Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
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 5 March 2019 to Question 226666 on Air Pollution: Scunthorpe, if he will provide that same information for Scunthorpe in the North Lincolnshire local authority area.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Scunthorpe is in North Lincolnshire local authority area. The Council reported in its 2018 Air Quality Annual Status Report (ASR) that their PM2.5 monitors did not record a breach of the statutory limit value, which is 25 micrograms per metre cubed. The council also stated that they are running campaigns to discourage waste burning and bonfires to address PM2.5, and carrying out environmental permit improvement programmes.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to protect outdoor workers from ambient air pollution in Scunthorpe; which locations have been found to have fine-particle air pollution levels that exceed the WHO limit of 10 micrograms per cubic metre in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Local authorities are required to work towards reducing emissions of PM2.5. North East Lincolnshire Council reported in its 2018 Air Quality Annual Status Report (ASR) that their PM2.5 monitors did not record a breach of the statutory limit value, which is 25 micrograms per metre cubed.
The council also stated that it is running campaigns to discourage waste burning and bonfires, and implementing environmental permit improvement programmes to address PM2.5. In 2018 Defra awarded North East Lincolnshire Council grant funding to help reduce emissions of PM2.5 resulting from the use of domestic wood burning stoves.
With specific regard to Scunthorpe, a recent report published on the Government’s UK Air website detailed the extensive measures undertaken to reduce the impacts from the steelworks in the area (particularly aimed at reducing concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene and the impact of PM2.5). The report can be found here: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/bap-nickel-measures/bap_yorkshireandhumberside_UK0034_reportonmeasures_2016.pdf
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
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 economic contribution of the British sugar beet industry to the East of England.
Answered by George Eustice
We have estimated that in 2016 the Eastern region produced sugar beet with a value of £100 million. This is based on regional farm statistics which are published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agriculture-in-the-english-regions.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the interests of British food producers in the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is working with leaders from across the food chain to understand the best way to support British food producers in the ongoing negotiations. Engagement has been focused on listening to our stakeholders to get a clear understanding of the processes and systems they currently use, to understand their concerns and what they see as the opportunities arising from leaving the EU.
It is a key priority to ensure that the views of all industry are represented in the ongoing negotiations, and it is our intention to further this engagement as the negotiations continue.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the UK beet sugar industry after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Secretary of State recently met representatives of sugar beet growers. The Secretary of State and I have also both discussed the sector with Associated British Foods, of which British Sugar is a subsidiary. Over the next few months Defra Ministers will continue to visit the British countryside and working farms to hear the views of industry and the public first hand. We want to support farmers to grow more, sell more and export more great British food. We have a once in a generation opportunity to transform our food and farming policies and improve our environment and it is vital we are all part of this process.
Asked by: Nicholas Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with UK beet sugar farmers on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the UK beet sugar industry.
Answered by George Eustice
The Secretary of State recently met representatives of sugar beet growers. The Secretary of State and I have also both discussed the sector with Associated British Foods, of which British Sugar is a subsidiary. Over the next few months Defra Ministers will continue to visit the British countryside and working farms to hear the views of industry and the public first hand. We want to support farmers to grow more, sell more and export more great British food. We have a once in a generation opportunity to transform our food and farming policies and improve our environment and it is vital we are all part of this process.