Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
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 reduce the use of non-recyclable plastic straws.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
As announced by the Chancellor in his budget in November, my officials are working closely with HM Treasury and a call for evidence will be published early in 2018 seeking views on how the tax system or charges could reduce the amount of single-use plastics waste including non-recyclable plastic straws.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated from the public purse to local authorities to support steps to establish air quality plans.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Government is requiring local authorities where persistent exeedances of nitrogen dioxide concentrations have been identified to produce local air quality plans to reduce the pollution in the fastest possible time. We are helping them by providing £255 million to develop and implement their plans. In addition we will be establishing a Clean Air Fund, which will allow local authorities to bid for additional money to support the implementation of measures to improve air quality. This funding is over and above the £2.7 billion we are already investing to support air quality improvements.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department plans to provide to schools in areas of high air pollution hotspots to help them protect children's health.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Through the Air Quality Grant we help local authorities tackle air quality in their areas in order to reduce the impact on peoples’ health and create cleaner and healthier environments. This fund has awarded more than £52 million to a variety of projects since it started in 1997, including schools engagement work by local authorities.
During air pollution episodes, Defra issues advice via the UK Air website which includes links to health advice issued by Public Health England (PHE).
My officials are currently working with PHE and the Association of Directors of Public Health to develop a series of outreach events aimed at Directors of Public Health and designed to help them deliver and communicate local action.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any funding has been allocated from the public purse to support Sheffield Council in establishing its air quality plans.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Sheffield City Council has been identified in the UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations as a local authority with concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) projected to be persistently in exceedance of the legal limit. It is required to produce a local air quality plan to reduce levels of NO2 in the shortest possible time. Sheffield City Council has therefore been allocated initial funding to develop a proposal for a feasibility study. Further funding will be made available to carry out that feasibility study and for the implementation of agreed measures to bring Sheffield into compliance with the legal limit in the shortest possible time.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
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 28 February 2017 to Question 64543, what discussions her Department had with the Department for Exiting the European Union on the drafting of the White Paper entitled The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union, Cm 9417, published in February 2017.
Answered by George Eustice
We, and other Departments, are working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union on all aspects of exiting the European Union. This is to build a detailed understanding of how withdrawal will affect domestic policies and to coordinate policy work across Government.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Department for Exiting the European Union on the contents of the White Paper entitled The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union, Cm 9417, published in February 2017.
Answered by George Eustice
We, and other Departments, are working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union on all aspects of exiting the European Union. This is to build a detailed understanding of how withdrawal will affect domestic policies and to coordinate policy work across Government.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce an air quality national framework for low emission zones.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Government is not intending to introduce a national framework for Low Emission Zones but will introduce one for Clean Air Zones, the consultation for which was launched on 13 October. Clean Air Zones encompass the Low Emission Zone approach. They discourage the more polluting vehicles from entering the zone but they also focus wider action to improve air quality and accelerate the transition to a low carbon, low emission economy.