Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June to Question 186951 on Packaging: Recycling, how her Department plans to define the life of packaging.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department has no plans currently to define the life of packaging.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
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 potential for an extremely hot and dry summer season in 2023, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk of wildfires; and when the findings of her Department’s research into the fire and environmental risks of sky lanterns and disposable BBQs will be published.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government has a key role to play in making our natural landscapes resilient to the risks posed by wildfire.
We are working with Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Park Authorities and other Government departments to promote a series of guidance videos to educate users about travelling to and spending time outdoors safely in the wider countryside. This includes an updated Countryside Code which advises not to have barbecues or fires.
In 2021 we supported the development of a new accredited training programme, designed to consolidate knowledge, skills and understanding of vegetation fires including wildfire incidents. Within the first two years more than 800 prevention and response modules have been completed by public and private land managers.
The Government has committed further funding for the next two years and we continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders including land managers, the Forestry Commission, NFU, ENGOs and the National Fire Chiefs Council to embed this training across England, and to identify and respond to further training requirements.
Research into the environmental impacts of single use barbecues and sky lanterns concluded in March. We are currently considering next steps which we aim to finalise soon.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
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 plans to take to incentivise the reuse of packaging.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Under the current packaging producer responsibility regime businesses that use reusable packaging are required to meet recycling obligations the first time this packaging is placed on the market.
Where the packaging has a life of at least four years, the business may discharge its obligation in relation to that packaging in four equal instalments over four years commencing in the year in which that packaging is first used. This will also apply under the new extended packaging producer regime.
In addition businesses using reusable household packaging will only be required to pay disposal cost fees the first time the packaging is used. In the Government Response to the consultation on extended producer responsibility published in March 2022 we stated we would consider other measures to encourage the use of reusable packaging with the intention of introducing these in 2025.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
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 protect rare species.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government remains committed to taking action to recover our threatened native species. In England, we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; then to reverse declines by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction by 2042; and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23), published 31 January 2023. The EIP23 revises the 25-Year Environment Plan as part of our obligations under the Environment Act 2021.
We know that to meet our targets we will need large-scale habitat restoration, creation and improved connectivity; to tackle pressures on species including pollution, unsustainable use of resources and climate change; and targeted action to recover specific species. Measures introduced in the Environment Act, such as Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), will help deliver actions to enable wildlife to recover and thrive. Additionally, our new Environmental Land Management schemes will pay for sustainable farming practices, creating and preserving habitat such as woodland, heathland and species-rich grassland, as well as making landscape-scale environmental changes, all of which could benefit our threatened native species.
Additionally, Natural England's Species Recovery Programme (SRP) supports the recovery of threatened and declining species, such as lady’s slipper orchid, water vole, natterjack toad, wartbiter cricket, and curlew. On 3 April 2023, Natural England launched the Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme which will support projects over two years, delivering targeted conservation action through the creation and improvement of specific wildlife habitats, conservation translocations, as well as supporting research and creating solutions to address species decline.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What steps her Department has taken to reduce storm overflows in North Devon constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We are requiring water companies to deliver their largest ever infrastructure investment worth £56 billion over 25 years. South West Water are now required to undertake improvements to storm overflows in your constituency for example by increasing capacity of storm storage. I have also asked every water and sewerage company in the country to provide an action plan for every storm overflow, including South West Water.
We are driving increases in monitoring across the country with coverage increasing from 7% in 2010 under Labour to around 90% today, and 100% by the end of this year.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to implement the recommendations of the independent report entitled Benyon review Into Highly Protected Marine Areas, published on 17 August 2022.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
As confirmed in the recent Environment Improvement Plan, we intend to designate the first HPMAs this year. Following the public consultation on candidate HPMAs last summer, we will soon be making an announcement on which of those sites will be designated.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
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 introduce a deposit return scheme in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In its 2019 manifesto, HM Government committed to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers to incentivise people to recycle more and to reduce littering of in-scope containers. HM Government has consulted twice on the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and further details will be set out in the Government response to the 2021 consultation. We are working towards publication of the Government response in late 2022.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
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 establish a single, mandatory recycling labelling scheme.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In the response to the 2021 consultation on Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, HM Government set out its intention to introduce mandatory recyclability labelling on all product packaging. Producers will be required to label packaging to indicate whether it is recyclable or not. To provide consumers with clear and consistent information to help them to recycle correctly, there will be a single approach to labelling packaging across the UK. This will reduce confusion over what can be recycled which will increase recycling rates and reduce contamination in recycling waste streams.
The requirement to label packaging will be introduced as part of new UK-wide packaging regulations that are expected to enter into force late in 2023.