Water Company Performance

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Tuesday 21st February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Pow]

As the hon. Lady will know, I visited that site, and indeed I even paddled in the water. She knows full well that the system we have introduced will help to clean up bathing water areas such as hers, and the monitoring that we have introduced both upstream and downstream will deliver the change that we need.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am sure that the Minister does not want to mislead the House in any way when she talks about the quality of bathing water, but Yorkshire Water has told me that there is not one river in the United Kingdom that is fit to swim in, and that is a real mess. Have her Government considered—after 13 years—adopting a plan that Labour Members discuss frequently, namely, the introduction of a golden share in these companies with two directors, so that we can actually do something about the dreadful mess that we are in?

[Rebecca Pow]

Talking of misleading the House, I am not sure where the hon. Gentleman gets his data. Let me reiterate what I said earlier: 72% of bathing waters are excellent and 94% are good, so a great many are extremely clean and wonderful to swim in. We now have a comprehensive plan for inland bathing waters, and we have gone out to ask whether people want to present proposals for further bathing waters. There is a strict protocol applying to how they reach the right standards and whether they are classed as fit to swim in. I urge the hon. Gentleman to have a look at the details.

Agricultural Transition Plan

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Thursday 26th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I would be delighted to visit both locations—I have known John Geldard and his son Richard for a number of years. My hon. Friend has drawn attention to co-operation between farmers. The third scheme that we are announcing is landscape recovery, which will involve huge projects over many hectares, with farmers and landowners coming together to contribute a positive environmental output. For example, if we want to reduce phosphate levels in the river Wye—this is an existing scheme—landowners can co-operate to reduce the input of nutrients. We will extend that to a further 25 schemes, subject to the quality of the bids. I am quite excited about it, and I think that non-governmental organisations, landowners and farmers will want to get together and deliver on the landscape recovery scheme.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

I do not know what is going on in Sherwood and Sherwood Forest these days, but my local farmers in Huddersfield and I have been involved with the nature recovery network, and I am also a trustee involved in a scheme relating to John Clare’s house in Lincolnshire. We know what it means to deliver public good: it means participation, involving the local community, parish and other councils, and charities. Is not the current problem the fact that no one really knows whether there will be serious money and resources for this plan, or whether people will still be required to co-operate to achieve it?

[Mark Spencer]

That is what today is about. It is about the announcement of that money and those schemes that can allow the farmers in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency to gain the reward for the public good that they deliver. This is not only good for the environment, but good for farming businesses. The soil standards, for example, help the farming operation and ensure that we have good-quality soils not only for this generation, but for generations to come.

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (BIODIVERSITY) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (WOODLAND AND TREES OUTSIDE WOODLAND) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (WATER) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (MARINE PROTECTED AREAS) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (FINE PARTICULATE MATTER) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (RESIDUAL WASTE) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2023 General Committees

[The Chair]

We will take them separately then. Let me get to the right point in my notes and we will begin. For the information of the Committee, debate on each instrument can last up to one and a half hours.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

On a point of order, Mr Stringer. What are the implications of taking the instruments separately or together in terms of how we structure the Committee and how long the process will be?

[The Chair]

There are no implications that I am aware of in terms of the debate. The only implication is the amount of time available. If all six statutory instruments are taken together, that debate can last up to one and half hours. If they are taken separately and debated one at a time, if my arithmetic is right, the debate can last up to nine hours. I call the Minister to move the first instrument.

--- Later in debate ---

[Trudy Harrison]

These regulations form part of an essential tranche of secondary legislation needed to implement the Environment Act 2021, fulfilling the requirements of that Act that at least one target in each of four priority areas is set in air, water, biodiversity, and resource efficiency and waste reduction. It also requires targets to be set for fine particulate matter and species abundance. We have included targets over and above the minimum required, with additional proposals on biodiversity, water and marine and tree planting as these are areas of greatest threat and pressure for the natural environment. Our overall suite of 13 targets from the Environment Act 2021 will put nature and the environment at the centre of all Government policymaking for generations to come.

Each of the statutory instruments clearly improves the environment, but breaking that down to look at biodiversity, there is no single way to measure the health of our biodiversity, so we have proposed four targets that address the status of species and habitats. Our target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 will be our apex target for the coming decade, driving wide-ranging improvements to the state of nature. We will increase species abundance by at least 10% by 2042, while ensuring that abundance is greater than in 2022. To support our most vulnerable and iconic species, we have set a target to reduce the risk of species extinction by 2042. Finally, we will restore or create in excess of 500,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitats outside of protected sites by 2042. Taken together, those targets will halt and reverse nature’s decline. Achieving them will require widespread action on many fronts. The steps we take to meet the other targets on water and woodland in particular will be vital, as will the changes we are introducing to the way we support farmers by paying them to improve nature.

[Mr Sheerman]

Some of us are very involved in this area and have been in the House for quite a long time. I am astounded by the far-reaching nature of just this one SI, let alone the range that we have today. It seems that we would need hours to look at each one and, looking at the Chair, I take it that we will not have hours. We are discussing these SIs at a time when nobody knows what has happened to our farming policy, farm payments policy and nature recovery networks. The background to the debate is quite crazy because there is no certainty at all for farmers or people who love the English countryside.

[The Chair]

Order. The hon. Member is one of the longest serving Members of the House, so he knows full well that interventions should be short and to the point. It will not be difficult for hon. Members to catch my eye in the debate if they want to make more than just a brief intervention.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

It is a great pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. Good luck tonight—I think it is going to be a more complicated discussion than we usually have on these occasions. I suspect it will be quite lengthy, so I will give the short version of our response first: weak, late and unambitious. Just like the Prime Minister did a few week ago, the Government set a modest goal, make it a bit easier, set that as a target, hope the public do not notice and then claim they have achieved it. Target setting can be done in a number of ways. Well, what is going on here has been noticed. As we go through the detail—there is plenty of it, as we see on the table in front of us—it will become apparent just how weak these measures are. Let us remember that these are not even actual measures; they are just targets for measures that may or may never happen—weakness on steroids.

Let us start with late. The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee’s excellent report says:

“The instruments were laid before Parliament more than a month after the deadline required under the Environment Act 2021, putting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs…in breach of its statutory obligation.”

So law breakers as well—keep your seatbelts on.

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee also stated:

“Public consultation generated significant interest, with a clear majority of respondents (in most cases over 90%) calling for more ambitious targets. We note, however, that despite this feedback, the Department has decided against greater ambition and, with regard to the target for trees and woodland cover, has opted for a target that is less ambitious than that originally proposed during consultation, on the ground that the more ambitious target would be unrealistic.”

That is a pretty damning assessment, particularly on issues of such importance.

I am afraid the Government are continuing to fail our environment in England. The targets set by this SI do much less than is needed to reverse the damage done. As the Government’s own environmental watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, said in its review of progress last week:

“Of 23 environmental targets assessed, none were found where Government’s progress was demonstrably on track.”

The Office for Environmental Protection chair, Dame Glenys Stacey, said:

“Progress on delivery of the 25 Year Environment Plan has fallen far short of what is needed…There have been recent improvements in air quality and people’s engagement with nature, as Covid lockdowns changed the way we live our lives. But many extremely worrying environmental trends remain unchecked, including a chronic decline in species abundance.

Our assessment shows that the current pace and scale of action will not deliver the changes necessary to significantly improve the environment in England.”

That is pretty damning from her too.

Recent figures show that more than 60% of people in England now breathe illegally poor air. Our wildlife numbers are in freefall, and more communities are exposed to catastrophic flooding. That is not to mention the toxic waste infecting our rivers, canals and waterways.

Let me turn to the detail of this biodiversity SI. There is much to be done, because the UK has the lowest remaining levels of biodiversity among the world’s richer nations. Last year, the Environmental Audit Committee lambasted the Government’s approach to nature—specifically, the failure to stem huge losses of plant and animal species. Globally, we have seen a massive decline in the number of plant and animal species—up to 1 million species are currently under threat of extinction. Closer to home, we are at risk of losing many beloved species. Puffins are projected to decline across Britain and Ireland by nine in 10 within 30 years, 14 seabird species are regarded as being at risk of negative climate change impact, and there has been a two thirds decline in flying insect numbers in England in just 16 years.

[Mr Sheerman]

Many of my constituents are very fond of water voles, which figure in much children’s literature—misdescribed as “Ratty”—and hedgehogs. If we are slow in doing this—it seems that these regulations will initiate a very slow procedure—it will be too late to save those species, so we need urgent action.

[Daniel Zeichner]

As ever, I find myself in complete agreement with my hon. Friend. We do not believe that the ambitions to halt the decline of species abundance in the UK are good enough. The measures in this SI are too weak. We must be nature positive. We should be aiming for a dramatic incline in species abundance.

The agreement signed by the UK Government at the biodiversity COP15 to protect 30% for nature and restore 30% of the planet’s degraded ecosystems was welcome news, but we judge the Government’s commitment to their new international obligations against their actions. It is the environmental targets in these SIs that will drive nature’s recovery on the ground. We agree that the aim to halt the decline of wildlife by the end of 2030 is in keeping with the promises made at the biodiversity COP15 in Montreal last month, but I would be grateful if the Minister could confirm if the refreshed environmental improvement plan due next week will set out the practical steps needed, including in particular—as has been mentioned—how the new environmental land management schemes will contribute to meeting the targets in the statutory instrument.

I am afraid that the statutory instrument contains a serious omission. I am grateful to Green Alliance for pointing that out and providing detailed briefings on this SI and the others. The SI fails to include a target for the condition of sites of special scientific interests, or SSSIs, which are supposed to protect ancient woodland, hay meadows, peat bogs, grasslands, moorland, marshes, flood plains, chalk streams, estuaries and stretches of coast. In England, fewer than 40% of SSSIs are in a healthy condition. Others are plagued by pollution, mismanagement and neglect, apart from being under increased threat from extreme weather, wildfires and rising sea levels. These sites are the key to driving nature’s recovery, and improving their condition is essential in meeting the environmental targets that we are discussing.

At Geltsdale in Cumbria, for example, improvement in SSSI condition has increased the abundance of a diverse range of bird species, including the black grouse, whinchat and grasshopper warbler, while sphagnum mosses and plants have also responded well. There is little point in designating more land for protection on paper when, after 13 years, so many existing sites that should receive the highest levels of protection instead languish in a poor state.

The statutory instrument is so important for the future of our cherished wildlife and biodiversity. It is clear, though, that the lack of ambition in the targets means that they will ultimately fail to measure up to the commitments made by the Secretary of State in Montreal in December. We will accordingly vote against the instrument.

[Mr Sheerman]

I am pleased to be able to speak in the debate: I want to speak about the timescale. I am appealing because I sometimes think, as a parliamentarian, it would be so nice if the only people who could vote when we are in the Chamber or in Committee were the people who actually listened to the Minister and the shadow Minister, rather than just playing with their screens. That is how Parliament has been changed by people’s use of individual communications.

This is an important debate, and I am sure that we all recognise how fundamental it is. Tonight, I will have the pleasure and honour of having dinner—if we ever get to it—with the professor from University College London who wrote “Here Comes the Sun”. The lesson from Professor Steve Jones is that there is not a lot of time. Slight things will happen in biodiversity or to nature, but he believes that we are rapidly making this planet unable to support human life. That is the really serious nature of where we are today.

Because of that, I totally support the Opposition spokesman. He is an old and respected campaigner—

[Daniel Zeichner]

Not so much of the “old”.

[Mr Sheerman]

He is not as old as me, of course, but he is very respected in this area. He shares my view that all this is too little, too late, and it is too weak. Tomorrow, I have a debate in Westminster Hall on how we can cut the poisonous fumes that are emitted from vehicles, which are causing that dreadful plague whereby people in our constituencies are not able to breathe clean air. We all know the level of the challenge, but we do not have a Government or Department that see how important and rapid progress must be if we are to stop this dreadful move towards a climate change disaster.

Thank you for accepting my request to speak, Mr Stringer. You are always a kind and generous person when those of us from Yorkshire seek to get your attention.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Sheerman]

The Minister is very generous to give way, but my point was that we are not voting against the measures; we are voting against the fact that they are not going to be brought in fast enough or effectively enough. It would be wrong to suggest that we are not in favour; we want these objectives, but we want them quicker.

The red kite is a great success story, but it was nothing to do with the Government. It was the dedicated people in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and other charities who got the red kite victory. They should be applauded for their work, not the Government.

[Trudy Harrison]

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point about the work of volunteers across the country to help with the recovery of species. He mentioned hedgehogs and I will mention red squirrels. The UK Squirrel Accord supports those voluntary groups right across the country to control grey squirrels and feed red squirrels, and we are seeing significant improvements.

However, without the targets that Conservative Members will vote for today, we will not be able to carry out the improvements required in air, water and soil quality in the way we need to. The environmental land management schemes—the sustainable farming incentive, landscape recovery and countryside stewardship—will enable 70% of the land that is farmed in this country to be awarded for environmental stewardship. That is what we are supporting tonight: targets that support biodiversity.

The hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion asked about protected sites. The environment plan goal to restore 75% of our 1 million hectares of terrestrial and freshwater protected sites to favourable conditions by 2042 is fundamental. Natural England is increasing proactive work on sites of special scientific interest, over 1 million hectares across the country, to gain a better understanding of the action that farmers and the rest of society can take, because this is an incredible team game that we must play.

[Mr Sheerman]

The Minister is being very kind. Mr Stringer, you know my patch better than many members of the Committee. People say, “You have lots of farmers in Huddersfield”, and we do. The fact is that farmers in my constituency are as astounded as farmers up and down the country who do not know what the future holds. They do not know how they will be rewarded for what was going to be nature recovery networks—for what was going to be Government policy. At the moment, I do not know a farmer in the land who knows what the Government’s intentions are on biodiversity.

[Trudy Harrison]

I am afraid, Chair, the hon. Gentleman is stretching the tight nature of the debate. The environmental land management plan has been set out, and my colleagues across the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have explained what it will achieve. He knows that farmers were keen to get out of the common agricultural policy and have incentives in the UK targeted towards UK farmers. I am afraid that I must make progress with the remaining five statutory instruments. I thank Committee members for their time on this first one on biodiversity.

Question put.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Sheerman]

Members of the Committee may not know that I chair the John Clare Trust, which owns the English poet’s early home. It is a centre that educates children about nature and arranges for them to visit his birthplace in Helpston, which is near Peterborough. We arrange for children to plant trees and walk the walks that John Clare walked.

My question, which I hope the Minister can answer, is what is the real evaluation—the proper audit—of how many trees are planted in each local authority area each year? At the last election, hon. Members will remember that, by the time the political parties’ manifestos were finished, there were promises that tens of millions of trees would be planted over the next years. We do not have an evaluation of how many trees are being planted, how many are planned to be planted, and what kind of trees they are. We do not need spruce; we need diverse trees.

I agree with my friend the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion that we need diversity and real plans. A lot of the trees that have been planted—many of them planted after the creation of the new railway line that you and I sometimes disagree about, Mr Stringer—have died already. They were not planted properly and not watered during the heatwave. I am calling for an annual audit from the Minister, so that we know what is being planted and how many trees are being planted and successfully reared.

--- Later in debate ---

[Trudy Harrison]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Environmental Targets (Water) (England) Regulations 2022.

The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017 already set an outcome-based, long-term target to improve the water environment. Under those regulations, we are committed to restoring 75% of water bodies to good ecological status. We do not want simply to replicate that; we are setting four water targets to address specific pressures that are preventing us from reaching the overarching target for good ecological status. Those targets will reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution from agricultural land by 40%; reduce phosphorous from treated wastewater by 80%; seek to halve the length of rivers polluted by abandoned metal mines; and reduce water demand by 20%.

The agriculture target is needed as agriculture and wastewater are the biggest sources of nutrient pollution in the water environment, accounting for an estimated 70% of nitrate inputs into our rivers, lakes and groundwater, and for 25% of the phosphorous load in our rivers and lakes. To deliver the target, we will work with the agricultural sector to improve farming practices. We will reward farmers for incorporating sustainable methods and wildlife habitats into their farms as part of a profitable business, with access to free face-to-face advice from catchment-sensitive farming partnerships. We will also help farmers benefit from technologies that could transform how our food is grown, including closed systems that capture excess nutrients for reuse, and reduced tillage systems that preserve the soil structure or reduce the need for fertilisers.

The wastewater target will ensure that the water industry continues to take action to significantly reduce phosphorous loadings in wastewater, tackling one of the biggest pressures on water quality.

[Mr Sheerman]

Some of what the Minister says is very welcome indeed. What worries me is something we all know. When I was complaining about the water quality of a river near my constituency a couple of years ago, Yorkshire Water said to me, “Mr Sheerman, there is not one river in England that is fit for humans to swim in.” I do not know whether the Minister is a wild swimmer, but I was really alarmed by that fact, and I started a charity called Greenstreams. There are two main things that affect our water in this country: cattle sewage and human sewage, which get into our watercourses. I do not believe—

[The Chair]

Order. I do not want to repeat the point that interventions need to be short and to the point. The hon. Gentleman knows that he will catch my eye if he stands to speak.

[Mr Sheerman]

I am sorry, Mr Stringer; I got carried away.

[Trudy Harrison]

I will address the hon. Gentleman’s points when I move on to my summary remarks. I will not discuss whether I am a wild swimmer—that would be well and truly straying from the tight scope of the debate.

The abandoned metal mines target will address six polluting substances from abandoned metal mines.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

From watered-down tree targets to water targets. It will not be news to anyone here that rivers in England are in big trouble. As my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield pointed out, not one river is in a healthy condition—not one meets good chemical standards, and only 14% meet good ecological standards. It is fair to say that our waterways are suffering from a toxic cocktail of agricultural and sewage pollution.

Just last month at COP15, global leaders promised to clean up our rivers and committed to protecting 30% of nature by 2030. That was good, but unfortunately it was short lived, because during the summit, the Government confirmed that there would be no target indicator on river health—the only measure for water companies and the public to know whether their water is clean. Will the Minister confirm whether the existing 2027 target under the water framework directive will be carried forward—or will it fall victim to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill?

The Government’s decision on that target means that the statutory instrument we are scrutinising completely undermines the UK’s 30 by 30 commitment. The existing target, set under water framework directive regulations, requires water bodies to achieve good ecological status by 22 December 2027 at the latest. However, when that target expires, we will be left with no long-term target for the overall ecological improvement of rivers and streams in England. The absence of an overarching water quality target leaves uncertainty for businesses and uncertainty about environmental outcomes. Put simply, a target that expires in four years is not sufficient to drive a meaningful improvement in water quality.

[Mr Sheerman]

Does my hon. Friend agree that, if we are going to have water quality targets but we do not have a Government that can be strong enough with the water companies that are pouring sewage into our rivers, streams and oceans, there is no hope? Looking across the room, I see that there is a Member present with a name that resonates with sea creatures—I am talking about crabs. Around our country, crabs are disappearing because of the sewage that has been pumped into our seas. I want the crabs to be able to live and thrive in our country.

[Daniel Zeichner]

As ever, I am grateful to my hon. Friend—and, as ever, he pre-empted what I was about to say. Labour absolutely understands that. That is why we will introduce a legally binding target to end 90% of sewage discharges.

--- Later in debate ---

[Trudy Harrison]

Again, it is disappointing to hear that the Opposition are not going to support these targets, which will enable us to tackle most, if not all, of the challenges that the hon. Member for Cambridge has set out. The most fundamental thing to point out is that in 2010 just 5% of storm overflows were monitored, but today that figure is 95%. We will not stop until they are all monitored. We are already subject to legally binding targets under the water framework directive to achieve good ecological status in our water bodies. Our new targets under the Environment Act 2021 seek to supplement this by focusing on the greatest pressures on the water environment.

[Mr Sheerman]

On a point of order, Mr Stringer, I do not think the Minister meant to mislead the Committee, but to my knowledge, the Environment Agency has actually stopped checking the quality of river water.

[The Chair]

Order. The hon. Member knows full well that that is not a point of order.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

We go from water to marine, Mr Stringer. The seas and oceans around us support diverse marine ecosystems; they provide rich biodiversity and act as carbon stores. But our marine environment and the creatures that call it home face innumerable threats from human activity, including the damage from waste and toxins and from dredging and dragging the seabed, and the destruction of corals, maerls and sandbanks. Marine protected areas are an important tool in safeguarding our ocean’s future, so I am pleased that there is a commitment to extend the network. However, I share the concerns held by many stakeholders that the plans are not ambitious enough, and fail to align with the 30x30 targets. In particular, the representation of marine species in the 2030 species abundance target remains poor. Therefore I ask the Minister this. Will she agree to consider—

[Mr Sheerman]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Daniel Zeichner]

Yes, at the end of the sentence. Will the Minister agree to consider the addition of species to the indicator over time, to make it more representative of England’s marine biodiversity?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Sheerman]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for letting me intervene yet again. Is he not worried? He, like me, is a devotee of fish— together we have consumed a lot of fish. I go round the usual places where people buy fresh fish on the coast, and they are not selling any. They are not selling; people cannot buy fish in most of our ports and harbours as they used to, and the excuse given is that the sea is heating up or that there is pollution. What are we going to do to find out what is going wrong around our coast, with crabs dying and crustaceans having to be imported? When are we going to get some action?

[Daniel Zeichner]

I thank my hon. Friend; he makes an important point. Certainly there are parts of the country around the coast where fishers complain that their basic problem is a lack of fish, but I do not agree with my hon. Friend that it is not possible to buy fish anywhere around our coast. There are places where the fish continue to be fished and fishers continue to thrive. What we want, of course, is to ensure that that continues to be the case.

Healthy seabeds are home to many species and drive richer marine ecosystems, but sadly, marine protected areas currently fail to protect them adequately. We need to see a broader programme of ocean renewal. Globally, saltmarsh and seagrass beds alone can store up to 450 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. That is almost half the emissions of the entire global transport industry. Restoring these key marine ecosystems could lock up billions of tonnes of carbon each year; that is 5% of the savings needed globally. A sustained programme of ocean renewal must be part of any plan to tackle the climate emergency.

--- Later in debate ---

[Trudy Harrison]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Environmental Targets (Fine Particulate Matter) (England) Regulations 2022.

In line with our clean air strategy, we are setting two new targets for fine particulate matter, PM_2.5, under the Environment Act 2021: a maximum annual mean concentration of 10 micrograms per cubic metre by 2024 and a population exposure reduction target of 35% by 2040 compared with 2018.

Our dual target approach will improve public health by tackling the highest concentrations while ensuring all areas benefit from continuous improvement. Our innovative population exposure reduction target will drive action in continuous improvement even where concentration targets have already been achieved. That is important as there is no safe level for PM_2.5, the pollutant that causes most harm to human health.

The Government have followed an evidence-based process to set air quality targets that are stretching, achievable and specific to our national circumstances. We want to seize the opportunity to set air quality targets that focus interventions to improve public health.

In terms of our economic figures, the cost-benefit analysis conducted on scenarios for achieving Environment Act 2021 targets indicate that action to reduce PM_2.5 concentrations could save £38 billion a year from 2023 to 2040 in social costs associated with damage from air pollution to human health, productivity and ecosystems. This reduction in social costs could rise to £135 billion when the co-benefits of these actions on greenhouse gas emissions are considered.

Our modelling indicates that over 18 years, achieving these targets would result in up to 214,000 fewer cases of cardiovascular disease, 56,000 fewer strokes, 70,000 fewer cases of asthma and 23,000 fewer cases of lung cancer.

[Mr Sheerman]

As I hope the Minister knows, I chair the Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality and I have campaigned on this issue for a very long time; in fact, I have a Bill going through the House at the moment that would increase the checks on vehicle emissions. Is she not aware that at this moment, people in Copeland and Huddersfield face serious health issues and people in this very room face poisonous air?

[Trudy Harrison]

Of course I am aware, which is why we are setting these targets to reduce air pollution. As part of our work to assess the progress towards these targets, we invested around £1 million to expand the PM_2.5 monitoring network in 2021, which is a darn sight further forward than it was when we took it on in 2010. By the end of 2025, we will have invested a further £10 million to at least double the size of the original PM_2.5 network, adding well over 100 additional monitors across England from December 2021.

We are investing £1.5 million during 2022-23 to establish two new multi-instrument particulate matter composition measurement sites to monitor PM_2.5 mass, particle specification, particle counting, black carbon and ammonia. We have over 500 sites across the UK, and we spend approximately £9 million running and maintaining 14 national networks.

Under our NO₂ programme, we have allocated £883 million to support local authorities to develop and implement measures to address local nitrogen dioxide exceedances in the shortest possible time. We have pledged £284 million through the clean air fund to support a range of other positive local actions, such as the retrofitting and upgrading of buses, HGVs and taxis. That is why we are taking this measure forward, and why I support this target and this SI ahead of our environmental improvement plan.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Sheerman]

Mr Stringer, you know that I always feel that my job as an Opposition Member is to be an awkward devil, and I tend to do that, but I take this very seriously. I chair the Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality, and I profoundly believe that clean air is an inalienable right of every citizen, whether they live in the Minister’s constituency, yours, Mr Stringer, or mine. The fact of the matter is that we are poisoning our population. This pollution is a silent killer; we do not see it. It is not like the old smog of the 1950s, which people could see they were inhaling. Their clothes were filthy—they knew. This is silent. It is small. It affects people’s bloodstream. It kills elderly people, hastens the ageing process, and really gets to vulnerable children and pregnant women. It is a national disaster, and we have to do something about it.

The proposals in the SI do not achieve the Government’s original objectives of setting ambitious air quality targets. The world has moved on in terms of targets. The World Health Organisation has moved on.

The Government also ignored the wishes of the people and businesses that responded to the consultation. Ninety per cent. of the 13,048 responses to the Government’s consultation disagreed with the level of ambition in the targets.

The Government’s proposal to improve monitoring capacity is not comprehensive enough to deliver a full picture of air pollution across the country, or to ensure we meet these unambitious targets. For example, by 2028, the whole of London will be legally required to have only 15 monitors, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge said.

I have been wearing a mobile air quality detector for the past two or three months. It is a £400 device. If you, Mr Stringer, the Minister or any other MP would like to have one, I can arrange it. What we discovered is that the air that we and our staff work in is highly, dangerously polluted. There is a £4,000 monitor in my office on the fifth floor of Portcullis House, and it has never recorded a WHO standard that is acceptable for people to work in. This is about not just Westminster, but everyone in the country. When parents take their child to school they think, “It’s a bit dirty out here from the pollution, but they’ll be all right once they get inside”, but our commission has received evidence of professional audits of the schools’ internal environment showing that the air inside is not cleaner. The filthy, polluting air goes in, and the children and teachers are in a more polluted atmosphere than outside. This is a national emergency. It is killing people, and we will vote against the SI because we need more and faster action from not just the Minister’s Department —I feel a bit sorry for her today; we have had a bit of a go at her—but all Departments across Government. They all need to take this silent killer seriously.

--- Later in debate ---

[Trudy Harrison]

I would like to make it absolutely clear that the EU Commission’s proposed target has yet to be accepted or, indeed, implemented. We are going further than ever before to adopt the targets, and the environmental improvement plan will set out, with even more detail and in the next few days, how we will go about that.

[Mr Sheerman]

Will the Minister allow me just one last intervention?

[Trudy Harrison]

I am afraid I will not. We have a further statutory instrument to get through tonight, so I will take my seat ahead of the next debate.

Question put.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Sheerman]

The Minister may not know that I have a long history in waste. I started Urban Mines 20 years ago and SERA—Socialist Environment and Resources Association—25 years ago, and a number of other organisations such as Policy Connect that focus on the challenge for so many of our towns, cities and communities. We make waste, and then we do not want to take responsibility for what happens to it. I have always believed that we should not only have a sense of responsibility for the waste that we create through a profligate lifestyle, but ensure that we use the waste—use it again, rather than drilling holes in the earth’s crust to take virgin material.

Will the Minister express some indication of support for my Bill that is before the House of Commons? It would ensure that, for every local authority, we have an annual assessment of their performance on waste. There are a number of criteria, but every year there would be a formal report to the Department and then a debate, so that we could see which local authorities are lagging and which are meeting targets. We could really make some progress.

I am absolutely fed up with people who live in a rural or semi-rural environment, produce a great deal of waste and then expect it all to end up in your constituency, Mr Stringer, in mine, buried in some hole in the ground somewhere, or exported to a struggling country many miles away. Does the Minister agree that we must make it a responsibility to minimise waste? We should recycle and reuse—all things we know how to do. More ambitious targets should surely be a top priority for the Government and for all of us in politics today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous]

My right hon. Friend asks a typically pertinent question. I reassure him that many dioceses are developing schemes to rematch sponsors and Ukrainian refugees as the initial six-month placements draw to an end. We are also funding other support programmes for Ukrainians, for which I am extremely grateful. We must all guard against compassion fatigue.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that my parish church in Huddersfield is playing a very good role in helping Ukrainian refugees, but in a sense the honeymoon period is over? People from Ukraine in my constituency told me last week that they need help with permanent housing, with education and with the translation of their qualifications into English qualifications. They also very much need to use their high skills to help the community.

[Andrew Selous]

I am grateful for what the hon. Gentleman has told the House. I know that he takes a supportive interest in what his local churches do in this important area. He is right in everything he says. The Government will play their part, and I can assure him that the Church will absolutely continue to be there at a national and local level to do everything that is needed.

Sewage Pollution

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Tuesday 6th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

I am a great believer in the role of Parliament and always have been. It has been a team effort. When I became Secretary of State, I prioritised this long before it was an issue in the media and long before people realised it was an issue. Many Members, including the Chair of the EAC, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Philip Dunne), played a crucial role in making sure that we got the legislation right.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is pretty obvious to most of my constituents that water privatisation has been a miserable failure. Most of our water companies are owned by foreign investment companies, and we have lost that link. I went campaigning for better water in the Colne, the Holme and the Calder some years ago, and Yorkshire Water said to me, “I don’t know what you are complaining about, Mr Sheerman; there is no river in England fit for humans to swim in.” That is the truth of the matter. I would not prioritise public ownership for this particular thing; I would use that for other sectors. But the fact of the matter is that the regulation has not worked, and it has got to work.

[George Eustice]

I agree, which is why the Government have changed our legal powers through the Environment Act 2021 to strengthen the regulation, and to require improved monitoring. On the basis of that monitoring and the evidence that it has revealed, we are now bringing record numbers of prosecutions. So the hon. Gentleman is right that there have been regulatory failures in the past. We have addressed those legal deficiencies through the Environment Act.

Food Price Inflation

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Thursday 19th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

I reject the hon. Lady’s caricature. This Government increased the national living wage to £9.50 an hour and have consistently raised tax thresholds so that the poorest do not pay tax at all. This Government and this Chancellor have put in place a package of measures to help those on the lowest incomes.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

None of us came into this place thinking that we would see a day when children went to bed with no food in their tummy and no heat in their home. I know the Secretary of State to be an honourable man, but today’s statement does not show an understanding that this is a national and global emergency just like covid. There should be a Cabinet-level group—it could always be all-party—because this crisis is not going to go away. People are going to starve in this country and worldwide. We should have a programme to grow more, not just for us but for the whole world. Please, Minister, go back to the Cabinet, shake No. 10 up and get this moving.

[George Eustice]

Our domestic production of food is crucial to our national resilience and plays an important role in our overall food security, as do open markets around the world. We will be setting out a food strategy in June that will deal with many of these issues and will set out our ambition to expand agricultural output.

Oral Answers to Questions

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jo Churchill]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I know that the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow), has been down to see that work. Fantastic work is going on in other universities, such as Aberystwyth, on the use of seaweed for feed additives and so on. That is what I am talking about. The time is ripe for us to look at those other developments; what is going on in his area is very exciting.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Minister agree, though, that we must be careful about what we put on our soil in terms of weed killers and nutrients? According to Cambridge University, soil degradation is one of the biggest challenges to our planet. We have been mistreating our soil for many years. Can we be careful about what we do with it?

[Jo Churchill]

Indeed, soil is the main plank of the sustainable farming incentive. It lies at the heart of ensuring that our land is as productive as it can be. I agree with the hon. Gentleman and that is where innovation can play its part to ensure that we breed plants that use fewer pesticides and resources. All those things not only enhance our farmland but ensure that our soil is the key ingredient so that we can all feed and improve the biodiversity of our country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Selous]

I know that my hon. Friend and many of his constituents hugely appreciate the key role that the Church plays in communities across Aberconwy. My colleagues in the Church of England are always glad for opportunities to exchange ideas for and experiences of strengthening parish ministry with the Church in Wales, with which we have a very warm relationship.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give some attention to what the Church of England is doing to stimulate the ministry up and down the country by giving far more incentives to get involved in sustainability issues and green issues? At the church at which I worship, it is a breath of fresh air that gives focus to the community. Can we have more of it encouraged in the Church?

[Andrew Selous]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. He will know that many churches are now eco-churches and there is a methodology to ensure that they are doing it properly. I can also tell him that the Church Commissioners have embarked on a major regenerative agriculture programme. He is absolutely right that we need to talk more about the subject to encourage young people in particular into the Church.

Oral Answers to Questions

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Pow]

We take coastal erosion extremely seriously, which is why 17% of our flood protection budget is going to be devoted to coastal areas and coastal erosion. We work very closely in advising and liaising with the devolveds, which we are always happy to do. We are updating our shoreline management plans, which will help inform us, and we are happy to share information with our colleagues in the devolveds.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

8. What steps he is taking to improve water quality.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Rebecca Pow)]

We are the first Government to set out our expectation that water companies must reduce storm sewage overflows, and our Environment Act includes a raft of powers to support that expectation. We have almost doubled the funding available for our catchment farming advisers and have taken action to ban microbeads and microplastics in personal care products. We are currently seeking views on further actions we could take in relation to wet wipes, and will shortly be setting targets under the Environment Act to further improve water quality and drive action in the coming years.

[Mr Sheerman]

The Secretary of State and his team are a very nice bunch of people, and we have heard a lot of warm words this morning, but what my constituents want is action on clean water. My constituents want clean air and clean water. I spoke to Thames Water yesterday. Leading academics from the University of Reading tell us that the cuts to the Environment Agency mean that the agency is no longer measuring how much pollution is in our rivers. That is a shameful fact. Not one river in our country is safe to swim in—that is the truth. What is the Minister going to do about it?

[Rebecca Pow]

Action is happening on this side of the House, and if the hon. Gentleman followed it, he would know exactly how much we are doing. Through our Environment Act, we have taken a game-changing move to cut down on the harm caused by storm sewage overflows. Your party, in fairness, never did any of these things. I have inherited—.

--- Later in debate ---

The right hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside, representing the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body, was asked—

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

11. What recent assessment the sponsor body has made of the impact of the restoration and renewal project on (a) roads and (b) air quality in London.

[Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside)]

The restoration and renewal programme is committed to sustainability and meeting its environmental obligations. It had been working on developing a detailed and costed plan for restoration and renewal of the Palace, which would have included an environmental assessment on both the construction phase and the operations of the restored building. That work is currently paused following the decisions of both House Commissions in February.

[Mr Sheerman]

Following what the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) said, I thought that John Bercow as Speaker made some really good, radical reforms in this place.

The project of construction works that we will carry out in renewing this estate will be the biggest since its reconstruction after the second world war. Is my right hon. Friend aware that we could put much of the work on the river rather than on the roads, which will pollute the atmosphere, destroy lives and ruin London’s transport system? Unfortunately, for the first scheme—the new museum and learning centre—a contract has been given to put all its materials on the road rather than on water. Will he look again at contracts that include transport on the river?

[Mark Tami]

The sponsor body had been looking at using the Thames, and I agree that anything we can take off the roads is a positive thing. As I said, the work is currently paused. My hon. Friend may want to take the issue up with the Leader of the House in business questions to get some clarity.

Oral Answers to Questions

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Thursday 27th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

As part of our assessment of emergency authorisations, we consider the economic impact, and it is considerable. The sugar beet industry is an important crop for this country. As hon. Members will be aware, 12 other EU countries have also granted an emergency authorisation for sugar beet, so it is a common approach across Europe, but we have taken many steps to ensure that there is no risk to pollinators.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What steps he plans to take to help increase farmer and other land manager engagement with nature recovery networks.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)]

England’s nature recovery network is backed by the national delivery partnership, which includes partners such as the Country Land and Business Association. Earlier this month, I set out further details of our new farming schemes, including local nature recovery, which will incentivise farmers to make space for nature on their land and contribute to the network.

[Mr Sheerman]

I do not want to upset the Secretary of State, but I really like this policy and approve of it wholeheartedly. The fact of the matter is that most of our constituents are not Greta Thunberg or Bill Gates, but they want to roll up their sleeves and do something in their local community. That is why I like the schemes. I am involved in one in John Clare country, in the poet’s neighbourhood, and one in Huddersfield. I speak to farmers, charities and people who really want to do that, but there is a blockage relating to how people get the money and a bit of resource to do it and how they open that up. Farmers, in particular, think it is a magical mystery tour. They want to do it but they cannot get on the journey.

[George Eustice]

It is great that we have cross-party consensus on the importance of nature. We also have the local nature recovery strategies that local authorities are putting together, making space for nature within local communities and new local nature reserves. In terms of schemes for farmers, we have already announced full details of the sustainable farming incentive and there will be many more details to come on things like landscape recovery for them to engage with.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Selous]

I think I can make my hon. Friend at least partially happy

by telling him that the Church of England has no principled objection to humanist marriage. However, I know he will be aware that any move from a premises-based system of marriage registration to a celebrant-based one in England and Wales would not be a minor reform and would affect everyone involved in registering marriages. I recognise that Humanists UK have made alternative suggestions recently; while I can understand his frustration about progress, he will know that it is for the Government, not the Church, to make the ultimate judgment on whether and how the current system should be changed.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

As a former parliamentary churchwarden at St Margaret’s and a lay canon at Wakefield, I remind the hon. Gentleman that there is a vibrant and lively Christians in Parliament group where some of the specific issues he has mentioned this morning could be better discussed. Could he get more involved in that and help us to get more hon. Members involved?

[Andrew Selous]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I am a former chair of Christians in Parliament, which is ably run by our colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Devon (Sir Gary Streeter), and I participate in its meetings. I am glad the hon. Gentleman has given it wider publicity in these questions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

When will the Secretary of State wake up and take a lead on sustainability? We have talked about clean air and clean water, but we need every town and city in this country to be sustainable for communities. When will he join our campaign for 500 sustainable towns, cities and communities? Moreover, will he stop dodging “Farming Today” and not appearing on the show?

[George Eustice]

I regularly appear on “Farming Today”, as do my ministerial colleagues.

The issue that the hon. Gentleman raises specifically is addressed through the Environment Act 2021, which has just been passed into law. We now have biodiversity net gain, which very much relates to local authorities, making sure that we have sustainable growth and space for nature in every part of our country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Selous]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue; he is absolutely right to do so. Our rural churches are a precious part of the Church of England, and we are looking at various options for small rural churches that could include, for example, new insurance and maintenance partnerships to remove some of the bureaucracy from priests and churchwardens while, very importantly, retaining local ownership. We are committed to a thriving rural ministry to attract the congregations to be able to sustain these churches into the future.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

In my work as a lay canon in the Church of England I have always been impressed by the engagement of local communities with churches in the process of sustainability in terms of caring for the building and caring for the place of the church in the community. Increasingly, we in the Church of England have new plans to make young people more energetic in this regard. Is that not at the heart of sustainability in the Church of England estate?

[Andrew Selous]

Sometimes the church is described as 22 people in need of a rest and a crowd in need of exercise. The hon. Gentleman has absolutely put his finger on something important, and I am grateful to him for raising it.