Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her strategy is for tackling urban diffuse water pollution.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The Government’s role in tackling water pollution from the urban environment is centred on improving our understanding of the problem and the possible solutions, and then, in line with the evidence, both facilitating action by others and taking action ourselves where appropriate.
In line with this approach we are committing £2m grant funding in the next financial year for local projects that tackle urban diffuse water pollution.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
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 to publish the strategy to tackle urban diffuse water pollution referred to in her Department's Summary of responses to the consultation on Tackling water pollution from the urban environment.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The responses we received through our consultation on proposals for tackling diffuse water pollution from urban sources were extremely positive. Over 90% of respondents agreed with our strategic aims. We are using this information to develop an action plan for publication later in 2015.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
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 efforts to reintroduce the short-haired bumblebee Bombus subterraneus to the UK.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The reintroduction of Bombus subterraneus (the short-haired bumblebee) to the UK has been underway since 2012 through a partnership between Natural England, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, the RSPB and Hymettus. There have been annual releases of queen bees from Sweden in the Dungeness and Romney Marsh area of Kent. A number of landowners in the area are supporting the reintroduction by restoring the habitat that the species depends on using agri-environment schemes. The partnership project officer and a team of volunteers have been monitoring this habitat every summer and in 2013 and 2014 worker short-haired bumblebees were seen in the area. This provides direct evidence that at least some of the released queens have successfully formed colonies. Queen releases and monitoring of habitat will continue through to 2016 at which point it is hoped that there will be evidence that a self-sustaining population is becoming established.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
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 encourage the use of green waste as compost.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The Government supports recycling of green waste, including work to develop markets for quality compost. For example, the Government has supported the Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) to facilitate the development of the British Standard Institution’s Publicly Available Standard 100 (BSI PAS 100), working with industry to deliver a robust specification which provides national standards for quality of compost. In addition, the Environment Agency has revised its Quality Protocol for compost, which sets out when compost is no longer treated as “waste”. These standards provide confidence in composted materials for end users and help producers ensure their products are safe, reliable and perform well.
The Government is also helping fund a four year research project undertaking large scale field trials and demonstration projects into the use of quality anaerobic digestate (biofertiliser) and compost in agriculture. This includes an extensive knowledge exchange programme to support the use of green waste as compost.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
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 17 October 2014 to Question 209943, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that contraventions of the Water Industry Act 1991 are being detected.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The Drinking Water Inspectorate, Environment Agency and Ofwat (Water Services Regulation Authority) are responsible for ensuring that contraventions of the Water Industry Act 1991 are detected. In discharging their functions they undertake inspections, check compliance, review plans and reports, investigate incidents and act upon their findings. Each organisation publishes details annually of the action they have taken.
Further to their powers within the Water Industry Act 1991 the Environment Agency and Ofwat are Prescribed Persons on The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014 (SI No. 2418) with regard to whistle blowing.