Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will undertake an environmental impact assessment of Southern Waters policy on sewage discharges into (a) Langstone Harbour and (b) the Solent.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Sewage discharges by Southern Water into Langstone Harbour and the Solent are permitted by the Environment Agency. The limits on these permits are informed by environmental impact assessments. If the Environment Agency finds any company breaching the conditions of their permits, they will take action, up to and including prosecution.
The Government’s Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan is driving £60bn between now and 2050 to reduce the use of storm overflows, including those discharging into the Solent and Langstone Harbour.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided through the Air Quality Grant in each constituency in (a) each of the last three years and (b) the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information regarding how much funding has been provided through the Air Quality Grant Scheme over the last three years is available on gov.uk (Air quality grant scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). This includes a breakdown of which local authorities have been successful in being awarded a grant.
Decisions regarding the scheme for the financial year 24/25 have not yet been made.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
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.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
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.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 13 November 2023 to Question 410 on Flood Control: Finance, how much of the £800 million projected investment for the financial year to March 2024 has been spent.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Indications are that all of the £800 million has been spent in 2023/24. The final accounts are subject to audit, and we will be able to confirm actual spend once the audited accounts have been laid before Parliament. The current timeline is early October, but this is subject to change, depending on recess and party conference dates.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the transparency data entitled Defra: spending over £25,000, February 2024, published on 13 May 2024, what the purpose of Project Hazel is; and how much his Department has spent on Project Hazel since 2020.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Project Hazel refers to Capita’s share divestment from Fera Science Ltd, a joint venture with Defra. Defra spent £1.57 million on Project Hazel from 2020.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May to Question 24028 on Import Controls: Disease Control, if he will publish a list of all impact assessments related to the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Analysis has been produced to support relevant legislation in accordance with the Better Regulation Framework. Any further impact assessments required under the Better Regulation Framework will be published on legislation.gov.uk.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he had with food import businesses before implementation of physical checks on (a) animal and (b) plant products entering from the EU.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since the publication of the draft Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) on 5 April 2023, Defra and the UK Government have engaged with stakeholders from across industry, including many in the food supply chain, to inform design and promote readiness.
From publication of the draft, the Government undertook a six-week feedback period to capture input into the design of the BTOM. Defra engaged directly with large trade associations, logistics organisations, border operators and directly with businesses of all sizes to cover a wide range of audience insight, facilitating effective policy design.
After the publication of the final BTOM on 29 August 2023, Defra began an intensive programme of engagement and communications to deliver trader preparedness for both 31 January 2024 and 30 April 2024 milestones. This work included monthly sector focused webinars that are recorded and hosted on YouTube, digestible content leaflets on gov.uk to support traders in preparing, EU focused activity and translations to ensure whole supply chain readiness.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the declining numbers of salmon in national rivers, especially the River Ure.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The assessment of salmon stocks in rivers at a national scale is undertaken by the Environment Agency through a combination of rod catches, automated fish counters and juvenile monitoring programmes.
The focus for salmon stock assessment is focused on the 42 designated principal salmon rivers in England, many of which have significant salmon fisheries still in existence. The River Ure and wider River Ouse catchments are considered to be recovering salmon rivers and consequently assessment of their salmon stock status is primarily based upon angler declared rod catches that provide a useful measure of the improving status of salmon.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they or the Environment Agency are taking steps to support the Yorkshire Dales Salmon Group in stocking the River Ure with salmon; and if not, why.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency wishes to work constructively with both River Ure salmon fishing interests and other interested collaborative partner organisations in developing a well thought out salmon restoration plan for the River Ure that takes account of the need for habitat restoration in combination with a suitably approved hatchery scheme to support salmon population recovery. This is despite there being no conclusive scientific evidence to suggest that the previous Ure salmon stocking programme has had a significant influence on River Ure salmon stock performance.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Environment Agency approved proposals by the Yorkshire Dales Salmon Group to stock the River Ure with young salmon in 2012; if so, whether it still supports that initiative; and if not, on the basis of what evidence.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) gave a time limited approval to the development of a River Ure salmon stocking programme in 2012. Subsequently, the EA reviewed the international scientific evidence on the risks of salmon stocking and revised its guidance for stocking schemes. This revised guidance should be followed to minimise the risks associated with salmon stocking.
The EA is currently working with the Yorkshire Dales Salmon Group to improve its approach to support the continuation of the River Ure salmon stocking programme.