Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 progress report by the Committee on Climate Change entitled Progress in reducing emissions, published on June 2023, what actions she is taking to increase tree canopy cover.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The England Trees Action Plan sets out measures to achieve our statutory target to reach 16.5% canopy cover in England by 2050. Its delivery is supported by over £673 million under the Nature for Climate Fund. In 2022/23, over 3,600 hectares of trees were planted in England; the highest since 2005/06. The Nature for Climate Fund directly supported over 2,400 hectares of planting, more than double that of last year. Community Forests and the England Woodland Creation Offer were the highest contributors.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 woodland creation funded through the Nature for Climate Fund is met through (a) natural colonisation and (b) tree planting; and in which areas these woodlands have been created.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Nature for Climate Fund (NCF) offers include a range of different types of tree planting to support the establishment of “the right tree in the right place”. The England Woodland Creation Offer includes Additional Contributions to support nature recovery, of which natural colonisation is one of them. 192 hectares of natural colonisation has been established so far. Other NCF planting grants also support natural colonisation, but we do not hold data on the amount of planting that has been created through natural colonisation for those schemes’
The Forestry Commission produces statistics on all new planting of woodland for the UK. These can be found in Forestry Statistics (https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/forestry-statistics/) on the Forest Research website. These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares. The latest available figures are for 2021-22. These figures include woodland created through natural colonisation but it does not specify a separate figure for woodland created through natural colonisation.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of sewage spillages on coastal business in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
It is the responsibility of the water and sewerage companies to ensure they clean up any sewage following pollution incidents, including in coastal areas. This is enforced by the Environment Agency as part of its standard incident response procedures.
We have not made an impact assessment specifically on the potential impact of sewage spillages on coastal businesses in England. However, our Storm Overflows Evidence Project assessed the impact of sewage discharges on bathing waters and the social impact where knowledge and visibility of storm overflows causes public concern. We used this evidence to inform our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, which sets out targets for water companies to improve all storm overflows discharging into or near every designated bathing water by 2035.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of increases in (a) energy and (b) pet food bills on pet ownership.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
To support households, the Energy Price Guarantee was put in place as a temporary measure on 1st October 2022 to cap typical energy bills at £2,500 per year. This scheme has cut the typical family energy bill by over £1,300 since October and has now been extended to the end of June this year. The Energy Bill Support Scheme has also helped to reduce household energy bills over the past six months with a £400 discount paid in monthly instalments.
Defra officials regularly meet stakeholders to understand the issues and trends affecting the sector, including the impact of the rise in the cost of living on those who care for companion animals. Sector groups are closely monitoring the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and identifying where more support may be needed. We welcome the support they are currently providing through pet food banks and financial support with veterinary treatment which is helping to reduce the pressure on pet owners.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a strategy on reducing her Department's carbon emissions.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government is committed to delivering Net Zero by 2050.
The Department’s performance and future strategy for reducing carbon emissions is described in its sustainability reports which are published annually with its accounts.
The 2021-2022 sustainability report shows that the Department is reducing its emissions through a combination of estate rationalisation and energy efficiency initiatives. The Department emitted 51,099t CO2e in 2021-22. This is a reduction of 32% or 24,000t since 2017/18
The Department is committed to further reducing its greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible and is taking action to meet its targets under the Greening Government Commitments. Further information on reducing emissions will be published in the next annual sustainability report.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of sewage discharges that took place in England and Wales in 2022.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency collates sewage discharge data from Water and Sewerage Companies from storm overflows in England, for 2020 and 2021 the data is published online here. The 2022 data will be published at the end of March 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on reducing sewage discharges.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In August 2022 HM Government published the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, requiring water companies to deliver their largest ever infrastructure investment - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years. £3.1 billion will be invested in storm overflow improvements between 2020 and 2025 (approximately 800 improvements). Water companies have already completed 43 storm overflow improvements schemes as part of their plans for the 2020-25 Price review period, and this will increase to almost 450 improvements by the end of next year.
In February 2023 I asked water and sewerage companies to set an action plan on every storm overflow in England, prioritising those that are spilling more than a certain number of times a year, and those spilling into bathing waters and high priority nature sites. I have also announced water companies will face higher penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 of the Countryside Charity Building on our food security, published in July 2022, if her Department will (a) consult on and (b) publish a national land use strategy that provides an integrated framework for local policy- and decision-making on planning and farming.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We have committed to publishing a Land Use Framework in 2023 to help us strike the right balance between a range of priorities, including development and farming. We are working closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and other departments in preparing it. We will set out any plans for consultation and the details of any interactions between the Land Use Framework and the planning system.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth 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 her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Class B Clean Air Zone in Portsmouth at reducing NO2 levels; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a Class D Clean Air Zone.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Portsmouth’s Class B Clean Air Zone has been operational since November 2021. Data for 2022 will be published as part of the 2022 National Compliance Assessment. Government guidance is clear that a Clean Air Zone should only be implemented by a Local Authority in the NO2 Programme where non-charging measures are unable to achieve compliance with legal NO2 levels in the shortest possible time.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth 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 her Department has made of the potential impact of recycling effluent water into drinking water.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
All water recycling option considered by water companies in their draft statutory Water Resource Management Plans (WRMPs) must meet the environmental requirements for wastewater treatment discharges into the environment. Water re-abstracted from the environment for public water supply must also be treated to meet our high drinking water standards before use, in accordance with a robust risk assessment. Water regulators will be responding to the consultations on the draft WRMPs. The draft plans are then referred to the Secretary of State for decisions on whether they can be finalised.
Recent research carried out for the Drinking Water Inspectorate indicated a high level of support (79% agreement) for the use of water recycling to supplement drinking water supplies.[1]