Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing PM2.5 to 10 micrograms per cubic metre.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have made rapid progress in reducing PM2.5 concentrations and we will be setting new interim targets for 2030 in the forthcoming Environmental Improvement Plan.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that her Department meets the latest World Health Organization air quality guidelines, including the interim targets of 20 micrograms per cubic metre for NO2 and 10 micrograms per cubic metre for PM2.5 by 2030.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has made rapid progress in reducing PM2.5 concentrations and we will be setting new interim targets for 2030 in the forthcoming Environmental Improvement Plan. The World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines will continue to inform our evidence when considering next steps.
The Government continues to work with local authorities to deliver air quality measures to meet legal limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and improve the health of their residents.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of how many jobs in the ecology and nature sectors could be lost as a result of small sites being excluded from BNG as proposed in the Improving the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain for minor, medium and brownfield development consultation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A Government response to the ‘Improving biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development’ consultation will be published in due course.
The Government will also publish a full impact assessment setting out all relevant costs and benefits.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what analysis her Department has undertaken to review the cost created by Improving the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain for minor, medium and brownfield development consultation for the ecology and nature sectors in the UK.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A Government response to the ‘Improving biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development’ consultation will be published in due course.
The Government will also publish a full impact assessment setting out all relevant costs and benefits.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of developments BNG would apply to should small sites be excluded as proposed in the Improving the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain for minor, medium and brownfield development consultation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A Government response to the ‘Improving biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development’ consultation will be published in due course.
The Government will also publish a full impact assessment setting out all relevant costs and benefits.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to respond to the Improving the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain for minor, medium and brownfield development consultation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A Government response to the ‘Improving biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development’ consultation will be published in due course.
The Government will also publish a full impact assessment setting out all relevant costs and benefits.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 ensure that funding delivered through the Fisheries and Coastal Growth Fund supports sustainability in fisheries.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund is a £360m investment over the next 12 years in the UK’s fisheries and seafood sector, and coastal communities. The fund aims to support the next generation of fishers and breathe new life into our coastal economies.
We are currently engaging with stakeholders to help shape the fund, ensure funding is targeted where it matters most, and to assess the best strategy for delivering impactful and sustainable investment. This includes a series of industry webinars and an online survey, and we welcome input from representatives from environmental NGOs and academia. Options to be funded are still under consideration and will be developed with due regard to the Environmental Principles Policy Statement, to balance immediate impact with long-term sustainability.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to bring forward legislation to formalise the license variation requiring English fishing vessels under 12m to operate iVMS while at sea.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A Statutory Instrument is scheduled to be laid once the Marine Management Organisation's rollout of IVMS has concluded.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 29 October 2025 to question 83898, what incentives there are for volunteer participants in the design and test phase for demersal trawls using mesh sizes up to 120mm, over 10m; and how many vessels in that category have volunteered for 2026.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All vessels taking part in REM early adopter projects have the opportunity to shape Defra’s approach to roll out, participating in programme design and flagging implementation issues. Volunteers can also recommend information and data they would like us to collect and how they would like it reported back. Defra also funds REM equipment and installation for volunteer early adopters.
At present there are no volunteers for Fishery C, Demersal trawls using mesh sizes up to 120mm, over 10m, English waters of the North Sea.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 29 October 2025 to question 83891, if she will publish details of grants to the fishing and seafood sector from 2025, including details of vessels receiving funding and the nature of on-board improvements.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is committed to ensuring transparency on the use of public funds. In England, details of grant awards to the fishing and seafood sector are already published on Gov.uk. Publications are updated regularly and made in line with legal obligations, including data protection and commercial confidentiality. As we are in the process of awarding grants for Fisheries and Seafood Scheme for 2025, these awards will be published in due course.