Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 staff in his Department in receipt of each category of Honour in (a) December 2018 and (b) June 2019 were (i) from ethnic minority backgrounds and (ii) female aged (A) under 30, (B) 31 to 40, (C) 41 to 50 and (D) aged over 50.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many BAME staff are employed at (a) grade 7, (b) grade 5 and (c) grade 3 in his Department.
Answered by George Eustice
As at 30 June, the number of BAME staff employed in the department for the grades requested is shown in the table below:
BAME Staff | |
SCS 2 (Grade 3) | Less than 5 |
SCS 1 (Grade 5) | 13 |
Grade 7 | 72 |
As ethnic minority staff remain underrepresented at senior levels, the Civil Service set ambitious targets in June 2018 to increase the flow of ethnic minority civil servants into the SCS. Defra is committed to this activity.
Summary representation rates of ethnic minority SCS by department are published on the Civil Service diversity dashboard as at December 2018. At that time, Defra had 7.1% BAME SCS representation.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 The global tree restoration potential report, published in Science on 5 July 2019 that there are 1.7 billion hectares of treeless land on which 1.2 trillion native tree saplings would naturally grow, providing immense potential for tree-planting as a cheap and effective strategy to tackle climate change; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The UK Government recognises the huge potential for nature based solutions in tackling climate change while also supporting biodiversity. Trees are a major contributor to nature-based carbon sequestration. There are other natural sequesters including mangroves, sea grasses, salt marshes, soil and peatlands.
Through the UK’s International Climate Finance (ICF, £5.8bn between 2016-2021) the UK funds several programmes in developing countries that use tree-planting as a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and generating economic benefits for rural communities. For example, Defra’s investments are expected to restore 500,000 hectares of forest generating 70 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions savings. In Brazil, Defra has invested £55m to help rural farmers restore nearly 200,000 hectares of forest in the Amazon, Atlantic Forests, Cerrado and Caatinga biomes through the implementation of low-carbon agricultural practices. Defra has also invested £10 million to restore up to 20,000 hectares of mangrove forest in Madagascar and Indonesia and recently announced a further £12.75m to restore mangroves across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 (a) prevent plastic entering rivers and (b) remove plastic pollution from rivers.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra is working with the Environment Agency (EA), academics and the UK water industry to understand the scale of the microplastic pollution problem and to establish detection methods to identify, characterise and quantify the types of microplastics entering our rivers. Although there has been substantive research reporting the presence and impacts of microplastics in the marine environment, little is known about their sources, release and impact on freshwaters and their ultimate transport to the marine environment. Defra has commissioned evidence reviews to further understand these issues and will use the outcomes from these and other research to develop policy options/measures/interventions for removing plastic pollution from rivers.
There are currently no consistent sampling, collection or assessment methodologies for measuring micro-plastics in various environmental media (sediments, water column or biota), which means that routine monitoring is not practicable. Defra is also working with the EA, academics and water companies to develop methodologies to enable future monitoring of micro-plastics in wastewater, sludge and the water environment.
The EA takes steps to stop pollution causing harm where they can clearly attribute the source of the substance, as without this information it is not possible for them to take action. One of the sources of plastic pollution comes from small beads used in industrial processes and EA are working proactively to reduce the release of these small plastics pellets from the industries they regulate.
Plastic waste can also provide a source of micro-sized plastics once in the environment. To address this, the Government has set a target to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan (by 2042) and set aside £20 million for research and development managed through the Plastics Innovation Fund in March 2018. A further £10 million was committed in the 2018 Autumn Budget for continued/additional plastics research and development along with £10 million to pioneer innovative approaches to boosting recycling and reducing litter.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 report entitled, Upstream: Microplastics in UK Rivers, published by Greenpeace UK on 18 June 2019, what assessment he has made of the level plastic pollution in UK rivers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Defra is working with the Environment Agency (EA), academics and the UK water industry to understand the scale of the microplastic pollution problem and to establish detection methods to identify, characterise and quantify the types of microplastics entering our rivers. Although there has been substantive research reporting the presence and impacts of microplastics in the marine environment, little is known about their sources, release and impact on freshwaters and their ultimate transport to the marine environment. Defra has commissioned evidence reviews to further understand these issues and will use the outcomes from these and other research to develop policy options/measures/interventions for removing plastic pollution from rivers.
There are currently no consistent sampling, collection or assessment methodologies for measuring micro-plastics in various environmental media (sediments, water column or biota), which means that routine monitoring is not practicable. Defra is also working with the EA, academics and water companies to develop methodologies to enable future monitoring of micro-plastics in wastewater, sludge and the water environment.
The EA takes steps to stop pollution causing harm where they can clearly attribute the source of the substance, as without this information it is not possible for them to take action. One of the sources of plastic pollution comes from small beads used in industrial processes and EA are working proactively to reduce the release of these small plastics pellets from the industries they regulate.
Plastic waste can also provide a source of micro-sized plastics once in the environment. To address this, the Government has set a target to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan (by 2042) and set aside £20 million for research and development managed through the Plastics Innovation Fund in March 2018. A further £10 million was committed in the 2018 Autumn Budget for continued/additional plastics research and development along with £10 million to pioneer innovative approaches to boosting recycling and reducing litter.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 promote (a) reforestation and (b) prevent deforestation in each region and nation of the UK in the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government provides a range of support to landowners for new woodland creation through Countryside Stewardship, the Woodland Carbon Fund and the HS2 Woodland Fund. These have been available for some time and are open to new applications from farmers and landowners who can meet the criteria for funding.
In the Autumn Budget the Government announced an additional £60 million for tree planting initiatives, comprising £10 million to fund urban tree planting and £50 million for a Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme. This is in addition to the Government’s kick start investment in the Northern Forest, and establishment of the Forestry Investment Zone (FIZ) pilot in northeast Cumbria.
There are regulations in place to prevent unauthorised deforestation, primarily the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999, as amended. If plans for deforestation are determined to have significant environmental impact and exceed the threshold in the regulations, landowners must gain Forestry Commission consent before any change of land use can take place. If trees are removed without consent then restoration can be ordered. Under the provisions given in Part II of the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended) proposals for deforestation must, like most tree felling, have a Felling Licence from the Forestry Commission.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 potential for (a) tree-planting and reforestation and (b) the prevention of deforestation to help the UK meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Answered by David Rutley
Our English Tree Strategy will detail our national afforestation initiatives to help address the UK Government’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. The consultation for the English Tree Strategy will be launched later this year. Our Tree Champion is leading our engagement with forestry, environmental and other stakeholders, to inform our development of the Strategy.
This Government is committed to tackling climate change, as demonstrated by legislating to end the UK’s contribution to global warming by 2050 by enshrining a net zero emissions target in law.
Tree planting can be a major contributor to nature-based carbon sequestration. Our manifesto committed to planting 11 million trees by 2022, and we are committed to the aspiration of reaching 12% woodland cover in England by 2060.