Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the criteria is for live animal exports for slaughter to be classified as long distance.
Answered by George Eustice
We have a manifesto commitment to end excessively long journeys for live animals going for slaughter and fattening once we leave the EU. We will shortly consult on how we deliver on that commitment and look forward to inviting views on the criteria that will be used to define an excessively long journey.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 had discussions with her Australian counterpart on the support to help rebuild devastated wildlife populations in Australia.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, as Minister of State for the Commonwealth, have been in contact with their Australian counterparts to offer the UK’s condolences and assistance following the recent devastating wildfires. The UK High Commission and Consulates General are also liaising closely with Australian authorities at federal and state level to offer support. As a close friend and partner in international efforts to protect biodiversity, the UK Government stands ready to support the Australian Government in its response to the effects on wildlife populations, should such assistance be needed.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 repeal the Weeds Act 1959.
Answered by George Eustice
The Weeds Act 1959 extends and applies to England, Scotland and Wales. It does not extend to Northern Ireland. The subject area of the Act is devolved in relation to Scotland and Wales, and those devolved administrations will have their own approach to injurious weeds under the framework of the Act.
The Government has no plans to repeal the Weeds Act 1959 at this time. Defra’s injurious weeds policy aims to balance a variety of different interests in the countryside.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 merits of the recommendations of the Bovine TB Strategy Review published in October 2018.
Answered by George Eustice
I am very grateful for the work of Professor Sir Charles Godfray and his team in exploring how we might accelerate progress in tackling Bovine TB. This is a terrible disease which creates considerable trauma in the farming industry and is very difficult to eradicate for a number of reasons. Sir Charles’s review is an important contribution. The Government will publish its response shortly.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 research published by Recoup on recycling rates of plastic plant pots, what steps she is taking to increase recycling rates of plastic plant pots; and which local authorities accept kerbside collection of those pots for recycling.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following support at consultation, the draft legislation in the Environment Bill (https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-20/environment.html) stipulates that a core set of materials (paper and card, plastic, glass, metal, food waste, garden waste) will be collected from households by all local authorities in England from 2023. All local authorities collecting the same core set of materials from all households will reduce confusion about what can be recycled. Combined with clearer, more consistent labelling, this will encourage householders to recycle more because they will have more confidence in the recycling system.
Secondary legislation, including statutory guidance, will be developed detailing what is included under the plastic waste stream, such as plastic plant pots.
Collection of plant pots is currently subject to local decision making. The Recycle Now website details which local authorities collect plastic plant pots for recycling: https://www.recyclenow.com/what-to-do-with/plastic-plant-pots.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the 12 week public consultation on trophy hunting imports will commence.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Last month we announced that we will be consulting on whether to further restrict the import and export of hunting trophies. We are acting quickly to respond to the public’s concerns and the consultation will be published in due course.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 is taking to improve air quality in (a) Medway, (b) Tonbridge and Malling and (c) Maidstone.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Air pollution is reducing in the UK, as set out in the annual National Statistics report:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics
There are 169 national automatic monitoring stations in the UK, of which 2 stations are in Medway. Chatham Roadside measures hourly concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5); Rochester Stoke measures concentrations of ozone and sulphur dioxide in addition to these pollutants. Near real-time measurements from these sites and further data tools can be found on the UK-AIR website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/).
There are no national automatic monitoring stations in Tonbridge and Malling or Maidstone.
All local authorities also carry out their own air quality monitoring activities and produce annual status reports on air quality within the local authority boundaries.
Each of the local authorities has air quality management areas which can be found online at https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/aqma/maps
Councils have statutory duties to tackle air pollution and already have considerable powers.
Defra’s Air Quality Grant Programme provides funding to local authorities for projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions. The scheme has awarded over £60 million in funding to a variety of projects since it started in 1997 and over £3 million will be awarded this year.
We will bring forward provisions on air quality in 2019 in the forthcoming Environment Bill.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 air pollution levels in (a) Medway, (b) Tonbridge and Malling and (c) Maidstone.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Air pollution is reducing in the UK, as set out in the annual National Statistics report:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics
There are 169 national automatic monitoring stations in the UK, of which 2 stations are in Medway. Chatham Roadside measures hourly concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5); Rochester Stoke measures concentrations of ozone and sulphur dioxide in addition to these pollutants. Near real-time measurements from these sites and further data tools can be found on the UK-AIR website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/).
There are no national automatic monitoring stations in Tonbridge and Malling or Maidstone.
All local authorities also carry out their own air quality monitoring activities and produce annual status reports on air quality within the local authority boundaries.
Each of the local authorities has air quality management areas which can be found online at https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/aqma/maps
Councils have statutory duties to tackle air pollution and already have considerable powers.
Defra’s Air Quality Grant Programme provides funding to local authorities for projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions. The scheme has awarded over £60 million in funding to a variety of projects since it started in 1997 and over £3 million will be awarded this year.
We will bring forward provisions on air quality in 2019 in the forthcoming Environment Bill.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
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 Secretary of State for Education on planting (a) grass, (b) trees and (c) plants in schools to help tackle air pollution.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministers across Government Departments about air pollution and how to reduce it. There remains a significant debate among experts about the efficacy of vegetation in reducing air pollution. Defra’s Air Quality Expert Group conclude that overall, vegetation and trees in particular are regarded as beneficial for the environment but they are not a solution to air quality problems in our cities and towns. The Government is giving priority to action on the multiple sources of pollutants, delivered through the Clean Air Strategy.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of wild lions there will be in Africa by 2025 if the current rate of hunting continues.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government has not made an assessment of future numbers of African lions in 2025 if current hunting levels continue.