Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following DEFRA’s press release ‘Government to crack down on waste incinerators with stricter standards for new builds’ published on 30 December 2024, what is the timescale for requiring carbon capture and storage technology to be installed on (1) new, and (2) existing, incinerators recovering energy from waste.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has responsibility for decarbonisation readiness requirements and support for waste CCUS projects. Defra officials work closely with officials in his department on this. The decarbonisation readiness requirements will come into force for new and substantially refurbished energy from waste facilities from 28 February 2026.
The Government has developed a business model to support carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS) waste projects and stimulate private sector investment, including project finance. By providing an incentive mechanism for waste CCUS, we can support the sector to decarbonise and support carbon budget and net zero commitments.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to DEFRA’s press release ‘Government to crack down on waste incinerators with stricter standards for new builds’ published on 30 December 2024 which stated that “the country will only need to manage 17.6 million tonnes of non-recyclable waste by 2042”, what estimate they have made of the weight of residual waste from (1) household and (2) other sources to arrive at that figure.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is a statutory target to ensure that the total mass of residual waste (excluding major mineral wastes) in England does not exceed 287kg per person in 2042. This is roughly equivalent to reducing residual waste arisings on a kg per person basis by 50% by 2042 from 2019 levels. This includes residual waste from both municipal (household and ‘household-like’) and non-municipal sources. It excludes major mineral wastes, the predominant and largely inert waste typically arising from construction and demolition sources, such as soils, concrete, ceramics and dredging spoils.
The figure of 17.6 million tonnes of residual waste arisings in 2042, in the context of meeting the 2042 target, is calculated by taking the 287kg figure and multiplying this by the Office for National Statistics population projection for 2042. We do not have estimates of the proportion or weight of this that will be made up of municipal waste and the proportion or weight that will be made up of non-municipal waste.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much residual waste was disposed of in 2023 (1) by weight, and (2) as a proportion of all waste.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Data on residual waste disposed of and incinerated in 2023 is not yet available. Estimates of residual waste (excluding major mineral wastes) and municipal residual waste in England for 2023 are due to be published in Spring 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much residual waste was incinerated in 2023 (1) by weight, and (2) as a proportion of all residual waste.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Data on residual waste disposed of and incinerated in 2023 is not yet available. Estimates of residual waste (excluding major mineral wastes) and municipal residual waste in England for 2023 are due to be published in Spring 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - 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 Canal & River Trust regarding concerns raised by the community of boaters without a permanent mooring.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials meet formally with the Canal and River Trust senior management three times a year, at which a range of issues are discussed. The minutes of those meetings are published on the Trust’s website.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the navigation licence surcharge applied to continuous cruiser licences.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has no such plans. Navigation authorities are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, including setting the terms and conditions of their boat licencing regimes.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to take steps to ensure that boat dwellers without a mooring are not subject to disproportionate enforcement action by navigation authorities such as the Canal & River Trust.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All navigation authorities in England and Wales are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, including setting fees and charges for those using them and the use of corresponding enforcement powers, under the relevant statutory provisions. The Government does not have a role in that but recognises that boaters using navigable waterways require a valid licence from the relevant navigation authority and are expected to comply with the terms of their licences for the benefit of all waterway users. The Canal and River Trust has provided assurances that appropriate enforcement action on its waterways is only used as a last resort in response to persistent non-compliance, to ensure fairness to all boaters who do comply.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 16 September (HL800), whether they have an estimated cost for bringing the water industry into public ownership.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
If the whole water industry was nationalised, share- and debt-holders would need to be compensated, which could cost over an estimated £90 billion. This is based on Ofwat’s Regulatory Capital Value 2024 figures for companies in England and Wales.
The Government has no intention to nationalise water companies. In addition to the significant costs attached, it would take years to unpick the current ownership model, during which time the sector's issues would only get worse. The Government instead wants to tackle the situation as quickly as possible by improving the privatised regulated model.
That is why, alongside providing the regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, the Government has also announced a full review of the water system. This will shape further legislation that will fundamentally transform how the current system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to conduct a review of whether Area and Regional Directors of the Environment Agency have any conflicts of interest with their role as regulators of the water industry, and if so, whether they intend to make any such conflicts public.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An annual assessment of declarations of interest takes place across the Environment Agency (EA). The EA has a Code of Conduct that applies equally to all employees including Area Directors and Directors of Operations (Regional Directors). All employees are required to make an annual declaration of interest even if it's to confirm that there are no interests to declare, as well as at any time, should a potential conflict arise. They must make a declaration when an actual or potential conflict arises, including the existence of any private interest which might influence or be reasonably thought by others to influence their impartiality or the performance of their duties under the contract of employment. In these situations, the EA assess the declaration and take steps to mitigate or avoid the risk of conflict. A serious failure to declare an interest could lead to disciplinary action resulting in dismissal on the grounds of gross misconduct.
The question of publication of Area and Regional Directors’ financial declarations has recently been the subject of a ruling from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) which examined the balance of data protection and the public interest, given the current focus on water industry regulation. The ICO found that the Agency should publish relevant financial disclosures for those at Director level, and not for those at the Deputy Director grade, which includes Area Directors. The Agency intends to comply with this ruling.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 17 September (HL801), whether the compensation of existing shareholders is a pre-condition for the transfer of ownership of a water company in the Special Administrative Regime to a new owner.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, there is no precondition to compensate shareholders in the case of transferring of company to new owner after a Special Administration Regime (SAR). The Procedure for a transfer scheme in a SAR is set out in Schedule 2 to the Water Industry Act 1991.