Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the level of global deforestation on economic growth in the UK in the next five years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has no plans to assess how global deforestation specifically will affect the UK’s economic growth over the next five years. However, economic growth will be considered along with other factors in shaping our policy on deforestation. We are currently reviewing how to address deforestation in UK supply chains and will outline our approach in due course.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 7 April 2025 to Question 43003 on Chemicals Regulation, if he will publish the projected cost of UK REACH to the Environment Agency in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has been allocated £1.8 million from Defra in 2025/26 to deliver its statutory duties under UK REACH.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of UK imports of commodities on the financial value of deforested land.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From our modelling we know that the UK consumption of agricultural commodities was associated with 35,600 hectares of deforestation worldwide in 2022 and 12.7 million tonnes of associated carbon emissions. The UK is estimated to have been the 15th largest driver of deforestation that year. The UK Government places an economic cost of £260 per tonne of carbon emitted, and the value of ecosystem services that forests provide are estimated to range from £9,000-£22,000 per hectare depending on whether they are tropical, which would include the Amazon, or temperate.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest on the UK economy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From our modelling we know that the UK consumption of agricultural commodities was associated with 35,600 hectares of deforestation worldwide in 2022 and 12.7 million tonnes of associated carbon emissions. The UK is estimated to have been the 15th largest driver of deforestation that year. The UK Government places an economic cost of £260 per tonne of carbon emitted, and the value of ecosystem services that forests provide are estimated to range from £9,000-£22,000 per hectare depending on whether they are tropical, which would include the Amazon, or temperate.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 plans to take to help tackle the impact of Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in the marine environment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is working closely with domestic regulators and key stakeholders to improve wider understanding and approach to managing the risks from PFAS. This includes working with the Environment Agency (EA) to assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources, and potential risks to inform future policy and regulatory approaches. My department has asked the Health and Safety Executive to consider a UK REACH Restriction on PFAS in firefighting foams, and a proposal is due to be published soon. Internationally, PFAS were added to the OSPAR List of Chemicals for Priority Action in 2023. This list identifies substances considered to be a threat to the marine environment and the actions that OSPAR Contracting Parties (including the UK) should take to minimise those threats.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 plans to take to further restrict the use of Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances where there are clear alternatives.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following the publication of a Regulatory Management Options Analysis (RMOA) on PFAS in April 2023, my department asked the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate whether to restrict PFAS in firefighting foams under the UK REACH (Restriction, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals) regime. HSE’s restriction dossier is due to be published for consultation in Spring 2025. Alongside this, my department is also considering further measures on PFAS.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 9 September 2024 to Question 3449 on Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances, when he plans to set out his plans for addressing Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances; and whether he plans to consider this as part of the review of the Environmental Improvement Plan.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The revised Environmental Improvement Plan, which will be introduced in 2025, will set out the Government’s approach to managing PFAS.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 impact of beaver reintroductions on flood resilience in areas where they have been trialled.
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. Yes, the Government has assessed the impact of reintroducing beavers on flood resilience. This includes an evidence review of the impacts of beavers on the natural and human environment in England, which shows beavers can reduce the risk of flooding.
Beavers can bring a range of benefits including contributing to flood risk mitigation, by using their dams and creating complex wetland habitats to slow the flow of water and to store water (a form of natural flood management). Appropriately managing the reintroduction of beavers in England helps to mitigate the impact they can have.
Building on the approach that we have already developed for wild release and management; we will collaboratively develop a management plan for the long-term reintroduction and recovery of beaver populations in England.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 impact of wild beaver releases on the (a) economy and (b) environment.
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.
Yes, Natural England have conducted assessments on the impact of beavers on the environment. This has primarily been done through the River Otter Beaver Trial and an evidence review of the interactions between beavers and the natural and human environments, published in 2021. The government recognises that beavers can bring many benefits for the environment, including boosting biodiversity, creating and restoring wetland habitats, and reducing downstream flooding.
The Government has not directly assessed the impact of beaver wild release on the economy. However, applications for beaver wild release licences must consider the socio-economic effect of their project, including conducting a risk assessment. Licences will only be granted for projects which are economically feasible and there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 making Cornwall a priority location for a wild beaver release.
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.
A licence is needed to release any beavers into the wild. Applications will be considered against comprehensive wild release criteria. These criteria have been designed to ensure only high-benefit, low-risk projects are licenced, and that beavers are reintroduced at a measured pace in a well-managed way. Any wild beaver reintroductions in Cornwall must therefore meet the criteria.