Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, for each of the most recent five years for which data are available, what was the total amount of public expenditure that has been allocated to companies or charities for the purposes of (1) anaerobic digestion and (2) redistributing surplus food for human consumption.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Over the last 7 years, the department has spent approximately £13 million of funding on supported redistribution organisations across the country.
This year, under the new Government, Defra announced £15 million to ensure that farm produce that would often go to waste or be eaten by animals is provided to a network of food banks. This helps the department reach its zero waste targets and ensures that the country's most vulnerable people have a ready supply of healthy food that is grown by British farmers.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of aligning subsidies paid out of public expenditure with the food waste hierarchy statutory guidance.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has not made any assessment of aligning subsidies with the food waste hierarchy guidance.
Our priority is to prevent food waste occurring in the first instance, this is in line with the food waste hierarchy. Where waste cannot be prevented, edible surplus food should be redistributed. For unavoidable food waste, the government’s Simpler Recycling reforms will require all local authorities, businesses and relevant non-domestic premises in England to arrange for the separate collection of food waste for recycling. The Government's preference is that food waste is treated via anaerobic digestion (AD), the main route for producing biomethane, which is a low-carbon replacement for fossil fuel natural gas.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have estimated what proportion of food being sent to anaerobic digestion plants that is edible and fit for human consumption.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government does not collect data on the proportion of edible food waste sent to anaerobic digestion plants.
This Government will work with business to drive down food waste and make sure food is put on the plates of those in greatest need.
We continue to support the Waste and Resources Action Programme and its work to drive down food surplus and waste in homes and businesses. This includes work to ensure surplus food is redistributed to charities and other organisations who can use it and on programmes to help citizens reduce their food waste.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to revise the school food standards guide so as to maximise the nutritional value of food served through the school breakfast programme.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to delivering on our pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary aged children. We have made early progress towards this, announcing that up to 750 early adopter schools will be delivering these new breakfast clubs from April 2025.
Schools will be expected to provide a healthy, nutritious and varied breakfast offer to pupils which will set them up for the school day ahead. The school food standards regulate the food and drink provided throughout the school day, including at breakfast clubs. The school food standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. They ensure that pupils always have healthy options.
The school food standards practical guide provides useful advice for headteachers and governors to ensure that food offered at breakfast clubs is compliant with the school food standards, and is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/school-food-standards-practical-guide.
As with all policies, we will keep our approach to school food under continued review.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the impact on the living standards of different groups of people in receipt of Universal Credit resulting from the difference between the benefit uprating of 1.7 per cent from April 2025 and a higher inflation forecast for 2025–26.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions. The latest figure that the Secretary of State can use is the Consumer Price Index in the year to September to allow sufficient time for the required legislative and operational changes before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year.
All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. Given the volumes involved (over 20 million customers), the technical and legislative requirements and the interdependencies across Government, it is not currently possible to undertake the up-rating exercise any later. There are no current plans for the Secretary of State to revisit these decisions.
At present, no estimate has been made of the impact on the living standards of different groups of people in receipt of Universal Credit resulting from the difference between the benefit uprating of 1.7 per cent from April 2025 and the inflation forecast for 2025-26.
The estimated number of individuals in families benefitting from the uprating of benefits in the financial year 2025/26 in each region of the UK and the UK overall can be found here Benefit uprating: estimated number and type of families and individuals in families benefitting from the uprating of benefits in financial year 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce mandatory reporting of food waste within the supply chains of large food retailers.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to setting a clear roadmap to a circular economy – a future where our resources are used as efficiently and productively as possible for as long as possible, and waste is reduced. We are reviewing policies to address the challenges associated with tackling food waste in the supply chain and will consider any mandatory food waste reporting requirements in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 30 October (HL Deb col 1186) and on 20 November (HL Deb col 276) in relation to transparency by water companies, what are the pre-existing requirements mentioned by the Minister for water and sewage companies to publish environmental data proactively; what specific legislative provisions require this; and what the practical difficulties would be of mandating this.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 1 January, companies will be required to publish discharge data from storm overflows in near real time. This duty falls under section 141DA of the Water Industry Act 1991, as inserted by section 81 of the Environment Act 2021. To support this, Water UK recently released its National Storm Overflow Hub to provide this data on the same site for the whole of England.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill will strengthen these provisions. Clause 3 will require companies to publish discharge data for emergency overflows in near real time. Clause 2 will ensure that all water companies annually publish information on the frequency and seriousness of pollution incidents and the steps they are taking to reduce them.
The Environment Agency also regularly release information and reports to support transparency and scrutiny of water companies.
These provisions are in addition to water companies’ duty to provide information proactively and when requested, due to their status as public authorities for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Amendment 44, tabled at Report Stage of the Water (Special Measures Bill) by Baroness Boycott proposed to amend the Environmental Information Regulations to require water companies to proactively publish all operational monitoring data, in addition to any data required under permits issued under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. This amendment would have created a novel route of challenge through the courts for failures to proactively disclose information. It follows that this would also create a new route for water companies to appeal. Apart from being administratively challenging and at odds with the current legislative framework, this could slow down implementation of the Information Commissioner’s decision notices relating to water companies’ compliance with the Environmental Information Regulations.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 30 October that "the commission will bring in expertise from a wide range of areas, including the environment, public health, investors, consumers, engineering and economics" (HL Deb col 1139), how they plan to appoint members to the new independent water commission; whether there will be a public appointments process; and whether members will have to declare any financial interests they have with the water sector, and their amount.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
The review will include broad stakeholder engagement. In particular, the Chair, Sir Jon Cunliffe, will invite views from an Advisory Group of nominated experts, covering areas including the environment, public health, consumers, investors, engineering and economics.
The Advisory Group to the Water Commission will not be ministerial appointments. They will be specific individuals selected by Sir Jon Cunliffe to seek views from and feed in their expertise into the commission. Further details of who will be included in the advisory group will be announced in due course. Thorough due diligence and conflicts of interest checks will be carried out on all candidates.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the monitoring and enforcement of school food standards to ensure that free breakfasts are nutritionally beneficial.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and giving every child the best start in life. Breakfast clubs will remove barriers to opportunity by ensuring every child, no matter their circumstances, is set-up for the day and ready to learn by providing a supportive start to the day. The government is committed to making quick progress to deliver on its commitment to offer breakfast clubs in every primary school.
The department has taken decisive action by announcing in the King’s Speech that, under the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, every primary school in England will offer a breakfast club. Legislating for breakfast club provision will give schools the certainty they need to plan for the future. Before the legislation comes into force, the department will work closely with the sector to make sure the right support, including funding, guidance and resources are in place.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that primary schools have sufficient resources and staff time for free breakfast clubs to be delivered effectively.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and giving every child the best start in life. Breakfast clubs will remove barriers to opportunity by ensuring every child, no matter their circumstances, is set-up for the day and ready to learn by providing a supportive start to the day. The government is committed to making quick progress to deliver on its commitment to offer breakfast clubs in every primary school.
The department has taken decisive action by announcing in the King’s Speech that, under the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, every primary school in England will offer a breakfast club. Legislating for breakfast club provision will give schools the certainty they need to plan for the future. Before the legislation comes into force, the department will work closely with the sector to make sure the right support, including funding, guidance and resources are in place.