Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department sought external legal advice on the proposal by MVV Environment to build a new incinerator in his constituency.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Defra has not sought legal advice with regard to the proposal for a waste incineration facility operated by MVV Environment in North East Cambridgeshire
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he sought legal advice on the MVV Environment incinerator proposal in his constituency.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In my capacity as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, I have not sought legal advice on the MVV Environment facility proposed in North East Cambridgeshire
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he had discussions with the planning inspectorate on MVV Environment incinerator proposals in his constituency.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, I have not made representations to the planning inspectorate.
In my capacity as the Member of Parliament for North East Cambridgeshire, I have made a number of representations to the Planning Inspectorate. This includes representations made on: 29 July 2022; 06 October 2022; 09 March 2023; 24 March 2023; 02 February 2024; and 13 February 2024.
These representations are a matter of the public record and can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010110
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2024 to Question 18175 on Nature Conservation: Finance, what estimate he has made of the total budget that is (a) unspent and (b) unallocated as of 12 April 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Between financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 the UK spent £763 million on climate change interventions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity leaving £2.2 billion to spend between 2023/24 and 2025/26. This figure will be updated when total spend for the financial year for 2023/24 is finalised later this year. There is currently over £3 billion allocated to nature programming between 2021/22 and 2025/26.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what date he recused himself from the decision-making process for the proposed MVV Environment incinerator construction in his constituency.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
On 27 February 2024, following advice from the Permanent Secretary, I formally recused myself from any decisions relating to incinerator policy. I put in place with the Permanent Secretary a formal recusal process which means I have no involvement in any decisions or sight of advice related to incinerator policy. All decisions on this policy will be taken by a junior Minister in the department who has no relevant interest.
As I stated at the EFRA Select Committee on 26 March 2024, I had previously flagged my constituency interest, and had said the policy needed to be delegated to another minister, recognising the importance of the Ministerial Code in terms of conflicts of interests, and also the perception of any conflicts of interest. As soon as I was notified by the Permanent Secretary of the need to formally recuse myself, that is exactly what I did.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on MVV Environment's proposals for an energy from waste plant in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In my capacity as the Member of Parliament for North East Cambridgeshire, I met with former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my Rt. Hon friend, Thérèse Coffey, Defra officials and an Environment Agency official on 19 July 2023 to discuss the proposal for a waste incineration facility in North East Cambridgeshire.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
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 publish all correspondence he has exchanged with the Environment Agency relating to MVV Environment's proposals for an energy from waste plant to be built in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In my capacity as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, I have had no correspondence with the Environment Agency relating to MVV Environment's proposals for an energy from waste plant to be built in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with Ministers in his Department on the MVV Environment incinerator proposal in his constituency.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, I have not had any meetings with my ministers to discuss the proposed MVV Environment incinerator in my constituency.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Q25 of the evidence given by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) to the EFRA Committee on 26 March 2024, HC 163, whether the Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Office to investigate the compliance of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with the Ministerial Code.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the full statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during his appearance at that Select Committee meeting (questions 25 to 27). The Secretary of State has recused himself from these matters. It is not uncommon for Ministers to balance their work as a constituency MP with their roles as Ministers, and there are established processes which support that.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
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 plans to take to help tackle biodiversity decline.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to turning the tide on nature’s decline. That is why, in England, we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity. We have legislated to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and to reverse species decline by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats.
These targets, alongside other targets, on water and air quality for example, will drive action to create and restore habitats, reduce pressures on nature, and recover species. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) published 31 January 2023. Here we link the different objectives, plans and mechanisms for recovering nature.
We have introduced significant new funding for nature - for woodland and peatland restoration, for green recovery and for landscape scale nature recovery - and we are developing new land management schemes that reward environmental benefits. In the update to our Agricultural Transition Plan, published in January this year, we announced premium payments for actions that will achieve greater environmental benefits, supporting habitats and species.
In November we announced the 34 projects selected for the £25 million second round of our Landscape Recovery scheme. These projects will collectively restore more than 35,000 hectares of peatland, create over 7,000 hectares of new woodland and benefit more than 160 protected sites (SSSIs).
In June last year we also launched a £25 million Species Survival Fund to provide early progress towards our species abundance targets and support the recovery of declining species. The fund will support projects focussed on the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats, including on protected sites. Successful applications to the fund will be announced this month.