Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - 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 he will assess the environmental impact of the use of microplastics in industrial processes.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
On Friday 21st July, the Government published the summary of responses to our consultation on plans to ban the manufacture and sale of cosmetics and personal care products containing microbeads, which may cause harm to the marine environment. We will introduce legislation later this year. The consultation also asked for evidence on other sources of marine plastic pollution. We will use the responses to develop future UK action to protect the marine environment.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - 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 proportion of microbead-derived plastic which enters the natural environment originates in rinse-off cosmetics and personal care products.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Microbeads from personal care products are believed to make up a small percentage of the total of microplastics entering the environment. European studies estimate that they may contribute from 0.1% to as much as 4.1% of microplastic pollution..
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - 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 he has made of the effectiveness of using tier 3 visas to tackle labour shortages in the soft fruit industry.
Answered by George Eustice
We remain closely engaged with industry to ensure that we are informed of the latest intelligence on the labour market.
The Home Office intends to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to better understand the reliance on EU migrant workers across the economy and consider the UK’s labour market needs.
The number of non-UK workers in the agriculture and horticulture sector after we leave the EU will depend on the final shape of domestic immigration policy.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - 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 he plans to introduce legislation banning the use of plastic microbeads in products for use in the home.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
We ran a consultation between 20 December 2016 and 28 February 2017 on our intention to ban microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products. We will publish the Government’s response to the consultation shortly. Additionally, the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKCPI) has assured us that no microbeads are used in UK-produced household and industrial cleaning products.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - 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 the Government will take steps to reduce the number of non-recyclable paper coffee cups used in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Paper coffee cups are covered by the Packaging Waste Regulations. The UK meets its packaging waste recovery and recycling targets through a market-based approach. These targets are reviewed periodically to encourage more recycling of packaging, including paper and cardboard. Packaging producers who put more than 50 tonnes a year of packaging materials on the market and have an annual turnover of more than £2 million are required to recover and recycle a proportion of their packaging waste. As a result, major coffee chains pick up a financial obligation to recycle their packaging waste, including paper coffee cups, through this mechanism.
We are aware of many major chains who are taking their own action to incentivise environmentally friendly behaviour, for example, offering a reusable cup discount on drinks if people bring their own cups.
Industry has also put in place the Paper Cup Recycling and Recovery Group (PCRRG). As part of this, a manifesto signed by over 40 companies was launched on 27 June this year, with the aim of “significantly increasing paper cup recovery and recycling rates by 2020”.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many journeys Ministers of his Department have made using the Government Car Service; and how many such journeys were for the transportation of a red box.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The information could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.