Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 protect the areas of Shrewsbury’s town centre, Coton Hill, Coleham, and Riverside, from flooding.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
After severe flooding in Shrewsbury in 2000, the Frankwell and Coleham Head Flood Alleviation Schemes were built. These schemes are designed to protect 75 and 80 properties respectively. These schemes proved to be highly effective at alleviating flooding to properties, businesses and infrastructure during further significant flood events, including February 2022.
The Environment Agency has recently conducted an initial assessment for areas of Shrewsbury which remain at risk of flooding. Identified options have been explored and indicative solutions have been shared with communities via Flood Action Groups.
The Environment Agency is working closely with Shropshire Council as it considers options to redevelop the riverside area of the town. This includes exploring options for further reducing flood risk.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 is taking to mitigate the risk of flooding throughout Shrewsbury in the short and medium term, in the context of recent record levels of flooding.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is investing a record £5.2 billion in a new six-year capital investment programme to deliver around 2,000 flood schemes, benefiting every region of England, better protecting 336,000 properties from flooding.
The Environment Agency routinely inspects and maintains its existing flood risk management assets at the Frankwell and Coleham Head areas in Shrewsbury, ensuring they remain operational and highly effective at alleviating flooding to properties, businesses and infrastructure including through the most recent significant flooding events.
The Environment Agency with the River Severn Partnership is developing a catchment scale approach to sustainable flood risk and water management across the Upper Severn catchment, to help address flooding and the impacts of climate change under the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme. This scheme has been provided with £10 million of Government Economic Recovery Funding to support the development of business cases and the frameworks needed to underpin future delivery. Amongst other outcomes, the scheme seeks to develop catchment-based approaches to reduce flood risk to up to 3,000 properties and 1,000 businesses across the upper and middle Severn. An additional £4.5 million of economic recovery funding has also been allocated to ‘demonstrator’ projects benefiting the Shrewsbury region: at Attingham Park, on the Rea Brook, in Guilsfield, Afon Camlad and Afon Cain Brooks in the upstream catchment.
The Environment Agency and partners are also developing a long term Climate Resilience & Adaption Strategy to cover the geographical extent of the River Severn area, encompassing the Severn catchment, comprising the Severn, Teme, Avon and Wye.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been conducted on the effectiveness of flood defences during the last flooding experienced by Shrewsbury.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
During the significant flood event in February 2022, Coleham Head and Frankwell flood defences were deployed, together protecting over 150 properties. Once again, these schemes proved to be highly effective at alleviating flooding to properties, businesses and infrastructure. Information to date confirms that approximately 50 to 100 properties were impacted in Shrewsbury and the surrounding area, both residential and non-residential.
After a flood event, the defences are assessed by EA asset inspectors to ensure they continue to perform as intended. Following these inspections in Shrewsbury, some minor ingress was discovered consistent with assets of this age. Action has already been taken with consultants who have carried out investigations and drawn up remediation plans for implementation by EA contractors this year to ensure the defences remain in excellent condition.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to provide support to the fertiliser industry in the context of the recent increase in gas prices.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Agricultural commodity prices are closely linked to global gas prices. Farmers are facing increased input costs, including for fertiliser, feed and fuel. We are monitoring the situation closely, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group. Defra is in regular contact with key industry figures including the National Farmers Union, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and key sector representatives.
The Government announced on 30 March a number of actions to help mitigate the current issues and support farmers and growers ahead of the next growing season. These included changes to statutory guidance to the Environment Agency on how they should implement the "Farming Rules for Water" to provide clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter to meet agronomic needs.
The announcement also included new infrastructure grants to help farmers improve slurry storage and management from Autumn 2022 under the Farming Investment Fund ; alongside measures in the Farming Innovation Programme to boost research, including on nutrient management; and a delay to changes to the use of urea by at least a year. When the urea restrictions are introduced, they will be related to the use of ammonia inhibitors rather than a complete ban.
We recognise that fertiliser pressures on the livestock and arable sectors may differ, particularly over the farming seasons. On 31 March, Minister Prentis hosted the first meeting of the Fertiliser Task Force with key industry bodies to discuss potential mitigations to the challenges which global supply pressures are causing. Ministers will continue to meet with key industry bodies for further fertiliser round-table sessions in the coming months, to help identify and mitigate potential risks.
Support in the form of guidance from fertiliser suppliers and agricultural organisations such as National Farmers Union can be found from various public sources. Defra is aware that AHDB have published many helpful public pieces of guidance, advice and webinar recordings on mitigating high fertiliser prices. They can be found on the AHDB website.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Fertiliser Taskforce will next be convened to discuss fertiliser prices; and whether the minutes of that taskforce will be published.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 impact of fertiliser price rises in 2022 on the net farm business incomes of farmers in England.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 plans to review the impact of reductions in Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments to farmers in the period 2021-27 on the viability of English farms in the context of rising fertiliser and other input costs.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding his Department has allocated to fertiliser production plants in the UK in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022; and whether his Department plans to provide further funding to those plants in 2022.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In September 2021, the government provided limited financial support for CF Fertilisers’ operating costs for three weeks. The deal enabled CF Fertilisers’ Billingham plant to continue to operate while global gas prices remained high. It meant that key sectors, including food processing and nuclear power, were ensured supplies of CO2. Details of this support will be published in the usual way in the 2021-22 BEIS Annual Report and Accounts.
Industry then came to an agreement in October without taxpayer support to ensure CF Fertilisers on Teesside could continue to operate for 3 months. This market-led agreement was renewed in January 2022 and continues at the current time, even with high global gas prices.
In the longer term, the government would like to see the market take measures to improve resilience, and we are engaging on ways this could happen.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 prepared contingency plans to nationalise fertiliser production.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 plans to provide support for farmers with developing farming techniques that reduce the need for ammonium nitrate fertilisers in the context of increases in fertiliser prices in 2022.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government announced on 30 March a number of actions to help mitigate the current issues and support farmers and growers ahead of the next growing season. These included changes to statutory guidance to the Environment Agency on how they should implement the "Farming Rules for Water" to provide clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter to meet agronomic needs.
The announcement also included new infrastructure grants to help farmers improve slurry storage and management from Autumn 2022 under the Farming Investment Fund; alongside measures in the Farming Innovation Programme to boost research, including on nutrient management; and a delay to changes to the use of urea by at least a year. When the urea restrictions are introduced, they will be related to the use of urease inhibitors and timings of application rather than a complete ban.
Given current fertiliser prices, our priority must be to pioneer new technologies to manufacture more organic-based fertiliser products in future and we will support the development of these through the Farming Innovation Programme.
We must also look at alternatives to fertiliser, using techniques like nitrogen fixing legumes and clovers. We have therefore announced that the Government will pay farmers, through the Sustainable Farming Incentive, to help them with the costs of sowing nitrogen fixing plants and green manures in their crops – or in advance of their crops – to substitute some of their fertiliser requirements.