Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what statutory responsibilities ensure that the remediation of contaminated land is achieved safely for adjacent residents, those working on site, and future residents.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of managing land contamination to protect human health and the environment. Under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, local authorities have a statutory duty to inspect their areas to identify contaminated land and, where necessary, require its remediation. A risk-based approach is used to define contaminated land, with regulators required to intervene in cases where land poses an unacceptable risk to human health, property or the environment.
The Contaminated Land Statutory Guidance sets out the legal framework for risk assessment and decision-making under Part 2A, and the Land Contamination Risk Management framework, recently updated by the Environment Agency, provides technical guidance on assessing, managing and remediating land contamination in line with current best practice.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of restricting the spreading of slurry on fields that are adjacent to residential property.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Within England there are rules in place to ensure that slurry is applied responsibly with regard to the environment to minimise the risk of it affecting nearby ecosystems and other sites via runoff. These include:
These regulations do include rules about where fertilisers, including slurry can be spread, however, there are no specific requirements on farmers not to spread next to houses, nor are there any plans to introduce this type of restriction.
Any proposal to include such a requirement would need to consider the effects on farmers, given that agricultural fields are business premises that farmers have to be able to grow crops on. Many farms rely on slurry application to fertilise their soil.
If there are any complaints about specific farms the local council should be informed. Local councils are responsible for investigating complaints about issues that could be a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This includes any smell or other effluvia arising on industrial, trade or business premises and being prejudicial to health or a nuisance.
Local authority environmental health officers take into account a number of factors when assessing whether a statutory nuisance exists, including the reasonableness of the activity being carried out, the time of day of the occurrence, its duration, its frequency of occurrence and whether or not best practicable means were being employed. These principles are based on long established case law.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to allow local authorities to re-open household waste recycling centres.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Government has not required local authorities to close household waste recycling centres (HWRCs). Local authorities are working?hard?to keep essential collections in place and there have been changes in services in some areas due reprioritisation of staff and social distancing concerns. We published non-statutory guidance on 5 May for local authorities on managing HWRCs in England during the coronavirus pandemic. It was developed in conjunction with Public Health England and the Home Office and sets out measures to support the operation of HWRCs in line with public health measures.
Asked by: Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to issue guidance on the rights of access to public rights of way during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government has published general guidance on access to green space on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-guidance-on-access-to-green-spaces and FAQs on what you can and can’t do https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do#public-spaces--outdoor-activities--exercise. Defra has also issued guidance to local authorities and organisations such as the National Farmers Union and the CLA to pass on to their members specifically on rights of way. This advises landowners and occupiers who have a path crossing through a garden or working farmyard to display a polite request, if necessary, for the public to use another path and includes suggested wording. Further information for landowners can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/operational-update-covid-19