Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 implications for his policies of the work being undertaken by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation on (a) promoting lead free and environmentally sustainable shotgun and rifle ammunition and (b) the eventual voluntary phase out of lead ammunition in the next four years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I continue to welcome the British Association for Shooting and Conservation’s decision to promote the use of lead-free ammunition and its ambition to see an end to lead and single-use plastics in ammunition for taking live quarry within the next four years.
Lead is highly toxic and the majority of its potential uses are regulated to control exposure to humans and the environment. A large volume of lead ammunition is discharged every year over the countryside and research suggests up to a hundred thousand wildfowl die annually in the UK by lead poisoning from spent gunshot.
During debates on the Environment Bill, Defra Ministers recognised the importance of restricting the use of lead shot, and asked officials to look further into the most effective options for tackling the issue.
As a result, Defra has asked the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA) to prepare a UK REACH restriction dossier for lead ammunition. HSE and EA will examine the evidence of risks posed by it on human health and the environment and consider the case for introducing a restriction on lead in ammunition. The process will take approximately two years after which the Secretary of State (with the consent of Scottish and Welsh Ministers) will, on the basis of this review, make a decision on whether to further restrict the use of lead ammunition. These restrictions will explore a ban on the sale of lead shot as well as its use.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 6 July 2021 to Question 25745 on Animal Products: Imports, what plans he has to incorporate the 2016 CITES resolution that well managed and sustainable trophy hunting is consistent with and contributes to species conservation, in any future domestic legislation on trophy hunting.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are mindful of the importance of protecting our most threatened and endangered species and aware of the recommendations contained in CITES Resolution 17.9 on trade in hunting trophies of endangered species.
This Government is committed to halting and reversing global biodiversity loss and that is why we will ensure that our approach on hunting trophies will be comprehensive, robust and effective and will deliver the change we promised to help protect thousands of species worldwide. We will set out our plans soon.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that trophy hunting does not limit the ability of (a) private and (b) public landowners to engage in the culling of domestic deer stocks; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Deer management in England and Wales is covered by the Deer Act (1991) which sets out, for example, close seasons and prohibited methods of control. This legislation aims to manage wild deer to achieve the best combination of benefits for the economy, environment, people and communities for now and for future generations. In addition, as set out in the recent English Tree Action Plan, we will develop a national deer management strategy for England.
This Government has also committed to ban the import of hunting trophies from endangered species. Our approach will be comprehensive, robust and effective and will deliver the change we promised to help protect thousands of species worldwide. This action will not prevent landowners from culling deer in the UK. We will be setting out plans soon
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 for the implications of his policies of the 2016 CITES resolution that well managed and sustainable trophy hunting is consistent with and contributes to species conservation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government takes the conservation of endangered species very seriously, which is why we will be banning the import of hunting trophies from endangered species. Our approach will be comprehensive, robust and effective and will deliver the change we promised to help protect thousands of species worldwide. We held a consultation on this issue between 2 November 2019 and 25 February 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the publication of the Government response. We will be setting out our plans soon.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will provide a definition of sustainable abstraction in respect of removing water from chalk steam (a) aquifers and (b) rivers; and what criterion his Department takes into account in protecting such water environments from environmental damage.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Restoring England’s internationally important chalk streams is a Government priority.
The Environment Agency (EA) regulates abstraction from chalk streams and aquifers in the same way as from any other source. It set out its approach in a recent policy paper, Managing Water Abstraction.
An abstraction licence is unsustainable if:
For rivers, the EA uses the Environmental Flow Indicator as the default flow required to support Good Ecological Status in water bodies and to prevent deterioration. For existing abstraction, local ecological evidence is used to show whether an abstraction is causing environmental damage.
For groundwater, the EA uses 4 tests to assess groundwater bodies:
The EA is developing long term plans to reduce our reliance on chalk streams. The publication of the CaBA Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy later this year will set out recommendations on how to restore and protect England’s chalk streams. The EA is committed to working with all chalk stream stakeholders to better understand what more it can do in both the short and long term to make a difference on the ground.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to secure guide dogs and other assistance dogs part one listed status under the Pet Passport Scheme to facilitate travel with dogs between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and across the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The health and documentary requirements for pet travel to the EU are set out under the EU Pet Travel Regulations. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU rules also apply to the non-commercial movements of pets into Northern Ireland from Great Britain. There are no derogations for assistance dogs under the legal framework of the EU Pet Travel Regulations.
I have previously stated that we will continue to press the EU Commission in relation to securing Part 1 listed status, recognising that achieving this would alleviate some of the new requirements for pet owners and assistance dog users travelling to the EU and to Northern Ireland. We are clear that we meet all the animal health requirements for this and we have one of the most rigorous pet checking regimes in Europe to protect our biosecurity.
Regarding pet travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government is working with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on a permanent solution which respects the rights of assistance dog users and pet owners to travel with the minimum of friction. Guidance on pet travel to Northern Ireland is available on the DAERA’s NIDirect website.
We are proactively engaging with the assistance dog community and relevant stakeholders on the impacts on dog movements from Great Britain to the EU and to Northern Ireland. We will continue to work closely with assistance dog organisations to share the latest advice and guidance (in accessible formats) with their members on pet travel requirements.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many catchment management schemes were included in each of the water companies’ environmental programmes agreed by Ofwat in the recent periodic review (PR19), and what proportion those environmental programmes are of all schemes and expenditures in the total PR19 programme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are 550 catchment management schemes in the PR19 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) for England and the National Environment Programme (NEP) for Wales. This is 20% of total WINEP/NEP programmes, which have a combined total of 11084 separate schemes. Water companies were funded £4.8 billion to deliver the environmental improvements WINEP and NEP. This compares with a total PR19 final determination package of £51 billion to water companies for the period 2020 to 2025.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Environment Agency has to take steps to improve the quality of chalk streams under River Basin Management Plans under the Water Framework Directive; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is working with its partners to update the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs). Actions to improve the quality of chalk streams are being developed in discussion with the new national chalk stream restoration group. The updated RBMPs will include measures to improve low flows by reducing unsustainable abstraction and reducing demand for water, improvements to water quality from point source discharges and diffuse pollution, and actions to improve habitats through river restoration and removal of barriers to fish migration. Taken together these actions will help tackle pressures facing chalk streams.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency has taken to consult (a) locally and (b) nationally on the development of River Basin Management Plans; if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is working with a range of stakeholders in updating the river basin management plans, including the many catchment partnerships across England.
The Environment Agency has completed two statutory consultations to date as part of updating the plans: the Working Together consultation in 2018 and the Challenges and Choices consultation launched in October 2019. The original 6 month consultation period for Challenges and Choices was extended by 5 months in response to the coronavirus pandemic, closing on 24th September 2020. The Environment Agency received over 600 responses from individuals and organisations. These responses will help to inform the updated plans.
Draft updates to the river basin management plans will be published for consultation in 2021.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to implement water consumption standards for new houses; what plans he has in place to ensure compliance with those standards; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are already minimum standards for water efficiency that apply to new homes. Building regulations require that new homes are built to a standard of 125 litres of water used per person per day, or 110 litres per person per day if required by the local authority. The Government consulted on measures to reduce personal water use, including potential amendments to building regulations, last year and intends to publish a response as soon as possible in 2021.