Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the harmful impact of commercial fishing in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) Marine Protected Area (MPA), designated by the SGSSI Government in 2012 and strengthened in 2013 and 2019, aims to conserve the rich marine diversity and provide the framework for management and research. The zone covers 1.24 million km2. Fishing is highly regulated and carried out in a way that protects the marine ecosystem.
Bottom trawling is prohibited throughout. Longline fishing is limited to depths of between 700 and 2,250 metres, restricted to 6 per cent of the MPA. Toothfish and krill fishing is only permitted during four winter months to reduce the impact on seabirds, penguins, seals and whales. No take zones, where all fishing activity is prohibited, cover 283,000km2 and include the most biodiverse regions of the seabed.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether existing management measures in place for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are sufficient to protect that marine ecosystem.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) is currently undertaking the second 5-year review of its Marine Protected Area (MPA). The review is considering the effectiveness of the current MPA measures, including whether the underpinning scientific research and monitoring is sufficient, particularly in light of climate change, and whether effective monitoring and surveillance capacity is in place. The review will determine whether additional measures are required to achieve the stated MPA objectives. GSGSSI is committed to reporting on its review by early next year.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to (1) implement a national framework for the licensing of land for geothermal drilling, and (2) streamline permissions to enable geothermal drilling to take place.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are currently no plans to license and streamline geothermal drilling, however, Officials will review the case for a comprehensive geothermal licensing regime as the sector develops. The Government is pleased to see that three geothermal power projects were successful in this year’s contracts for difference auction.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to developing a publicly accessible database on the UK’s subsurface to optimise understanding of it.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The subsurface enables a wide range of essential services that underpin our economy and society. The Government continues to invest to develop our understanding of the subsurface, for example:
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to the Policy design features for the car and van zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate consultation, which ran from 7 April to 10 June.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Responses to this consultation are being analysed and the Government will publish its response, and a full regulatory proposal and cost benefit analysis, in due course. The Government remains committed to targets entering into force from 01 January 2024.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take, if any, to meet the Fisheries Act 2020 ecosystem objective, particularly the monitoring and mitigation of sensitive species by catch, in the absence of substantial observer coverage and Remote Electronic Monitoring onboard English fishing vessels.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as dolphins and seabirds, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. The way the “ecosystem” and “bycatch” objectives in the Fisheries Act 2020 will be delivered through policies across the UK has been set out in the draft Joint Fisheries Statement, which is out for public consultation until 12 April.
Since 2020, Defra has funded Clean Catch UK, a research programme which is developing and trialling a range of bycatch monitoring and mitigation measures in Cornwall (a known high-risk area for sensitive species bycatch). This programme has developed a bycatch self-reporting mobile application validated by observers and electronic monitoring and an online ‘Bycatch Mitigation Hub’ with information on different approaches to reduce bycatch. In addition, we are working with the fishing industry to trial various innovative technologies to reduce cetacean bycatch. The government will continue to build on the work of Clean Catch to improve our understanding of bycatch and implement effective mitigation measures to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch.
The UK government funds a comprehensive and well-respected bycatch monitoring programme which provides essential observer data on incidents of sensitive species bycatch. The programme focuses primarily on gear types with a high expected or known risk of sensitive species bycatch. A new contract for the bycatch monitoring programme is expected to begin in April 2022.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the delay to building new houses caused by uncertainty about how to mitigate against the production of phosphate and nitrate nutrients; and what steps they are taking, if any, to tackle this issue.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We have not made an assessment of the duration of delays to new development caused by uncertainty over nutrient mitigation. The Government is committed to delivering the homes this country needs and is striving to level up all parts of the country. The Minister for Housing and Minister for the Environment co-chair the nutrients taskforce which draws on input across government including Natural England and the Environment Agency. This taskforce works to ensure a clear action plan is in place, focusing on solutions for supporting housebuilding to resume without compromising the condition of Protected Sites. This includes work with water companies and regulators, who have an important role to play to tackle nutrient pollution and support the building of new and sustainable developments. As set out in ‘The Benefits of Brexit’ we are also considering how habitats regulations could be amended to help address problems with nutrient pollution.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have increased hydropower licence fees for run-of-river schemes by 895 per cent since 2016; and how this aligns with their ambition to generate more renewable energy.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for managing water resources in England to ensure there is a sustainable supply of water for the public, businesses and the environment. This work is funded by licence fees charged to businesses which abstract or impound water, including hydroelectric power (HEP) operators.
The EA is proposing to reform its water resourcing charging scheme from April 2022 so that the scheme is fairer and recovers the full costs from customers for the services they require. The EA will continue to invest in the key foundations that deliver water resource management as well as in maintaining and operating infrastructure, modernising the licensing system and protecting water stressed catchments, particularly chalk.
On average it costs the EA nearly £13,000 to assess a HEP permit application due to the significant, wide-ranging, and complex risks these schemes can pose to the environment. The EA currently charges £1,500 for HEP permit applications, which means HEP applications are currently subsidised by fees paid by other businesses. To fully recover the costs of the services HEP operators require, the EA is proposing to change HEP permit application fees, depending on the volume of water required. Unlike most other abstractors, HEP operators generating less than 5 megawatts will continue to be exempt from annual subsistence fees. The charges for HEP permit applications were last increased in 2014.
The EA ran a public consultation on the proposed charges between 18 August and 10 November 2021. It is now analysing all consultation responses to consider whether any changes to the proposals are necessary. It will publish a response document within 12 weeks of the consultation closing.
The Government acknowledges the valuable contribution of hydropower to the UK energy mix over many decades, and it is important that it operates in a way that safeguards the environment.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with reference to the recent Bilateral Aid Review, how they intend to use UK aid to enable smallholder farmers to connect to local, regional and global markets.
Answered by Lord Bates
Increasing the inclusion of smallholder farmers in markets and improving their incomes sustainably are key objectives of DFID’s Agricultural Policy.
DFID will deliver this by improving smallholder capacity, productivity and access to local, regional and global markets and by strengthening the markets and businesses that trade with smallholders.
For example, our work with AgDevCo is improving smallholder incomes and market access, benefiting 1.7 million people in smallholder families by 2019.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with reference to the 2015 Conceptual Framework on Agriculture and the recent Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews, how they intend to use UK aid to facilitate transitions from subsistence agriculture to off-farm job opportunities in rural economies.
Answered by Lord Bates
Increasing the inclusion of smallholder farmers in markets and improving their incomes sustainably are key objectives of DFID’s Agricultural Policy.
DFID is helping poor farmers to increase their incomes and transition into more productive livelihoods. In Burma, for example, the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund has supported rural transitions for over 1.63 million poor farmers since 2010.
In future, DFID will examine opportunities to further improve smallholder capacity, productivity and access to local, regional and global markets and strengthen the markets and businesses that trade with smallholders.