Asked by: Lord Grayling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to accelerate the designation of Highly Protected Marine Areas in UK waters.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra recently consulted on five candidate pilot Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs). The consultation closed on 28 September. The responses are currently being analysed and will inform the Secretary of State's decision on whether pilot sites should be designated and if so, what their final site boundaries should be. Any pilot HPMAs would be designated through the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 by 6 July 2023. This would be a year from the start of the consultation as required by the Act.
Asked by: Lord Grayling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of 3G sports pitches on the environment.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Concerns about environmental impacts of Third Generation (3G) synthetic surfaces regarding runoff to watercourses and into groundwater have been previously raised with the Environment Agency however there is currently limited evidence to substantiate these concerns.
3G synthetic surfaces often contain rubber crumb. This rubber crumb may be derived from waste materials, which can be permitted as a non-waste product under the Quality Protocol for Tyre Derived Rubber Material. Quality protocols seek to ensure recycled materials are handled correctly to be used with minimised environmental impacts. The Environment Agency is conducting a routine review of this Quality Protocol to ensure it reflects current uses in products, remains fit for purpose and takes account of the latest available evidence.
Asked by: Lord Grayling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her policy to introduce sustainable food labelling in the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Within the Food Strategy the Government announced its policy position towards sustainable food labelling.
Through the Food Data Transparency Programme (FDTP), we will develop consistent and defined metrics to objectively measure the health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare impacts of food.
We will work with stakeholders to create a common framework of metrics which the food and drink industry must follow when making voluntary information available to consumers regarding their food's emission and sustainability claims.
This mandatory methodology will be for participating companies to consistently follow, providing a common standard where eco-information is voluntarily used should they choose to include such information on their products.
Asked by: Lord Grayling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the report of the Global Resources Initiative working group on finance.
Answered by Steve Double
The report has been published on gov.uk and can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-resource-initiative-taskforce.