Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of sewage discharges on (a) recreational swimming and (b) public access to (i) rivers and (ii) lakes in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are currently no bathing waters designated by Defra in the Surrey Heath constituency. The Environment Agency undertakes regular monitoring of the water quality in Surrey Heath constituency; the assessment and proposed actions are set out in The Thames River Basin Management Plan. Impacts from wastewater pollution are highlighted as a key pressure resulting in many waterbodies not currently achieving good ecological status.
There have been significant pollution incidents at Camberley and Chobham Sewage Treatment Works in the last few years, and these are subject to ongoing Environment Agency investigations. The Environment Agency is currently transforming its regulatory approach including developing a larger specialised workforce and delivering a step change in inspections of Thames Water's permitted sites and associated enforcement.
Water company investment of over £10 billion will improve over 2,500 storm overflows, targeted at those affecting the most sensitive sites for ecological and human health. Protected Sites Strategies will also help improve biodiversity in our coastal areas.
Where a water body has been officially designated as a bathing water the Environment Agency will carry out regular testing of the water quality at each site, as well as inspecting for the presence of a range of pollutants. Information about water quality at each site is published online via the Swimfo service.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve real time monitoring of water quality in (a) rivers and (b) lakes to support safe access for swimmers in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are currently no bathing waters designated by Defra in the Surrey Heath constituency. The Environment Agency undertakes regular monitoring of the water quality in Surrey Heath constituency; the assessment and proposed actions are set out in The Thames River Basin Management Plan. Impacts from wastewater pollution are highlighted as a key pressure resulting in many waterbodies not currently achieving good ecological status.
There have been significant pollution incidents at Camberley and Chobham Sewage Treatment Works in the last few years, and these are subject to ongoing Environment Agency investigations. The Environment Agency is currently transforming its regulatory approach including developing a larger specialised workforce and delivering a step change in inspections of Thames Water's permitted sites and associated enforcement.
Water company investment of over £10 billion will improve over 2,500 storm overflows, targeted at those affecting the most sensitive sites for ecological and human health. Protected Sites Strategies will also help improve biodiversity in our coastal areas.
Where a water body has been officially designated as a bathing water the Environment Agency will carry out regular testing of the water quality at each site, as well as inspecting for the presence of a range of pollutants. Information about water quality at each site is published online via the Swimfo service.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2025 to Question 69569 on Grasslands: Conservation, when she plans to start the review of irreplaceable habitats.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government intends to review the definition of irreplaceable habitats in due course, to ensure it remains robust.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of operating different deposit return scheme frameworks in different parts of the UK on costs for (a) producers and (b) retailers.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A new organisation called UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO) will run the scheme. It’s a not-for-profit group, led by businesses. They were officially appointed in May 2025 (England & NI) and June 2025 (Scotland).
The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland have been designed with interoperability in mind to ensure the schemes look and feel like one scheme in all three nations.
I and my officials remain in close working partnership with the Welsh Government as they develop further detail of their scheme, and it is reassuring that they have decided to align their scheme launch date with DRS in the rest of the UK.
Government will continue to work closely across the sector, and now with UK DMO, to ensure the smooth implementation of the DRS for businesses and consumers. We will also maintain regular engagement with retailers, producers and interested groups to monitor implementation progress.
Each nation has or will set out the costs of their schemes in their respective impact assessments. The full impact assessment for England and Northern Ireland was published when the regulations came into force in January of this year and can be found here.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 52410 on Sewers, if she will set out the current obligations for housing developers are in respect of the installation of sustainable drainage schemes.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires all development to utilise Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) where they could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development. See paragraphs 181 and 182 of the NPPF.
The current legal and regulatory framework associated with SuDS adoption, maintenance and enforcement is via conditions attached to planning permissions. We intend to consult on National Planning Policy related to decision making later this year, including policies on flood risk and SuDS. The government also recognises the importance of long-term maintenance of SuDS.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 work with the Secretary of State for Transport to reduce the number of wildlife-related road accidents.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is currently no joint programme of work between Department of Transport and Defra to reduce the number of wildlife-related road accidents.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities to prevent gulls nesting in urban areas; and whether she has had discussions with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations on this matter.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are a range of legal methods that can be used to deter gulls to prevent or at least minimise problems in urban areas. Natural England has issued this guidance on managing wild birds using non-lethal measures. It has also piloted two organisational licences with Bath and Northeast Somerset Council; and Worcester Council for the purposes of urban gull management. It has invited and encouraged other councils to apply if they are experiencing gull issues and offered advice. Furthermore, Natural England colleagues have spoken directly to local authorities and presented to council environmental health officers through webinars hosted by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. While current Defra Ministers have not held discussions with counterparts in the devolved Governments on this matter, a Natural England representative attended the recent Scottish ‘Gull Summit’ to share learning on how Natural England is working with local authorities on managing gulls and providing licensing support.
Asked by: Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's planned budget is for the Darwin Plus programme in financial year 2025-26.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Darwin Plus budget for 2025-26 is maintaining spending levels to support biodiversity across the UK Overseas Territories. This includes funding to sustain existing projects and award new projects. The Secretary of State announced funding to 43 new Darwin Plus projects with a lifetime value of £7.9 million in her speech at Countdown to COP30 on 9 October.
Funding for Darwin Plus beyond March 2026 remains subject to Defra business planning processes. Updates on future funding rounds will be published on the Darwin Plus website as soon as more information becomes available.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for felling licences were refused by Forestry Commission England in the last five years due to the potential impact of felling on ancient woodland remnants within plantations on ancient woodland sites.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission has not refused any felling licence applications in the past 5 years. However, in 2019 one application was refused as the felling would lead to a loss of woodland containing veteran and future veteran oaks. The felling of these would be against the ‘interests of good forestry… and the amenities of the district’ which meant that it was not compliant with the UK Forestry Standard.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many felling licences granted by Forestry Commission England in 2024 permitted the felling of ancient trees.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government does not collect data on the number or classification of trees felled. However, when considering a felling licence application the Forestry Commission would expect the application to comply with good forestry practice.