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 steps the Environment Agency and Ofwat will take following the Teddington direct river abstraction proposal to ensure that Thames Water meets its obligations, given its Strategic Environmental Assessment directive and failure to present an environmental report or to allow the public an opportunity effectively to express their opinion about it.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Proposals for Teddington direct river abstraction need to follow the statutory Water Resource Management Plan (WRMP) process, which includes the requirement for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Thames Water published its draft WRMP in December 2022 with a 12-week public consultation period. Thames Water received 80 representations specific to Teddington from stakeholders and the public. The company has recently published a statement of response outlining how it plans to address the points raised.
The feasibility of Teddington is also being investigated in more detail as part of a London Reuse strategic resource option (SRO). The investigation into the feasibility of this SRO along with another 17 across the country is managed by RAPID (Regulators Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development) which is a partnership that is made up of the three water regulators Ofwat, Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate. The investigation process is split into ‘gates’ and at each gate the SRO is required to publish evidence based Environmental Assessment Reports. London Reuse published its Gate 2 reports in winter 22/23 allowing a 6-week window for public consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government which, if any, of their advisory groups, or relevant public bodies, supported the changes to Nutrient Neutrality Rules that would require local authorities to disregard scientific evidence of the pollution impacts from new housing.
Answered by Lord Evans of Rainow - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that the new discharge pipes connected to the HS2 project, leading to Yeading Brook behind Ruislip Gardens Station, have a discharge licence; whether they can describe what chemicals and volumes are permitted under this licence; who is doing the water quality monitoring; and where the monitoring data appears locally.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Any discharges of water from the HS2 project to the natural environment require discharge consents, approved by the regulator – the Environment Agency (‘EA’), as specified in Schedule 33 Part 5 of the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017.
There is an agreed consent to discharge water from the South Ruislip Vent Shaft site to a drain that discharges to the Yeading Brook. The conditions for this state the maximum limits of the following parameters:
The consent states that the sulphate levels within the water are to be recorded and reported to the EA on a monthly basis. The total daily discharge volume and the rate of discharge are to be recorded and reported as and when requested by the EA.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the total monetary value of the benefits delivered by urban wetlands.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Rt Hon. the Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
26 May 2023
Dear Lady Jones,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made, if any, of the total monetary value of the benefits delivered by urban wetlands (HL8042).
The UK Natural Capital Accounts produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) provide monetary estimates for the goods and services provided by a range of eight broadly defined habitats.
“Wetlands” is not among these, but can be found in several other habitats such as “Freshwater” and “Mountains Moorlands and Heath”.
“Urban” is one of these eight habitats, and captures a range of other ecosystems in and around dense population areas. We will be updating our approach in our upcoming Urban habitat account release this summer. In this, we plan to include data on the total area of sub-habitats that can be found within “urban” areas, including estimates of the total area of “urban-wetlands”. We would be very happy to discuss these results with you once they are available.
While the natural capital accounts are primarily national, in our 2022 Natural Capital Accounts Roadmap [1] we committed to increasing their spatial granularity. This will help us to more readily address questions requiring lower geographical levels.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/naturalcapitalaccountsroadmap/2022
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the licensing of new offshore oil and gas with their commitments under (1) the Paris Climate Agreement, and (2) the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is reducing demand for oil and gas but will still need it for years to come. The independent Climate Change Committee has recognised this transition cannot happen overnight. The Government implemented the Climate Compatibility Checkpoint to assess whether new domestic hydrocarbon licensing is compatible with the UK’s climate targets. New licenses do not involve any slowing of the UK’s transition to net zero.
The environmental impact of offshore developments is subject to rigorous regulatory assessment by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning, including a full environmental impact assessment and consultation with statutory nature protection bodies and the public.
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 steps they will take to provide financial support for the (1) research, and (2) delivery, of saltmarsh restoration projects, to contribute to the national evidence base on carbon sequestration.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero alongside the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon habitats, such as saltmarsh. In 2022, the UK Government launched its £140 million Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme, a flagship three-year R&D programme, spanning England’s land, coast and sea. The programme includes mapping of blue carbon stock and sequestration rates in important coastal environments such as saltmarsh habitats, alongside wider ecosystem services which provide societal, ecological and economic benefit.
The Environment Agency’s (EA) Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative is working to restore our estuarine and coastal habitats to benefit people and nature. The EA’s restoration handbooks are a key tool to support restoration of coastal blue carbon habitats in the UK and beyond.
The Government is also supporting eight blue nature finance projects, including blue carbon, with around £750,000 of grants through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund. This funding is being used to develop a pipeline of projects that can demonstrate viable private-sector investment models, ultimately working to restore important blue habitats such as saltmarsh. In addition, our £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund has supported a range of nature recovery projects across England, five of which have included saltmarsh restoration.
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 responsibility for research into the benefits of green and blue infrastructure is shared between (1) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (2) the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and (3) Natural England.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Natural England launched the Green Infrastructure Framework: Principles and Standards for England in January 2023. During the course of developing the Framework they produced and commissioned research, working with government Departments for: Environment Food and Rural Affairs; Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Transport and Health and Social Care. They also sought wider from input from experts in public bodies and private organisations to steer and advise.
Natural England and Public Health England (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) published a Rapid Scoping Review of Health and Wellbeing Evidence as part of the project. In addition, Defra has also funded research into the economic modelling of accessible green space across England and Wales, known as the Outdoor Recreation Valuation tool.
As set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, we will use the Green Infrastructure Framework to track progress in our commitment for everyone to have access to green or blue space within 15 minutes from their front door.
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 assessment they have made of the continued operation of extractive industries within Marine Protected Areas; and what assessment they have made of the case for banning (1) bottom trawling, and (2) dredging, within those areas.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a devolved competency and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Marine Management Organisation, the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities and other regulators assess on a site-by-site basis which activities could prevent MPAs from achieving their conservation objectives. Byelaws and other measures are developed using an evidence-led process to determine what management is required to protect sites and to not unduly restrict legitimate activity.
Nearly 60% of our 178 English MPAs are already protected from damaging fishing activity, including byelaws introduced in 2022 in the first four offshore sites, which ban bottom towed gear over sensitive habitats. A consultation covering a further 13 sites closed on 28 March 2023 and the responses received are being considered. We are aiming to have all MPAs in English waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.
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 draft Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, what consideration they have given to the possibility of that legislation causing further welfare problems through the abandonment of cats caused by people being either (1) unwilling, or (2) unable, (a) to microchip, or (b) to pay fines.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The introduction of compulsory cat microchipping in England is intended to increase the likelihood that lost or stolen pet cats can be reunited with their keeper, benefitting cat welfare.
The cost of microchipping is around £25. Cat keepers will have until 10 June 2024 to comply with the requirements before they come into force.
If a keeper is served with a notice, they will have 21 days to microchip their cat and register their details with a compliant database to avoid any fines.
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 draft Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, what assessment they have made of the necessity of considering cats and dogs together for the purposes of that legislation given the lack of danger to the public caused by cats.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The introduction of compulsory cat microchipping in England is intended to increase the likelihood that lost or stolen pet cats can be reunited with their keeper, benefitting cat welfare.
The extension of compulsory microchipping to pet cats was supported by 99% of respondents to the public consultation exercise.