Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many new trees have been planted as part of the Northern Forest project in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Northern Forest is an ambitious landscape scale partnership that aims to establish at least 50 million new trees by 2043 in and around the cities of Liverpool, Chester, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull. The government supports the Northern Forest as a contributor to levelling up by supporting new and existing jobs, rural economies, fighting climate change, facilitating nature recovery, and encouraging greater private investment in trees and woodlands. So far, the core partnership of the Woodland Trust, Mersey Forest, Manchester City of Trees, White Rose Forest and Humber Forest have established over 5 million new trees since 2018.
The Forestry Commission publishes information on new tree planting annually, including in the Northern Forest. These figures can be obtained from its Headline Key Performance Indicators reports, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forestry-commission-corporate-plan-performance-indicators. The most recent published provisional statistics are shown below (and is attached):
Year | Hectares Planted | Equivalent in number of trees |
21/22 | 150 | 168,000 |
20/21 | 69 | 159,000 |
Asked by: Lord Storey (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, if any, of the environmental impact of the fundraising practice of delivering plastic charity bags to millions of households.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste and we are making great strides to tackle plastic pollution. In December 2018 we published the Resources and Waste Strategy, which sets out how we want to achieve this and move towards a circular economy.
The single-use carrier bag charge has led to a 95% reduction in the consumption of these bags in the main supermarkets. To build on the success of the charge so far, in May this year we increased the charge to 10p and extended it to all retailers. We will be consulting later this year on banning a range of single-use plastic items, including single-use plastic plates, cutlery, and polystyrene cups.
We have not assessed the environmental impact of the fundraising practice of delivering plastic charity bags, and we have no immediate plans to investigate this practice. However, we are continuing to review the latest evidence on problematic products, and in particular single use items, and will carefully weigh up the different factors at play in considering any policy interventions where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of money being spent on graffiti removal; and what assessment they have made of its impact in residential areas.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government has commissioned environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy to conduct research on the costs, impacts and public perceptions of graffiti, including the role of street art, and how data sources can be leveraged to improve local environmental quality. The research is expected to be published early next year.
In the recently published Build Back Better High Streets Strategy, we committed to produce new guidance for local authorities and business owners on best practice for managing graffiti, supported by a new £2 million fund. The guidance will give examples of good practice, draw on the latest research (including that mentioned above) and professional expertise in this area and highlight the importance of keeping high-street infrastructure clean and clear of graffiti.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the recycling rates of (1) London, and (2) the core cities of England; and what steps they are taking to improve the rates of the poorest performing cities.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The most recent annual publication of waste statistics shows the ‘household waste’ recycling rate for the 2019/20 financial year:
Recycling rates for 2020/21 for local authorities in England are not yet available. Recycling rates for 2019/20 were published on 3 March 2021. An ad hoc set of provisional results covering April 2020 to June 2020 was published on 12 May 2021.
The Government is committed to increasing both the quality and quantity of materials collected for recycling and making recycling easier for everyone. The Environment Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, introduces legislation that will require all collectors of waste to collect a core set of materials from households, businesses, and other organisations such as schools. The core set will be plastic, glass, metal, paper and card, food and garden waste (for household only). By collecting the same core set of materials there will be less confusion among householders and businesses about what they can put in their recycling bins. As a result, the amount of materials that local authorities collect for recycling will increase.
We want to work closely with local authorities to help them improve their recycling performance. We plan to provide guidance and examples of good practice.
Asked by: Lord Storey (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 case for creating new national parks.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
National Parks play a crucial role in conserving and enhancing the country’s most beautiful and iconic landscapes and also make a significant contribution to nature recovery, sustainable land management, health and well-being and green recovery.
The Government commissioned the independent Landscapes Review, led by Julian Glover, as part of the 25 Year Environment Plan, in recognition of the continuing importance of our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the nation. We are now carefully considering its recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to encourage retailers to replace plastic carrier bags with paper ones.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We are not encouraging retailers to replace plastic carrier bags with paper ones.
Consideration should be given to the environmental footprint of using different materials, with the best environmental choice being to remove the need for a single use bag altogether.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the Automatic Urban and Rural Network continuous monitoring stations that record air pollution have been closed down in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Automatic Urban and Rural Network has expanded over the last three years from 152 open stations at the end of 2016 to 164 open stations today.
In 2019 one station closed and its relocation is in progress. In 2017, three stations closed, two of which were relocated and one of which was replaced. In 2016, five stations were closed, one of which was replaced, one of which was relocated, and three of which were not replaced or relocated.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 31 January (HL13131), which village greens were approved (1) in full, and (2) in part; and whether the figures provided include town greens.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Three village green applications have been approved in full as of 31 January:
One village green application has been approved in part:
Moorside Fields, Lancashire (2015).
We do not record town green applications separately from village green applications because there is no substantive distinction in law between the two (section 15 Commons Act 2006).
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications they have received for village green status; and of those, how many were successful.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
According to the latest figures available, since 2006 there have been thirteen applications for the registration of village greens under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006.
Of these, three were granted in full, one was granted in part, six were refused and two were withdrawn. One is currently awaiting hearing at the Supreme Court.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
Her Majesty's Government how many Fishery Protection ships are patrolling UK waters at any one time; and what is the total number in the squadron.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We are unable to confirm the position at a UK level as fisheries protection is a devolved matter. However, the Royal Navy Fishery Protection Squadron comprises of 3 offshore patrol vessels of which one is currently tasked to meet the contractual commitment to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for the purposes of fisheries enforcement in England.
The number of RN Offshore Patrol Vessels reflects the adoption of a risk based, intelligence led operational model that enables targeted enforcement interventions in the right place at the right time. The requirement for all vessels over 12 metres in length to be fitted with the satellite tracking devices (Vessel Monitoring System) gives a real time picture of where fishing activity is happening enabling the efficient employment of patrol vessels. This information is monitored at the MMO control room in Newcastle.
In addition, when the RN Offshore Patrol Vessels are at sea but conducting other tasks they are still able to provide a presence which has a deterrent effect. This is supplemented by joint working with other agencies such as Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCAs), UK Border Force (UKBF) and the Police to ensure effective and timely intervention where illegal activity is suspected. Radar sweeps can be used by patrol vessels to identify potential targets and the AIS (Automatic Identification System) is also used in fisheries enforcement to detect fishing activity, including where fishing vessels are operating.