Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what funds are available for environment agency flood alleviation projects in each county in the East Midlands.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is committed to better protecting the East Midlands and the area remains a high priority.
In the previous financial year 2022/23, the Environment Agency’s East Midlands Area, which encompasses Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire as well as parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, spent a total of £35.5 million of Grant in Aid funding on flood alleviation projects.
The Environment Agency’s investment plan currently projects spending £155.6 million across the area between 2023/24 and 2026/27.
The table below shows the funding split for each of the counties. Investment that benefits more than one county is captured in the row titled ‘cross county boundaries’.
Grant-in-Aid (GiA) | ||
Counties | Previous Financial Year 2022/23 (£m) | Programme 2023/24 – 2026/27 (£m) |
Cross county boundaries | 3.7 | 23.4 |
Derbyshire | 15.5 | 59.7 |
Leicestershire | 1.3 | 7.8 |
Nottinghamshire | 11.1 | 53.1 |
Yorkshire | 0.2 | 2.0 |
Lincolnshire | 3.7 | 9.6 |
Totals | 35.5 | 155.6 |
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many 'orphan' waste sites deal with hazardous waste; and what recent discussions they have had with businesses about minimising taxation barriers for such sites.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Environment Agency has no records of orphaned waste sites containing hazardous waste. Local Authorities will hold records of orphan sites on their contaminated land registers.
A Call for Evidence was held from 21 July to 18 August 2022 on a Proposed Landfill Tax Grant Scheme. The Grant Scheme, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the last Spring Budget, will help Local Authorities cover the cost of landfill tax in land remediation projects. The Government Response to the Call for Evidence was published on 15 March 2023 and the Grant Scheme is currently under development.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of the final LEADER allocations have been made to former coalfield constituencies.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what policies his Department has put in place (a) for the capture and relocation of feral cats, (b) to tackle the overpopulation of feral cats and (c) to reduce the spread of diseases by feral cats.
Answered by George Eustice
Significant animal welfare concerns have not been raised with the Government in relation to feral cats although other concerns may apply. The Government considers that local authorities are best placed to consider local issues relating to the capture and relocation of feral cats. The Government strongly advises all cat owners to microchip their cats so that if their cats become lost or displaced there will be a much better chance that they will be re-united and not join the feral population.
The Government recommends that owners should neuter their cats if they do not intend to breed from them, and ensure that they have appropriate inoculations as advised by a vet. These actions will help to reduce the chances of cats becoming stray and adding to the feral population, and should help reduce the spread of disease. In addition, some animal welfare charities run neutering schemes for feral cats to prevent their numbers increasing and spreading disease.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) names of and (b) amounts paid to the 200 highest-receiving recipients of Common Agricultural Policy basic payments were in 2016.
Answered by George Eustice
CAP payment data held for the 2016 European Commission financial year (16 October 2015 – 15 October 2016) is published on the UK CAP payments website.
The link is http://cap-payments.defra.gov.uk/Search.aspx.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many foreign workers were brought into the UK to work on farms through Government-approved labour schemes in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 to date.
Answered by George Eustice
The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) was established to bring foreign workers into the UK to work on farms. SAWS was closed in 2013 when transitional restrictions on nationals of Bulgaria and Romania were lifted, enabling free movement of all EU workers. There were no Government-approved labour schemes in the UK for farm workers in 2016 or in 2017.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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 level of potential risk posed by granulated refrigerator foam on abandoned waste sites in the UK; and how many sites are affected by such potential risks.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Environment Agency recognises that polyurethane foam could cause a risk to health if it catches fire. That is why, in the Bassetlaw constituency, the Environment Agency, county and district councils have set funds aside and are making plans to remove this foam as soon as possible.
The Environment Agency is aware of two further sites where this material has been abandoned.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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 environmental and health risks posed by the abandoned waste site at Sandy Lane, Worksop.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The site at Sandy lane was abandoned in October 2016 and from this point onwards there has been no site management. There have however been regular Police and Fire service patrols and the site is monitored using CCTV.
The Environment Agency is working with Local Resilience Forum members, including Bassetlaw District Council, the Nottinghamshire Fire Service, Nottinghamshire County Council and Public Health England, to manage the risks at the site and is acting to clear the waste that also poses a risk to human health.
There are three main waste streams which have been left at the site: mixed non-hazardous combustible waste in and around the transfer building; mixed construction and demolition (C&D) non-combustible waste outside and the bags of polyurethane foam, mostly deposited in the centre of the site. The table below outlines the estimated costs associated with each waste stream. The cost of this clearance, excluding landfill tax have not been included as the landfill tax is not waived, which has been previously communicated by HMT to the HM for Bassetlaw.
Waste | Estimated quantity (tonnes)1 | Estimated Costs in £k (including Landfill Tax) |
Mixed C&D non-combustible | 20,000 | 3,000 |
Non-Hazardous combustible | 2,500 | 375 |
Polyurethane foam | 100 | 20 |
1The tonnages have been estimated by officers’ observations on site. A more accurate assessment of the volumes of waste present at the site would cost around £5K.
The main environmental and health risk from the site is from the polyurethane foam left on site. The Environment Agency, county and district councils have set funds aside and are making plans to remove this foam as soon as possible.
The Environment Agency has also been working in close partnership with Bassetlaw District Council, Notts Fire & Rescue Service, Police, the County Council and Public Health England, to create a tactical plan which will be implemented in the event of a fire. The Notts Fire & Rescue Service will shortly be entering the site and will attempt to move wastes around the site to allow for fire breaks and better access.
The other environmental risks are in relation to the degradation of the waste. The Environment Agency, Fire and Rescue Service and Bassetlaw DC do have powers to intervene in exceptional circumstances where there is a serious risk to the environment and health.
The Environment Agency is continuing its investigation into the former operators of the site. There is close contact about the site at official level across Government agencies. The Secretary of State has not discussed the site with Cabinet colleagues since his appointment on 11 June.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for how many days the waste site at Sandy Lane, Worksop, has had no site management.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The site at Sandy lane was abandoned in October 2016 and from this point onwards there has been no site management. There have however been regular Police and Fire service patrols and the site is monitored using CCTV.
The Environment Agency is working with Local Resilience Forum members, including Bassetlaw District Council, the Nottinghamshire Fire Service, Nottinghamshire County Council and Public Health England, to manage the risks at the site and is acting to clear the waste that also poses a risk to human health.
There are three main waste streams which have been left at the site: mixed non-hazardous combustible waste in and around the transfer building; mixed construction and demolition (C&D) non-combustible waste outside and the bags of polyurethane foam, mostly deposited in the centre of the site. The table below outlines the estimated costs associated with each waste stream. The cost of this clearance, excluding landfill tax have not been included as the landfill tax is not waived, which has been previously communicated by HMT to the HM for Bassetlaw.
Waste | Estimated quantity (tonnes)1 | Estimated Costs in £k (including Landfill Tax) |
Mixed C&D non-combustible | 20,000 | 3,000 |
Non-Hazardous combustible | 2,500 | 375 |
Polyurethane foam | 100 | 20 |
1The tonnages have been estimated by officers’ observations on site. A more accurate assessment of the volumes of waste present at the site would cost around £5K.
The main environmental and health risk from the site is from the polyurethane foam left on site. The Environment Agency, county and district councils have set funds aside and are making plans to remove this foam as soon as possible.
The Environment Agency has also been working in close partnership with Bassetlaw District Council, Notts Fire & Rescue Service, Police, the County Council and Public Health England, to create a tactical plan which will be implemented in the event of a fire. The Notts Fire & Rescue Service will shortly be entering the site and will attempt to move wastes around the site to allow for fire breaks and better access.
The other environmental risks are in relation to the degradation of the waste. The Environment Agency, Fire and Rescue Service and Bassetlaw DC do have powers to intervene in exceptional circumstances where there is a serious risk to the environment and health.
The Environment Agency is continuing its investigation into the former operators of the site. There is close contact about the site at official level across Government agencies. The Secretary of State has not discussed the site with Cabinet colleagues since his appointment on 11 June.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost of clearing waste from the waste site at Sandy Lane, Worksop (a) including and (b) not including landfill tax forgone.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The site at Sandy lane was abandoned in October 2016 and from this point onwards there has been no site management. There have however been regular Police and Fire service patrols and the site is monitored using CCTV.
The Environment Agency is working with Local Resilience Forum members, including Bassetlaw District Council, the Nottinghamshire Fire Service, Nottinghamshire County Council and Public Health England, to manage the risks at the site and is acting to clear the waste that also poses a risk to human health.
There are three main waste streams which have been left at the site: mixed non-hazardous combustible waste in and around the transfer building; mixed construction and demolition (C&D) non-combustible waste outside and the bags of polyurethane foam, mostly deposited in the centre of the site. The table below outlines the estimated costs associated with each waste stream. The cost of this clearance, excluding landfill tax have not been included as the landfill tax is not waived, which has been previously communicated by HMT to the HM for Bassetlaw.
Waste | Estimated quantity (tonnes)1 | Estimated Costs in £k (including Landfill Tax) |
Mixed C&D non-combustible | 20,000 | 3,000 |
Non-Hazardous combustible | 2,500 | 375 |
Polyurethane foam | 100 | 20 |
1The tonnages have been estimated by officers’ observations on site. A more accurate assessment of the volumes of waste present at the site would cost around £5K.
The main environmental and health risk from the site is from the polyurethane foam left on site. The Environment Agency, county and district councils have set funds aside and are making plans to remove this foam as soon as possible.
The Environment Agency has also been working in close partnership with Bassetlaw District Council, Notts Fire & Rescue Service, Police, the County Council and Public Health England, to create a tactical plan which will be implemented in the event of a fire. The Notts Fire & Rescue Service will shortly be entering the site and will attempt to move wastes around the site to allow for fire breaks and better access.
The other environmental risks are in relation to the degradation of the waste. The Environment Agency, Fire and Rescue Service and Bassetlaw DC do have powers to intervene in exceptional circumstances where there is a serious risk to the environment and health.
The Environment Agency is continuing its investigation into the former operators of the site. There is close contact about the site at official level across Government agencies. The Secretary of State has not discussed the site with Cabinet colleagues since his appointment on 11 June.