Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on reform of gun laws.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Reform of gun laws is a matter for the Home Office.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with groups representing (a) the shooting industry and (b) people who shoot since 25 October 2022.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has met regularly with the shooting industry and people who shoot.
External ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis here.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on firearm reforms, in the context of the shooting in Keyham, Plymouth.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has held discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on firearm reforms since 25 October 2022.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of dog-on-dog attacks in the last 12 months.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Any information on the number of dog-on-dog attacks will be held by individual local authorities and police forces. We are currently working in partnership with the police, local authorities and animal welfare organisations to ensure that the full range of existing dog control powers are effectively applied to encourage responsible dog ownership and reduce the risk of dog attacks. As part of this, we are considering ways in which the collection and reporting of data relating to dog control incidents could be improved to inform prevention strategies. Conclusions from this work are expected later this year.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has considered the potential merits of including more water efficiency measures in the Greening Government Commitments.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Greening Government Commitments set out water efficiency measures that UK Government departments and their agencies will take to reduce impacts on the environment in the period 2021-25.
The current commitment is to reduce water consumption by at least 8% by 2025 from the 2017 to 2018 baseline. In 2021, the Government achieved reductions of 14% water usage (against a 2014 to 2015 baseline) saving an estimated £10.4 million in 2020 to 2021.
We will review this commitment and how it will deliver our water demand target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% per person by 2038.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 implement a ban on cigarette filter tips that contain plastic.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cigarette butts continue to be the most littered item according to a survey commissioned by Defra. On our behalf, WRAP have recently explored options for tackling littering of cigarette butts. We are now considering next steps.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Plymouth City Council on the felling of over 100 trees in Plymouth City Centre.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
It is for the local planning authority to consider any development proposals on their individual merits and to decide the appropriate route to granting planning permission where that is required. I have written to Plymouth City Council. We want to see more trees and green spaces close to where people live, not fewer and it is a disappointment when we lose mature trees in the urban environment. However, I understand that the council has a more ambitious plan in place, including planting more trees than felled and that many of the trees may have been in bad shape. Our ambitions outlined in the England Tree Action Plan (ETAP) and the launch of the Nature for Climate Fund Tree Programme make it ever easier to plant new trees and protect those in the existing landscape. We have committed in the ETAP to ensure future planning reforms will lead to more trees being planted and strong protections for existing trees. We offer a suite of technical guidance and funding streams to support local authorities enhance their treescapes.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she provides guidance to local councils on large-scale tree felling projects.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The government is committed to protecting our valuable street trees. The government requirement for local authorities to consult the public when they fell street trees will come into force later this year. We will be issuing guidance on the duty to consult later this year. The consultation process will increase transparency in decision making and allow the public to be consulted before a street tree is felled. In December 2022 we published best practice guidance for local authorities to produce their own local tree and woodland strategies, supporting local authorities to expand, manage and protect local treescapes. The Local Authority Tree and Woodland Strategy Toolkit provides step-by-step guidance to develop an effective trees and woodland strategy to realise the multiple benefits trees can deliver to communities. We want to see more trees close to where people live. Defra supports LAs tree planting activity through access to several of the Nature for Climate Fund Grant schemes, such as the Local Authority Treescape Fund, Urban Tree Challenge Fund, Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund and the England Woodland Creation Offer.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of Plymouth City Council removing 100 trees from Armada Way on her Department's tree planting policies.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We want to see more trees in our urban spaces, not less, and that is why we have legislated a statutory tree and woodland target to increase tree canopy and woodland cover of England to 16.5% by 2050. This includes individual trees outside woodlands. The Environment Act requires new developments and infrastructure projects to achieve at least a 10% measurable biodiversity net gain ensuring that nature will be retained and enhanced in the built environment. This year (2022/23) £5.4 million has been made available through the Local Authority Treescapes Fund to support the planting and maintenance of trees in urban areas. It is for the local planning authority to consider any development proposals on their individual merits and to decide on the appropriate route to granting planning permission where that is required.