Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what exemptions are permitted for small, not-for-profit operators under the Animal Rights Act to ensure reindeer used to help generate hospice and other charity donations are not destroyed.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Some reindeer displays may be required to be licensed. The type of licence needed will depend on the nature of the display (permanent or temporary) and whether the reindeer are being exhibited as part of a business. There are also licensing requirements for keeping certain species of reindeer regarded as dangerous, where they are kept outside of a licensed zoo or pet shop. Reindeer are also prohibited from being displayed as part of a travelling circus.
Licences are granted by local authorities, who can decide on the most appropriate type of licence or licences depending on the circumstances of each individual collection. Local authorities can also consider whether an exemption or dispensation may be appropriate.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 increase flood resilience in (a) Bermondsey and Old Southwark constituency and (b) other flood-prone areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government, through the Environment Agency (EA), is investing £2.65 billion between 2024/25 and 2025/26 to build and maintain flood and coastal defences, better protecting around 52,000 properties from flooding.
The Thames Barrier and tidal wall defences provide significant protection from tidal flood risk to Bermondsey and Old Southwark constituency. The EA is managing tidal flood risk through this century by implementing the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan. This will require defences to be raised by 0.5m by 2050 to keep pace with climate change on top of ongoing maintenance of these assets.
Last year London Borough of Southwark completed the Lost Peck Flood Alleviation scheme supported by £1.39 million of EA capital grant. This improved surface water flood risk to 207 residential properties in neighbouring constituencies. The Borough and the EA continue to work together to develop a pipeline of surface water flood alleviation schemes throughout London Borough of Southwark.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 Committee is expected to publish its review on the responsible sourcing of fur.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
I refer the Honourable Member to the reply I gave to the Honourable Member for Romford for PQ 4519 on 16 September 2024.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the potential (a) presence and (b) spread of (i) antibiotic-resistant and (ii) antimicrobial-resistant organisms that are hazardous to human health in rivers.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have been working with the Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency, to trial methods for detecting and quantifying antibiotic resistant bacteria in 3 river catchments in England and to provide example data on their presence and prevalence. The work involved sampling river waters at sites along the length of each river and subject to different land uses and potential sources of resistant bacteria. We expect to publish the results in the summer. The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of (a) antibiotic-resistant and (b) antimicrobial-resistant organisms in waterborne bacteria networks on public health.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have been working with the Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency, to trial methods for detecting and quantifying antibiotic resistant bacteria in 3 river catchments in England and to provide example data on their presence and prevalence. The work involved sampling river waters at sites along the length of each river and subject to different land uses and potential sources of resistant bacteria. We expect to publish the results in the summer. The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of raw sewage in inland waterways on levels of (a) antimicrobial and (b) antibiotic resistance in waterborne bacteria networks.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no plans to perform assessments of possible impacts of raw sewage on levels of antimicrobic substances, and antibiotic resistance in bacterial communities in our surface waters. To do so would require extensive field monitoring, and analytical challenges would need to be robustly addressed to ascertain whether raw sewage discharges in the presence of other sources are responsible for antimicrobial resistance in river bacteria. However, the Environment Agency has been engaged in the cross government PATHSAFE programme to identify the pathways of antimicrobial resistance to humans and if it were decided necessary, the Agency would advise on the practical steps to undertake such assessments.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 is taking steps to support obligated businesses that have experienced a significant rise in costs for packaging recycling notes in the final quarter of 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We know recent prices increases for glass remelt PRNs have caused challenges for some businesses and have had discussions with both industry and regulators, including the Environment Agency, to understand the causes behind them.
In the past year, as a result of closures related to the pandemic, we have seen less glass collection from hospitality businesses, which is usually higher quality because it is collected separately. Instead, there have been higher collections from households, which often requires additional sorting to make it suitable for remelt, incurring additional cost.
These restrictions on supply will inherently raise the cost of the PRNs under the UK’s market-based system, alongside the end of year compliance pressures.
The Government cannot intervene in the market, but we will continue to monitor the situation and have asked the regulator to keep us informed.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 statistics published in Packaging News on 9 December 2021, what assessment his Department has made of the factors that have led to the price increase from £9.75 in December 2020 to £190.00 in December 2021 of Glass Remelt Packaging Recycling Notes.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We know recent prices increases for glass remelt PRNs have caused challenges for some businesses and have had discussions with both industry and regulators, including the Environment Agency, to understand the causes behind them.
In the past year, as a result of closures related to the pandemic, we have seen less glass collection from hospitality businesses, which is usually higher quality because it is collected separately. Instead, there have been higher collections from households, which often requires additional sorting to make it suitable for remelt, incurring additional cost.
These restrictions on supply will inherently raise the cost of the PRNs under the UK’s market-based system, alongside the end of year compliance pressures.
The Government cannot intervene in the market, but we will continue to monitor the situation and have asked the regulator to keep us informed.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 Environment Agency on the cause of the recent increase in glass Packaging Recycling Notes.
Answered by Jo Churchill
We know recent prices increases for glass remelt PRNs have caused challenges for some businesses and have had discussions with both industry and regulators, including the Environment Agency, to understand the causes behind them.
In the past year, as a result of closures related to the pandemic, we have seen less glass collection from hospitality businesses, which is usually higher quality because it is collected separately. Instead, there have been higher collections from households, which often requires additional sorting to make it suitable for remelt, incurring additional cost.
These restrictions on supply will inherently raise the cost of the PRNs under the UK’s market-based system, alongside the end of year compliance pressures.
The Government cannot intervene in the market, but we will continue to monitor the situation and have asked the regulator to keep us informed.