Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the range of contaminants assessed for disposal at sea was last reviewed, and whether there is a regular programme for review.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is no limit to which contaminants can be recommended for analysis for applications for disposal at sea. Cefas – the agency that provides contaminant sampling advice – primarily uses the OSPAR Guidelines for the Management of Dredged Material at Sea (Agreement 2014-06, Updated 2024). The testing of Primary List contaminants will be recommended for most applications, whilst Secondary List contaminants will also be recommended in some applications, where considered relevant. Ultimately recommendations are based on likelihood of adverse effects and practicality considerations. The OSPAR Expert Assessment Panel on Dredged Material last reviewed these lists for the update of the Agreement in 2024. The UK has convened several Action Level Reviews against which contaminants are assessed (in 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2020).
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to align the assessment of the levels of contaminants that can be disposed of at sea with the best practices of other countries.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We do not have any plans to change the formal Action Levels for contaminants at this time. However, when assessing levels of contaminants that can be disposed of at sea, Defra bodies follow international OSPAR guidelines to protect the environment. Cefas use the best available evidence when providing advice on dredged contaminants, which may draw on best practice from other countries. The MMO will consider this advice when determining a dredging licence application. We will continue to work with stakeholders to improve our evidence base on the environmental and economic impacts of Action Levels, and to explore options to manage any impacts.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will include bioassays and biotoxicity tests in assessments of samples for disposal at sea.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The OSPAR guidelines allow for the use of effect response analyses (such as bioassays). These are not commonly recommended by Cefas largely due to the costs and additional time implications of the analyses which would be incurred by applicants. However, if it was identified that such tests would be useful for a weight of evidence in a specific case, they could be requested or considered if an applicant wished to provide them. Cefas is considering the use of ‘Microtox’ bioassay testing as a potential option for characterising dredged material, in such instances.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have a timetable for the monitoring of all marine disposal sites.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Marine Management Organisation, in conjunction with Cefas, run an annual Disposal Site Monitoring project and identify a list of disposal sites for monitoring each year, ensuring that no area is left without monitoring. Disposal can be redirected to a specific site if there are particular concerns regarding that site.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the range of contaminants monitored at sea disposal sites was last updated; and whether there is a programme to update the range of monitored contaminants.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The range of contaminants monitored at sea disposal sites is not a standardised list. Rather, the choice of which contaminants to monitor is based on a review of each year’s licenced disposals and considering the OSPAR Guidelines for the Management of Dredged Material at Sea (Agreement 2014-06. Updated 2024). Primary List contaminants (Technical Annex I) may be analysed for at disposal sites while Secondary List contaminants can also sometimes be analysed for. Monitoring also adheres to the OSPAR Coordinated Environment Monitoring Programme Guidelines for the assessment of dumping and placement of waste and other matter at sea (Agreement 2017-04). Other analyses such as benthic infauna and bathymetry surveys may also be undertaken, as appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to include an exemption in a UK–EU veterinary agreement to allow restrictions of imports on animal welfare grounds, such as fur products.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to resetting our EU relationship, including by seeking to negotiate an SPS agreement. We have been clear that an SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. We will not be providing a running commentary on discussions with the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of current output of the UK marine economy (1) by country, and (2) by sector.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The full output of the marine economy, and split by sector and country, is unknown due to the complexity of attributing economic output to the marine environment.
However, for human activities that use UK seas, the latest data (2015) from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science estimated the sector contributed around £27 billion to UK Gross Value Added (GVA) and employed 341,000 people. The Office for National Statistics reports that the UK marine natural capital assets, for which we can estimate a value, had an asset value of £211 billion in 2021.
For the wild-catch fishing sector, the Marine Management Organisation provides the split by country for 2023 as follows:
Wild-catch - landings by vessel nationality:
| Total landings value (million) |
Scotland | £694 |
England | £314 |
Wales | £13 |
Northern Ireland | £75 |
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to prohibit the disposal of waste in marine protected areas.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covering 40% of English waters and a statutory MPA target under the Environment Act 2021 to ensure they are in a good and healthy state. All MPAs are protected from the dumping of waste at sea and marine litter by the planning and marine licensing regimes.
The UK’s marine licensing regimes comply with the obligations of international conventions that the UK is party to, including the London Convention and Protocol and the OSPAR Convention which prohibit the dumping of waste at sea with very limited exceptions.
The UK is also a signatory to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). MARPOL Annex V controls the discharge of garbage from ships and is brought into UK law through the Merchant Shipping Regulations on the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships (2020). These regulations prohibit the discharge of garbage at sea with very limited exceptions.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much recyclable waste was incinerated in 2023.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A total of 18 million tonnes of waste was incinerated in 2023 in England (Source: Waste Management Summary for England for 2023). This compares with 17.2 million tonnes in 2022. Information on how much of this was recyclable is not held.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much residual waste was incinerated in 2022 (1) by weight, and (2) as a proportion of all residual waste.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long the nation has seen recycling rates stagnate and relied on burning or burying waste.
The Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy, a future where we keep our resources in use for longer, waste is reduced, we accelerate the path to net zero, we see investment in critical infrastructure and green jobs, our economy prospers, and nature thrives. Key to this commitment is the reduction of residual waste. The Government has set out that it will only back new waste incineration projects that meet strict conditions and that these are in accordance with the long-term residual waste reduction target.
Estimates of residual waste (excluding major mineral wastes) in England, and their treatment method, for 2022 were published in April 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/estimates-of-residual-waste-excluding-major-mineral-wastes-and-municipal-residual-waste-in-england).
It is not possible to provide a figure for residual waste as a proportion of all waste. A comparable figure of all waste is not available.