Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 reduce (a) sulphur dioxide and (b) nitrogen oxide emissions from power generation.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Regulation of emissions of pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only.
A regulatory framework, the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2016, controls pollution from industry, including power generation. Sites are required to obtain environmental permits and meet limits on emissions of air pollutants, including sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, as set out in the Regulations. All large industrial facilities, including Large Combustion Plant, are regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) and must use best available techniques (BAT) to reduce emissions and report their emissions. The BAT approach ensures standards are enhanced over time by defining the available techniques which are the best for preventing or minimising emissions and impacts on the environment.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 ensure compliance with international agreements on reducing transboundary air pollution contributing to acid rain.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a Party to the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. We are fully compliant with our international commitments to reduce pollutants causing acid rain. The Government is committed to continuing cooperation with our neighbours to reduce transboundary air pollution and protect the public from the harm of pollution. The UK is playing an active role in ongoing negotiations to revise the 2012 amended Gothenburg Protocol, under the Convention.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what monitoring networks her Department supports to measure acid deposition.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Precipitation Network (Precip-Net) measures the chemical composition of rainwater at 48 UK sites. Acid air pollutants measured include ammonium, nitrates and sulphates. More information can be found here.
It is part of the umbrella UKEAP (UK Eutrophying and Acidifying Pollutants) Network which also measures airborne concentrations of pollutants that lead to acidification and nitrogen deposition.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 tackle the causes of acid rain.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ammonia, NOx and sulphur were the main acidifying pollutants deposited onto UK woodland in 2021. Defra has published guidance and advice through Catchment Sensitive Farming on practical actions farmers can take to reduce emissions. Grant support has also been provided to help farmers invest in equipment, such as low emission slurry spreaders, that will reduce ammonia emissions.
The Government has legally binding targets under the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018 to reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants such as ammonia and nitrogen oxides that contribute to nitrogen deposition which can negatively impact biodiversity in sensitive habitats.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of acid rain.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The most recent assessment of the trends in acid deposition was published in the Air Pollution Trends Report 2024.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 collect data on livestock losses attributable to white-tailed eagle predation.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A formal reintroduction of white-tailed eagles on the Isle of Wight has released 45 birds, since 2019. All the eagles in southern England are fitted with GPS tags, collecting high resolution data of their movements. Detailed diet monitoring has revealed no livestock losses related to the eagles, with fish and waterbirds identified as the most important components of their diet.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to provide funding to support farmers for non-lethal mitigation measures for white-tailed eagle predation.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has no plans to provide funding to support farmers for non-lethal mitigation measures for white-tailed eagle predation.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the impact of white-tailed eagle predation on livestock.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has not discussed the impact of white-tailed eagle predation on livestock with the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her Scottish counterpart on the potential impact of plastic pollution on beaches in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Inverness, Skye and West Ross Shire constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Plastic pollution is one of the greatest environmental challenges that we face today – it litters our beaches, threatens wildlife and contributes towards climate change.
The UK Government works closely with the Scottish Government on plastic pollution and beach litter is monitored across the UK under the UK Marine Strategy. Annual reports on UK beach litter are published online: Annual beach litter reports (2023) - ME4168. Monitoring data is also reported in line with our obligations under the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic and is used in the OSPAR beach litter assessment: Abundance, Composition and Trends of Beach Litter.
UK Government and the Devolved Governments have taken action to address some of the most commonly-found beach litter items – for example, legislation to restrict the supply of certain single-use plastic items has been introduced across UK nations.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of issuing guidance to local authorities on non-lethal deterrents for managing urban gull populations that comply with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England has previously issued this guidance on managing wild birds using non-lethal measures. Neither Defra nor Natural England has assessed the merits of developing further targeted guidance for local authorities on this matter but we understand that NatureScot has recently updated its guidance and published data on the impacts of licensed activity on gull populations in Scotland. Natural England has also, this year, commenced a project on large gull management at the regional and national scale regarding both urban and rural gull populations.