are making progress towards the target by supporting the development and integrity of nature markets through the British Standards Institution Nature Investment Standards Programme; delivering Biodiversity Net Gain; committing £30 million of investment into a blended finance Big Nature Impact Fund; helping farmers with advice and support on accessing nature markets; and increasing the supply of nature investment projects through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund.</p><p> </p><p>We recently published an update on progress on our Nature Markets Framework, and we will consult on further policy interventions needed to support the growth of high integrity voluntary carbon and nature markets in the coming months.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/05/2024 14:18:10 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1719385

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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	Plastic Bags: VAT
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 much Value Added Tax has the charge for single-use carrier bags raised since its introduction.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	27017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The single-use carrier bag charged has generated over £72 million in Value Added Tax since its introduction in October 2015 to April 2023. Data from April 2023 to April 2024 is currently being requested from retailers and is not available yet.</p><p> </p><p>Full data on the single-use carrier bag charge, including VAT figures, can be found online at <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.data.gov.uk%2Fdataset%2F682843a8-168c-4056-b6fe-741161a39f60%2Fsingle-use-plastic-carrier-bags-charge-data-for-england&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJoseph.Shen%40defra.gov.uk%7C1c8d230dea614b0793aa08dc79799e77%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638518810475434997%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=vYhh4Z2XhpLves16%2FUzmuONs%2FNwxAqKTf7vYEz%2FRqiI%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Single-use plastic carrier bags charge data for England - data.gov.uk</a>.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 12:33:26 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord