Baroness Parminter Portrait

Baroness Parminter

Liberal Democrat - Life peer

Became Member: 15th July 2010


1 APPG membership (as of 24 Jan 2024)
Eating Disorders
2 Former APPG memberships
Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion, Nature
Environment and Climate Change Committee
14th Apr 2021 - 31st Jan 2024
Food, Poverty, Health and Environment Committee
13th Jun 2019 - 6th Jul 2020
Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 Committee
29th Jun 2017 - 13th Mar 2018
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
1st Jun 2015 - 14th Sep 2017
National Policy for the Built Environment Committee
11th Jun 2015 - 11th Feb 2016
European Union Committee
16th May 2013 - 30th Mar 2015


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Baroness Parminter has voted in 492 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
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Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Benyon (Conservative)
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(19 debate interactions)
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour)
Shadow Spokesperson (Science, Innovation and Technology)
(13 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Legislation Debates
Environment Act 2021
(16,556 words contributed)
Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023
(5,425 words contributed)
Agriculture Act 2020
(3,398 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Baroness Parminter's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Baroness Parminter, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Baroness Parminter has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Baroness Parminter has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 35 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
16th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will add the Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection to the list of significant public appointments it agrees with the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

The Minister for the Cabinet Office has already agreed with the Commissioner for Public Appointments that the appointment of the Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection is treated as a regulated public appointment and that it is a significant appointment. The appointment of the current Chair was treated in this way.

Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
24th Mar 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to deliver on their commitment in the Net Zero Strategy to enable people to make informed choices about (1) the goods and products they buy, and (2) services they use, through exploring how products could be labelled with their (a) emission intensity, and (b) environmental impact.

The Government continues to evaluate the use of environmental labelling, with a view to stimulating demand for better quality items and services. This includes exploring the evidence base for environmental labelling within food production and disposal. Further, the Government has committed to introduce mandatory water-efficiency labelling to encourage consumers to buy products which avoid water wastage and reduce energy demand for heating the water. The Government is also exploring the use of labels that inform consumers of the durability, repairability and recyclability of products.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
13th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to add the Office for Environmental Protection to the list of protected (1) persons, and (2) bodies, for whistleblowers.

The Government is considering adding the Office for Environmental Protection as a Prescribed Person for whistleblowing disclosures and work is underway to confirm that it satisfies the relevant criteria.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
20th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the BBC Panorama programme Sport's Hidden Crisis, broadcast on 19 October, what discussions they have had with UK Sport regarding (1) minimising the risks of competitors developing eating disorders, and (2) supporting those with them.

Athlete welfare is vitally important to all sports, and my department works closely with UK Sport to strengthen policy in this area wherever possible. UK Sport is committed to ensuring that athlete welfare is at the heart of all Olympic and Paralympic sports and the national governing bodies (NGBs) they fund. UK Sport has a dedicated integrity unit and conducts an annual Culture Health Check survey that monitors athlete welfare and enables any issues to be picked up and addressed.

In terms of providing care and support to individuals with an eating disorder, UK Sport works in partnership with the English Institute of Sport (EIS). In 2018 the EIS and UK Sport announced a Mental Health Strategy for the high performance system aimed at ensuring that all people within it have the best opportunity to have positive mental health, and high quality care when required. The Mental Health Referral Programme (MHRP) provides specialist primary and secondary care services to elite athletes who are struggling with a wide range of mental health issues including depression, stress, anxiety, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders and addictions.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the consultation document Public sector food and catering policy for England: The Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF), published in June 2022, whether the proposed criteria in that document encouraging the purchase of locally produced food are compatible with the non-discrimination obligations of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement.

Defra’s consultation on food and catering policy sought views on a number of proposals to update the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services. This included ways of meeting the Government’s manifesto commitment encouraging the public sector to procure British food to support the environment, animal welfare and our farmers. We will publish the consultation findings, alongside updated standards and guidance later this year. Whilst it is too soon to pre-empt any specific findings at this stage, the final policy will be compliant with the Government’s domestic and international obligations, including under the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Government Procurement.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
19th Jun 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to respond to the Public sector food and catering policy consultation, which ran from 13 June 2022 to 4 September 2022.

The consultation on public sector food and catering policy attracted a wide range of responses, and we are considering the impact of this feedback on our initial proposals. We will publish the consultation findings, alongside updated standards and guidance later this year, to showcase sustainable, high welfare, quality produce consumed in the public sector.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
18th May 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the non-recycled waste from disposable vapes; and what plans they have to build awareness of the direct effect of disposable vapes on the environment.

Disposable vapes are considered to be electrical products and fall within scope of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. Businesses placing more than 5 tonnes of disposable vapes onto the UK market have a financial obligation to fund the collection and recycling of waste disposable vapes. The regulations also set minimum recycling targets for waste electrical equipment. We will shortly be consulting on reviewing these regulations with a view to introducing measures aimed at driving up levels of collections of waste electricals, including vapes, to ensure more of these products are properly recycled.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
27th Feb 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the proposals contained in the Nature recovery green paper: protected sites and species, published on 16 March 2022, what plans they have to reform the designations of protected sites (1) on land, and (2) at sea, including (a) the types of designations, and (b) the overall structure.

The reforms explored in the Nature Recovery Green Paper have fed into the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), our delivery plan for protecting nature. A summary of responses to the Green Paper will be published separately.

Any substantive changes to the legislative framework governing protected site designations, which includes both European sites and SSSIs, would require legislation and therefore follow normal parliamentary process and scrutiny.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
5th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee on 30 November where she stated that there are "about 1100" pieces of retained EU law within her department, what the precise number is.

Defra is in the process of confirming the full list of retained EU law (REUL) held by the Department. Until this work is complete, it is not possible to provide precise figures on Defra’s REUL. Defra will continue to publish new REUL to the public dashboard which will be regularly updated.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
1st Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made regarding the classification and implementation of Other Effective Area-Based Measures; and whether these measures will contribute towards their 30by30 target.

HM Government is committed to protecting 30% of land and sea in the UK by 2030 (30by30). We consulted on our approach to 30by30 in the Nature Recovery Green Paper earlier this year and are now working at pace to develop the assessment criteria, in line with international standards, that will inform what land will count towards 30by30.

We expect land recognised as Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs), meeting our assessment criteria, to play a part in achieving this ambitious commitment. For OECMs to count, we know that they need to be effectively managed and deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity. We continue to explore next steps for identification and classification of OECMs in England.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
10th Oct 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to engage business, civil society and land management stakeholders in the preparation of the first annual environmental improvement plan under the Environment Act 2021.

Defra engages with business, civil society and land management partners on an ongoing basis, both on individual policies and on the development of the Environmental Improvement Plan as a whole. This engagement will continue over the coming months.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
10th Oct 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish the final Environmental Principles Policy Statement.

Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft Policy Statement concluded in June. Consideration of the feedback received from Parliament is still ongoing.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
17th May 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish in full the recommendations at a species level from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee arising from the 7th Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, submitted to Ministers on 19 April.

JNCC’s seventh Quinquennial Review report provides the Secretary of State with independent scientific advice on proposed changes to Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. We are required to publish recommendations and advice received from JNCC, before both Houses of Parliament under Section 24(3) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. We will consider the recommendations carefully and the Government’s response before aiming to publish JNCC’s advice later this year.

18th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that adequate funding is available for local authorities to meet their general duty to facilitate their Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 biodiversity duty obligations, as updated by sections 102 and 103 of the Environment Act 2021.

The Government has committed to funding all new burdens on local authorities arising from the Environment Act, including those due to the biodiversity duty on public authorities, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs).

The intention of the strengthened duty, though, is not to oblige public authorities to incur additional costs, but for them to consider seriously how they can improve biodiversity through the exercise of their functions. We anticipate that the principal way in which local authorities discharge their biodiversity duty will be through the actions taken to deliver mandatory BNG or LNRSs. We also expect that, in considering any additional action they can take above and beyond BNG and LNRSs, local authorities can consider ways to benefit biodiversity in a cost-neutral manner and work with other sectors; we will provide guidance to help with this.

Defra recently announced £4 million to help Local Planning Authorities, and other local authorities with planning oversight, to prepare for BNG which will become mandatory in November 2023. The funding will help Local Planning Authorities expand ecologist resource and upskill ecologist teams.

18th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Local Nature Recovery Strategies (1) protect, and (2) enhance, urban nature, in order to increase opportunities for people to benefit from access to nature near where they live and work.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are a new, England-wide system of spatial strategies that will 1) identify areas of existing importance for nature, including in urban areas, and 2) establish priorities and map proposals for specific actions to drive nature's recovery and provide wider environmental benefits.

The coronavirus pandemic has underlined the important benefits to public health and wellbeing from access to nature and green spaces. The Government expects that public authorities will wish to use the process of creating their Local Nature Recovery Strategy to also identify opportunities to increase access to nature whilst supporting its recovery.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
18th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Wildlife and Countryside Link’s estimates of the resources required for successful implementation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

The Government has committed to funding all new burdens on Local Authorities arising from the Environment Act. This includes those relating to the preparation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs). We have considered Wildlife and Countryside Link’s estimates, alongside the feedback from the 5 LNRS pilots that finished in May 2021.

Following the spending review settlement, Defra is working through spending plans for the next three years, including by working closely with local Government organisations to determine the level of additional capacity required to implement the Act effectively.

Defra will share further details of the resources that will be made available for implementing Local Nature Recovery Strategies in the coming months.

Lord Benyon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
6th Dec 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government who are the representatives from the business and finance sector on the business advisory group set up under the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework; and what is the group's remit.

In pursuit of high ambition outcomes for CBD COP15, Defra engages with a range of UK stakeholders including representatives from academia, the private sector, NGOs, and other interested parties, to gain valuable input from a wide range of sources.

As part of this engagement, a business advisory group has met several times to consider the draft global biodiversity framework, its implementation across the private sector, and the role of business in mainstreaming biodiversity.

Representatives of the business advisory group are:

  • The Biodiversity Consultancy
  • BP (independently but also on behalf of the UK Business and Biodiversity Forum, UKBBF)
  • Business for Nature coalition
  • Danone (independently but also on behalf of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity coalition, OP2B)
  • The Environment Bank
  • Firmenich (independently but also on behalf of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity coalition, OP2B)
  • FNZ UK
  • JP Morgan
  • National Hair and Beauty Federation (NHBF)
  • Scottish and Southern Electricity
  • Sound and Fair
  • Standard Charter
  • Tengri
  • Unilever
  • World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
  • World Ocean Council
  • WSP
16th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to engage Parliament in the scrutiny of the interim targets that will be set under section 11 of the Environment Act 2021.

The interim and long-term targets due to be set under the Environment Act will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Long-term targets will be set in statutory instruments subject to the affirmative procedure and our first suite of targets will be brought forward by 31 October 2022. Both Houses of Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise, debate and vote on the details and ambition of these targets.

We will be carrying out a public consultation on proposed long-term targets in early 2022. We will write to the chairs of the appropriate Select Committees in both Houses to update them before this launches.

Interim targets for the first suite of long-term targets will be included in the updated Environmental Improvement Plan, which be laid before both Houses of Parliament for scrutiny in early 2023.

16th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to facilitate parliamentary scrutiny of the proposed long-term targets to be set under section 1 of the Environment Act 2021 before the statutory instruments to give those targets legal effect are laid in October 2022.

The interim and long-term targets due to be set under the Environment Act will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Long-term targets will be set in statutory instruments subject to the affirmative procedure and our first suite of targets will be brought forward by 31 October 2022. Both Houses of Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise, debate and vote on the details and ambition of these targets.

We will be carrying out a public consultation on proposed long-term targets in early 2022. We will write to the chairs of the appropriate Select Committees in both Houses to update them before this launches.

Interim targets for the first suite of long-term targets will be included in the updated Environmental Improvement Plan, which be laid before both Houses of Parliament for scrutiny in early 2023.

10th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of labour shortages in the ornamental horticulture sector on UK tree growers; and whether labour shortages in this sector will affect their ability to meet their tree planting targets.

The England Trees Action Plan (ETAP) sets out our long-term ambition to increase woodland creation and management in England. As part of this, we want to support a thriving nursery sector, and are working with them to upskill and expand our domestic workforce and monitor labour requirements.

Planting, establishing and managing trees in rural and urban settings requires skills, technical knowledge, and people to put those into practice. The ETAP includes support for higher technical and professional education routes into the forestry sector, improved links with allied sectors such as arboriculture, agriculture and horticulture, and the creation of a new Forestry Skills Action Plan for England that will raise the profile of forestry careers amongst school leavers and career changers.

The ETAP also committed to funding to support UK public and private sector nurseries and seed suppliers to enhance quantity, quality, diversity and biosecurity of domestic tree production through means including capital grants and support to augment investment and stimulate innovation.

12th Oct 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) when they will publish their response to the consultation on the environmental principles draft policy statement, and (2) why their response to that consultation has been delayed.

We will publish the response to the consultation on the Environmental principles draft policy statement later in the year. We received 216 responses to the consultation and have been considering them carefully over the summer and alongside the passage of the Environment Bill.

18th May 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK cities have adaptation plans to respond to the impacts of climate change.

This information is not available. Quantifying adaptation plans in UK cities to respond to climate change impacts is a complicated and time-consuming process, and information can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

25th Mar 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ban oxo-degradable plastics.

The Government recognises that some innovative new packaging types, like biodegradables plastics, could help reduce the environmental impact of plastic, when used in niche applications and if disposed of in the right way. However, the Government is concerned that, in the absence of robust standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified.

The Government published a call for evidence in July 2019 to help consider the development of standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics, as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The Government response was published on the 8th April which can be found on gov.uk.

Following consideration of the submissions we received the Government is minded to introduce a ban on oxo-degradable plastics, subject to further evidence and a public consultation.

16th Oct 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the official cars used by Cabinet Members are electric, including those for the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister and many Cabinet members are entitled to protection; this service is provided by the Metropolitan Police. One member has their own arrangement for transport with a private hire company. The Department for Transport does not hold information on the cars they are provided with.

The Government Car Service (GCS) provides a Departmental Pool Car service to Departments as a shared resource. The remaining members that attend Cabinet will have access to cars provided by GCS including battery electric and petrol electric hybrid models.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
26th Apr 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the decision to postpone until 2025 the requirement on ship operators to report their carbon dioxide emissions fulfils the Government’s obligations under the Merchant Shipping (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of Carbon Dioxide Emissions) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018.

In 2021, the UK delayed the implementation of the UK MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of Emissions) regime, to allow time to establish a new UK digital system for reporting maritime CO2 emissions data. Since January 2022, ship operators have been required to collect and verify their emissions data, to be reported once the new system is operational.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
26th Apr 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what their success criteria are for reaching agreement on reducing the UK’s international shipping emissions in line with Net Zero at the July 2023 meeting of the International Maritime Organisation’s Marine Environment Protection Committee.

The UK is committed to building consensus to ensure international shipping keeps pace with the Paris goal of 1.5°C degrees and is championing a 2050 target of zero emissions.

While we cannot provide specific comment on success criteria during ongoing negotiations, the UK is working to ensure the Marine Environment Protection Committee agrees a strengthened revision of the 2018 IMO greenhouse gas reduction strategy this July.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
12th Jul 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how many inpatient beds are available to the NHS for eating disorder patients in (1) England, (2) the North of England, (3) the Midlands and East of England, (4) London, and (5) the South of England; and, for each of those regions, how many are available for (a) children and young people, and (b) adults.

The following table shows the information requested on specialised inpatient beds for eating disorder patients:

England

North of England

Midlands and East of England

London

South of England

Children and young people

238

27

125

50

36

Adults

400

129

97

99

75

Total

638

156

222

149

111

Source: NHS England

Notes:

  1. ‘Children and young people’ does not include admissions into wider children and young people’s mental health inpatient units as required and reflecting the needs of the young person.
  2. The children and adolescent mental health services eating disorder figures are as of June 2023 and the adult eating disorder figures are as of March 2021.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
29th Mar 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of a 'stepped care' system for autistic people to identify and address new support needs in a timely manner.

No specific assessment has been made. However, in 2019 the public call for evidence to inform the development of the autism strategy sought views on autistic people’s access to post-diagnosis support as an element of a stepped care system. This found that 34% of autistic respondents and 46% of carer respondents said they did not receive support after diagnosis.

In 2021/22, we provided £31 million to improve community services for autistic people and people with a learning disability services. This included £7 million to test and implement timely, quality autism diagnosis and post-diagnosis pathways. Additionally, we are investing £69 million in 2022/2023 to prevent avoidable admissions and improve community support for autistic people and people with a learning disability.

29th Mar 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish their plan for autism research, as outlined in the National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults, published on 22 July 2021.

We plan to publish the Autism Research Action Plan in summer 2022.

4th Oct 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders report Breaking the Cycle: an inquiry into eating disorder research funding in the UK, published on 15 September.

No formal assessment has been made. However, we are carefully considering the report’s recommendations.

28th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that providers of the proposed new weight management services (1) receive training on eating disorders, and (2) can work with eating disorder services to appropriately support those requiring treatment for binge eating disorder.

Further details about the measures on weight management announced in Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives will be available later in the year.

Diagnosing and treating eating disorders is an important area of medical practice. It is included within the curriculum for training all doctors, including for general practitioners, where most eating disorders initially present and in more depth within training for psychiatry, particularly child and adolescent psychiatrists.

19th Oct 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many inpatient beds are available to the NHS for eating disorder patients in (1) England, (2) the North of England, (3) the Midlands and East of England, (4) London, and (5) the South of England; and, for each of those categories, how many are available for (a) children and young people, and (b) adults.

The following table provides data on the number of inpatient beds for eating disorders for adults and for children and young people.

Total bed base

Adult eating disorder beds

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services eating disorder beds1

England

648 (national total)

400

248

North of England (North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber)

157

129

28

Midlands and East of England

203

97

106

London

162

99

63

South of England (including Wessex)

126

75

51

Source: NHS England

Note:

1Some children and young people with eating disorders are treated in general child and adolescent mental health services.

1st Dec 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many sites of special scientific interest are on the defence estate; how much land those sites cover; and how many such sites are in a favourable condition.

The UK defence estate includes 171 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering 81,266 hectares (ha). SSSIs are designated and assessed differently between all four countries.

Country

Number of SSSIs

Total Hectares (ha) covered

England

129

68,500

Wales

18

4,766

Scotland

22

6,911

Northern Ireland

2

1,089

In England 34,366 ha is deemed by Natural England to be in Favourable condition.

In Wales, 3,632 ha is deemed by Natural Resources Wales to be in Appropriate Conservation Management.

Scotland includes 22 SSSIs covering 6,911 ha. This includes 148 separate SSSI features. 121 are deemed by NatureScot to be in Favourable condition and six are in Unfavourable recovering condition.

Northern Ireland includes two Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) covering 1089 ha. This includes 12 separate ASSI features,10 of which are deemed by Northern Ireland Environment Agency to be in a Favourable condition with two in an Unfavourable recovering condition.