Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the appliance industry on introducing microfibre catching filters in washing machines to help mitigate microfibre plastic pollution.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government currently has no plans to require manufacturers to install microfibre catching filters on new washing machines and is working with industry to encourage improved environmental outcomes and reduce water pollution on a voluntary basis.
In 2020 Defra published the outcome of research into the sources and pathways of synthetic fibres and vehicle tyre wear contamination into the marine environment. A key conclusion from this research was that there are a large number of textile fibres in the air close to roads, particularly those with pedestrians, which could settle into waterways. This amount is much greater than the number of textile fibres entering the water environment from waste-water treatment plants, suggesting that washing machine filters would have a minimal effect on the number of microplastic fibres that enter the water environment.
Defra will continue to assess new and emerging evidence in this area to inform policy options for tackling microplastic pollution.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the water industry on implementing an environmental quality standard on plastics in water.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Addressing plastic pollution in our waterways is a priority for the Government, and water infrastructure is recognised as a key pathway for microplastics entering the wider environment. However, there are currently no established methodologies for measuring microplastics in the water environment, which means that implementing an environmental quality standard at this time is not practicable.
Defra is therefore working with the Environment Agency, academics and the UK water industry to establish consistent methods to identify, quantify and characterise the types of microplastics entering wastewater treatment plants. Defra and the Environment Agency are also working with the water industry to evaluate the efficiency of treatment processes for the removal of microplastics from domestic wastewaters, and to assess the fate and biological effects of microplastics in receiving rivers.
The UK is already making great strides to tackle plastic pollution. Our world-leading ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products has helped stop billions of tiny pieces of plastic from potentially entering the aquatic environment every year.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to tackle fly-tipping.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy set out our strategic approach to prevent, detect and deter waste crime. This included a commitment to strengthen sentences for fly-tipping and develop a fly-tipping toolkit. The toolkit, which will be developed with the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group, will be a web-based tool to help local authorities and others work in partnership to tackle fly-tipping.
In recent years we have also bolstered local authorities’ powers to tackle fly-tipping. We have introduced the power to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £400 to both fly-tippers and householders who pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier. We have also provided local authorities with powers to stop, search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.
In April 2021 we commissioned a research project considering the drivers, deterrents and impacts of fly-tipping. This research project is due to be completed before the end of this year and will support informed policy making. We are exploring additional funding opportunities, including the role of digital solutions.
We are also preparing a number of legislative reforms to tackle waste crime, which should help to tackle fly-tipping. We are taking forward the commitment in the Resources and Waste Strategy to develop proposals for the reform of the waste carrier, broker, and dealer regime. We are working with industry and the regulator and we intend to consult later this year. We also intend to consult on the introduction of mandatory electronic waste tracking. Digital records of waste movements will allow regulators to detect when waste doesn’t reach the next stage, which may indicate illegal activity including fly-tipping.
We are bringing forward several measures in the Environment Bill to ensure agencies and authorities can work more effectively to combat waste crime through better access to evidence and improved powers of entry. These new powers will help ensure waste criminals, such as illegitimate waste operators reliant on fly-tipping for income, are held accountable for their actions.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 to support community groups and local authorities to tackle the increase in littering in rural communities.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the Rt Hon Member for East Yorkshire on 19 April 2021, PQ UIN 180413.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the long-term sustainability of the rural economy.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 30 November, Defra published ‘The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024’. This document will help farmers and land managers better understand what changes are coming as part of the seven-year agricultural transition period, now that the UK has left the EU. The Environmental Land Management scheme is the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy and it is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
Defra is working with other departments on a range of other measures to support rural economies and help address long-term productivity challenges. This includes the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which will support investment in rural infrastructure and businesses and the £5 billion UK Gigabit Programme targeted at connecting hard to reach areas. Defra will shortly publish the first annual rural proofing report on how the needs of rural areas in England are being addressed.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 has taken to reassure farmers concerned about the potential effect on their sector of the end of the transition period.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. We have carried out extensive planning with industry and the Devolved Administrations to prepare for the end of the year, and we are committed to ensuring the continued supply of agri-food goods across the UK. We are equally committed to minimising disruption to movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
The Government has been clear that it seeks a free trade agreement with the EU, based on friendly cooperation and maintaining tariff and quota free access. We continue to monitor the market and using the powers available to us under the Government’s new Agriculture Act will be ready to respond in the event that market disruption occurs.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the import of animal feeds of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We will continue to keep Parliament informed with appropriate analysis at appropriate times in a way that does not impede our ability to strike the best deal for the UK. The Government intends to achieve a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU and the aim is for a zero tariff and zero quota FTA which we are working hard to achieve.
At the end of 2020 the UK will transition to Most Favoured Nation (MFN) terms with all those nations that it does not have a free trade agreement with. The MFN principle means that the same tariff must be applied to all WTO trading partners, unless an exception applies such as an FTA. The Government will publish more detail of the economic analysis in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) alongside the legislation, as is standard practice to support tax policy decisions.
Ensuring that UK food and feed remains safe and what it says it is remains a top priority. We are committed to having in place a robust and effective regulatory regime which will mean businesses can continue to run as normal and therefore there are no changes in terms of imports of animal feed to the UK. The majority of feed imported into the UK will not be subject to import checks and this will continue to be the case at the end of the Transition Period. The UK will retain EU legislation that is applicable at the end of the Transition Period to ensure feed is safe, and our high standards of food and feed safety and consumer protection will be maintained.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of whether the introduction of the Environmental Land Management Scheme has the potential to be an income source for farmers.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Our new Environmental Land Management scheme will provide an opportunity for farmers to derive an additional income stream through the delivery of environmental benefits. This will be centred around support aimed at incentivising sustainable farming practices, creating habitats for nature recovery and establishing new woodland and other ecosystem services to help tackle challenges like climate change.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing fines for fly-tipping.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fly-tipping is an unacceptable crime and we committed to increasing penalties for fly-tipping in our manifesto. We also undertook to strengthen sentences for waste crimes, including fly-tipping, in our 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy. We will do this, by among other measures, working with the independent Sentencing Council to ensure that the Environmental Offences Definitive Guideline is kept up to date. Our ‘fly-tipping toolkit’ will also cover how councils can present robust cases to the courts to secure tougher penalties.
Anyone caught fly-tipping may be prosecuted, which can lead to a fine or up to 12 months imprisonment, or both, if convicted in a Magistrates' Court. The offence can attract a fine or up to five years imprisonment, or both, if convicted in a Crown Court. The latest 2018/19 fly-tipping prosecution outcome figures showed that the value of total fines increased by 29% to £1,090,000 compared to 2017/18.
Instead of prosecuting, councils may choose to issue a fixed penalty notice (on-the-spot fine). Local authorities have the power to issue fixed penalties of up to £400 for fly-tipping offences, including to those caught fly-tipping and to householders who pass their waste to a fly-tipper. Vehicles of those suspected of committing a waste crime, including illegal dumping, can be searched and seized.
Prior to introducing the fixed penalties for those who commit a fly-tipping offence, Defra issued a call for evidence in 2015. The responses to this and further analysis undertaken when finalising the policy resulted in the maximum value of the fixed penalty notice being set at £400. Furthermore, we undertook a consultation in advance of granting local authorities the power to issue a fixed penalty notice of up to £400 to householders who fail in their duty of care in January 2019. Almost three-quarters of respondents (72%) felt that the proposed value (£200 default, maximum value of £400) was correct.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allowing local authorities to identify publicly people prosecuted for (a) fly-tipping and (b) hiring an unlicensed waste carrier.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fly-tipping is unacceptable wherever it occurs, and we are committed to tackling this crime.
The naming of fly-tipping offenders is not current Government policy. The Government is committed to encouraging local solutions for local problems. This is particularly relevant in tackling fly-tipping, which requires a local approach, tailored to the characteristics of the area and the community in which the problem occurs. It is therefore not for central government to assess or promote a single approach.
In our Resources and Waste Strategy we committed to developing a web-based toolkit to tackle fly-tipping. This will include advice and guidance on how local authorities can set up and run effective fly-tipping partnerships and share intelligence. Through the establishment of effective partnerships, it will be possible for local partners to share intelligence and evidence of fly-tippers operating across administrative boundaries.
Furthermore, the Police National Computer holds details of people who are, or were, of interest to UK law enforcement agencies following a conviction for a criminal offence, or are subject to legal proceedings, including for fly-tipping offences.
We are also taking action to tackle waste crime, which includes fly-tipping, through the Environment Bill. It will enable the Government to mandate the use of electronic waste tracking; simplify the process for enforcement authorities to enter premises under a warrant; introduce a new power to search for and seize evidence of waste crime; and reduce the cost and bureaucracy when the police seize vehicles involved in waste crime on behalf of the Environment Agency.