Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 he has made of the potential impact of the provisions in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 on levels of environmental protection.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It has not been necessary to carry out such an assessment. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 will only remove from the UK statute book pieces of Retained EU Law (REUL) specifically cited in the revocation schedule. These are being removed because they are obsolete, expired, duplicated, no longer relevant to the UK, or have been superseded by new legislation. The Government remains fully committed to upholding environmental standards. Ministers made commitments at all stages of the Bill’s passage not to reduce environmental standards and protections. Since the start of November Ministers have had a legal duty to have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement under the Environment Act 2021 when making policies using the REUL Act’s powers. This Government uses expert advice, including that of many independent experts, when making provisions that relate to the environment.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much grant funding was provided to the Office for Environmental Protection in financial years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) in England is publicly funded by a grant in aid from Defra as the sponsoring department.
In 2022/23, Defra provided £7,108,583 of baseline funding and £4,364,366 of additional funding to the OEP to support establishment costs.
In 2023/24, Defra increased baseline funding to £8,130,755 and provided £1,100,000 of additional funding.
The OEP’s activity in Northern Ireland is funded separately by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information on the Government’s proposed amendments to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill on nutrient neutrality the Office for Environmental Protection had access to in the last six months.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Secretary of State discussed the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill with Dame Glenys Stacey on 31 August 2023, and sent a follow-up letter on the same day. The letter is published on the Office for Environmental Protection’s website here.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release entitled, Update on packaging reforms to help drive down inflation, published by her Department on 25 July 2023, what assessment she has made of the impact of deferring the extended producer responsibility scheme on the delivery of the (a) fifth and (b) sixth carbon budgets.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The decision to defer producer payments under Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging was taken jointly with the Devolved Administrations in light of the pressure facing consumers and businesses in the current economic context, but internal analyses conducted by my Department prior to the announcement of the deferral estimated only a very small impact on the delivery of Carbon Budgets 5 and 6. My department will continue to engage closely with all of our stakeholders on the design of core aspects of pEPR as we look to deliver an enduring scheme that provides the systemic change required to meet our environmental objectives.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release entitled, Update on packaging reforms to help drive down inflation, published by her Department on 25 July 2023, what assessment she has made of the impact of deferring the extended producer responsibility scheme on the delivery of the (a) Government’s waste target under the Environment Act 2021 and (b) interim targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The decision to defer producer payments under Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging was taken jointly with the Devolved Administrations in light of the pressure facing consumers and businesses in the current economic context, but internal analyses conducted by my Department prior to the announcement of the deferral estimated only a very small impact on our statutory target and the interim targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan. My department will continue to engage closely with all of our stakeholders on the design of core aspects of pEPR as we look to deliver an enduring scheme that provides the systemic change required to meet our environmental objectives.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her letter to the Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection of 25 July 2023, if she will publish (a) a list of the experts from whom her Department received advice regarding the inclusion of Regulations 9 and 10 of the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018 and the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1522 in Schedule 1 of the Retained EU Law Act and (b) the advice that she received; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Regulations 9 and 10 of the National Emissions Ceilings Regulations 2018 and Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1522 concern the preparation of a National Air Pollution Control Programme. The Secretary of State received advice from Defra officials following established processes in regard to these provisions and the Retained EU Law Act. The Secretary of State does not intend to publish that advice. The Secretary of State did not receive any advice from external sources.
The Secretary of State will inform Parliament when there is an update to give, in line with established protocols.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 (a) Natural England, (b) private sector stakeholders and (c) other organisations on the potential impact of the proposed changes to nutrient neutrality rules on private investment in nature recovery.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra Ministers and officials hold regular discussions with a range of stakeholders on private investment in nature recovery, including Natural England, private sector stakeholders and other organisations.
We remain committed to delivering a step change in private investment to support our ambitious goals for nature’s recovery. We are supporting this through a range of measures as set out in the 2023 Green Finance Strategy and Nature Markets Framework. By unlocking stalled development, alongside the initiatives on biodiversity net gain, the Government’s proposed reforms would increase private investment in natural recovery.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 publish all correspondence sent between Natural England and her Department on changes to regulations on nutrient neutrality and the delivery of new homes since 1 May 2023; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions by Government and its Arm’s Length Bodies are not normally disclosed. More broadly, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 4 September 2023, HCWS1003, outlining the benefits from the Government's proposed reforms which will improve water quality and help deliver more homes.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 publish data on the number of nutrient mitigation credit schemes in the pipeline for Natural England approval in each of the last 12 months; how many pipeline schemes were paused (a) in each of those months and (b) since the Government's announcement of changes to the rules on nutrient neutrality and home building; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Competent Authorities such as Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) are responsible for conducting a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) for new plans or projects where one is required. Natural England provides statutory advice on HRAs but does not register or accredit all nutrient credits sold by LPAs or private providers where nutrient neutrality is a condition of planning consent.
Natural England’s own Nutrient Mitigation Scheme has enabled more than 3,500 homes since its first credits were made available for sale in the Tees and Cleveland Coast catchment in March 2023.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's expected timescale is for the draft Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations 2023 to be considered by the House.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Parliamentary business will be scheduled and announced in the usual way.