Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the findings of the Environment Agency’s research report entitled Measuring resilience to flooding and coastal change, updated on 14 November 2022, when he plans to introduce a national set of resilience indicators.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has committed to develop a national set of indicators to monitor trends over time in tackling flood and coastal erosion risk in England. To inform the development of long-term indicators an Environment Agency led research project Measuring resilience to flooding and coastal change was published in November 2022. Further research is now exploring data collection and development of potential indicators through the £200 million flood and coastal resilience innovation programme. The Government will provide a further update on progress to develop a national set of indicators in due course.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many digital roles within his Department are vacant.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s Digital, Data and Technology Services has 240 approved vacancies. This represents 19% of 1,285 full time equivalent. 206 of these vacancies are roles on the Government Digital and Data framework.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraphs 1.2 and 1.3 of the Government response to the Fifty-first Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 2022-23 on Tackling Defra’s ageing digital services, HC 737, published on 21 July 2023, whether his Department has shared the document on key lessons and success factors behind the progress it has made in addressing legacy IT with the Central Digital and Data Office.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Yes, we have shared the document, and will be providing more detail as part of the Treasury Minute process.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
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 to ensure that extended producer responsibility requirements are implemented fairly.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An extensive programme of engagement remains ongoing with between Defra and the many organisations obligated by the Extended Producer Responsibility requirements. Our intention has been to ensure that our stakeholders feel that not only are they heard, but that we are taking their concerns on board. Engagement has so far included an eight-week series of ‘vision sprints’, regular, dedicated forums for business, local authorities and compliance groups, a programme-focused monthly newsletter to keep stakeholders updated, topic-specific webinars and, more recently, 1-to-1 conversations around co-design.
Separately, in recent weeks I have also met with my equivalent ministers in the Devolved Administrations to, again, listen to their concerns as we move forward together.
Throughout this engagement we are determined to ensure our reforms are balanced and proportionate and take into account a wide breadth of views. In implementing the reforms we will continue to engage widely with all interested stakeholders to develop a scheme that has broad buy-in from across the sector.