Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 carried out a statistical assessment of the extent of littering in each constituent part of England.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra does not collect data on the level of fixed penalties set by local authorities for littering nor on the extent of littering in each constituent part of England.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on how many local authorities have increased the level of fines for littering since April 2018.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra does not collect data on the level of fixed penalties set by local authorities for littering nor on the extent of littering in each constituent part of England.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 Marine Conservation Zones consultation published in June 2018, for what reason the consultation period was limited to six weeks; and when his Department plans to publish the results of that consultation.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The consultation on the third tranche of Marine Conservation Zones ran for a period of six weeks and closed on 20th July. Six weeks was considered sufficient given that most of the sites consulted on had been in the public domain since 2011 and targeted stakeholder engagement had been carried out ahead of the consultation. We received over 48,500 responses during the consultation period.
We are carefully considering all of the responses received and the designations will be announced and in place by or before 7th June 2019. At the same time we will also publish a full Government response to the consultation, outlining the evidence received and explaining the decisions taken on each site.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Rural Payments Agency will inform all farmers who are expecting payments of the specific timings that those payments will be expected.
Answered by George Eustice
The Rural Payments Agency has already written to farmers whose claims are deemed more complex and who are unlikely to be paid by the end of January, giving an indication of the earliest point at which they will receive payments. As of 25 January the agency has paid around 61,100 farmers and is working on paying the remaining claims as soon as possible.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department and the Rural Payments Agency will issue partial payments to farmers that have not been paid by early February 2016.
Answered by George Eustice
In the past part payments has led to years of confusion for farmers and additional costs in processing and disallowance for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The RPA, therefore, will not be making partial payments but is instead focusing on paying all farmers as promptly as possible.
As of 25 January the RPA had paid around 61,100 farmers.
Asked by: Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 will (a) fund or (b) conduct algal harvesting in order to improve water quality in Poole Harbour.
Answered by Rory Stewart
To improve the water quality in Poole Harbour, the Environment Agency focuses on improving nutrient and soil management efficiency of surrounding farmland rather than funding algal harvesting. A feasibility study commissioned by the Environment Agency has concluded that algal harvesting in Poole Harbour would have little material impact on the water quality in the harbour and that the harvesting process may have a detrimental impact on the bird population, with the costs outweighing the benefits.