Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the environmental impacts of the UK not meeting its commitment to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to set a legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. To meet this target, the Government has set five-yearly carbon budgets which restrict the amount of greenhouse gas the UK can legally emit in a five year period. The UK met the first two carbon budgets and is on course to meet the third (2018 – 2022). The Net Zero Strategy sets out clear policies and proposals for keeping us on track for our coming carbon budgets (4/5/6), our ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and sets out our vision for a decarbonised economy in 2050.
The Government has a statutory obligation to assess the risks that climate change poses to the country and develop plans and policies to address those risks. The Climate Change Committee’s Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk offers a detailed insight into the risks and opportunities the UK faces from climate change. These include risks of drought, flooding, extreme heat, average temperature increase and pests, diseases and invasive species to terrestrial and freshwater habitats, peat and soil health, natural carbon stores and sequestration, and agriculture. This evidence informed our third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3), which we laid in Parliament on 17 January 2022. The third National Adaptation Programme, responding to the risks in CCRA3, is due to be published next year.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
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 implications for his policies of the findings of research by Kantar, published on 20 June 2022, that the average annual grocery bill in the UK will potentially rise by £380 this year.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We are concerned by the rising pressures on household incomes and are monitoring them closely. We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. Year-on-year food price inflation rose to 8.7% in May, up from 6.7% in April. Defra analysis, based upon ONS data, shows that every one percent increase in food price inflation increases the average, annual food bill of the UK household by £33. ONS recently released data tracking the price of the lowest-cost grocery items. This could be seen as another useful piece of evidence, though as recognised by ONS is highly experimental. It shows that 17 of the 30 items examined saw prices increasing below food inflation or falling, while 13 of the 30 items increased faster than the official inflation measure for food.
Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive-up consumer food prices. For example, we have introduced labelling flexibility to reduce additional cost burdens resulting from the availability of sunflower oil. We have also taken action to address current fertiliser issues including: changing statutory guidance to the Environment Agency on how they should implement the "Farming Rules for Water" to provide clarity to farmers on how they can use slurry and other manures during autumn and winter to meet agronomic needs; increasing grant funding to help farmers and growers boost research and development; and delaying changes to the use of urea by at least a year. The Government has also announced that Direct Payments in England will be paid in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period to help farmers with their cashflow.
The food strategy, published on 13 June, is clear that whilst we strive to transform the food system in the long-term and unlock the benefits of healthier and more sustainable diets, we will, at all phases of policy development, champion consumer interests and seek to minimise food prices impacts.
The Government recently announced a new £15 billion support package to help families with the cost of living, bringing total support for households this year to £37 billion. This includes continued support to children and families on low incomes through various initiatives such as the Healthy Start Scheme, free school meals, breakfast clubs and the Holiday Activities and Food Programme.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will help promote school street schemes which keep traffic away from schools at drop off and pick up times to reduce air pollution as a health issue for children.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Prime Minister's Cycling and Walking Plan (Gear Change) was published in July 2020 and included a range of commitments to boost the amount of walking and cycling to school. Hundreds of School Streets have been delivered. These have led to local improvements in air quality and improved the safety of pupils, leading to significant rises in the number of children cycling and walking to school.
£338 million has been made available this year through active travel funding. This will enable local authorities to deliver new safe cycling and walking routes in their areas, which could include the delivery of School Streets.
Local authorities have a range of powers to take action to reduce pollution from road vehicles, such as introduce 20mph zones and enforcing anti-idling laws. Local authorities in England can install School Streets restricting vehicle access around schools using standard traffic signing.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to set legally binding interim targets for particulate matter 2.5 at the WHO recommendation of 20 grams per cubic metre.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our landmark Environment Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament, requires the government to set long-term, legally binding environmental targets in four priority areas, including air quality. In addition to this, there is a duty to set a new target for PM2.5 based on annual mean concentrations.
As part of the process for setting air quality targets, essential work is being carried out to ensure that we have an understanding of the action that will be required to reach the targets, to ensure that they are feasible and assess the associated costs and benefits. A summary of this analysis will be included in a public consultation before the targets are set through secondary legislation in October 2022. We have always been clear that we will consider WHO air quality guidelines as part of this process. We are also working with experts such as AQEG (Air Quality Expert Group) and COMEAP (Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants) to seek their advice, views and recommendations on key aspects of how the targets are developed.
In the meantime, we are continuing to drive forward the ambitious actions outlined in the Clean Air Strategy, such as phasing out the sale of house coal and small volumes of wet wood for domestic burning, which is a major source of PM2.5.