Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Welsh Government on their Collections Blueprint 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No such discussions have taken place, however regular engagement take place with the devolved governments on matters of shared interest as necessary, including at the Interministerial Group (EFRA)
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with local authorities on the use of fixed-penalty notices for households for minor waste receptacle issues.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In England, local authorities have limited powers to issue fixed penalties to households relating to waste receptacle requirements. Defra is not proposing changes to this position as part of Simpler Recycling reforms and has not conducted discussions with local authorities on the use of these powers.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 9 June 2025 to Question 57278 on Water Charges, if he will make it his policy to prevent water companies from using (a) rising block tariffs and progressive and (b) seasonal water metering for households.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government welcomes companies’ willingness to trial innovative new approaches to charging customers in order to make bills more affordable and improve water efficiency, putting pounds back in the pockets of working families.
Several water companies are trialling a range of progressive charging approaches. Ofwat as the regulator requires companies to ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles. Through these trials the sector will learn how to best support households with their water bills.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 27 June 2025 to Question 61181,on Coastal Erosion: Flood Control, how much capital funding for flood defence his Department has allocated for each year of the 10 year infrastructure programme.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, this Government is investing record levels in flood protection. We are investing £4.2 billion over three years (2026/27 to 2028/29) to construct new flood schemes and maintain and repair existing defences across the country.
Recognising the need to invest for the long-term, the Government is providing certainty over the budget for flood defences by committing £7.9 billion of capital (2026-27 to 2035-36) for a new 10-year floods investment programme, benefitting around 840,000 properties by 2035-36. This programme will launch in April 2026. The profile of spend will be determined in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 13 June 2025 to Question 57663, on Water Charges: Social Tariffs, how social tariffs will be funded; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of social tariffs on the residential customer bills of people who are not on a social tariff.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Social Tariffs are voluntary schemes designed and administered by water companies to provide a discounted water bill to qualifying customers who are unable to pay their water bill in full.
These schemes are permitted to be funded through cross subsidies from customers under Section 44 Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The Government is working with industry and Ofwat to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported and customer charges are fair and proportionate.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 27 June 2025 to Question 61181 on Coastal Erosion: Flood Control, whether the quantum of the £2.65 billion funding over 2024-25 and 2025-26 has been amended since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, this government announced in February 2025 that it will spend £2.65 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26, an average of £1.33 billion per year.
This investment compares to £1.05 billion spent under the previous government in 2023/24 and £950 million in 2022/23.
This Government has also announced the largest flood programme in history – committing a record £7.9 billion capital investment as part of its landmark 10-year Infrastructure Strategy.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 impact of seasonal water tariffs on households with gardens.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Several water companies are trialling a range of progressive charging approaches. Ofwat as the regulator requires companies to ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles. Through these trials the sector will learn how to best support households with their water bills.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department has provided to public authorities on what are reasonable charges under the Environmental Information Regulations regime.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department does not have a role in providing guidance to public authorities on reasonable charges under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. This is because the Freedom of Information Act 2000 sets out the general functions of the Information Commissioner in its section 47. These include disseminating information on the operation of the Act, good practice, and other matters within the scope of his functions under the Act. Regulation 16 of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 imports the general functions of the Commissioner, with the necessary modifications to references as required for the purposes of comprehension. The Commissioner has therefore published specific guidance on charging for environmental information on his website, including how a public authority can ensure that any charges are reasonable.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 30 May 2025 to Question 55440 on National Landscapes, for what reason work has stopped on the (a) Cheshire Sandstone Ridge and (b) Chiltern National Landscapes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Natural England has the statutory responsibility for identifying areas for new or extended National Landscape designations.
Given the pressures on public finances, Defra has had to make difficult decisions about funding. It was not affordable to continue Defra funding to Natural England to continue the new National Landscapes designations programme in 25/26. As such, Natural England have made the decision to keep working on some of the planned programme – including the Chilterns boundary review and the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge assessment. Other elements of the programme, including the Surrey Hills boundary review and potential new National Landscape in the Yorkshire Wolds, are being maintained and progressed as the work was further advanced.
Defra is prioritising supporting our existing Protected Landscapes to ensure they remain a source of national pride. We are committed to empower them to become greener, wilder and more accessible.
The existing boundary for the Chilterns National Landscape is unaffected and remains in place.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 21 May 2025 to Question 51132 on Water Charges, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the rollout of (a) progressive water metering or rising block tariffs and (b) seasonal water metering in addition to the planned trials on its guidance entitled Charging guidance to Ofwat, published in January 2016.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports innovative approaches aiming to make bills more affordable for their customers.
Defra are not conducting separate assessments.
Ofwat regulates the trials by requiring companies to ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles. Companies must also consult with the Consumer Council for Water to protect or exclude vulnerable customers, which ensures customers are protected while these important trials take place.