Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has produced guidance for operators of sewage processing plants on the use of covers in areas of high population density.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The operation of sewage processing plants is a matter for water companies who must comply with any permit conditions that have been set.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the size of the global market for recycled rigid plastics; and what steps his Department is taking to develop (a) recycling capabilities of local authorities and (b) the global market for recycled rigid plastics.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In December 2018, the UK Government published its Resources and Waste Strategy. This sets out how we will achieve a circular economy for plastic and achieve our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Our goal is to maximise resource efficiency and minimise waste (including plastic) - by following the principles of the waste hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – to keep plastic in circulation for longer. We will do this by making producers more responsible for the plastic they make with our incoming Collection and Packaging Reforms.
Simpler Recycling will make recycling clearer and more consistent across England. Local authorities will be required to collect the same materials from households in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic: paper and card; food waste; garden waste by March 2026 (with plastic film collections being introduced by March 2027). This will reduce confusion with recycling to improve recycling rates, ensuring there is more recycled material in the products we buy, and the UK recycling industry will grow. As well as Simpler Recycling, we are introducing Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and a Deposit Return Scheme.
To tackle the use of virgin plastics, the Government brought in the Plastic Packaging Tax in April 2022, a tax of over £200 per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic. We have since increased the tax to £217.85 per tonne and will continue to monitor the situation and adjust accordingly.
There is a growing global demand for recycled plastics, including recycled rigid plastics. For example, IMARC estimates the size of the global plastic recycling market in 2023 to be $42bn and projects it to grow to $62bn by 2032.
With 35% plastic content, the Government earlier this year consulted on measures to reduce the 155,000 tonnes of small electricals that are thrown in the bin annually. The government response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has produced guidance for operators of sewage processing plants on the use of Nereda reactors in areas of high population density.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The operation of sewage processing plants is a matter for water companies who must comply with any permit conditions that have been set. The use of Nereda reactors, a particular type of wastewater treatment process, must be in accordance with any relevant permit conditions.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of clean air zones on levels of air pollution.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The latest air quality data was published in September 2023 as part of the 2022 National Compliance assessment, and is publicly available on the DEFRA UK Air website at the following link: Air Pollution in the UK report - Defra, UK. The 2022 Evaluation of Local NO2 Plans, published in February 2024, provides information regarding the impacts of clean air zones, and is publicly available on the DEFRA website at the following link: Evaluation of Local NO2 Plans - AQ0851 (defra.gov.uk)
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who is responsible for defining the content of storm overflow discharges.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Storm overflows are permitted by the Environment Agency (EA) following our published guidance. Discharges from storm overflows as are referred to as “storm sewage”, which in most part is the combination of “foul sewage” (domestic and trade wastewater) and “rainfall runoff”.
Under the Environment Act 2021, sewerage undertakers will be required to monitor sewerage assets and the impact they have on the local environment. In April 2023, we consulted on Continuous Water Quality Monitoring and Event Duration Monitoring. Our consultation response published in September 2023 detailed our plans for a new water quality monitoring programme, which will place a duty on water companies to publish near real time information on the impact of sewage discharges.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to test storm overflow water to ensure that it is accurately defined.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Storm overflows are permitted by the Environment Agency (EA) following our published guidance. Discharges from storm overflows as are referred to as “storm sewage”, which in most part is the combination of “foul sewage” (domestic and trade wastewater) and “rainfall runoff”.
Under the Environment Act 2021, sewerage undertakers will be required to monitor sewerage assets and the impact they have on the local environment. In April 2023, we consulted on Continuous Water Quality Monitoring and Event Duration Monitoring. Our consultation response published in September 2023 detailed our plans for a new water quality monitoring programme, which will place a duty on water companies to publish near real time information on the impact of sewage discharges.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason a storm overflow that is at least 95% rainwater is defined as raw sewage.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Storm overflows are permitted by the Environment Agency (EA) following our published guidance. Discharges from storm overflows as are referred to as “storm sewage”, which in most part is the combination of “foul sewage” (domestic and trade wastewater) and “rainfall runoff”.
Under the Environment Act 2021, sewerage undertakers will be required to monitor sewerage assets and the impact they have on the local environment. In April 2023, we consulted on Continuous Water Quality Monitoring and Event Duration Monitoring. Our consultation response published in September 2023 detailed our plans for a new water quality monitoring programme, which will place a duty on water companies to publish near real time information on the impact of sewage discharges.
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, when the eligibility criteria for the Property Flood Resilience repair grant scheme changed from 25 affected properties to 50; and whether his Department made an assessment of the potential impact of changing the eligibility criteria on the number of properties that would no longer be eligible before making the change.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The activation of the schemes in 2019 and 2020 was based on a qualifying criteria of 25 homes per local authority (including District level).
Feedback from local authorities following those schemes suggested that some reported that they missed out on financial support under the 2019/20 activations of the FRF because they did not meet the 25 flooded homes threshold, but they would have qualified if all flooded properties (both domestic and commercial) were considered eligible, which disadvantage small rural district authorities due to property density in those areas.
As a result, the FRF was revised in 2021 and published on 28 October, recognising these issues. Eligibility was to be based on flooded properties, both domestic and commercial, across LLFA geographies.
The 50 flooded property threshold at LLFA area was introduced as part of the FRF and PFR Grant activation in respect of Storm Babet in October 2023, and has resulted in properties in many districts that would have been excluded under the previous threshold being able to participate.
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, what assessment he has made of the impact of maintaining the maximum flood resilience repair grant at £5000 on (a) levels of take up and (b) the type of property covered.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
When activated, the Defra PFR Repair Grant Scheme provides for up to £5000 as a contribution towards making a property more flood resilient. It is intended as a one-off payment to assist households and business to put place in measures that will provide greater resilience to future floods. It is not intended as compensation for flooding. Property owners can choose to add to the available grant to implement further PFR measures in their property.
There is a reasonable expectation that property owners will take steps, including having suitable insurance, which may now include an additional up to £10,000 for resilient repairs under the Build Back Better scheme.
The level of grant is kept under review and for the recent activations of the scheme we have increased the amount that can be claimed as part of the £5,000 grant to enable PFR surveys to be undertaken.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it remains his policy to increase Defra host funding for catchment partnerships.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Last year we announced in the Plan for Water to increase funding for catchment groups, to deliver tailored long-term catchment action plans to improve all water bodies in England. This remains the government’s policy.
The around 100 Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) Partnerships across England are critical partners in delivering many of the Government’s goals in the Environment Improvement Plan, including clean and plentiful water. At present the government annually provides approximately £1.7m funding to Catchment Partnerships as well as the CaBa National Support Group to deliver water outcomes on the ground. We also provide additional funding to Catchment Partnerships through the Water Environment Improvement Fund to deliver projects on the ground.
Additionally, earlier this month Defra launched the Water Restoration Fund, to which eligible Catchment Partnerships may apply for funding for projects to restore and enhance the water environment, using environmental fines and penalties collected from water and sewerage companies.