Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they decided not to place tetraethyllead on a list of substances “of very high concern”; on what grounds that decision was taken; whether the transition period has been extended for the use of this substance in the fuel for small aircraft; and if so, when that transition period will end.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Tetraethyllead is listed on the UK REACH Candidate list as a substance of very high concern. There is no transition period associated with these obligations under UK REACH.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many HGV drivers have been recruited under the new visa scheme announced at the end of September; and how many of those recruited are fuel tank drivers.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
4700 visas will be available for HGV drivers delivering food ahead of Christmas 2021. This temporary visa scheme began processing visas in mid-October. Any discussions or data held by businesses or scheme operators are commercially sensitive. Separately, in a further step to manage supply chain pressures in the short term, the Government has introduced a bespoke scheme allowing up to 300 fuel tanker drivers to the UK on a temporary basis.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are no longer planning to carry out animal checks at the White Cliffs Site; and where they plan to locate a suitable facility for such checks.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government undertook a thorough review of the plans for Border Control Post (BCP) facilities for EU goods arriving through Kent, and a range of delivery options were explored.
Ministers agreed that the BCP at Sevington’s inland border facility would carry out the majority of SPS inspections for imports arriving through the short straits for all plants, plant products, and live animals apart from livestock. Inspections of Products of Animal Origin (POAO) from Eurotunnel will also take place at Sevington. POAO from the Port of Dover will go to a separate BCP in the Dover area.
The review was undertaken in line with good practice to ensure that Government programmes are meeting requirements and delivering the most value for money.
We are working to procure suitable sites which meet the requirements for livestock and POAO facilities.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the coroner’s reports relating to the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah and the prevention of future deaths, published on 20 April, whether they have accepted the recommendation that the UK’s legal limit for particulate pollution should be halved to bring it in line with WHO guidelines; and what steps they have taken (1) to improve public warnings on air pollution levels, and (2) to improve awareness among medical staff of the need to provide more information to patients on the health impacts of air pollution.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Our thoughts continue to be with Ella's family and friends. We are carefully considering the Prevention of Future Deaths Report published by the Coroner on 21 April and we will respond in due course.
We know that air pollution is the single greatest environmental risk to human health, and although air pollution has reduced significantly over the last decade, there is more to do. In 2019, we published our Clean Air Strategy which recognised the need for comprehensive action on air pollution for the primary and crucial purpose of protecting people's health.
Our landmark Environment Bill delivers key aspects of our Strategy. The Bill establishes a legally binding duty to set at least two new air quality targets, through the environmental targets framework. We recognise the need to take action to reduce people's exposure to PM 2.5 and in proposing a dual target approach, we are putting health at the centre of our target setting. This approach will ensure action is taken at pollution hotspots and continuous improvement will be driven across the country. We will take into account WHO guidance when setting these targets
Defra makes air pollution information available through a range of channels, such as the UK-Air website and more recently working with Global Action Plan to deliver the Clean Air Hub. We also provide information to a network of charities (e.g. the Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation Partnership, British Heart Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, British Thoracic Society and others) when air pollution levels are forecast to be elevated to ensure information reaches the most vulnerable.
The Department for Health and Social Care continues to engage with organisations such as Health Education England and the Royal Colleges to ensure that healthcare professionals are equipped to provide information and advice to those vulnerable to the health impacts of air pollution. The Chief Medical Officer has also discussed this matter with the Royal Colleges during a recent meeting. This will allow patients and their carers to take steps to reduce their exposure to air pollution and give them greater power to manage their condition.
The NHS Long Term Plan committed to improve asthma outcomes for children and young people. The Children and Young People's Transformation Programme has asked local systems to prioritise local improvements in asthma care. This will include supporting clinicians to discuss the short and long-term adverse effects of air pollution in children with asthma and any mitigation strategies.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (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 whether the use of Special Development Orders to give planning permission for inland border facilities in England meets their obligations under (1) the Aarhus Convention, and (2) the Kiev Protocol, to provide environmental information to the public.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Special Development Orders (SDOs) respect the public’s access to environmental information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs). Information requests on SDOs and building the new facilities are likely to come within scope of the EIRs, as would most construction-related issues. This applies to requests and proactive disclosure.
The use of SDOs is provided for under The Town and Country Planning (Border Facilities and Infrastructure) (EU Exit) (England) Special Development Order 2020. There is a provision in the Order for proactive disclosure of information to, and engagement with, a number of interested parties. The Order does not disapply measures such as EIRs or Freedom of Information Act that implement our Aarhus Convention obligations with regards access to information. Most requests for information on planning will fall within the scope of the EIRs, and thus the relevant parts of Aarhus: Articles 2, 4, 5 and 9. These are the definition of environmental information, handling requests for environmental information, proactive publication of environmental information, and the appeals process where the requester is not content with the response from the public authority.
There are two main routes for the information generated to be covered by the definition in regulation 2(1) of the EIRs:
The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)) Regulations 2017(8) state that EIA developments (which are not subjected to the SDO orders rules) must be subjected to an EIA. This must be submitted before the relevant planning authority, the Secretary of State or an inspector in order to grant planning permission. The EIA and screening procedures determine whether the development is likely to have significant environmental effects, along with the Environmental Statement applications. These are accompanied by publicity requirements such as public consultations and publication of environmental information prior to the decision of the relevant authority.
Finally, the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is an inventory of pollution from industrial sites and other sources, and the Kiev Protocol requires that this information is publicly accessible. The UK maintains a publicly accessible national PRTR that enables the public to have access to environmental information concerning the activities listed in Annex 1 of the Protocol.
The UK remains committed to the objectives of the PRTR, both domestically and internationally, and continues to monitor its implementation of the Protocol.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they take when a local authority does not perform roadside litter collection responsibly; and whether any action has been taken against a local authority since January 2018.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
It is for local authorities to fulfil their duties to clear roadside litter.
Section 91 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows for proceedings in the magistrates’ court to be brought against the body responsible for clearing litter.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (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 the impact of air pollution on public health; whether they intend to introduce legislation to implement World Health Organization standards for fine particulate matter into forthcoming legislation; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Our Clean Air Strategy recognised the impacts air pollution has on health, and proposed a range of actions to meet our existing emissions reduction commitments to 2020 and 2030 in order to reduce these impacts. The Strategy also committed to the setting of an ambitious long term air quality target to reduce the population exposure to PM2.5, and committed to publishing evidence on the feasibility of meeting World Health Organization air quality guideline levels for PM2.5. This work is ongoing and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (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 the strategic importance of the high temperature clinical water incinerator at Lakeside energy from waste plant on (1) national, and (2) regional, clinical waste management; and whether they have assessed the availability and accessibility of alternative facilities.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Lakeside energy from waste facility is not strategic national infrastructure for waste, including medical waste, and therefore customers will be able to find alternative suppliers in the event the facility closes.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (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 the impact of the closure of the high temperature incinerator at Lakeside energy from waste plant on (1) clinical waste management, and (2) NHS trusts and GP surgeries.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
As the Lakeside energy from waste facility is not nationally significant nor strategic infrastructure for waste, it is unlikely that the closure of the plant would have an impact on the UK’s ability to deal with waste at a national level.
Therefore the Government has not made any specific assessments on the effects of the closure of the Lakeside plant on clinical waste, NHS trusts and GP surgeries. However we understand that Heathrow Airport Ltd (HAL) is already engaging with the owners of the plant and that providing financing and support for a replacement facility is a part of those discussions.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make an assessment of the impact on regional waste management of the closure of the Lakeside energy from waste plant; whether they will allow the proposed north-west runway at Heathrow to be built if that plant is demolished; and whether they will assess the impact of demolition on each of the 12 councils which use the plant.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The government is aware that the Lakeside energy from waste (EfW) facility is situated on the site of the proposed third runway for Heathrow airport. The Department for Transport is also aware of this and has referred to this in Section 5.137 (page 66) of its Revised Draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), which went out to consultation in October 2017.
The draft Airports NPS is clear that the Government recognises the importance of the plant to local waste management plans, and requires that any applicant for a new Northwest Runway at Heathrow Airport should make reasonable endeavours to ensure that sufficient provision is made to address the reduction in waste treatment capacity caused by the loss of the plant, but the NPS does not require an applicant to relocate the plant.
However, it is not strategic national infrastructure for waste, including medical waste, and therefore customers will be able to find alternative suppliers in the event the facility closes.
We are aware that the site takes waste from a number of local authorities, including Slough, Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell and the West London Waste Authority. In the revised draft Airports NPS the Government recognises the role of the Lakeside EfW plant in local waste management plans, and requires that any applicant should make reasonable endeavours to ensure that sufficient provision is made to address the reduction in waste treatment capacity caused by the loss of the Lakeside EfW plant.