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Written Question
Droughts and Water Supply
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the risk of (a) drought and (b) water scarcity.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

(a) Defra published its Plan for Water 2023 which set out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply in England. The Plan sets out our commitment to a twin track approach to improving water supply resilience, with action to reduce water company leaks and improve water efficiency, alongside investing in new supply infrastructure.

Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years and how drought resilience will be improved. The plans contain proposals for multiple new water resources schemes, including new reservoirs. Water companies also maintain statutory drought plans, which show the actions taken to maintain secure supplies during droughts.

(b) To address water scarcity, the Government has set a new legally binding target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce the use of our public water supply in England by 20% per person by 2038.  To achieve this, we will reduce household water use to 122 litres per person per day, reduce leakage by 37%, and reduce non-household (for example, businesses) water use by 9% by 31 March 2038. This is part of the trajectory to achieving 110 litres per person per day household water use, a 50% reduction in leakage and a 15% reduction in non-household water use by 2050. Our Plan for Water and Environmental Improvement Plan have set out our roadmap to water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, to be delivered over the next decade. This includes developing clear guidance on ‘water positive’ or ‘net zero water’ developments and roles for developers and water companies, including water company incentives. We are also working closely with water companies to increase the supply of water.

In December 2023, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued a Written Ministerial Statement which set out that in areas of serious water stress, where water scarcity is inhibiting the adoption of Local Plans or the granting of planning permission for homes, we are encouraging local planning authorities to work with the Environment Agency and delivery partners to agree standards tighter than the 110 litres per day set out in current guidance. Defra will also be reviewing building regulations in spring 2024 to allow local planning authorities to introduce tighter water efficiency standards in new homes. Defra is also reviewing the evidence base for water reuse systems with a view to consulting on changes to the water supply regulations to enable greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting to be managed by water companies.

At Spring Budget 2024, the Government published a policy paper setting out its ambition to address water scarcity in Greater Cambridge and measures to achieve this. It builds on significant interventions and investment of nearly £9 million - including £5.8 million of new funding - announced last July and at Autumn Statement 2023.


Written Question
Sewage: Rivers
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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 take steps to move water companies that do not restrict sewage spills under an operator of last resort.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There is no operator of last resort for water companies. Ofwat monitors the performance and financial position of all water companies and publishes results on these annually. Ofwat will take action when water company performance is not at the level Government expect, or if their investors need to strengthen their long-term financial resilience.

This Government is holding the water industry to account on a scale never seen before. We have legislated to introduce unlimited penalties on water companies who breach their environmental permits and expand the range of offences to which penalties can be applied. Furthermore, on 20 February, the Government and Environment Agency (EA) announced that they will quadruple the number of water company inspections to crack down on poor performing companies.

We will continue to hold water companies to account and if there are illegal breaches of permits, the regulators will not hesitate to take robust action.


Written Question
Gardens: Waste Disposal
Monday 25th March 2024

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, which local authorities (a) charged for collection of garden waste and b) provided a free garden waste service in 2023/24.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not hold this data.

Under section 45(3) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 waste collection authorities are permitted to charge a reasonable amount for the collection of garden waste.

Local Authorities are best placed to determine the effective delivery of local services.


Written Question
Gardens: Waste Disposal
Monday 25th March 2024

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 information his Department holds on the number of local authorities that charged an annual fee of (a) less than £30, (b) £30.01- £40, (c) £40.01- £50, (d) £50.01- £75, (e) £75.01- £100.00 and (f) £100.01 or more for the collection of garden waste in the 2023-24 financial year.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not hold this data.


Written Question
Fluorinated Gases: Regulation
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

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 with industry to develop policies on fluorinated gas regulation.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are in the process of reviewing the GB F-gas Regulation and have engaged with industry throughout this process. As part of this work, we undertook a comprehensive review of the GB F-gas Regulation and published an assessment report in December 2022, which included assessing measures related to leakage of F-gases. We intend to consult on proposals for change to the GB F-gas Regulation in due course.


Written Question
Fluorinated Gases: Regulation
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

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 adequacy of regulations on fluorinated gas in helping to reduce emissions leakage.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are in the process of reviewing the GB F-gas Regulation and have engaged with industry throughout this process. As part of this work, we undertook a comprehensive review of the GB F-gas Regulation and published an assessment report in December 2022, which included assessing measures related to leakage of F-gases. We intend to consult on proposals for change to the GB F-gas Regulation in due course.


Written Question
Fluorinated Gases: Regulation
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

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 work with industry on fluorinated gas regulation.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are in the process of reviewing the GB F-gas Regulation and have engaged with industry throughout this process. As part of this work, we undertook a comprehensive review of the GB F-gas Regulation and published an assessment report in December 2022, which included assessing measures related to leakage of F-gases. We intend to consult on proposals for change to the GB F-gas Regulation in due course.


Written Question
Microplastics: Pollution
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)

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 extent of the impact of the (a) design and (b) manufacture of textiles on microplastic pollution.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Department has not made (actual) assessments of the impact of the design and manufacture of textiles on environmental microplastic pollution. Defra recently funded a project to develop and validate methods to detect, quantify and characterise microplastics and microplastic fibres from textiles used in clothing in rivers and their sediments. The techniques were tested on urban and rural rivers, and it was found higher levels of microplastics were present in the urban river.

Defra provided grant funding of £860000 to WRAP's Textiles 2030, which began in 2021. The programme brings together brands & retailers representing more than 62% of all clothing placed on the UK market to drive industry collaboration on circular design, circular business models, (resale, rental, subscription, repair, recycling) and closing the loop on materials (recycling).


Written Question
Water Treatment: Microplastics
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)

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 effectiveness of wastewater treatment networks in filtering out microplastics.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Government recently funded an external rapid evidence assessment to better understand the costs, benefits, and efficiencies of installing filters in washing machines. The filters aim to trap textile microplastic fibres during the laundry cycle and before discharge to sewer networks and wastewater treatment works. The assessment concluded further evidence was needed to determine how to avert additional costs incurred by consumers of new washing machines with filters, and the consumer’s sustainable disposal of used filters.

A water industry investigation of the levels and types of microplastics entering a range of UK wastewater treatment works reported that conventional treatment can remove 99% of microplastics by number and 99.5% by mass.


Written Question
Zane Gbangbola
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

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 merits of opening an independent public inquiry into the death of Zane Gbangbola during flooding in 2014.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Surrey Senior Coroner has already carried out a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Zane Gbangbola’s death, taking into account a considerable amount of evidence.  The Coroner, as an independent judicial office holder, drew his own conclusions based on this evidence.

If there is a belief that the evidence was not considered properly during the original inquest, or that there is new evidence available, the correct process is for an application to be made to the Attorney General asking her to apply to the High Court to quash the inquest and order a fresh investigation. The High Court would take this course of action if it believed that it would be in the interests of justice.

I believe that this remains the proper process to follow. An assessment of the merits of an inquiry should be made at the appropriate time if, and when, the legal processes have been exhausted.