Asked by: Sadiq 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, at which locations in London air pollution levels in 2014 exceeded the EU limit on (a) NO2, (b) Ozone, (c) PM10 particles and (d) PM2.5 particles.
Answered by Rory Stewart
9 of the 17 Defra Air Quality monitoring sites in London measured an exceedance of EU limits for NO2 in London during 2014: Camden Kerbside, Haringey Roadside, London Bloomsbury, London Hillingdon, London Marylebone Road, London Westminster, Southwark A2 Old Kent Road and Tower Hamlets Roadside. In addition to the measured exceedances, there were also a number of modelled exceedances of the EU limit for NO2 in London in 2014.
None of the 17 Defra Air Quality monitoring sites in London exceeded the EU Target Value for Ozone (O3), but 5 of the 17 measured an exceedance of the EU long term objective during 2014: London Haringey, Priory Park South, London Hillingdon, London North Kensington, London Teddington. In addition to the measured exceedances, there were also modelled exceedances of the EU long term objective for O3 in London in 2014.
The exact locations of the monitoring sites may be found here: http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/networks/find-sites
There were no exceedances of EU limits for PM10 particles or PM2.5 particles in London in 2014.
Asked by: Sadiq 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, how much has been budgeted for compensation payments to residential and business properties affected by the construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Compensation payments for owners of residential or business properties which are acquired pursuant to the development consent order for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) are a matter for either Thames Water Utilities Limited or Bazalgette Tunnel Limited (trading as Tideway and being the licensed infrastructure provider that will finance, own, build and operate the tunnel). Provision for such compensation payments is included in the overall budget for the construction of the TTT. In the case of Thames Water Utilities Limited, these costs are included within their price control for the period 2015-2020 as determined by Ofwat. In the case of Bazalgette Tunnel Limited, the cost is within the overall budget included within the project licence granted to Tideway by Ofwat. The amount set aside for these compensation payments are commercially sensitive so cannot be disclosed.
Asked by: Sadiq 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 projection her Department has made of use of the Thames Barrier in each of the next five years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Thames Barrier will be required to close more frequently due to sea level rise but it is projected to protect London from tidal flooding to its designed standard until 2070.
The Environment Agency monitors a number of indicators to ensure that this projection remains valid but does not develop projections of the number of closures on a year on year basis.
Asked by: Sadiq 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, on how many occasions the Thames Barrier has been used in each of the last 30 years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The following table shows the number of Thames Barrier closures in each flood season since its opening in 1982. A “flood season” is defined as the time period from September to April.
Year | Combined Tidal/Fluvial | Tidal | Grand Total |
1982 - 1983 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1983 - 1984 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1984 - 1985 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1985 - 1986 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
1986 - 1987 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1987 - 1988 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1988 - 1989 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1989 - 1990 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
1990 - 1991 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
1991 - 1992 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1992 - 1993 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
1993 - 1994 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
1994 - 1995 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
1995 - 1996 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
1996 - 1997 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1997 - 1998 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1998 - 1999 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
1999 - 2000 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
2000 - 2001 | 8 | 16 | 24 |
2001 - 2002 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
2002 - 2003 | 12 | 8 | 20 |
2003 - 2004 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
2004 - 2005 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
2005 - 2006 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
2006 - 2007 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
2007 - 2008 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
2008 - 2009 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2009 - 2010 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
2010 - 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2011 - 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2012 - 2013 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
2013 - 2014 | 41 | 9 | 50 |
2014 - 2015 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Grand Total | 87 | 88 | 175 |
Asked by: Sadiq 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, which places in London have air pollution levels that exceeded the EU limit on (a) NO2, (b) Ozone, (c) PM10 particles and (d) PM 2.5 particles in each year since 2010.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Data for 2014 will be submitted to the European Commission in September 2015, as part of the annual reporting cycle. The information below covers 2010-2013.
(a) NO2
In 2010 and 2011 the NO2 annual mean limit value was exceeded in all London boroughs.
In 2012 the NO2 annual mean limit value was met in the London Borough of Sutton and exceeded in all other boroughs.
In 2013 the NO2 annual mean limit value was met in the two London boroughs of Sutton and Bromley Council and exceeded in all other boroughs.
(b) Ozone
The ozone target value was met across London from 2010 to 2013 inclusive, while the long term ozone objective has not been met.
(c) PM10
In 2010, the PM10 24-hour mean limit value was met in 30 London boroughs and exceeded in 3 boroughs: Westminster, Tower Hamlets and Camden.
In 2011, the PM10 24-hour mean limit value was met in 14 London boroughs and exceeded in 19 boroughs: Lambeth, Hounslow, Southwark, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Ealing, Tower Hamlets, Newham, City of London, Camden, Hackney, Brent, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge, Barnet, Waltham Forest, and Enfield.
In 2012 and 2013, the PM10 24-hour mean limit value was met in all London boroughs.
(d) PM2.5
In 2010, the PM2.5 limit value was met in 21 London boroughs and exceeded in 12 boroughs: Southwark, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Ealing, Tower Hamlets, Newham, City of London, Camden, Hackney, Brent, and Waltham Forest.
In 2011, the PM2.5 limit value was met in eight London boroughs and exceeded in 25 boroughs: the 12 above plus Lambeth, Bexley, Hounslow, Wandsworth, Greenwich, Hillingdon, Havering, Islington, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge, Barnet, Haringey, and Enfield.
In 2012, the PM2.5 limit value was met in 20 London boroughs and exceeded in 13 boroughs: Lambeth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Ealing, Tower Hamlets, Newham, City of London, Camden, Hackney, Brent, Barking & Dagenham, and Redbridge.
In 2013, the PM2.5 limit value was met in 26 London boroughs and exceeded in 7 boroughs: Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Ealing, Tower Hamlets, Camden and Brent.
Asked by: Sadiq 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, how many times the Thames Barrier has to close in a single year to breach Tier 1 of the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The Environment Agency’s Thames Estuary 2100 plan has 10 monitored indicators which ensure the plan is adaptable to change and remains fit for purpose throughout its 100 year life.
One of the indicators refers to the number of times Thames Barrier closures exceed 50 in a year. If more than 50 closures a year were to become a regular occurrence this would impact the reliability of the Barrier.
Asked by: Sadiq 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 reviews are being conducted into the Thames Barrier or Thames flood defences.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
In response to increasing pressures, such as climate change, the Environment Agency produced the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan. This identifies options and recommendations for managing flood risk across the estuary up to the end of the century, and includes possible monitoring, maintenance, modifications and improvements to the Thames Barrier and associated flood defences. This could also include the construction of a new Thames Barrier at Long Reach, Dartford, by 2070.
Asked by: Sadiq 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, how many times the Thames Barrier has been closed in each year since 2010.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The table below lists the number of times the Thames Barrier has been closed in each year since 2010.
Year | Number of closures |
2010 | 5 |
2011 | 0 |
2012 | 3 |
2013 | 4 |
2014 | 48 |
2015 | 0 |
The figure for 2015 is for the period 01/01/15 to 23/02/15.
Asked by: Sadiq 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, how much his Department paid to (a) G4S, (b) Serco, (c) Sodexo, (d) GEOAmey, (e) Capita, (f) Atos, (g) Mitie, (h) Working Links, (i) A4E, (j) MTC Amey, (k) GEO Group and (l) Carillion in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The table below sets out details of payments made by the core Department.
Organisation | 2010-11 (£) | 2011-12 (£) | 2012-13 (£) | 2013-14 (£) |
(b) Serco | 785,314 | 586,352 | 607,033 | 567,478 |
(e) Capita | 414,721 | 25,327 | 333,250 | 819,394 |
(f) Atos | 1,503,292 | 10,255 | - | - |
No payments were made to the other organisations listed.
Asked by: Sadiq 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, how much and what proportion of his Department's budget was spent on activities which were contracted out in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14; and how much and what proportion of his Department's budget he expects to be contracted out in 2014-15.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
This information is not held by the Department and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.