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Written Question
National Parks: Coronavirus
Thursday 21st May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what targeted, support they are making available to businesses in National Parks both during and after the lockdown.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government has made available a wide range of support measures to businesses during these unprecedented times. This support is available to businesses in National Parks. These include help with business rates, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Bounce Back Loan scheme, and the discretionary fund set up to accommodate certain small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funds scheme.

The Government has been working with the National Park Authorities (NPAs) from the outset to understand the impacts from Covid-19, ensuring Parks make full use of the existing Government support schemes. We continue to engage closely with each NPA to assess the level of further support required.


Written Question
House of Lords: Costs
Thursday 21st May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what is the total annual cost of employment for each member excepted from the 20 July 2010 resolution on allowances in the House, by virtue of being salaried, including (1) employer national insurance contributions, (2) employer pension contributions, and (3) any other costs.

Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith

The employment costs for three Office Holders fall to the House of Lords budget – the Lord Speaker, the Chairman of Committees (also known as the Senior Deputy Speaker) and the Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees (also known as the Chair of the European Union Committee). In the 2019-20 financial year the total annual cost of employment was £382,328. This includes the salaries claimed, the Lords Office Holders Allowance claimed, and other employment costs not received by the office holders themselves, such as employer national insurance contributions and the apprenticeship levy.


Written Question
Drinking Water
Thursday 6th February 2020

Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what figures they hold on the number of (1) tourism attractions, (2) high street retailers, (3) railway stations, and (4) UK airports, that offer drinking water refill points.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

The Government recognises the importance of making drinking water more readily available in public places, as a means of reducing single-use plastic bottles. As laid out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Resources and Waste Strategy, we are already taking action in this area

Ministers have supported transport hubs, particularly railway stations and airports, to offer free water refill points. Although the Government does not collect the precise data requested, we have seen positive responses from Network Rail and rail operators. We are also pleased that around half of the UK’s international airports now have water fountains enabling customers to refill their own water containers.

The Government is also supporting water companies, high street retailers, coffee shops and transport hubs to offer new refill points for people to top-up water bottles free in every major city and town in England. The water industry is developing a network of refill points through its Refill app, managed by City to Sea. There are now over 27,000 refill points available on the app, which is used by an average of 20,000 people each month and is estimated to have saved over 100 million single use bottles from entering our waste stream in 2019.


Written Question
Plastics: Hotels
Thursday 6th February 2020

Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in partnership with relevant businesses, to reduce the use of plastics in hotels.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published in December 2018, sets out our plans to reduce, reuse and recycle more plastic than we do now. Our target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan, but for the most problematic plastics we are going faster - that is why we are working towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.

The Resources and Waste Strategy sets out various proposals that will help businesses, including hotels, reduce their use of single-use plastics. These include the introduction of a deposit-return scheme for drinks containers, bans on some of the most commonly littered single-use plastics such as drink stirrers, and extension of the carrier bag charge to all retailers.

The Government also supports the UK Plastics Pact (UKPP), a collaborative initiative to create a circular system that keeps plastic in the economy and out of the natural environment. UKPP members are working towards four key targets by 2025, including to eliminate the use of unnecessary single-use plastics. The UKPP has more than 120 business members, including many from the retail and hospitality sectors.


Written Question
Plastics: Bottles
Thursday 1st August 2019

Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in partnership with relevant businesses, to reduce the use of plastic bottles by tourists.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Through the Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published in December last year, sets out our plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste from all sectors, including the tourism industry.

We have already made good progress, banning microbeads, removing 15.6 billion plastic bags from circulation with our 5p charge, and committing to restrict the sale and/or distribution of plastic straws, drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds from April 2020.

Furthermore, the 25 Year Environment Plan announced that water companies have been working to create a network of free water refill points across England. Defra is working with Water UK on this roll-out, which is managed by City to Sea. This Thursday 1 August, locations for the first 50 public drinking water foundations for London were announced, part of a £5 million scheme. In September last year, water companies in England published their plans for reducing single-use plastic bottles in their regions. Ministers have written to many retailers, coffee shops and transport hubs asking them to provide tap water, allowing the public to refill bottles. We are also working across Government, for example with the Department for Transport, to encourage transport premises to extend the provision of free water and to publicise this.


Written Question
Plastics: Tourism
Thursday 1st August 2019

Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the use of plastic by businesses in the tourism industry.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Through the Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published in December last year, sets out our plans to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste from all sectors, including the tourism industry.

We have already made good progress, banning microbeads, removing 15.6 billion plastic bags from circulation with our 5p charge, and committing to restrict the sale and/or distribution of plastic straws, drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds from April 2020.

Furthermore, the 25 Year Environment Plan announced that water companies have been working to create a network of free water refill points across England. Defra is working with Water UK on this roll-out, which is managed by City to Sea. This Thursday 1 August, locations for the first 50 public drinking water foundations for London were announced, part of a £5 million scheme. In September last year, water companies in England published their plans for reducing single-use plastic bottles in their regions. Ministers have written to many retailers, coffee shops and transport hubs asking them to provide tap water, allowing the public to refill bottles. We are also working across Government, for example with the Department for Transport, to encourage transport premises to extend the provision of free water and to publicise this.


Written Question
Drinking Water
Thursday 1st August 2019

Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce free drinking water fountains at (1) airports, (2) railway and bus stations, and (3) major tourist attractions.

Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government recognises the importance of making drinking water more readily available in public places, as a means of reducing single-use plastic bottles. As laid out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, and Resource and Waste Strategy we are already taking action in this area.

Ministers have supported transport hubs, particularly railway stations and airports, to offer refill points. It is encouraging to see the positive response from Network Rail and rail operators. Around half of the UK's international airports have water fountains enabling customers to refill their own water containers.

The Government is supporting water companies, high street retailers, coffee shops and transport hubs to offer new refill points for people to top-up water bottles for free in every major city and town in England. The water industry is developing a network of refill points through its Refill app, managed by City to Sea. The app signposts to over 20,000 free refill points and is estimated to save over 100 million single use bottles from entering our waste stream by the end of 2019.