Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that County Council elections cannot be cancelled for purely partisan political purposes.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government’s starting point is for all elections to go ahead unless there is strong justification for postponement. On 16 December, my colleague, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, wrote to leaders of all councils in two-tier areas and neighbouring small unitary authorities to set out further detail on our plans for a joint programme of devolution and local government reorganisation. In that letter, he explained that he would only consider requests to postpone elections where it was clear this will help the area to deliver both reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeframe. The Minister is now considering the requests he has received and a decision will be made in due course.

The Minister’s letter of 16 December has been published and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-reorganisation-letter-to-two-tier-areas

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.

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.

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.

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.

Found: BARONESS JONES OF MOULSECOOMB 22_ Clause 12, page 9, line 23, at end insert— “(16) A route which was

Found: BARONESS JONES OF MOULSECOOMB 22★_ Clause 12, page 9, line 23, at end insert— “(16) A route which was