Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage retailers to allocate proceeds from the sale of single-use plastic bags to charitable causes.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
No new steps are being taken; the Government has always encouraged retailers to donate the proceeds of the charge. The total amount of money donated to good causes as a result of the single-use carrier bag charge (and reported to Defra) since the charge was introduced in 2015 to now is over £200 million.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to help reduce the presence of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs originating from industrial farms in water courses.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Antimicrobial usage (AMU) is a key driver influencing the occurrence and emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The degree of intensification of farm production systems can have a bearing on AMU, but that is not necessarily the case. Intensive production systems can involve high health status livestock with high biosecurity to prevent entry of disease and consequently can have low AMU. The extent of risk that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) presents in the water environment is still being determined. A cross-departmental project called Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) was established in 2021 to strengthen our understanding of AMR in the environment, including the relative importance of different sources and potential transmission routes. Final results of this project are expected to be published later this year.
To date in the UK, collaborative working between government, the veterinary profession and the agriculture sectors has already resulted in our national sales of veterinary antibiotics reducing by 55% since 2014, and in 2021 we recorded the lowest antibiotic use yet. Over this same period the UK have seen overall trend of decreasing antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from animals. The significant achievements of the UK farming industry to reduce their antibiotic use supports the government’s ‘One-Health’ approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as set out in the UK National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending safety regulations for the storage of industrial lithium-ion batteries to cover domestic battery storage.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra is currently reviewing the existing UK Batteries Regulations, and a consultation is expected by the end of 2023. The review is expected to consider safety risks associated with all batteries during their lifecycle, including safety concerns associated with lithium-ion batteries.
Grid-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage systems are covered by a robust regulatory framework which requires manufacturers to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market, that they are installed correctly, and that any safety issues found after products are on the market or after installation are dealt with.
In 2018 BEIS set up an industry-led electricity Storage Health and Safety Governance Group responsible for ensuring that an appropriate, robust and future-proofed health and safety framework is sustained as the industry develops and storage deployment increases. The government is currently working with the industry-led Storage Health and Safety Governance Group to take steps including supporting the development of a product and installation Publicly Available Standard for domestic/small-scale battery storage and developing guidance for grid-scale storage.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
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 plans to take steps to ban the advertisement of low welfare elephant tourism venues.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government is supporting the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Private Members Bill introduced to this House by Angela Richardson MP on 20 June 2022. The Bill will allow the introduction of regulations banning the advertising and the offering for sale in England and Northern Ireland, of specific low-welfare animal activities which are undertaken abroad. This could include low-welfare elephant activities abroad. The Bill has successfully passed through this House.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of travel guidance on taking a pet abroad; and if she will update that guidance to include guidance on dogs travelling in airplane cabins.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We regularly review and update our pet travel guidance based on user feedback.
When travelling to the UK by air, pets travel as manifest cargo to facilitate import checks upon arrival. Only recognised assistance dogs can travel in the cabin of an aircraft when travelling into the UK. Guidance on this is available on GOV.UK Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain: Guide and assistance dogs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) When travelling with a pet abroad, pet owners and assistance dogs users should seek guidance from the relevant competent authority and airline.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) quality and (b) safety of water in (i) Camden and (ii) Brent.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Drinking water quality is controlled by the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 in England and companies are required to comply with these regulations. The Drinking Water Inspectorate is the regulator for drinking water in England, and take’s enforcement action should any breach of the standards in the regulations occur, in line with its enforcement policy. More information is available on the DWI website, including the annual report on drinking water quality and compliance tables for individual companies.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce levels of total dissolved solids in tap water in (a) Camden and (b) Brent.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The dissolved solids in tap water supplies are made up of naturally occurring minerals derived from their source waters. The level of total dissolved solids in tap water in both Camden and Brent is consistent with those across southern England and not considered to be at a level that would cause harm to consumers or cause the water to be unpalatable. Therefore, there are no plans to reduce levels of total dissolved solids in tap water in those areas as it is considered unnecessary to do so.
For further context the World Health Organization quotes the following for palatability of drinking water:
“The palatability of water with a total dissolved solids (TDS) level of less than about 600 mg/l is generally considered to be good”
The total dissolved solids in both Camden and Brent are below this level.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to ban (a) pig farrowing crates, (b) sow stalls and (c) other caged farming systems.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government is committed to strengthening animal welfare standards and is currently examining the use of cages for laying hens and the use of farrowing crates for pigs. The UK banned sow stalls in 1999.
We will continue to work with retailers and producers to ensure we maintain and enhance the high standards of animal health and welfare we have in this country, including on our farms.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the level of air pollution in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency; and whether that level is within adequate limits set out in law.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The department makes an assessment of air quality in London in the Air Quality in the UK Report https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/. A map of compliance data for more localised information is also published: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/compliance-map/ . As air quality in London is devolved to the Mayor of London, they undertake their own monitoring and assess compliance with statutory limit values.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to help reduce levels of PM2.5 particulate pollution in London; and whether she plans to introduce new targets to lower air pollution.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Mayor of London has devolved responsibility for air quality, including PM2.5. We have already introduced stretching targets to improve air quality nationally. Our dual-target approach will drive public health benefits by tackling the highest concentrations, while ensuring all areas benefit from continuous improvement.