Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
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 plans to include the restoration of saltmarshes for blue carbon in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Nature-based solutions, including blue carbon habitats such as saltmarshes, have an important role to play in preventing biodiversity loss and supporting adaptation and resilience to climate change, alongside their carbon sequestration benefits. HM Government cannot currently commit to inclusion of coastal wetlands in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory as there are currently significant evidence gaps that prevent the accurate reporting of anthropogenic activities and therefore emissions from coastal wetland habitats, including saltmarshes. The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is responsible for the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory, but through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with BEIS and the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon, including to support the potential future inclusion of saltmarsh in the inventory. The first aim of the Partnership has been to identify and then clearly set out the most pressing research questions relating to blue carbon in an Evidence Needs Statement that will act as a signal to the research community. The UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership plans to publish the Evidence Needs Statement in spring 2023.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential threat posed by African Swine Fever to the British agricultural sector.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Animal Health and Plant Agency has carried out an assessment on the risk of entry of ASF into Great Britain from the EU Member States. The assessment took into account the evolving disease situation in the EU and found the overall risk to be medium. The report also highlighted major consequences for the GB pig industry should there be an incursion of ASF. A UK-wide exercise that simulated an outbreak of ASF was carried out in 2021 to test government contingency plans to contain and eliminate the disease in the event that it reached the UK. The aim of the exercise was to help improve the UK’s animal disease response capabilities through testing plans, instructions and the structures employed in managing an outbreak.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency on sewage discharge and the accountability of water companies.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
I have regular discussions with the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency and tackling sewage discharges is one of my key priorities. HM Government is taking steps to prioritise water company action on sewage overflows. We have launched the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, that introduced strict targets on sewage pollution requiring water companies to deliver their largest ever environment infrastructure investment - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years. Our Plan will eliminate ecological harm from all sewage discharges and it will protect the ecology of our rivers and seas, and the public health of our water users for generations to come.
The Environment Agency and Ofwat have recently launched the largest criminal and civil investigations into water company sewage discharges ever, at over 2200 treatment works, following new data coming to light as a result of increased monitoring. Since 2015, the Environment Agency has brought 54 prosecutions against water companies, securing fines of almost £140 million. We have also recently announced that we will bring forward plans to increase the amount the Environment Agency can directly fine water companies who pollute the environment by 1000-fold, from £250,000 up to £250million.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she had made of the performance of the Environment Agency in achieving its objectives set by the EA2025 corporate plan.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency publishes its corporate scorecard on a quarterly basis, assessing its performance against the EA2025 corporate plan. This can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/environment-agency-corporate-scorecard
Defra also regularly assesses the Environment Agency’s performance across key priorities in Quarterly and Ministerial Performance Reviews. These reviews enable joint discussion of progress against priorities and any risks, challenges and opportunities that may emerge during the year.
Defra ministers regularly meet with the Environment Agency leadership to discuss performance and delivery of departmental priorities.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
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 on the future of all three elements of the Environment Land Management Scheme (ELMS) including (a) sustainable farming incentive (SFI), (b) local nature recovery (LNR) and (c) landscape recovery (LR).
Answered by Mark Spencer
As set out in the Growth Plan, we are looking at the frameworks for regulation, innovation and investment that impact farmers and land managers, to make sure that our policies are best placed to both boost food production and protect the environment. This includes looking at how best to deliver the Environmental Land Management schemes to see where and how improvements can be made, and we will continue to work closely with the sector to ensure these are designed and delivered in their best interests.
Claims we intend to go back on our commitment to the environment are simply not right. We’re not scrapping the schemes. In light of the pressures farmers are facing as a result of the current global economic situation, including spikes in input costs, it’s only right that we look at how best to deliver the schemes to see where and how improvements can be made.
Boosting food production and strengthening resilience and sustainability come alongside, not instead of, protecting and enhancing our natural environment, and later this year we will set out more details of plans on how we will increase food security while strengthening the resilience and role of farmers as stewards of the British countryside.
More information can be found at: Government reiterates commitment to environmental protections - Defra in the media (blog.gov.uk)
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) his predecessors have had discussions with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on civil contingency planning for drought since January 2022; and if he will publish the minutes of those meetings.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra and the Cabinet Office maintain regular contact at an official level to discuss a range of risks and issues, including those relating to dry weather and drought. Cabinet Office are also regular attendees of the National Drought Group, which have been taking place on a monthly basis. I do not have details of any meetings taking place specifically between my predecessors and the minister for the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
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 had discussions with (a) Ofwat and (b) water companies on civil contingency planning for drought since January 2022; and if he will publish the minutes of those meetings.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The National Drought Group, made up of senior decision-makers from HM Government, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, water companies and key representative groups is meeting regularly to agree the actions required to manage the current impacts of the drought and reduce the risks into next year. The EA publishes a summary of the NDG discussions and actions which is available here.
Defra is the Lead Government Department for drought contingency planning with further details available here.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on meeting the 30x30 pledge to protect 30 per cent of the oceans by 2030.
Answered by Scott Mann
Since 2019, the United Kingdom has been leading the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA) of countries championing ambitious ocean action under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. The United Kingdom also serves as ocean co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature & People (HAC for N&P), alongside Costa Rica and France, which champions 30by30 for both the land and the ocean. Between these alliances, over 120 countries have pledged to support the global 30by30 ocean target at the upcoming 15th Conference of Parties to the CBD (COP15) in December 2022.
Nearly 8.3% of the global ocean is now protected[1]. Achieving a global 30by30 target will require an international effort, from all countries and sectors. The United Kingdom is leading the way, with 374 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protecting 38% of United Kingdom waters. The United Kingdom’s Blue Belt programme has also resulted in the protection of 4.3 million km2 of ocean around the Overseas Territories. Under the United Kingdoms’s 2021 Presidency, the whole G7 committed to reach or exceed 30% land and sea protection nationally.
The United Kingdom strongly supports the conclusion of negotiations as soon as possible on a new implementing Agreement under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), including a mechanism to establish Marine Protected Areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). This will be crucial to achieving 30by30.
The United Kingdom has also launched the Blue Planet Fund, a commitment of £500million from the United Kingdom Aid budget to support developing countries protect and sustainably manage their marine resources, including through Marine Protected Areas.
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[1] UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2022), Protected Planet, available at: www.protectedplanet.net.