Asked by: Iain Wright (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on (a) Uber for Business and (b) other Uber transactions since 28 October 2016.
Answered by George Eustice
Core Defra did not make any payments to Uber for Business between 28 October 2016 and 21 February 2017.
Staff within Core Defra who claim expenses for taxis used for work-related travel are not required to specify the name of the taxi company they used. The Department’s finance system lists only two transactions between 28 October 2016 and 21 February 2017 where the traveller has identified that they used Uber. These transactions total £13.99.
Asked by: Iain Wright (Labour - Hartlepool)
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 powers available to local authorities to intervene on privately-owned land to (a) monitor and (b) protect the welfare of horses; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
The Animal Welfare Act 2006 provides appropriate powers to allow Local Authority inspectors to investigate allegations of poor welfare of horses. The 2006 Act was reviewed in 2010 and the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made no recommendation to change the powers available to Local Authorities.
Asked by: Iain Wright (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on (a) air quality and (b) pollution levels caused by vehicles in Hartlepool constituency; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Defra provides information about recent and historic levels of pollution, pollution forecasts, health advice and background modelled data on the UK-AIR website at: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/. Forecasts are issued daily and cover the next five days.
Although Defra does not have a permanent monitoring station in Hartlepool, the nearest monitoring stations can be found on UK-AIR’s interactive monitoring networks map at: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/interactive-map.
Modelled data is provided for levels at roadside locations for major roads in the UK. This data can also be found at: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/gis-mapping. Local authorities (in this case Hartlepool Council) have a responsibility to assess air quality at a local level. Defra provides guidance and air quality assessment tools to support local authorities in carrying out their duties under the Environment Act 1995. This information can be found at: http://laqm.defra.gov.uk/. Local authorities report on the outcomes of assessments in air quality reports and submit the reports to Defra. Air quality reports include air quality monitoring data, pollutant emissions, sources of pollution and historical trends.
Hartlepool Council’s air quality reports do not apportion information on pollution levels between those caused by traffic vehicles and other sources.