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 he is taking to reduce the use of single use plastics.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Our policies and regulations – such as the Packaging Waste Regulations – are designed to increase recycling and reduce the amount of packaging ending up in the natural environment.
The Government will set out a new Resources and Waste Strategy in 2018. It will set out how we will work towards our ambition for zero avoidable waste by 2050.
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 he is taking to increase the level of recycling of single use drinks containers.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Our policies and regulations – such as the Packaging Waste Regulations – are designed to increase recycling and reduce the amount of packaging ending up in the natural environment.
As part of the Litter Strategy for England, the Government has established the Voluntary and Economic Incentives Working Group. As its first piece of work, we have asked the Working Group to look at regulatory or voluntary measures to reduce littering and/or improve the recycling of drinks containers.
On 2 October the Working Group launched a call for evidence which remains open until 30 October. The call for evidence includes questions on the costs, benefits and impacts of deposit and reward and return schemes. The Group is due to provide us with advice on potential incentives for drinks containers early in 2018.
The Government will set out a new Resources and Waste Strategy in 2018. It will set out how we will work towards our ambition for zero avoidable waste by 2050.
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 proposals to strengthen penalties for those in breach of the Hunting Act 2004.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Under the Hunting Act 2004, an individual can receive an unlimited fine if found guilty of illegal hunting. Sentencing and the level of fine imposed if a person is found guilty is a matter for the courts.
The Government has no plans to strengthen these penalties.
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 the Government's policy is on fox hunting.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government’s manifesto includes a free vote on the Hunting Act 2004.
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 she will bring forward proposals to abolish the fishing rod licence and provide an alternative means to raise funds for the Environment Agency.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government has no plans to abolish the fishing rod licence. The income from the rod licence fee allows the Environment Agency to provide its fisheries service to rod licence holders.
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 much has accrued to the public purse from the fishing rod license in each of the last five years.
Answered by George Eustice
The table below shows the Environment Agency sales figures of rod licences in each of the past five years:
Year | Rod licence sales (£ million) |
2012/13 | 21.8 |
2013/14 | 21.6 |
2014/15 | 21.5 |
2015/16 | 21.1 |
2016/17 | 20.6 |
The rod licence year runs from 1st April to March 31st.
The fees the Environment Agency collects through rod licence sales are spent on providing a fisheries service to fishing licence holders. The Environment Agency’s fisheries functions, for which it has powers to collects licence fees, relate to maintaining, improving and developing salmon, trout, freshwater, and eel fisheries as specified in the Environment Act 1995.
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 prosecutions have there been for fishing without a valid rod licence in each of the last five years.
Answered by George Eustice
There have been the following number of prosecutions for fishing without a valid rod licence in each of the last five years:
Year | Number of prosecutions |
2012 | 2,168 |
2013 | 1,880 |
2014 | 2,268 |
2015 | 1,798 |
2016 | 2,088 |
All of the above figures are from between 1st January and 31st December.
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 the administration costs for issuing fishing rod licenses were in each of the last three years.
Answered by George Eustice
Over the past three years rod licences have been issued through website sales, telesales, over the counter sales under a contract with the Post Office Limited and a small proportion have been sold through retained agents. It is estimated that the average administration cost for issuing a rod licence is approximately £1.62 per licence.
Since 1 March 2017, the Environment Agency has been providing the website sales and telesales elements in-house, in compliance with the Government Digital Services (GDS) standards. Over the counter services are still being provided by the Post Office but the Environment Agency has now ceased to sell through retained agents.
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 she has made of the potential effect of a deposit return system for single-use drinks containers on the level of litter.
Answered by Rory Stewart
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green on 11 April this year, PQ UIN 32607.
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 the Government is taking to reduce litter on UK beaches.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK Marine Strategy Part Three, published in December last year, sets out the actions we are taking to improve the marine environment. It covers measures that contribute to reducing sources of marine litter, including sources of beach litter, and to remove what has already reached our beaches. Actions related specifically to UK beaches include Defra-funded beach cleaning schemes on priority beaches.
In addition, Defra and the Department for Communities and Local Government are working in partnership to develop a National Litter Strategy. This will promote concerted, coordinated and effective actions to reduce litter and littering on land, which in turn should lead to a reduction in the amount of litter reaching the marine environment, including our beaches.