Written Question
Thursday 25th May 2023
Asked by:
Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
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 tackle fly-tipping.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Prime Minister’s Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan sets out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who fly-tip. This includes raising the upper limit of spot fines for fly-tipping to £1,000; delivering on our manifesto commitment to increase penalties.
We have also awarded councils nearly £1.2 million to purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping, such as CCTV, and consulted on reforms to how waste is managed to stamp out criminal activity.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 01 Nov 2022
Avian Influenza
"I thank the Minister for his statement and for the actions his Department has already taken. Sadly, Blackpool has been affected by avian flu—40% of the swan population in Stanley Park died last winter and a high number of cases was reported recently among seabirds. Although I understand that the …..."Scott Benton - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 06 Sep 2022
Sewage Pollution
"Contrary to the absolute nonsense peddled by the Opposition, it is this Government who are the first in history to bring forward a comprehensive plan to tackle sewage discharges. At a time when household budgets are under immense pressure, does my right hon. Friend agree that it would have been …..."Scott Benton - View Speech
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Written Question
Tuesday 14th December 2021
Asked by:
Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question
to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government's timeframe is for (a) consulting on and (b) confirming plans to spend recent allocations of flood defence funds in Blackpool South.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency is currently working with Blackpool Council (the respective Coast Protection Authority) to progress three coastal schemes on its coastal frontage. Consultation has already commenced on the two Bispham schemes and a second consultation event will take place in early 2022.
- Little Bispham to Bispham: the Environment Agency is due to receive an Outline Business Case by the end of January 2022 for assurance. The Local Authority has £800,000 allocated in 2021/22 for preliminary studies and design with a forecast of £29.3 million capital works to follow, with an estimated completion date in 2025.
- Bispham Capital Maintenance: the Environment Agency is due to receive an Outline Business Case by the end of January 2022 for assurance. The Local Authority has £500,000 allocated in 2021/22 for preliminary studies and design, with a forecast of £5.6 million capital works to follow, with an estimated completion date of 2025.
- Blackpool Beach Nourishment: the Environment Agency has received an application to approve funds to commence preliminary studies and investigations. The Local Authority has £342,000 allocated for preliminary studies in 2021/22 and £12 million forecast for design and capital works to follow, with an estimated completion date of 2026. Consultation will commence during 2022/23.
The sea bees re-profiling work at South Shore has an allocation of £7 million and is programmed to commence 2024/25 through to 2026/27. Initial work on this has not commenced yet. (Sea bees are hexagonal concrete revetments designed to dissipate the energy of the waves.)
The Environment Agency works closely with Local Authorities, Risk Management Authorities (RMAs) and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) to ensure that all projects are well represented within the capital programme.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 09 Dec 2021
Oral Answers to Questions
"8. What steps he is taking to tackle dog theft. ..."Scott Benton - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 09 Dec 2021
Oral Answers to Questions
"I welcome the Government’s taking animal cruelty seriously by introducing a specific dog abduction offence to crack down on dog theft. Cat owners have recently been more likely to purchase high-value pedigree cats and, heartbreakingly, criminals are now exploiting these cats and their owners, with cat theft rising more than …..."Scott Benton - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 09 Dec 2021
Oral Answers to Questions
"T4. In Blackpool’s Stanley Park, 15 swans died last month following an outbreak of a deadly bird flu virus. Sadly, over the past month, avian flu has been found in several areas across the UK, and further cases have been confirmed this week. I am grateful to the Secretary of …..."Scott Benton - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 28 Oct 2021
Oral Answers to Questions
"2. What progress the Church of England has made on increasing the number of ordinands by 50%. ..."Scott Benton - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 28 Oct 2021
Oral Answers to Questions
"What assurances can my hon. Friend provide the House that the Church of England remains fully committed to parish ministry? I have seen how important it has been during the pandemic at a range of churches in Blackpool, such as Holy Cross...."Scott Benton - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 21 Oct 2021
COP26: Limiting Global Temperature Rises
"Despite the UK being the only G20 member that is on target to achieve its commitments to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5°C, according to the annual Climate Transparency report, we are consistently being slammed by climate activists for not doing more. I therefore suggest that Extinction …..."Scott Benton - View Speech
View all Scott Benton (Ind - Blackpool South) contributions to the debate on: COP26: Limiting Global Temperature Rises