Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 provide additional support for farmers in England to plant trees.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government remains committed to planting 11 million trees in this Parliament, 2017 to 2022. Woodland creation is a key activity of our 25 Year Environment Plan.
The Government already provides a range of support to landowners to plant trees through Countryside Stewardship, the Woodland Carbon Fund and the HS2 Woodland Fund. These are open to new applications from farmers and landowners who can meet the criteria for funding.
In the Autumn Budget the Government announced an additional £60 million for tree planting initiatives, comprising £10 million to fund urban tree planting and £50 million for a Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme. This is in addition to the Government’s kick start investment in the Northern Forest, and establishment of the Forestry Investment Zone (FIZ) pilot in northeast Cumbria.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 water companies on (a) the modernisation of water treatment facilities and (b) increasing capacity to limit the amount of untreated sewage entering rivers.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Over the past 25 years, the water industry has spent over £25 billion on sewage treatment works and sewerage system upgrades driven by environmental directives to improve water quality. This has delivered a 61% reduction in the amount of polluting phosphorus and a 72% reduction in the amount of ammonia discharged from wastewater treatment works since 1995. In addition, 7,000 combined sewer overflows have been improved, reducing the impact of pollution from sewage discharges.
In the current investment period (2015-2020) the water companies are investing over £3 billion to improve their sewage treatment and sewerage infrastructure. During the next investment period (2020-2025), plans have been put forward to deliver over £4.5 billion on environmental improvements. These include:
(a) Modernisation of around 2,300 wastewater treatment works to meet environmental quality standards such as those required by the Water Framework Directive, Bathing Waters Directive and Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
(b) Increasing the capacity of around 550 wastewater treatment works and storm tanks to ensure that they are treating the correct amount of sewage flow and to accommodate future growth.
(c) Investing in sewerage infrastructure improvement to monitor and reduce the frequency and volume of storm sewage discharged from combined sewer overflows.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 manage ammonia emissions from dairy and beef farming.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Clean Air Strategy was published in January 2019 and sets out the actions the Government will take to reduce ammonia emissions from farming in line with our clean air targets. Those that are relevant to dairy and beef farming include:
- Regulating to reduce emissions from urea based fertilisers.
- Introducing legislation requiring use of low emissions spreading techniques by 2025.
- Extending environmental permitting to the dairy and intensive beef sectors by 2025.
- Regulation to require slurry and digestate stores to be covered by 2027.
In addition to these regulatory measures, the Government is providing technical and financial support for farmers to change management practices and invest in equipment to reduce ammonia emissions. For example:
- The Government is delivering a £3 million programme of support to farmers over three years showcasing low emission spreading equipment and providing advice on practical ammonia mitigation methods.
- Last year we published a code of good agricultural practice which provides guidance to farmers on how to reduce ammonia emissions.
- We have supported farmers to invest in low emissions slurry spreading equipment and slurry store covers through grant schemes such as the Farming Ammonia Reduction Grant, the Countryside Stewardship scheme and the Countryside Productivity scheme. A second round of the Rural Development Programme for England’s Countryside Productivity small grant scheme is expected to be launched very shortly.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government is making on achieving EU environmental quality standards for surface water by 2027.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Since 2015, over 3,100 miles of surface water have been enhanced to achieve good status, and the Environment Agency has set a target in the Government’s River Basin Management Plans to enhance 5,000 miles by 2021. The 2015 River Basin Management Plans confirmed £3 billion worth of investment over six years.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 upgrade drainage systems to treat pollutants before they reach rivers.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Since water industry privatisation in 1989, around £25 billion has been invested to reduce pollution from sewage, covering improvements in sewage treatment and in sewer overflows. In England, between 2015 and 2020, water companies are investing over £3 billion to improve their sewerage infrastructure. This has helped to achieve a 61% reduction in the amount of phosphorus load and a 72% reduction in the amount of ammonia discharged from sewage treatment works since 1995. In addition, 7,000 sewer overflows have been improved since 1995, reducing the impact of pollution from sewage discharges.
The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan contains a number of actions to achieve our aim of clean and plentiful water, including increasing the uptake of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). SuDS features such as permeable surfaces, storage tanks and ponds, can help improve water quality as well as reduce the risk of surface water flooding. A revised National Planning Policy Framework, which further encourages SuDS in new developments was published on 24 July 2018.
In addition, Government recently consulted on proposals to improve long-term planning for drainage and wastewater management.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 ensure travel operators do more to prevent the exploitation of captive wild animals.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government shares the concerns of the public about this issue and we are committed to the highest standards of animal welfare, both here in the UK and in our work with countries abroad. Britain engages with other countries both directly and as part of global forums such as the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health).
Ministers are committed to working to promote the conservation of wild animals worldwide and the Government has been working with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) to encourage them to make customers aware of reported animal welfare issues abroad. It is important that when going abroad, tourists consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that animals have been mistreated before deciding whether to visit an animal attraction. ABTA published Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism. This includes guidance on unacceptable activities which are known to have a detrimental effect on animal welfare, and extended minimum welfare requirements for whales and dolphins.
Defra encourages tourists to report any animal welfare concerns to their UK tour operator or travel agent on return to the UK.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of a ban on the import of caged hen eggs.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government shares the British public’s high regard for animal welfare. In 2012 we banned the domestic use of battery cages for laying hens. Our current import requirements for eggs and for egg products will continue to apply when we leave the EU.
We are committed to further enhancing welfare standards once we leave the EU and there will be an opportunity to consider further our position towards imports of eggs and other products.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) enforcing marketing restrictions on ultra-processed foods and (b) promoting healthy eating.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra has not made such an assessment. We work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) who lead on issues such as the promotion of high fat salt and sugar foods. DHSC have conducted impact assessments for all recent consultations arising from the childhood obesity plan.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 obligate councils to scan dead pets they collect from roads and paths.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I recognise how painful it is to lose a pet and it must be very difficult to not have closure when a beloved pet is killed on the road, and the owner is not informed. It is established good practice for local authorities to scan any dog or cat found on the streets so that the owner can be informed and I am keen to work together with local authorities and others to further promote best practice in this area.
In 2015, the necessary arrangements were made to all Highways England’s contracts to collect and identify cats and dogs killed on the strategic road network and contact owners where possible. This included retrofitting the Network Management Manual (NMM) where in addition to dogs, cat fatalities are collected and identified where possible.
In addition, under the Road Traffic Act 1988, there is a requirement for drivers to stop and report accidents involving certain working animals including cattle, horses and dogs. The Highway Code also advises drivers to report accidents involving any animal to the police. This should lead to many owners being notified when their pets are killed on roads.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to debate these issues in the Westminster Hall on 17 June.
Asked by: Paul Farrelly (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 increase support for soil monitoring to protect food production and the environment.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Research was commissioned in November 2018 to develop soil monitoring for a variety of policy requirements, including the protection of the environment and food production. Following completion of the research project, a soil monitoring framework will be developed.