Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department would receive an increase in their salary in the event that their hourly pay rate was (a) £8.72, (b) £9.30 and (c) £10.
Answered by George Eustice
This Government is committed to paying people a decent living wage, which is being addressed through the statutory National Living Wage (NLW). In April 2020, the NLW increases to £8.72 per hour. By 2024 the NLW will rise to £10.50 per hour, reaching 66% of median UK earnings. The scope will be expanded to everyone aged 21 and over and is expected to benefit over 4 million low paid workers.
No staff in core-Defra would require an increase in salary in the event that their hourly pay rate was either £8.72 or £9.30.
Less than 5 staff (0.09% of all staff) in core-Defra would require an increase to salary in the event that their hourly rate of pay was £10.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 to (a) reduce plastic pollution and (b) increase plastic recycling.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) for England, published in December 2018, sets out our plans to reduce, reuse, and recycle more plastic than we do now. Our target is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste throughout the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan, but for the most problematic plastics we are going faster - that is why we are working towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
We have already made good progress. The Government’s 5p plastic bag charge has led to a 90% reduction in the use of plastic carrier bags in the main retailers, and last year we consulted on plans to extend the charge to all retailers and on increasing the minimum charge to at least 10p. A summary of responses will be published in due course. We have also introduced a world-leading ban on the sale of microbeads in rinse-off personal care products.
The Government is committed to increasing recycling rates. The Environment Bill, which was cited in the Queen’s Speech, introduces legislation so that a core set of materials, including plastics, will be collected from households and businesses from 2023. We will also introduce measures, through an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, to encourage producers to use plastic packaging that can be recycled. The Government also consulted on proposals to introduce a world-leading new tax on the production and import of plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content and the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme. Together these measures will increase the quality and quantity of plastics collected for recycling.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 to reduce the amount of recyclable plastics going to landfill.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to increasing recycling rates. The Queen’s Speech committed the Government to bring forward our ambitious Environment Bill which introduces legislation so that a core set of materials, including plastics, will be collected from households and businesses from 2023. We will also introduce measures, through an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme, to encourage producers to use plastic packaging that can be recycled. The Government also consulted on proposals to introduce a world-leading new tax on the production and import of plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content and the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Together these measures will increase the quality and quantity of plastics collected for recycling.
The Government also continues to incentivise the diversion of waste away from landfill, through the Landfill Tax. For example, the standard rate of Landfill Tax, which applies to household waste, has increased from £11 to £88.95 per tonne between 2000 and 2018; the proportion of local authority collected waste sent to landfill decreased from 79.0% to 10.8% over a similar period (2000/01 to 2018/19).
We will soon consult on proposals to implement changes made to the Landfill Directive as part of the Circular Economy Package, which will restrict waste that has been separately collected for recycling, such as plastic waste, being accepted at landfill sites.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 effect on the (a) Government's clean air strategy and (b) roll-out of clean air zones of enabling the provision of (i) car clubs, (ii) daily car rental schemes and (iii) other alternatives to private vehicle ownership.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Defra did not assess the direct impact of car clubs, daily car rental schemes or other alternatives to private vehicle ownership on the Clean Air Strategy or the roll out of the Clean Air Zones.
The Clean Air Strategy was published in January this year and sets our approach for reducing emissions from a range of sources in order to improve air quality and reduce the impacts on human health and the environment. The policies in the Strategy were subject to extensive consultation, and estimates of the reduction in emissions delivered by these policies were published in April in the National Air Pollution Control Programme.
The Clean Air Zone Framework is designed to provide a consistent approach to the introduction of Clean Air Zones by local authorities in order to help businesses and individuals and support cities to grow and transition to a low emission economy. This will allow businesses and individuals to make straightforward economic decisions about which vehicles to purchase, and how and when they use them. The framework is also designed to encourage local authorities to explore promoting alternative modes of transport, including buses, cycling and walking, and other sustainable transport alternatives.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 an assessment of the potential merits of introducing tagging for trawler fishing nets to identify the source of sea litter when those nets are washed up onshore.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government is committed to reducing plastic litter in the marine environment from all sources, including fishing. Governance is in place to address waste, including plastic, and there are voluntary schemes run here in the UK to encourage good practice.
For the purposes of fisheries enforcement, guidance is in place that requires masters of a fishing vessel using static gear or beam trawls to mark their fishing gear so that it is identifiable. If all or part of their gear is lost they must attempt to retrieve it as soon as possible. This would include trawler fishing nets. If they are unable to retrieve their lost gear they must notify the UK fisheries authorities.
At the 33rd Session of the Committee on Fisheries for the Food and Agricultural Organization, the issue of marine litter, and in particular lost or discarded fishing gear, was discussed at length. The UK supports the Committee’s endorsement of voluntary guidelines for the marking of fishing gear, which assist fisheries management organisations such as regional fisheries management organisations in the development and application of gear marking policy.
Work is now underway to begin the development of an extended producer responsibility scheme for fishing gear containing plastic. This will require producers to take responsibility for gear at the end of life stage, and schemes will be in place across the EU under the European Plastics Strategy.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate his Department has made of the quantity of excessive packaging by online retailers which is going to landfill.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Essential Requirements Regulations already require producers to ensure that the packaging they use is the minimum to ensure safety, hygiene and meet consumer expectations. The Regulations make no distinction between online and high street retailers.
If anyone receives a product they believe to be “over packaged”, they should report it to Trading Standards who are responsible for enforcing these regulations.
As part of the recently published Resources and Waste Strategy we have committed to exploring changes to the packaging producer responsibility scheme. This will include a review of the effectiveness of the Essential Requirements Regulations.
We have not made any assessment of the amount of “excessive” packaging going to landfill.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to limit the use of excess packaging by online retailers.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Essential Requirements Regulations already require producers to ensure that the packaging they use is the minimum to ensure safety, hygiene and meet consumer expectations. The Regulations make no distinction between online and high street retailers.
If anyone receives a product they believe to be “over packaged”, they should report it to Trading Standards who are responsible for enforcing these regulations.
As part of the recently published Resources and Waste Strategy we have committed to exploring changes to the packaging producer responsibility scheme. This will include a review of the effectiveness of the Essential Requirements Regulations.
We have not made any assessment of the amount of “excessive” packaging going to landfill.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been (a) charged and (b) prosecuted for fox hunting on National Trust land in each of the last five years.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, Lucy Frazer MP, on 13 June 2018 to Question 150579 to the hon. Member for Preston, Sir Mark Hendrick MP.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been (a) charged and (b) prosecuted for fox hunting in each of the last five years.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, Lucy Frazer MP, on 13 June 2018 to Question 150579 to the hon. Member for Preston, Sir Mark Hendrick MP.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will bring forward legislative proposals to require supermarkets to collect discarded shopping trolleys.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 amended the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to give local authorities powers to seize, store and dispose of abandoned shopping and luggage trolleys. They can also recover costs from the owners of the trolleys.
Local authorities and other land managers may also use Community Protection Notices (under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014) to prevent unreasonable behaviour that is having a negative impact on the local community's quality of life.