Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (1) does not weaken domestic pesticide standards in terms of active substance approvals or maximum residue levels, and (2) does not undermine the precautionary principle with regards to pesticides.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has not lowered its standards in order to accede to CPTPP. All food and drink products imported into the UK, irrespective of the purpose for which they will be used, must comply with our import requirements and regulatory standards for food safety. This includes pesticide active substance approvals and maximum residue levels (MRLs).
The UK Government supports the precautionary principle. This is expressly a part of our plant protection product regime and is also incorporated into the Environment Act through the Environmental Principles that the Government must consider when making new policy.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for consulting on activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.
Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed.
This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the chemicals strategy.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment and we will set out our priorities for addressing risks from chemicals in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the metals recycling industry regarding the impact of introducing a fixed-rate deposit return scheme on the recycling rates of aluminium.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
DEFRA engage stakeholders across industry, including material manufacturers and the metals sector.
Regarding the issue of deposit levels, the deposit return scheme will have a central body to manage its operation; this role is to be undertaken by a new industry not-for-profit body, the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO). The DMO will be responsible for setting the deposit level within parameters set out in the regulations. The DMO will be required to consult all those with an interest in the scheme in setting the deposit level(s). The DMO will have the ability to set either a fixed rate or variable rate deposit (which could vary by drinks container size, format or material type).
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure high recycling rates under the Simpler Recycling policy; and how such rates will be assessed to give consumers confidence.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Simpler Recycling will aim to make recycling clearer and more consistent across England. All household and non-household premises (such as businesses, schools and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic; paper and card; food waste; garden waste (household only). Furthermore, packaging producers will be required to label packaging as ‘Recycle’ or ‘Do Not Recycle’ adopting a single label format which incorporates the Recycle Now symbol.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the effectiveness of introducing statutory guidance on Simpler Recycling which mandates the sorting of materials in order to be recycled by Material Recovery Facilities.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recently consulted on the content of the statutory guidance for Simpler Recycling. We will publish our final statutory guidance once the regulations relating to Simpler Recycling have been made.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the impact of mandating the sorting of co-mingled materials collected from households on increasing recycling rates under the Simpler Recycling policy.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of Simpler Recycling, we have consulted on the provision of an exemption to allow local authorities and waste collectors in England to co-collect two or more dry recyclable waste streams in the same container, and to co-collect food and garden waste together in one container, without the need for written assessment. This consultation is now closed and we are analysing the responses and feedback from stakeholders gathered through this process. We will communicate the outcome of the consultation in due course. Furthermore, we will publish our Final Impact Assessment for Simpler Recycling alongside secondary legislation in 2024 which will contain modelled impacts of the Simpler Recycling on recycling rates.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether payments to farmers in England to rewet upland peat are sufficient (1) to offset management costs and provide income to the farmers, and (2) to ensure levels of restoration activity that are consistent with short-term and long-term targets.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Payment rates are based on the income forgone and costs to the farmer. In January, we announced that we were increasing the payment rate for rewetting moorland peat in Countryside Stewardship from £25 to £181 per hectare. This significant increase will ensure appropriate payment to farmers as well as incentivising rewetting of vitally important peatland.
The Nature for Climate Peatland Grant scheme has provided £35 million of funding to financially commit us to restoring approximately 27,000 hectares of peatland. This scheme is funding a significant proportion of our short-term target of restoring 35,000 hectares by 2025.
The Government’s Environmental Land Management schemes will help us meet our longer-term target to restore 280,000 hectares of peatland by 2050. In particular, the Landscape Recovery scheme will provide successful projects with funding to support large-scale peatland restoration. Payments made to land managers under Landscape Recovery projects will be benchmarked against rates paid for similar activities under existing Government schemes, such as Countryside Stewardship, to ensure payments to farmers are appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Douglas-Miller on 22 February (HL Deb col 701), what assessment they have made of the merits of returning peatland sites to fully functioning bog habitat, including by limiting burning regimes.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2021, peatlands emitted 2% of UK net greenhouse gas emissions. When in a restored state, peatlands accumulate and store carbon, making them a vital tool in climate regulation and achieving the Government’s Net Zero goals. Full restoration of peatland habitats delivers on each of our natural capital objectives - locking up carbon, restoring biodiversity, preserving heritage sites, minimising wildfire hazards, and improving water regulation and quality. This Government is committed to restoring these precious environments.
There are a variety of restoration methods used to restore our peat. We seek to minimise the use of burning as a tool for restoration and therefore only permit burning in specific circumstances when it is being conducted in the right place and for the right reasons. Our Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations 2021 limit the instances when burning is permitted, and data from the Moorland Change Map suggests a decline in burning on moorlands since the introduction of the Regulations.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with packaging manufacturers regarding the scope of their proposed deposit return scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; and whether they intend to revise the scope of that scheme following any such discussions.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Conversations with packaging manufacturers on scope of materials in the deposit return scheme have been consistent with the position that was outlined in the Government’s consultation response in January 2023 (see attached).