Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help (a) limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5 celsius, (b) address biodiversity decline by 2030, (c) protect nature and (d) decarbonise.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
At COP26, 197 Parties agreed to the Glasgow Climate Pact to urgently keep 1.5°C alive. We brought nature to the heart of the climate COP for the very first time, with more than 140 world leaders, representing 91 per cent of the world's forests, committing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. At COP27, the UK Government continued to demonstrate leadership on nature and climate through new investments: the Secretary of State committed to £30 million of seed finance into the Big Nature Impact Fund, a new public-private fund for nature in the UK which will unlock significant private investment into nature projects. She (not he) also announced an additional £12 million investment in the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance to make marine biodiversity and vulnerable coastal communities more resilient, and a further £6 million in the UN’s Climate Promise programme to help developing countries achieve their climate commitments.
These steps build on a strong foundation of action and leadership by the UK, reducing our emissions by over 40% since 1990 while growing the economy by three quarters. Defra has a vital role to play in delivering the Government's Net Zero Strategy and ensuring nature-based solutions are a vital part of the climate agenda.
The UK will continue to lead globally on the road to the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15.2, hosted in Montreal, where we must secure agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss globally by 2030.The UK is committed to securing an ambitious outcome. We will continue to champion the protection of at least 30% of land and ocean globally, as the chair of the Global Ocean Alliance.
Responsibility for the domestic environment is devolved. However, in England, we are taking unprecedented steps to address biodiversity decline and protect nature, not least through our world leading Environment Act, which requires a new, legally binding target to be set in England to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, and introduces Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities to work together to protect our native species.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
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 take steps to support research and development into alternative materials to peat in growing media that meets the requirements of consumer and professional horticulturists.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has always been clear about the need to end the use of peat and peat-containing products in horticulture in England.
We have worked with the horticulture industry to develop a Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media, which allows manufacturers and retailers to make informed choices of growing media inputs to peat free products, based on environmental and social impacts.
We continue to support industry in their efforts to go peat free, this has included over £1 million on a project to provide the necessary applied science to help underpin the development and management of alternative growing media. We are co-funding monitoring with the horticultural industry on the composition of growing media (including peat) supplied for amateur and professional use in the horticultural market.
While there has been some progress, the voluntary approach to phasing out the use of peat in horticulture has not succeeded. The Government therefore published a full consultation on banning the sale of peat and peat-containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament in England and Wales. The Government also asked for any evidence stakeholders can provide on the impacts of ending the use of peat and peat-containing products, we will publish our response to this consultation in due course.
We will continue to work across Government, and the private sector, to find solutions that will enable the use of peat and products containing peat to end. This includes the ground-breaking work being conducted by Forestry England to reduce peat use within tree nurseries; and identifying regulatory barriers in respect of potential peat replacement products.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with the horticulture and gardening industry to tackle regulatory and fiscal barriers to peat alternatives in growing media composts.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has always been clear about the need to end the use of peat and peat-containing products in horticulture in England.
We have worked with the horticulture industry to develop a Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media, which allows manufacturers and retailers to make informed choices of growing media inputs to peat free products, based on environmental and social impacts.
We continue to support industry in their efforts to go peat free, this has included over £1 million on a project to provide the necessary applied science to help underpin the development and management of alternative growing media. We are co-funding monitoring with the horticultural industry on the composition of growing media (including peat) supplied for amateur and professional use in the horticultural market.
While there has been some progress, the voluntary approach to phasing out the use of peat in horticulture has not succeeded. The Government therefore published a full consultation on banning the sale of peat and peat-containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament in England and Wales. The Government also asked for any evidence stakeholders can provide on the impacts of ending the use of peat and peat-containing products, we will publish our response to this consultation in due course.
We will continue to work across Government, and the private sector, to find solutions that will enable the use of peat and products containing peat to end. This includes the ground-breaking work being conducted by Forestry England to reduce peat use within tree nurseries; and identifying regulatory barriers in respect of potential peat replacement products.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
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 set a revised date for the publication of the National Food Strategy.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The forthcoming Food Strategy White Paper is a once in a generation opportunity to create a food system that feeds our nation today and protects it for tomorrow.
It will build on existing work across Government and identify new opportunities to make the food system healthier, more sustainable, more resilient, and more accessible for those across the UK. Given ongoing wider circumstances, we expect to publish the food strategy after the pre-election period for the local elections.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2020 to Question 43677, what the total amount of funding available through the Zoo Support Fund is for England; and whether this fund qualifies for Barnett consequentials.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Zoos Support Fund (ZSF) is £14 million in total for England. The ZSF qualifies for Barnett consequentials. As a result of this package, the Devolved Administrations will receive £2.1 million in additional funding.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what discussions the Commission has had with representatives from (a) trade unions and (b) other staff organisations on the health and safety implications of the House returning on 2 June 2020 without hybrid proceedings.
Answered by Pete Wishart
The House authorities on behalf of the Commission have met with representatives of the Trade Unions for staff in the House of Commons and PDS formally at least three times per week since the beginning of March, and with representatives of Members’ and Peers’ Staff Association (MAPSA) and Unite as representatives of Members’ staff. These discussions have covered all aspects of how the House is responding to Covid-19, including preparations for the return of the House on 2 June.
The Commission has also invited submissions from the groups mentioned above.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what risk assessment the Commission has made of the effect on security staff of the House returning on 2 June 2020 without hybrid proceedings; and whether (a) PPE and (b) other equipment has been purchased for those staff to mitigate the risk of covid-19.
Answered by Pete Wishart
The provision of personal protective equipment to protect against coronavirus has been guided by Public Health England. After a review, they have advised that the only work on the estate that requires face masks for protection against the coronavirus is undertaken by the occupational health team.
Aprons and face masks for use by security officers are available for the security team to wear whilst processing a person through search and screening if they wish, but they are not an essential risk control.
The House of Commons has carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment to comply with the government’s guidance on managing the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace. The results have been shared with House staff, hon. Members and other individuals who work on the Parliamentary Estate. The assessment has also been published on the Parliamentary intranet and the UK Parliament internet transparency pages.
Local task-specific risk assessments have been undertaken by individual teams and offices across the House of Commons to facilitate work activities recommencing safely on the estate. Aligned with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance, the significant findings of these risk assessments have been recorded and used to communicate and manage the risks at Parliament.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with the devolved Administrations to provide for a consistent household recycling and waste collection process throughout the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environment policy is devolved. However, Northern Ireland wants similar arrangements to England which is why it has clauses in the Environment Bill which was introduced in Parliament on 15 October https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2019-2020/0003/20003.pdf.
The measures in the Bill mean that all the UK nations will have similar requirements for the collection of recycling materials.
This will help the UK as a whole move to higher levels of recycling and less waste to landfill.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve the UK’s Ocean Health Index score.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK Marine Strategy puts in place the framework for achieving good environmental status in UK waters. A recent consultation on the progress made towards GES showed that whilst progress was being made further work was needed.
The updated UK Marine Strategy Part I assesses an array of ocean health factors as well as economic and social analyses of the way we use our marine environment and the benefits it provides us. The updated assessments will be published later this year, giving improved information to the scientists working on the UK’s Ocean Assessment Score.
The UK is already a global leader in protecting seas, the ocean and marine life. Our work includes the creation of 355 Marine Protected Areas protecting 25% of UK waters, including the recent designation of 41 Marine Conservation Zones. On 8 June we announced a review into Highly Protected Marine Areas in England, which is due to report by early 2020.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
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 local authorities provide food waste collections as part of their refuse collection service.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2018/19 167 local authorities out of 327 (51%) offered food waste collection services for residents.
One of the commitments in the Resource and Waste Strategy was to work towards zero food waste to landfill by 2030. Our ‘consultation on consistency in household and business recycling collections England’ sought views on food waste being collected separately from dry recycling materials and other types of waste from households and businesses. Given the support for this proposal, the Government will legislate to ensure that every local authority in England provides a separate food waste collections from 2023.