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 support local authorities to prevent gulls nesting in urban areas; and whether she has had discussions with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations on this matter.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are a range of legal methods that can be used to deter gulls to prevent or at least minimise problems in urban areas. Natural England has issued this guidance on managing wild birds using non-lethal measures. It has also piloted two organisational licences with Bath and Northeast Somerset Council; and Worcester Council for the purposes of urban gull management. It has invited and encouraged other councils to apply if they are experiencing gull issues and offered advice. Furthermore, Natural England colleagues have spoken directly to local authorities and presented to council environmental health officers through webinars hosted by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. While current Defra Ministers have not held discussions with counterparts in the devolved Governments on this matter, a Natural England representative attended the recent Scottish ‘Gull Summit’ to share learning on how Natural England is working with local authorities on managing gulls and providing licensing support.
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 her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of (a) urban littering and (b) waste management on the behaviour of gull populations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government has not made a recent national assessment on the potential impact of urban littering and waste management on the behaviour of gull populations. The effective management of litter and waste are matters for local authorities in the areas in which they occur.
All wild birds in England, including gulls, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and only in exceptional cases does the law allow for certain exemptions to this protection, such as to preserve public health and safety.
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 the potential impact of trends in the level of urban gull populations on public (a) health and (b) safety.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The two large gull species frequently seen in urban areas are the lesser black-backed gull and herring gull. There is a long term decline in the breeding population of both, which is most acute in coastal, rural areas. At the same time as this decline, and notwithstanding that populations of these birds in towns and cities are problematic to estimate, urban populations may have increased in recent years.
Defra has not made a recent assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of urban gull populations on public health and safety. All wild birds in England, including gulls, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The law allows for certain exemptions to this protection, such as to preserve public health and safety.
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 requires operators of biomass power stations to publish annual data on the quantity and composition of ash produced.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All installations permitted under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 are required to supply pollution inventory data annually. For biomass power stations, this includes the amount of ash produced, but not it’s composition. Pollution Inventory data is published after it has been verified by the Environment Agency. Pollution Inventory data can be found here: Pollution Inventory - data.gov.uk.
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 has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting restrictions similar to those in Switzerland on the spreading of biomass ash on fields.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has not made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting restrictions similar to those in Switzerland on the spreading of biomass ash on fields.
Waste and agriculture are devolved policy areas, so this response only covers England. In England you can spread waste to land to improve soil health. This can help reduce the need to use manufactured fertilisers and quarried soil conditioners.
Spreading waste to land must be controlled by an environmental permit, regulatory position statement, low risk waste position or waste exemption to protect the environment and human health. It must result in agricultural benefit or ecological improvement, and be waste recovery, not waste disposal.
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 information his Department holds on the total quantity of ash produced annually from the burning of biomass at the Drax power station.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The quantities of various waste streams produced at Drax are required to be reported to the Environment Agency using the national Pollution Inventory system. For 2024 the figure for ash from biomass was just over 300,000 tonnes.
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 information his Department holds on whether ash from biomass burned at the Drax power station is (a) spread on agricultural land, (b) used in cement production or (c) sent to landfill.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Of the 300,000 tonnes of biomass ash produced in 2024, ca 65,000 tonnes (22%) was used in the cement industry with the remainder being landfilled.
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 ensure that ash produced from the burning of wood pellets is disposed of in a manner that is safe for (a) the environment and (b) public health.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Drax power station is regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) under the conditions of its environmental permit and is required to operate in such a way as to minimise the risk of pollution. Ash generated at Drax Power Station is sent to the adjacent Barlow Mound landfill for disposal.
Barlow Mound landfill is for ash and other specified wastes from Drax and is regulated under a separate environmental permit and includes controls to monitor and minimise the impact on the environment. This includes monitoring to assess potential impacts to both surface and groundwater around the site.
For public health the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a consultee for Environmental Permitting decisions made by the EA in relation to sites such as power stations.
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 his Department has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive Scheme on the natural environment in Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Agriculture is a devolved policy area, and the Sustainable Farming Incentive is an England-only scheme. There is therefore no impact on farmers in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency.
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 his Department has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive Scheme on farmers in Inverness, Skye, and West Ross-shire constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Agriculture is a devolved policy area, and the Sustainable Farming Incentive is an England-only scheme. There is therefore no impact on farmers in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency.