Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who will represent the Government at CoP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China, in the summer.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Kunming, China in October 2020.
The make-up of the UK delegation will be confirmed closer to the time and will be dependent on the conference agenda. Decisions about UK Ministerial involvement will also be made closer to the time.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to implement the EU Single Use Plastics Directive 2019/904 which came into force on 3 July 2019.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
There is a two year transposition period for the EU Single Use Plastics Directive. An assessment of the legislative work required to transpose the directive is being carried out.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
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 penalise (a) local authorities and (b) companies found to be illegally exporting refuse and recycling abroad.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The UK Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations set out offences in relation to the shipment of waste and provide that a person found guilty of an offence can be fined and/or imprisoned for up to two years. The regulations are enforced by the UK’s competent authorities which will take appropriate action against any illegal activity.
The UK has a robust approach to enforcing these controls. The UK environmental regulators take a pro-active, intelligence led approach to checking compliance, targeting exports which pose a high risk and intervening to stop illegal exports taking place. In 2017/18, the Environment Agency issued 158 stop notices, prohibiting the export of unsuitable waste. It stopped 367 containers of waste destined for illegal export at ports and intervened further upstream to prevent 8,974 tonnes of waste from reaching our ports.
After exports are stopped, the costs associated with returning a waste shipment that is found to be unfit for export to the site of origin for further treatment can be a significant cost to the exporter. This prevents illegal exports and makes sure that the waste is recovered or disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.
I have asked the Environment Agency to contact you with more information on their enforcement activities and the letter will be placed in the Library.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government is reviewing the planning regulations on the installation of wood burning stove chimneys near residential properties as part of the ongoing review into domestic fuel burners.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
No. The focus is on the fuels used and guidance on how stoves should be best used.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
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 ban the marketing of single-use wipes as flushable if they do not conform to the Water UK approved fine to flush standard.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy, the actions we will take to encourage producers to take more responsibility for the lifespan of their products and make sure these are more carefully designed with resource efficiency, and waste prevention in mind. This includes wet wipes.
The Government is working with the water industry and wet wipe manufacturers to prevent wet wipes entering our waterways and damaging our marine environment. I hosted a cross industry wet wipes roundtable in November 2016, to tackle the issue of wipes being incorrectly flushed and causing sewer blockages. Following the meeting, revised wet wipe industry guidance requires a ‘Do Not Flush’ label to be displayed far more prominently on non-flushable wipes.
We support the water industry’s ongoing work on their voluntary ‘Fine to Flush’ label, to ensure that any wipes which are marked as being ‘flushable’, are plastic free and are truly flushable, meaning they can enter the sewage system without causing blockages or harming the environment. We are actively encouraging the water and wet wipe industries to work together to develop an agreed ‘flushability’ standard for those wipes that are intended for disposal via toilets.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to encourage retailers to introduce plastic-free supermarket aisles.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government is currently working with retailers to encourage their efforts to reduce packaging waste and to explore the introduction of plastic-free supermarket initiatives in which all the food is loose, giving consumers the choice to make greener decisions.
Packaging plays a valuable role in increasing shelf-life of many food items and therefore reduces food waste. However, there are likely to be opportunities where offering food loose may help to reduce plastic waste whilst not impacting on shelf life.
The Government is also looking at further ways to reduce avoidable waste and recycle more as part of its Resources and Waste Strategy to be published later this year.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
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 publish his Department's consultation on the introduction of a deposit return scheme.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has confirmed that it will introduce a deposit return scheme in England, subject to consultation later this year. The consultation will look at the details of how such a scheme would work, alongside other measures to increase recycling rates.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) he or (b) officials in his Department have met with representatives of the (i) Scottish and (iii) Welsh Government to discuss the potential scope of a deposit return scheme.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Secretary of State has discussed deposit return schemes (DRS) with Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Roseanna Cunningham, Welsh Minister for Environment Hannah Blythyn and Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths.
Defra officials have met their counterpart officials representing the Scottish and Welsh Governments to discuss the potential scope of a DRS.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the charity sector on reducing the use of single-use plastic bags in door-to-door collections.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government has not had any discussions with the charity sector on reducing the use of single use plastic bags in door to door collections.
Following a public consultation last year, the Fundraising Regulator has strengthened its Code of Practice, which requires charitable house to house collectors not to post collection bags to properties that indicate they do not wish to receive them, thus reducing the distribution of unwanted charity collection bags.
Charity textile collections offer a convenient way for people to reduce their environmental impact and contribute to the 650,000 tonnes of clothing reused or recycled which might otherwise be sent to landfill, while also benefiting charitable causes.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of water companies that require consumers to pay bills up to a year in advance; and how that practice compares to other utility markets.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We have not made an estimate of the number of water companies that require consumers to pay bills up to a year in advance. We have also not compared such a practice to other utility markets.
Water companies use a variety of billing, payment and collection methods and can be flexible in their billing arrangements. However, they must be set within Ofwat’s (the independent water regulator) charging rules and guidelines. These rules include a requirement that companies give customers a reasonable choice as to the times and methods of payment of their charges. Customers should contact their water company to discuss their payment plan and the billing options they have.
All companies offer a range of support to those household customers who may be struggling to pay their bill, including social tariffs, customer assistance funds, payment plans and information about water efficiency advice and products. Information is available on their websites or from the Consumer Council for Water.
For business and other non-household customers who receive their water and wastewater services from a retailer, it is for individual retailers to decide which billing and collection methods they use. Retailers must comply with codes set by Ofwat and must inform customers of the type, frequency of bills and payment methods available. Business customers can discuss payment plans with their retail provider and can explore switching to another provider who may be more flexible with their billing arrangements. Not all retail providers will require payment in advance. Information about the business retail market can be found at https://www.open-water.org.uk/