Earl Cathcart

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The Catering and Retail Service (CRS) source pasteurised egg yolk and egg white products from Cocovite, which are manufactured in Belgium; however CRS are continually working with suppliers to find a British alternative.

The Catering and Retail Service do however source free range whole eggs which are British Lion quality stamped.

The Cleve Hill Solar Park proposal is the subject of an application for development consent under the Planning Act 2008. The application is currently being examined by The Planning Inspectorate with members of the public and other interested parties able to take part in the Examination. The Planning Inspectorate has published an Examination Timetable on its web-site. The Examination will consider a range of issues including biodiversity and nature conservation.

The Examination will last for up to six months with completion scheduled for 29 November 2019. The Planning Inspectorate then has three months to produce its report and recommendations for my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who has up to three months to consider them, and all relevant matters that are drawn to his attention, before determining whether consent should be granted or refused.

The Secretary of State’s role in the decision-making process is quasi-judicial, so it is not appropriate for him or his Ministers to comment on the merits or otherwise of the solar park proposal at this stage.

We have committed to introducing the new broadband Universal Service Obligation in this Parliament, giving everyone the legal right to request a connection of at least 10Mbps, which will meet the typical needs of a UK household and support small businesses.

All homes and businesses can now gain access to broadband speeds of 2 Megabits per second (mbps) through the Government’s Better Broadband Scheme (https://basicbroadbandchecker.culture.gov.uk/). 2mbps is sufficient to access every government service online.

Through the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme, the similarly named Better Broadband for Norfolk scheme is bringing superfast broadband access to homes and businesses across the county. The BDUK superfast broadband programme only invests where there is no commercial superfast provision now or planned in the next 3 years and seeks to maximise the value from public investment, by upgrading the greatest number of premises for the least amount of public money required. We understand you have a particular interest in the village of Gately. Although Gately is not currently in an active phase, there will be later phases funded by gain-share and project savings which may increase coverage in the village.

It is worth noting that most of the village is already served by the fixed wireless provider WiSpire, who advertise speeds of up to 40Mbps, although this would be dependent on various issues such as the local topography. A more accurate estimation can be obtained by contacting WiSpire directly. A link to their website can be found here: https://wispire.co.uk/. Other providers are also available in the area, such as Thinking Wisp: http://www.thinkingwisp.co.uk/, who may also be able to provide a service.

We will provide further details about the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive in summer 2025.

The vaccination of poultry and captive birds, excluding those in licensed zoos in England, against avian influenza is not currently permitted. While vaccination is not a viable option at present, Defra continues to explore the potential for use of vaccination as a preventative measure for avian influenza through the work of the cross-Government and industry avian influenza vaccination task force. The task force published an interim statement on 7 March 2025 (copy attached), and will publish a more detailed report in summer 2025.

As part of this work, Defra and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate will continue to monitor the development and availability of vaccines for their utility in preventing and responding to avian influenza outbreaks as they are put forward for market authorisation by vaccine manufacturers.

Natural England’s role is to conserve and enhance the natural environment. This includes providing statutory advice on the impacts of plans and projects on protected sites based on the best available evidence. Natural England cannot block development but competent authorities, such as Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), must have regard to Natural England’s advice and act in accordance with applicable legislation and case law.

Nutrient pollution is an urgent problem affecting a wide range of habitats and species. Due to the excess levels of nutrients affecting many protected freshwater habitats and estuaries, Natural England has been required to advise 74 LPAs in England that new development cannot result in additional nutrient pollution. One way this can be done is through nutrient neutrality, by which developers secure mitigation for any additional nutrient pollution they are responsible for within the catchment.

The Government is committed to delivering housing in affected areas and are supporting local authorities and developers to identify suitable mitigation. There are several ways in which LPAs can satisfy themselves that planning permission can be granted.

The first credits from Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme have now been sold in the Tees & Cleveland catchments. More credits will be available in the Tees this year and work is underway to identify suitable projects in other catchments. Several catchments also have successful mitigation schemes operated by local authorities or private organisations. A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Call for Evidence and Expressions of Interest for funding for local nutrient mitigation schemes closed recently, and funding decisions will be made as soon as possible.

No such assessment has been made.

The Net Zero Strategy and England Trees Action Plan committed to increase the use of timber in construction, and we encourage the use of timber in construction when safe to do so, as it can reduce the embodied carbon of a building. In the England Trees Action Plan, we committed to supporting timber in construction by providing up to £1.5m of support to develop innovative timber products through the Forestry Innovation Fund. We are also working to increase public demand for sustainably sourced domestic timber through timber procurement policies and encouraging research into barriers to uptake of timber, including looking at timber strength grades and the fire resistance of engineered timber structures.

The Government recognises the need to unlock more private sector investment as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and HMG Green Finance Strategy. We have committed to raising at least £500 million in private finance every year by 2027 to support nature recovery in England, which will finance projects including woodland creation. The Government also supports the use of blended finance models to mobilise private investment alongside Government grants. This month, the Government launched the Big Nature Impact Fund which blends Defra grants with private investment finance for nature-based projects selling ecosystem services, including woodland creation and peatland restoration.

The Government supported the development of the Woodland Carbon Code, launched in 2011, to create a mechanism to allow landowners to sell woodland carbon. A total of 1,640 projects were registered under the Woodland Carbon Code across the UK by the end of June 2022, covering around 61 thousand hectares of woodland and projected to sequester 19.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over their lifetime. The Code provides a project and carbon registry, as well as carbon projection tools and protocols for measuring carbon in all types of woodland.

In March 2022, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority published a call for evidence on the role of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme as a potential long-term market for both engineered and nature-based greenhouse gas removals. The call for evidence included questions regarding what impacts or opportunities this might present for the Woodland Carbon Code. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority will publish a response in due course.

Nutrient pollution is an urgent problem for our freshwater habitats and rivers, many of which are internationally important for wildlife. While the government recognises the need to protect these habitats, and is taking steps to address the underlying pollution, it is important to acknowledge the significant burden nutrient neutrality has placed on housebuilders despite the limited impact extra wastewater from residents in new developments has on waterbodies.

As of March 2022, 74 local planning authorities have received advice from Natural England, issued in line with their statutory duties and relevant case law, across 27 catchments (equating to 14% of England's land area) which has effectively stalled housing development in these areas given the lack of available mitigation schemes, creating a major barrier to the government's ambition of delivering 300,000 homes per year by the mid-2020s.

That is why DLUHC have launched the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund which will boost the supply of mitigation available locally, by funding high quality bids submitted by Local Authorities. This will complement the Natural England-led Nutrient Mitigation Scheme which is already delivering the first credits in the Tees Catchment. We are also placing an obligation on water companies to upgrade wastewater treatment works in affected catchments by 2030, stopping pollution at source and reducing the mitigation burden on development.

We are keeping further possible actions under review.

The Government remains committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2050 and recognises the important contribution that the energy efficiency of buildings has to make in meeting it. We must ensure that the energy efficiency standards we set through the Building Regulations for new homes put us on track to meet the 2050 target. From 2021, new homes will be expected to produce 31% less CO2 emissions compared to current standards, and from 2025, the Future Homes Standard will ensure that new homes produce at least 75% lower CO2 emissions compared to those built to current standards. We have also proposed an uplift in standards for new non-domestic buildings in 2021, and from 2025, the Future Buildings Standard will produce highly efficient non-domestic buildings which use low-carbon heat and have the best fabric standards possible.

The future is likely to see a mix of low carbon technologies used for heating and it is unlikely that there will be a one-size-fits all solution, so multiple technologies will play a role. We expect heat pumps will become the primary heating technology for new buildings under the Future Homes and Buildings Standards and that heat networks will also have an important role to play. There will also be a role, where appropriate, for other low-carbon technologies and renewable electricity generation such as solar photovoltaics.

The Building Regulations will continue to set a performance-based standard rather than mandating or banning the use of any technologies. This provides builders and developers with the flexibility to innovate and select the most practical and cost-effective solutions appropriate in any development. For example, many roofs are not suitable for solar photovoltaic panels because of the visual amenity, strength, or direction of the building.

The Building Regulations energy performance standards are deliberately couched in performance terms and do not prescribe the technologies, materials or fuels to be used, allowing builders the flexibility to innovate and select the most appropriate solutions for the circumstances. For example, many roofs are not suitable for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels because of building orientation, roof design, or over shading. We do, however, plan to consult on uplifting the energy efficiency standards of the building regulations in the coming months, including those for new non-domestic buildings.