Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 implications for her policies of the World Health Organisation's air pollution limits on particulate matter; and what plans her Department has to adopt those targets.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In July 2019, the Government published a report assessing the progress that will be made towards World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines under a range of scenarios. The report concluded that while significant progress would be made, additional action would be required in large urban areas such as London. The analysis did not outline a pathway to achieve the WHO guideline level for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the country, and did not take into account full economic viability and practical deliverability.
The Environment Bill, which will be introduced shortly, will establish a legally binding duty to set a target for PM2.5, demonstrating our commitment to action on the air pollutant that has the most significant impact on human health. We are committed to setting challenging targets and following an evidence based process, seeking advice from a range of experts, in addition to giving consideration to the WHO’s air quality guidelines. We need to ensure that the target is based on realistic pathways, robust science and full economic analysis to ensure that it is both ambitious and achievable, and focus on how the greatest public health benefits can be achieved.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 has taken to ensure the adequacy of water supplies during heatwaves.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide clean and reliable water to customers under the Water Industry Act 1991, whatever the weather. To fulfil this duty there is a statutory requirement to maintain water resources management plans, which balance water supply and demand at least twenty-five years into the future.
The Government, the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat issued guidance to water companies in 2016 on how they should be planning to supply water to a growing population, while protecting and enhancing our environment, including taking appropriate action to respond to climate projections. Water companies are currently revising their plans.
The Government is working closely with other water regulators and the water industry to improve the resilience of water supplies. The Government recognises continued action is required and it is committed to a ‘twin track approach’, of reducing demand for water and increasing supply in parallel.
The Government is taking steps to improve water resources planning to ensure that there is better collaboration between water companies and other water using sectors on their water supply resilience. This includes the EA developing a National Framework for water resources, which use evidence to illustrate the regional and national challenge of water availability. The Government has also consulted on legislative improvements to ensure that water companies’ plans are informed by effective collaboration.
Water companies have statutory drought plans in place to mitigate the impacts of prolonged dry weather and drought. Water companies are prepared for spikes in demand during high temperatures and manage their water resources to prevent impacts on customer supplies.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 has taken to protect future water supplies against potential disruption caused by climate change.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide clean and reliable water to customers under the Water Industry Act 1991, whatever the weather. To fulfil this duty there is a statutory requirement to maintain water resources management plans, which balance water supply and demand at least twenty-five years into the future.
The Government, the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat issued guidance to water companies in 2016 on how they should be planning to supply water to a growing population, while protecting and enhancing our environment, including taking appropriate action to respond to climate projections. Water companies are currently revising their plans.
The Government is working closely with other water regulators and the water industry to improve the resilience of water supplies. The Government recognises continued action is required and it is committed to a ‘twin track approach’, of reducing demand for water and increasing supply in parallel.
The Government is taking steps to improve water resources planning to ensure that there is better collaboration between water companies and other water using sectors on their water supply resilience. This includes the EA developing a National Framework for water resources, which use evidence to illustrate the regional and national challenge of water availability. The Government has also consulted on legislative improvements to ensure that water companies’ plans are informed by effective collaboration.
Water companies have statutory drought plans in place to mitigate the impacts of prolonged dry weather and drought. Water companies are prepared for spikes in demand during high temperatures and manage their water resources to prevent impacts on customer supplies.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the merits of (a) rewilding and (b) other natural methods to tackle climate change.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The concept of rewilding has a variety of characteristics and definitions applied to the term. Nature-based solutions are key to tackling climate change and averting its impacts. The Government is deploying such solutions to improve our natural environment.
The government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out key policies on how improving nature can help tackle climate change.
Under the new Environmental Land Management Scheme we will pay public money for the provision of environmental public goods. These public goods will include the mitigation of and adaption to climate change.
Tree planting is one of the main contributors to nature-based carbon sequestration and the Government supports this in a number of ways. Our manifesto committed to planting 11 million trees by 2022, and in addition a further 1 million trees in our towns and cities, and we also have a long term aspiration to increase woodland cover from 10% to 12% by 2060. To achieve these goals, in the Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced £10 million for an Urban Trees Challenge Fund and £50 million to help plant new woodlands through the Woodland Carbon Guarantee.
Peatlands are our largest terrestrial carbon store. We have committed to publishing an England Peatland Strategy. The strategy will set out our vision to reverse decline in peatlands and restore them. Work is underway on four large-scale peatland restoration projects across England, to which we have allocated £10 million, and will restore 5,851 ha of degraded peatlands. We are also improving satmarshes.
Natural England has an ongoing uplands programme with landowners and we will also be setting up a Lowland Agricultural Peatland Taskforce to help sustainably manage and restore peatland habitats. Once restored, our healthy functioning peatlands will provide a range of public benefits in addition to carbon storage, including flood mitigation and biodiversity rich habitats.
We also support nature-based solutions through our international aid programmes on forestry and mangroves/blue forests.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) adults and (b) children who were exposed to high levels of air pollution between 4 and 26 April 2019.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Between 4 and 26 April 2019, there were two separate pollution episodes, which were due to a mixture of pollutants (including PM10, PM2.5 and ozone) and therefore it is not possible to easily estimate the number of adults and children who were exposed to high levels of air pollution.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 has taken to ensure that products containing palm oil that are sold in the UK use sustainably-produced palm oil.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government has set out its ambition in the 25 Year Environment Plan to support and protect the world’s forests, supporting sustainable agriculture and supporting zero-deforestation supply chains including for palm oil.
Through the Amsterdam Declarations and the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 we are working with business and other governments to strengthen governance, promote market-based solutions and put in place incentives, policies and actions that support sustainable production of palm oil alongside forest protection.
In 2012, Defra published the UK Statement on the Sustainable Production of Palm Oil which was signed by trade associations, NGOs and Government, and aimed to achieve 100% sourcing of credibly certified sustainable palm oil. The latest report from the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil indicates that based on their revised baseline data and methodology, the UK achieved 75% certified sustainable palm oil in 2017. The Roundtable has agreed to report annually on progress, and work with other signatories to the Amsterdam Declaration on increasing the uptake of sustainable palm oil. We recognise that more remains to be done and will continue to explore opportunities to improve the sustainability of palm oil production.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 reduce levels of air pollution to legal limits in major cities.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The UK continues to meet all current international air quality limits except for NO2. In July 2017 we published the NO2 Plan, backed by £3.5 billion funding, which sets out the steps we are taking to comply with NO2 limits as soon as possible. We are working intensively with local authorities, to identify measures to swiftly bring forward compliance, and support them with guidance and funding. This includes major cities outside London which are exceeding NO2 limits.
The Mayor of London has devolved responsibility for air quality in London and has received substantial grants through the TFL grant and other grants to support improvements to modes of transport to improve air quality.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of biodegradable cutlery in reducing the use of single-use plastic; and what steps his Department is taking to promote and increase the use of such cutlery.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government has committed in its 25 Year Environment Plan to eliminating all avoidable plastic waste, further details of which will be set in our upcoming Resources and Waste Strategy
The Government is aware of the interest in biodegradable and compostable materials. While such materials may be seen as a solution to reduce the impact of waste, they can also be more environmentally damaging than non-biodegradable materials if disposed of incorrectly. The Government published a report in 2015 which concluded that existing biodegradable standards are only applicable to very specific conditions, such as industrial composters.
The Government is concerned that, in the absence of standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the marketplace, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal. As part of our forthcoming UK Bioeconomy Strategy we will work with industry to seek evidence on the demand, benefits and implications of a standard for bio-based and biodegradable plastics.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 effect on peoples health of the use of Glysphosate as a herbicide and crop desiccant.
Answered by George Eustice
Like all pesticides, glyphosate is subject to restrictions to ensure that its use will not harm people or have unacceptable effects on the environment. UK experts participated in the European Food Safety Authority’s recent assessment of glyphosate and support its conclusions, particularly that glyphosate does not cause cancer. The Government therefore supports the continuing approval of glyphosate.
In line with normal practice when an approval is renewed, the UK regulator is reviewing the authorisations for all glyphosate products, including those for pre-harvest use.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support was given to families who infant feed with formula milk during the Thames Water water supply disruption in March; and what steps he is taking to improve the response to future water shortages.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
During the recent water supply disruption in March, Thames Water set up local bottled water stations in affected areas, including at Balham High Road Sainsbury’s, and Tooting Bec Lido. The bottled water provided has passed Thames Water’s quality tests, and is safe to give to young babies.
Section 208, Water Industry Act 1991, makes provision for directions to be given to water companies which require them to take specific action in the interests of national security, or to mitigate the effects of a civil emergency. The Security and Emergency Measures (Water and Sewerage Undertakers) Direction 1998, directs them to maintain plans to provide a supply of water at all times, even in an emergency.
Following the events in March, I wrote to water companies on increasing resilience to extreme weather. I also commissioned a review by Ofwat which will look at the causes of the problems, and the response of water companies. Their conclusions will be published by June.