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 recent assessment they have made of the ecological and environmental damage caused by the collision between two ships in the North Sea on 10 March.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra worked with multiple organisations, including the Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). Cefas’s Premiam Monitoring Coordination Cell (PMCC) was set up immediately following this incident. This cell implements post-incident monitoring to assess the impacts of marine pollution incidents and as part of this, shellfish (seafood) and seawater samples were collected in the days and weeks following the incident. The analysis from these samples has indicated that there were no significant adverse ecological or environmental impacts due to fuel or chemicals released from either vessel, or during the response to the incident.
Plastic nurdles and burned debris washed ashore along the Lincolnshire and North Norfolk coast following the incident. Large quantities of plastic pollution and debris were recovered from the shoreline and the sea. Work is still ongoing regarding this, with Environment Agency staff regularly visiting affected sites to assess and if necessary, remove newly visible pollution.
The PMCC has now been stood down, but the impacts of this incident are continuously monitored as part of routine ongoing water and environmental sampling in the area.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their plan and timetable for ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Ocean Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation will be introduced by the end of the year to enable ratification of the BBNJ Agreement.
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 ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas, and if so when.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to protecting and restoring our ocean to good health, delivering on our commitment to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. We have recently announced a consultation on plans to ban bottom trawling in a further 41 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), covering 30,000 square kilometres of England’s waters. This is in addition to the 60% of MPAs that already have byelaws in place to protect them from damaging fishing activity, and to existing protections provided by the marine planning and licensing regimes. The consultation on these new proposals will run from 9 June to 1 September 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential carbon savings from equipping all suitable school buildings with solar panels; and what steps they are taking to accelerate the rollout of solar energy across schools in line with net zero commitments.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The education estate has around 55 million square meters of roof area. The department is already working with Great British Energy to harness the opportunity for solar generation by installing rooftop solar panels in this financial year on around 200 schools in an £80 million partnership programme. The first 11 schools are already benefitting from having had panels installed, as we announced on 3 June here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-schools-install-great-british-energy-solar-panels.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme also supports schools and other public sector bodies with funding to switch to cleaner heating and cut building emissions. Additionally, capital funding allocated by the department to the school sector each year can be used for projects that improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of school buildings, as well as improving the condition of the estate to keep schools safe and operational.
This is just one element of the department’s strategy to ensure that the school estate is sustainable. We are providing support for all schools and colleges to get started on their journey towards net zero via our new online sustainability support for education platform and our climate ambassador programme, Sustainability Support for Education, which can be accessed here: https://www.sustainabilitysupportforeducation.org.uk/.
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 steps they are taking to increase global cooperation to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is fully committed to preventing, deterring and eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Global cooperation and collaboration are key to tackling this issue, as highlighted at this week’s United Nation Oceans Conference in Nice.
To deliver this objective, we are taking forward a wide range of actions, including, but not limited to, being a co-founder and active member of the IUU Fishing Action Alliance; prioritising tackling IUU fishing within all international fisheries governance forums, of which the UK is a Party; and delivering support and capacity-building to combat IUU fishing through international funding programmes, such as the Blue Belt Programme and the Ocean Country Partnership Programme.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether HMP Eastwood Park plan to close, or have closed, their programme for women prisoners aged 50 and over.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of older prisoners has risen significantly over the past 20 years, and we recognise that this can pose particular challenges for some prisons.
The Model of Operational Delivery for older prisoners published by His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, sets out how prisons should support all older prisoners, including older women and older prisoners on short sentences.
We have accepted in principle the vast majority of the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendations and we will work with partners and the sector as we develop our approach.
The contract for HMP/YOI Eastwood Park’s current programme for prisoners aged 50 and over, is due to end. To replace it, HMP Eastwood Park plans to put out a tender for similar services, but covering the entire population, rather than only those over 50.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what specific support they provide to prisoners aged 50 and over, particularly (1) those with short custodial sentences, (2) women and (3) women with short custodial sentences.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of older prisoners has risen significantly over the past 20 years, and we recognise that this can pose particular challenges for some prisons.
The Model of Operational Delivery for older prisoners published by His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, sets out how prisons should support all older prisoners, including older women and older prisoners on short sentences.
We have accepted in principle the vast majority of the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendations and we will work with partners and the sector as we develop our approach.
The contract for HMP/YOI Eastwood Park’s current programme for prisoners aged 50 and over, is due to end. To replace it, HMP Eastwood Park plans to put out a tender for similar services, but covering the entire population, rather than only those over 50.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish a strategy for prisoners aged 50 and over.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of older prisoners has risen significantly over the past 20 years, and we recognise that this can pose particular challenges for some prisons.
The Model of Operational Delivery for older prisoners published by His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, sets out how prisons should support all older prisoners, including older women and older prisoners on short sentences.
We have accepted in principle the vast majority of the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendations and we will work with partners and the sector as we develop our approach.
The contract for HMP/YOI Eastwood Park’s current programme for prisoners aged 50 and over, is due to end. To replace it, HMP Eastwood Park plans to put out a tender for similar services, but covering the entire population, rather than only those over 50.
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 steps the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is taking to work more closely with UNESCO on the Global Geoparks initiative for mutual benefit.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England works with the UK Committee for UNESCO Global Geoparks and the UK National Commission for UNESCO to mentor and support existing and aspiring UNESCO Global Geoparks. We are responsible for designating and enabling good management of geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) many of which are of international value and provide the primary mechanism for protecting the geological value of our Geoparks. In return Geoparks are exemplars of best geoconservation practice.
More recently we have enabled the participation of Geoparks in the cross-government Climate Change and UNESCO Heritage Shared Outcomes Fund project and facilitated Geopark participation in the UNESCO Local to Global initiative which has focused on capacity and resilience building, notably including the urban Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark.
In 2025 we anticipate new applications from the Charnwood Forest Aspiring Geopark as well as the Cross-Channel/Transmanche Aspiring Geopark which is a unique transboundary collaboration between the Kent Downs National Landscape and the Parc naturel régional des Caps et Marais d'Opale.
Geoparks are locally driven and are a key part of our ambition to restore nature, at scale, and to enable more people to both act for and connect with nature through our rich geological heritage.
UKRI funded a project that partnered with Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geoparks, see GtR (attached as a PDF), between July and November 2022.
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, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 20 March (HL5459 and HL5460), whether assessments of samples for disposal at sea are determined by cost to the applicant or best available evidence.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Before material is disposed of at sea, Defra bodies follow OSPAR guidelines for assessing contaminant levels in samples. Cefas use the best available evidence when providing advice to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on contaminant levels in such samples. Assessments required may vary depending on the type of material and historic use of a site from which any material is dredged. Assessments are only used when the evidence they provide is necessary to determine if a material is suitable for disposal at sea, and this avoids disproportionate costs for applicants. The MMO then consider this evidence when determining applications to dispose of material at sea.