Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - 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 evidence of Alan Law, Deputy Chief Executive, Natural England, to the Built Environment Select Committee on 20 June that “there is a less onerous regulatory regime in place currently in relation to agricultural source pollution” than that imposed on the construction sector; and what are the reasons for this.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is taking a range of steps across the agriculture and water industry sectors to reduce water pollution at source to protect the environment.
We are committed to having a fair and proportionate regulatory regime for agriculture. This means applying the polluter pays principle in a way that ensures that farming and food production can be resilient and sustainable over the long term while also protecting the environment. We committed through the Environmental Improvement Plan and Plan for Water to review our farming regulations to ensure they are fit for purpose for our environmental and farming ambitions.
Farms are subject to robust regulations on agricultural activities which could cause environmental harm, including through the Farming Rules for Water and the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations. These set out clear standards and a baseline that farmers must comply with. Many requirements, including those for slurry storage and nutrient application, require significant investment from farmers to meet.
We have increased funding to the Environment Agency for 50 new farm inspectors to ensure that agricultural diffuse pollution regulations are followed. This enabled them to conduct over 4,000 farm inspections in the last fiscal year. We launched the Slurry Infrastructure grant in 2022 to support farmers to bring their capacity up to six months of covered slurry storage which allows farmers to manage their resources while protecting the environment. We have nearly trebled our first-round budget to £34 million, with round two due to launch this autumn.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the introduction of the charge on single-use plastic carrier bags has resulted in a reduction of bags used; and if so, by how much.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In October 2015, the Government introduced the mandatory minimum 5p charge for single use carrier bags (SUCBs) in England on all large retailers to tackle the negative impacts associated with their use on the environment, wildlife and society.
The policy has resulted in an 86% reduction in the usage of SUCBs by large retailers. This represents approximately 15.6 billion fewer bags in circulation.
The Regulations require retailers with more than 250 staff to charge a minimum of 5p and report data on their annual sales of SUCBs. Those retailers are encouraged to donate the proceeds of the charge (after deducting VAT and other reasonable costs) to good causes such as charities or community groups and to voluntarily report that data. Our analysis shows that since the charge was introduced approximately £146 million has been donated to a variety of good causes covering the arts, education, environment, health, heritage and sports as well as local causes chosen by customers or staff.
The Government is currently consulting on extending the charge to all retailers and increasing the minimum charge to 10p.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what steps they are taking to monitor the use of funds derived from the introduction of the charge on single-use plastic carrier bags, and (2) whether individual businesses are required to report on the amounts raised and donated from this source.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In October 2015, the Government introduced the mandatory minimum 5p charge for single use carrier bags (SUCBs) in England on all large retailers to tackle the negative impacts associated with their use on the environment, wildlife and society.
The policy has resulted in an 86% reduction in the usage of SUCBs by large retailers. This represents approximately 15.6 billion fewer bags in circulation.
The Regulations require retailers with more than 250 staff to charge a minimum of 5p and report data on their annual sales of SUCBs. Those retailers are encouraged to donate the proceeds of the charge (after deducting VAT and other reasonable costs) to good causes such as charities or community groups and to voluntarily report that data. Our analysis shows that since the charge was introduced approximately £146 million has been donated to a variety of good causes covering the arts, education, environment, health, heritage and sports as well as local causes chosen by customers or staff.
The Government is currently consulting on extending the charge to all retailers and increasing the minimum charge to 10p.