Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
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 protect peatlands.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We are committed to restoring and sustainably managing England's peatlands. The Chancellor announced in March 2020 that as part of the Nature for Climate Fund, 35,000ha of peatland restoration would be achieved over the next 5 years. This represents a significant step forward in our restoration efforts and will require us to work closely with a wide range of stakeholders.
We are taking action now to prevent further damage to protected blanket bog by bringing forward legislation that will limit burning of vegetation; and will be consulting later this year on measures to phase out the use of peat in horticulture.
The Government will be setting out further measures to restore, protect and manage England's peatlands this year as part of a package of measures to protect England's landscapes and nature-based solutions.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government committed in its manifesto to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers. We are seeking powers to do so in the Environment Bill. Since consulting on its introduction in 2019, the Government has been developing proposals for a DRS using further evidence and ongoing engagement with stakeholders. The Government plans to undertake a second consultation on a DRS in early 2021. In preparation for that consultation, we are currently reviewing the proposed timeline for its introduction.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many fixed penalty notices for littering have been issued by local authorities in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra does not hold this data. Requirements for local authorities to report data on the number of fixed penalties issued for littering and other environmental offences were ended in 2010, in order to reduce reporting burdens.
Data on the number of prosecutions and convictions, including those related to offenses under section 87 EPA 1990, are published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of Government support for the Navigation Authorities to meet the costs of commercial boat licence and mooring fees for financial year 2020-21 arising from the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
No specific support has been provided to navigation authorities to meet the costs of commercial boat license and mooring fees arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government is providing an unprecedented scale of wide-ranging financial support for businesses of all sizes during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to feedback received, the Government introduced further support schemes particularly for smaller businesses that were finding it difficult to access the initial package. We are monitoring the impact that these measures are having in supporting public services, businesses and individuals, including the waterways sector.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether waterways businesses will be eligible for the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund; and what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on that eligibility.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published detailed guidance for local authorities on the administration of the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund. The grant funding is specifically for small businesses that for whatever reason do not qualify for other COVID-19 support schemes. The guidance also sets out that the eligibility criteria for qualifying small businesses is not exhaustive, but is intended to illustrate for local authorities which types of business the Government considers should be a priority for the scheme.
Local authorities are encouraged to use this when deciding whether particular situations are broadly similar in nature to the examples given in the guidance and therefore eligible for grants, and to exercise their local knowledge and discretion to decide which cases to support, taking account of their relevance to the local economy. Waterways businesses are free to apply for grant funding.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
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 allocated funding to the establishment of nature recovery networks.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Biodiversity is a devolved matter and the information here relates to England only.
The Government announced in the recent budget an investment of up to £25 million in a Nature Recovery Network (NRN) Fund which will bring together businesses, landowners and local communities to protect and restore habitats, species and landscapes to allow nature to thrive everywhere.
That is not the extent of our ambition. We are bringing forward the first Environment Bill in over 20 years to lay the foundation for the NRN. It establishes spatial strategies for nature – Local Nature Recovery Strategies - that will help direct investment in recovery. It also makes provision for Biodiversity Net Gain, which will provide an important source of investment in the NRN.
In addition, the Nature for Climate Fund, also announced in the budget, will support natural habitats like woodlands and peat bogs. Our new Environmental Land Management scheme, underpinned by the Agricultural Bill, will reward farmers and other land managers for delivering environmental public goods, including thriving plants and wildlife. We are exploring, for example through our testing and trials programme, and the government’s recently published policy discussion document, how the scheme can support the NRN.
Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of trees are recognised as (a) ancient and (b) veteran in England and Wales.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Forestry is a devolved matter and so this answer is in relation to England only.
The Government does not have a statutory duty to collate numbers of Ancient and Veteran Trees. The Ancient Tree Inventory (ATI) currently lists 160,000 ancient, veteran and notable trees across the UK. The Natural England and Forestry Commission Standing Advice on Ancient Woodland, Ancient and Veteran Trees, available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ancient-woodland-and-veteran-trees-protection-surveys-licences, directs users to the Woodland Trust’s ATI which is collated by volunteers around the country at https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/.
The Government updated the National Planning Policy Framework in 2019 to improve protection of ancient and veteran trees, noting that these are irreplaceable habitat and these should only be lost to development with wholly exceptional reasons and with a suitable compensation strategy in place. For more information you can visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy-framework--2.