Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with Ofwat to help ensure transparent pricing practices from water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Last week the Government published its Water White Paper which commits to measures to increase the transparency of pricing practices including reviewing tariff structures and enabling smart metering. Alongside this, Government will create a stable, predictable regulatory environment that lowers financing costs, streamlining planning and regulation to cut overheads, and enabling more efficient solutions, such as smart metering.
Water companies have committed to rolling out smart meters across 50% of homes and businesses by 2030. Government is working with Ofwat to ensure, via a Smart Metering Delivery Board, that customers get transparent information from meters on how they are being charged.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that planning exemptions for campsites in national landscapes maintain protections for the environment.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to working with local partners and Protected Landscapes organisations to understand how planning measures can protect the unique landscape and natural assets of these areas, while supporting sustainable tourism and rural economic growth.
Exempted organisations are encouraged to consult with the relevant National Landscape teams about what might be done to minimise environmental impacts of a site.
Permission must still be sought from Natural England by exempted organisations to use land within protected sites.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that planning exemptions for campsites in national landscapes maintain protections for the environment.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to working with local partners and Protected Landscapes organisations to understand how planning measures can protect the unique landscape and natural assets of these areas, while supporting sustainable tourism and rural economic growth.
Exempted organisations are encouraged to consult with the relevant National Landscape teams about what might be done to minimise environmental impacts of a site.
Permission must still be sought from Natural England by exempted organisations to use land within protected sites.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what definition her Department will use of a small farm for the purposes of the 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will provide more detail on the new SFI offer at the NFU Conference in February ahead of publishing the full scheme details before the first application window opens in June.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 Ofwat on the treatment of third-party water users where the account holder is not the end user, in relation to tariff trials operated by water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports the innovative approaches being taken to seasonal tariffs aiming to make bills more affordable and is engaging with industry leaders to drive further progress.
Ofwat called on companies to conduct charging trials, such as seasonal tariffs, aimed at supporting affordability and other sustainability goals such as reducing demand and have amended their charging rules to make it easier to conduct trials.
Companies can design their charges to provide benefits and incentives in a range of ways. Ofwat regulates charging trials by requiring companies to set fair charges for all customers, and ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles.
There are several trials taking place, or planned, across all companies between now and 2030. These trials could benefit consumers by making water bills more affordable for more households. Companies must consult with the Consumer Council for Water in developing their trials to ensure that the appropriate safeguards are in place ensuring vulnerable consumers are adequately protected or excluded from the trials.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 made representations to Ofwat regarding the requirement for third-party customers to be given opt-out rights from seasonal tariff trials.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports the innovative approaches being taken to seasonal tariffs aiming to make bills more affordable and is engaging with industry leaders to drive further progress.
Ofwat called on companies to conduct charging trials, such as seasonal tariffs, aimed at supporting affordability and other sustainability goals such as reducing demand and have amended their charging rules to make it easier to conduct trials.
Companies can design their charges to provide benefits and incentives in a range of ways. Ofwat regulates charging trials by requiring companies to set fair charges for all customers, and ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles.
There are several trials taking place, or planned, across all companies between now and 2030. These trials could benefit consumers by making water bills more affordable for more households. Companies must consult with the Consumer Council for Water in developing their trials to ensure that the appropriate safeguards are in place ensuring vulnerable consumers are adequately protected or excluded from the trials.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 Ofwat on the adequacy of the transparency of pricing of seasonal tariff structures for water.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports the innovative approaches being taken to seasonal tariffs aiming to make bills more affordable and is engaging with industry leaders to drive further progress.
Ofwat called on companies to conduct charging trials, such as seasonal tariffs, aimed at supporting affordability and other sustainability goals such as reducing demand and have amended their charging rules to make it easier to conduct trials.
Companies can design their charges to provide benefits and incentives in a range of ways. Ofwat regulates charging trials by requiring companies to set fair charges for all customers, and ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles.
There are several trials taking place, or planned, across all companies between now and 2030. These trials could benefit consumers by making water bills more affordable for more households. Companies must consult with the Consumer Council for Water in developing their trials to ensure that the appropriate safeguards are in place ensuring vulnerable consumers are adequately protected or excluded from the trials.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 adequacy of the clarity of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 relating to publicly accessible land.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department acknowledges that the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 contains a number of provisions relevant to the planning, management and use of land, and considers these to be clear in their intended scope and application. Section 245 strengthens the statutory duty on relevant authorities in National Parks and National Landscapes by requiring them to seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty when exercising their functions. The Act also supports the safeguarding and integration of walking and cycling networks through the planning system, building on existing policy in the National Planning Policy Framework.
More broadly, the Government has announced, as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, a commitment to publish an Access to Nature Green Paper to consult on proposals to increase access and engagement with nature. The Green Paper will test a range of policy options and invite views from stakeholders and the public, helping us to gather evidence and test approaches before decisions are made. This consultation will play an important role in shaping the development of future policy in this area.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent planning exemptions for campsites on protected landscapes in West Dorset.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of recent planning exemptions for campsites on Protected Landscapes in West Dorset. However, we are committed to working with local partners and Protected Landscapes organisations to understand how planning measures can protect the unique landscape and natural assets of these areas, while supporting sustainable tourism and rural economic growth.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 impact of releasing details of the 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive offer after June 2026 on farmers’ ability to apply.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will provide more detail on the new SFI offer at the NFU Conference in February ahead of publishing the full scheme details before the first application window opens in June.