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Written Question
Climate Change: Marine Environment
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential connection between global ocean protection and mitigating the effects of climate change.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises that climate change and biodiversity loss, alongside other human pressures, are having a detrimental impact on ocean health. Ocean action can be part of our response to both challenges; protecting and restoring coastal and marine habitats can provide a wide array of benefits, including flood protection, improving biodiversity, carbon sequestration and supporting ecosystems to be more resilient to climate impacts.

The UK plays a leading role in advocating for nature and ocean to be embedded in global climate action. The annual UNFCCC Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue was established under our COP26 Presidency. At COP28, we worked with international partners to secure a negotiated decision for the first Global Stocktake which encouraged the strengthening of ocean-based climate action.

As Chair of the Global Ocean Alliance, the UK successfully led calls for ambitious and meaningful outcomes for the ocean from the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15. As agreed at that COP, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes commitments to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030, restore degraded ecosystems and to tackle the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification, with Parties noting the interlinkage between these targets.

The UK played a significant and proactive role in securing The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement which will mean much greater protection for the two-thirds of the global ocean that lies beyond national jurisdiction. The Agreement will play a key role supporting the delivery of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including helping to achieve the target to effectively conserve and manage at least 30% of the ocean by 2030.

Financed from the UK aid budget, the £500 million Blue Planet Fund supports developing countries to reduce poverty, protect and sustainably manage their marine resources and address human-generated threats across four interlinked key themes, one of which is climate change.


Written Question
Clean Air Zones: Greater Manchester
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to make a decision on the non-charging proposal for the Greater Manchester clean air zone.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We requested further evidence from the Greater Manchester authorities to enable us to consider their plans and they have recently provided further information. We will respond to Greater Manchester in due course.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Thursday 4th January 2024

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 16 August 2023 and 25 October 2023 from the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, reference number MC2023/16104.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 14 December 2023. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.


Written Question
Joint Air Quality Unit
Tuesday 12th December 2023

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

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 21 November 2023 to Question 452 on Joint Air Quality Unit, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs/Department for Transport Joint Air Quality Unit (a) fulfills its remit and (b) delivers value for money.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Ministerial oversight of the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) is in line with that for other parts of the Department. The 2022 National Audit Office review of the NO2 Programme, which Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) delivers, noted the progress that Government has made in tackling illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide air pollution.


Written Question
Joint Air Quality Unit
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Joint Air Quality Unit; and whether the Government has plans to (a) review and (b) expand that Unit.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs/Department for Transport Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) exists to deliver compliance with legal limits for nitrogen dioxide in the shortest possible time. The Secretary of State has not made an assessment of JAQU’s effectiveness and there are no current plans to review or expand the unit.


Written Question
Air Pollution: Standards
Thursday 16th November 2023

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the World Health Organization’s Air Quality Guideline levels for (a) PM2.5 and (b) NO2 pollution to be met.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The WHO air quality guidelines are intended to inform the setting of air quality standards and are not ready-made targets for adoption as they do not take into account achievability or individual countries’ circumstances. For example, our evidence strongly suggests that the 2021 WHO guideline level for PM2.5 is not possible to achieve in many locations in England due to the level of natural PM2.5 and pollution blown in from outside the country. We do consider the WHO guidelines as part of an evidence led process when setting new air quality targets including the recently set PM2.5 targets which support continuous improvement in PM2.5 levels up to 2040. Our priority for NO2 remains working with local authorities to take action to achieve compliance with current NO2 limits in the shortest possible time.


Written Question
Property Development: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Thursday 21st September 2023

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Climate Change Act 2008 on trends in the number of property developments since 2008.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

The lead department on this issue is DESNZ. Defra has therefore made no such assessment.


Written Question
Deposit Return Schemes
Thursday 30th March 2023

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on new deposit return schemes in England.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recently published its response to the 2021 consultation on introducing a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The Deposit Return Scheme will launch in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland from 1 October 2025. Cabinet discusses a range of issues and those discussions are confidential.


Written Question
Convention on Biological Diversity
Tuesday 7th March 2023

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

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 help ensure the UK plays a significant role in the implementation of Target 7 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

UK diplomatic leadership was critical to agreeing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and we will continue to champion the framework’s implementation. Target 7 is a global target for Parties to achieve by 2030, and includes the aim to reduce the overall risk of from pesticides by at least half globally and encourages the uptake of integrated pest management (IPM).

IPM lies at the heart of the UK's approach to minimise the environmental impact of pesticides, both domestically and internationally. At home, we recently announced new paid IPM actions to be introduced to the SFI scheme this year. Farmers will be paid to complete an IPM assessment and produce an IPM plan; establish and maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips; establish a companion crop and to move towards insecticide-free farming. Globally, we are working with international partners to phase out use of the most harmful pesticides. For example, we are working with partners in Vietnam on the safe and sustainable use of agricultural pesticides to minimise environmental contamination and health impacts.

The pesticide specific indicator for Target 7 will be developed further over the coming year, informed by a group of independent global specialists. This is a global target, and we expect the steps needed to achieve it will vary by country, according to their current usage levels, and the agricultural and regulatory context.


Written Question
Food: Labelling
Monday 3rd October 2022

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

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 Consultation on amending domestic food legislation in England, closed in March 2021, what progress his Department has made on examining labelling regulations, including mandatory labelling on food.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Following consultation, the Food (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2021 came into force on 17th June 2021. These regulations, which do not directly relate to labelling regulations but to food compositional matters, removed mutual recognition clauses for imports of certain products containing meat, bread and flour, fruit curds and mincemeat, and spreadable fats. A period of adjustment was also provided which ended on 1st October 2022. (In the case of the Products Containing Meat etc. Regulations, this period was provided initially until 12th December 2021 but was later extended until the same date.)

HM Government is committed to optimising the information that is available to consumers, and the Government Food Strategy sets out work that we will be taking forward on consumer information and transparency. As part of this strategy, HM Government has committed to developing labelling policy in the areas of eco-standards, animal welfare, and country of origin.