Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Scottish Government has submitted a request for a United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 exemption to implement a deposit return scheme in Scotland.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (IMG EFRA) on 6 March, UK Government ministers received a formal request setting out the scope and rationale for a UKIM exemption for the Scottish Government's deposit return scheme. It will now be considered by Ministers at the relevant Whitehall departments.
Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 hold discussions with Girlguiding on their research on young people's views on deposit return schemes.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials have met Girlguiding to discuss their research on deposit return schemes. We will continue to engage with a large range of stakeholders, including young people, to ensure everyone has their say.
Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 3 July 2019 to Question 268974, if his Department will impose a moratorium on development on peatlands pending the publication of his Department's England Peat Strategy.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Development affecting peat is controlled through the Town and Country Planning system. The National Planning Policy Framework contains strong protections for habitats of environmental importance which planning authorities are expected to regard in their decision making.
Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 make it his Department's policy to protect remaining areas of peat moss in the UK from development.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Around 75% of the area which still supports blanket bog vegetation is already protected from development via a range of statutory conservation designations. Of the remaining area of lowland raised bog which still supports semi-natural vegetation, around 85% is protected.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) protects irreplaceable habitat from development within its remit, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons to allow it. Whether individual peat moss sites are irreplaceable is a matter of judgement for local authorities to determine when considering applications. Sites are irreplaceable when it is technically very difficult (or would take a very significant time) to restore, recreate or replace once destroyed, taking into account the age, uniqueness, species diversity or rarity.
The NPPF also protected peatlands from development for minerals extraction by ending the granting of new licences for peat extraction.
The government is preparing a peatland strategy which will outline our approach.
Asked by: Graham Brady (Conservative - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 potential merits of the protection and restoration of peat moss in achieving net carbon neutrality for the UK.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Recently published Government research identified that the emissions from UK peatlands range from 18.5 to 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Peatland restoration is therefore a key way to mitigate emissions and will play an important role in achieving net carbon neutrality in the UK. We will publish an England Peat Strategy later this year which will set out our approach to protecting and restoring peat.