Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many businesses applied for a Business Recovery Grant following Storm Babet flooding in October 2023; and how many of those applications were (a) approved and (b) rejected in each local authority area.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local authorities are responsible for delivering the scheme in line with the guidance provided by Department for Business and Trade as administrators of the Business Recovery Grant (BRG) scheme.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department's National Policy Statements for Energy Infrastructure, published on 22 November 2023, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the change in definition of critical national priority on protected (a) habitats and (b) species.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has published an Appraisal of Sustainability of the National Policy Statements. This assesses Critical National Priority against several themes, including the natural environment, and includes proposed monitoring to examine effects predicted through the Appraisal of Sustainability against the actual effects of the National Policy Statements once implemented. An accompanying Habitats Regulations Assessment has assessed the likely significant impacts of the National Policy Statements on protected sites, and the habitats and species associated with these sites.
The published Post Adoption Statement also addresses amendments to the National Policy Statements, informed by the Appraisal of Sustainability findings.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 publish the business case considered by the trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for moving the herbarium to the Thames Valley Science Park.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No final funding decision has been made in relation to the new herbarium.
Business cases are not routinely published.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the level of (a) damage and (b) loss posed to the contents of the herbarium at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by a relocation.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No final funding decision has been made in relation to the new herbarium.
Kew have advised that they have an active programme of safely and professionally shipping specimens all over the world; moving the specimens will be in line with the established and ongoing practice.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate (a) his Department has and (b) the Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have made of the energy costs of moving the herbarium to the Thames Valley Science Park.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No final funding decision has been made in relation to the new herbarium.
The energy costs of the new herbarium building will continue to be considered with high environmental standards built into the project brief.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 publish the Equality Impact Assessment relating to the move of the herbarium at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to the Thames Valley Science Park.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No final funding decision has been made in relation to the new herbarium.
An equality impact assessment will be undertaken.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the likelihood of other countries asking for elements of the herbarium at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to be repatriated in the event of a move to the Thames Valley Science Park.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No final funding decision has been made in relation to the new herbarium.
Kew Trustees do not have the power to give away or otherwise dispose of any object vested in them and comprised in the collection except under very limited circumstances as prescribed in their governing instrument, the National Heritage Act 1983. Kew is working at pace to digitise the estimated 7 million herbarium specimens by 2026/7 in order that they will be immediately and freely available online to researchers worldwide. Physical specimens will remain accessible at the Kew Herbarium regardless of location.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made towards developing a new regulatory regime to be implemented once cross-compliance ends in 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has been working to ensure we deliver fair, effective regulation of farming and maintain our important environmental and animal health standards. All Defra group regulators have been involved in creating a better shared regulatory approach. Recent improvements include:
As part of the Shared Regulatory Approach, we have worked with:
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to include continuation of the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier in the upcoming Agricultural Transition Plan update.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will shortly publish the Agricultural Transition Plan update and it will include reference to the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to re-introduce environmental protections following the end of cross-compliance in January 2024.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is an existing and ongoing strong domestic legal framework for protecting the environment, which will continue when cross compliance ends. We have recently consulted about introducing new hedgerow protections and we will publish the outcome shortly. Otherwise, it has been assessed that the gaps between cross compliance rules and regulatory requirements in regard to water, soil and stone walls are either mitigated by regulation such as through generalised provisions in Farming Rules for Water and the Water Resources Act, guidance like the Code of Practice for the use of Plant Protection Products, and standards in the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme. As a result of these, we do not believe farmers will lower standards and there will not be significant negative environmental impacts in these areas.