Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 help ensure that the Deposit Management Organisation takes into account the challenges facing small producers.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In our 2021 consultation response, we set out the DRS scheme administrator (the Deposit Management Organisation) should consider the size of the producer when setting the producer fees. We will continue to review the impact on small businesses and consider further mitigations or support they might need as we move into implementation. Through relevant DRS sub-groups my officials engage with a wide range of stakeholders, and that includes small businesses such as small producers and small retailers.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to review the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme in England, Wales and Northern on small businesses.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In our 2021 consultation response, we set out the DRS scheme administrator (the Deposit Management Organisation) should consider the size of the producer when setting the producer fees. We will continue to review the impact on small businesses and consider further mitigations or support they might need as we move into implementation. Through relevant DRS sub-groups my officials engage with a wide range of stakeholders, and that includes small businesses such as small producers and small retailers.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of excluding products that sell fewer than 5,000 containers a year from the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In our 2021 consultation response, we set out the DRS scheme administrator (the Deposit Management Organisation) should consider the size of the producer when setting the producer fees. We will continue to review the impact on small businesses and consider further mitigations or support they might need as we move into implementation. Through relevant DRS sub-groups my officials engage with a wide range of stakeholders, and that includes small businesses such as small producers and small retailers.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of livestock worrying by dogs were (a) reported, (b) investigated and (c) resulted in charges in England in 2022.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government takes the issue of livestock worrying very seriously, recognising the distress this can cause farmers and animals, as well as the financial implications. Individual police forces record the number of incidents of livestock worrying per year and Defra does not hold a central record.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to meet its statutory targets on environment protection; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Environment Act 2021’s statutory cycle of monitoring, planning and reporting ensures that Government will take early, regular steps to achieve targets and can be held to account with regular scrutiny from the Office for Environmental Protection and Parliament. The statutory cycle to drive short term progress sets out that:
1. the Government must have an Environmental Improvement Plan which sets out the steps it intends to take to improve the environment, and review it at least every five years;
2. the Government must report on progress towards achieving targets every year, the most recent of which can be found here - 25 Year Environment Plan: progress reports - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and
3. the Office for Environmental Protection is established and provides independent scrutiny of delivery.
Building on our Environment Act 2021 and its ambitious long-term targets, our Environmental Improvement Plan will soon set out the comprehensive action this Government will take to reverse the decline in nature, achieve our net zero goals and deliver cleaner air and water.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill's remaining stages will take place.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The next stage of the Bill will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
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 have discussions with the Leader of the House on ensuring that the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill completes its legislative stages in the House of Commons.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill strengthens protections for the welfare of pets, farmed animals and kept wild animals. The Bill was re-introduced following the Queen speech in May 2022 and will continue to Report Stage as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The Bill delivers three important manifesto commitments and remains a priority for this Government.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Detailed evidence report on Air quality PM2.5 targets, published by his Department on 6 May 2022, for what reasons the reductions achieved by the high scenario are lower than those required by the National Emissions Ceiling Directive.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The indicative scenarios used in the development of the Environment Act PM 2.5 targets were based on realistic and feasible measures specific to our national circumstances.
A different approach was taken for the National Emissions Ceiling Regulations comparison scenario which was constructed to meet our EU legacy emission ceilings and does not take into account feasibility.
Neither are proposed policy pathways which will be developed as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan due in 2023.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has modelled the likelihood of reducing the average annual concentration of PM2.5 pollution to 10µg/m3 at any point between 2030 and 2040.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We set out the information we considered when setting our PM2.5 Environment Act target in the evidence packs which can be found at:
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-environment-policy/consultation-on-environmental-targets/
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits relating to blue carbon of banning bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion, on 23 July 2021, PQ UIN 33202.