Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the PM2.5 emissions in grams per tonne are for (a) household coal, (b) wet wood, (c) kiln dried or seasoned wood and (d) oil for household use.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The data is provided as grams per kilogram (rather than grams per tonne) due to the scale of the data, for example for PM2.5 emissions from coal, 8.7g/kg would become 8700g/tonne)
The PM2.5 emissions in grams per kilogram of fuel used are:
(a) Household coal: 8.7g/kg
(b) Wet Wood: 28g/kg
(c) Dry wood: 7.2g/kg
(d) Oil for households (referred to as 'burning oil’ in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory): 0.083g/kg
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in grams per tonne of (a) coal, (b) wet wood, (c) kiln dried or seasoned wood and (d) oil for household use burned at home.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The data is provided as grams per kilogram (rather than grams per tonne) due to the scale of the data. It should be noted that harvested wood for bioenergy is considered to be carbon neutral, with the carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbed as young trees grow compensating for that released by burning.
The CO2 emissions in grams per kilogram of fuel used are:
(a) Household coal: 683g/kg
(b) Wet Wood: 0g/kg
(c) Dry wood: 0g/kg
(d) Oil for households (referred to as 'burning oil’ in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory): 859g/kg
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the judgment in the judicial review brought by the Commons Committees for Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons, whether there are commensurate provisions in relation to common land in the Agriculture Bill; and what assessment he has made of the implications of that land for his policies on a future payments scheme.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The impacts of the Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons case and how payments are made to Commoners are being considered by Defra officials.
Commons frequently provide some of the richest opportunities for the provision of environmental public goods and are a unique part of British farming heritage.
In 2024 we will be launching the Government’s Environmental Land Management scheme. This will be cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. It will pay public money for public goods, such as those set out in the 25-year environment plan. We are working with our stakeholders including those farming on common land to design it. This includes through a programme of Tests and Trials, a recently launched Policy Discussion Document and a national pilot which will start in 2021.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people in (a) Weardale and (b) North West Durham constituency who are reliant on coal for fuel; what plans she has to provide financial support to people replacing coal firing systems with alternatives; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a scrappage scheme for coal-firing systems.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The impact assessment published alongside the Government response to the consultation on cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood included an assessment of the number of people who use coal as a primary heat source across England. The impact assessment can be viewed at:
The proposals included in the Government response outline our intention to rollout the policy in a phased approach, this is to ensure that those reliant on coal or wood as a primary heat source have time and support they need to transition to the cleanest alternative fuel types, whilst minimising any associated costs. We do not have any plans to introduce a stove scrappage scheme.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the process is to (a) remove and (b) challenge longstanding noise abatement orders.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities are responsible for serving abatement notices where appropriate for noise nuisances deemed a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. An abatement notice will operate according to the conditions contained within it, which may require it to be indefinite, and which are set by the local authority serving the notice.
A person served with an abatement notice can appeal to a magistrate’s court within 21 days of the date on which the notice was served. Grounds for appeal include:
Industrial, trade and business premises can claim the use of “best practicable means” in their defence. This may be used as grounds for appeal against the abatement notice or a defence (if prosecuted) for not complying with the abatement notice. Only the courts can determine what the best practicable means are in each case, taking into account, among other things, the local conditions and circumstances, the current state of technical knowledge and the financial implications.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of payments to farmers will be under the (a) old and (b) new system in each of the seven years of the introduction of the new payments system for farmers.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government plans to phase out Direct Payments to farmers in England over a seven year agricultural transition period. For the first year of the transition, 2021, we will reduce Direct Payments by up to an already announced set of percentages, which could free up to around £150 million to reinvest into the delivery of public goods and providing support for farmers during the transition. We will set the reduction percentages for the later years of the transition taking account of our detailed plans for future schemes and wider discussions about Government spending.
The Government’s election manifesto guaranteed the current annual budget in every year of the new Parliament, giving significant certainty on funding for the coming years. In England this will enable the Government to provide financial support for the purposes set out in the Agriculture Bill.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animals of each species have been imported to the UK as rescue animals in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) does not capture whether imported animals are rescue animals and so is unable to provide this data.
Furthermore, APHA’s data retention period for import data is 3 years and so we can only provide data for the last 3 years on matters relating to imports.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
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 ensure that people requiring insurance protection offered by FloodRE are able to switch insurance supplier.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Re is a flood reinsurance scheme designed to improve the availability and affordability of flood insurance for households at high flood risk. Flood Re does not deal directly with homeowners, but instead allows insurance companies to pass on the high flood risk element of household insurance policies to them for a below market rate set premium. Flood Re is available through more than 85 insurance brands representing 94% of the home insurance market. We encourage homeowners to shop around to get the best deal for their home insurance.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her plans are for the future use of the Roundup 360 herbicide in the UK.
Answered by George Eustice
Pesticides are subject to strict regulation and are only permitted for use where a comprehensive scientific assessment finds that this will not harm people or have unacceptable effects on the environment. The assessment first considers the active substance. If this is approved for use, each product containing that active substance is assessed and is only authorised, subject to any necessary conditions, if the risks are acceptably low. If necessary, specific conditions of authorisation are set and are communicated to users through the product label. Approvals and authorisations are reviewed regularly to make sure that pesticides continue to meet the latest safety standards.
Roundup is subject to this process. The active substance, glyphosate is approved until 15 December 2022 and Roundup products are authorised following scientific assessment by the Health and Safety Executive. When the approval of glyphosate and the product authorisations are reviewed, we will again consider our position based on a careful scientific assessment of the evidence and risks at that time.
Decision-making on the use of pesticides after the UK leaves the EU will continue to be based on careful scientific assessment of the risks. Our highest priority will continue to be the protection of people and the environment.