Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) training and (b) certification of technicians in the use of alternative products during the planned transition away from fluorinated gases.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
F-gas regulatory changes, such as training and certification, are out of the scope of the hydrofluorocarbon phasedown consultation but their importance in delivery of the phasedown is recognised. The UK Government, in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, is committed to further exploring other areas for F-gas reform.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 ensure the hydrofluorocarbons phasedown proposed in the F Gas Regulation in Great Britain consultation allows industry adequate time for safety checks on flammable alternatives to F Gas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The consultation on reforming the hydrofluorocarbon phasedown seeks views from respondents about potential wider impacts from the proposal. We will take into account responses to those views when making decisions following the consultation.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 meet with the heating, refrigeration and air conditioning industries to discuss the F Gas Regulation in Great Britain consultation.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Officials have been in regular contact with sector representatives during the current consultation on reforming the hydrofluorocarbon phasedown and before it. They welcome further discussions as part of ongoing engagement with the sector.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 28 November 2024 to Question 13210, what update she can provide on the progress of the Environment Agency's State of Contaminated Land Report, specifically with regard to contaminated land risks downstream of historical lead mines.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency sent the State of Contaminated Land survey to all local authorities with Part 2A duties in England on 14th November 2025.
The survey includes specific questions relating to a number of sites prioritised for inspection or determined as contaminated land due to contamination risks from abandoned metal mines including metal/ore processing areas and/or abandoned metal mine impacted flood plain areas downstream of abandoned metal mines.
The deadline for Local Authorities to respond is the 9th of January 2026. It is expected that the State of Contaminated Land report will be published in Summer 2026.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there will be simplified a) permit systems or b) funding mechanisms provided to streamline i) community groups, ii) small landowners or iii) local conservation networks' involvement in habitat creation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are setting the conditions for more private investment to flow into domestic nature recovery, including by exploring how we can further incentivise the private sector to pay for nature’s services - through a Call For Evidence on Expanding the role of the private sector in nature recovery; and ensuring the integrity of UK nature markets by sponsoring the British Standards Institution to develop a suite of UK Nature Investment Standards.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support the Government plans to provide for a) community-led or b) small-scale habitat creation initiatives in areas such as West Berkshire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) sets local priorities for biodiversity and environmental improvement and proposes where action is most needed. The LNRS will guide coordinated action for nature, including through community-led and small-scale habitat creation initiatives.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 she has made of the adequacy of the Environment Agency's budget.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department works closely with the Environment Agency (EA) at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on performance and to closely monitor funding to ensure it can carry out its duties effectively and deliver for the public and the environment.
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 she is taking to ensure that the Environment Agency is held accountable for levels of water pollution in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is accountable to parliament via the Secretary of State. Defra constructively challenges and supports the EA to deliver for the public and the environment. Our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act empowers the EA with new powers to take tougher and faster action on water companies not delivering for customers and the environment.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered alternative water supply schemes to the proposed SESRO reservoir in the Thames Valley.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The need for SESRO has been determined through statutory Water Resources Management Plans which are developed by water companies to show how they will manage supply and demand for the next 25 years. Water company plans adopted the outputs of the Regional Plan developed by Water Resources South East Water which appraised over 2400 options to meet water demand in the region. This included reservoirs, transfers, recycling schemes, new and redeveloped sources. All available options were compared through best value modelling, and SESRO was selected as a preferred option for the southeast and included in Thames Water’s Water Resources Management Plan.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to require planning authorities to publish annual reports on how off-site Biodiversity Net Gain contributions by developers have been a) spent, b) their location, and c) ecological result of habitat d) creation or e) restoration.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Act 2021 established a strengthened biodiversity duty, which requires local planning authorities to publish a biodiversity report at least every five years, setting out how they have complied with the duty. As part of this report, local planning authorities are required to include actions they have taken under biodiversity net gain obligations, and information from the biodiversity gain plans they have approved. The first reporting period must end no later than 1 January 2026 with reports published within 12 weeks.