Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to prevent the illegal release of beavers into the wild.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Recent speculation in the media was factually incorrect. Defra will continue to work with Natural England to develop our approach to beaver reintroductions and management in England. This work includes consideration of how to prevent further unauthorised release of beavers into the wild.
It is an offence to release a beaver in England without a licence from Natural England. Doing so without a licence carries a penalty of either an unlimited fine or up to six months in prison.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have decided not to introduce a formal wild release licensing system for beavers, and if so, what assessment they have made of the implications for their climate change and sustainability strategies.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Defra will continue to work with Natural England to develop our approach to beaver reintroductions and management in England. This work includes the development of a licensing regime to enable the wild release of beavers in England. Further information on this will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of reintroducing beavers on landscape recovery and natural flood management.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Government has assessed the impact of reintroducing beavers on landscape recovery and natural flood management. This includes an evidence review of the impacts of beavers on the natural and human environment in England.
The evidence shows that beavers can transform landscapes, improve water quality, reduce the risk of flooding, increase biodiversity, and increase climate resilience in landscapes. At the river catchment scale, beaver activity has the potential to benefit agricultural land through flood attenuation, slowing the flow of water and maintaining baseflow. Beavers also contribute to the Environment Improvement Plan objectives through wetland creation and restoration.
Beavers can both positively and negatively impact agricultural land, with factors like topography, soil structure and texture, hydrology, type of agriculture and proximity to watercourses affecting the likelihood of impacts.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Canal & River Trust Our Climate and Adaptation Report, published in December 2024; in particular, the roles that canals could play in (1) biodiversity, (2) decarbonisation, and (3) climate adaptation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made. As a charity independent of government, the Canal and River Trust is responsible for its operational matters and decisions. The government does not have a role in that, but does provide an annual grant of £52.6m towards maintaining the canal infrastructure that helps the Trust to deliver its charitable objectives in line with the Waterways Trust Settlement. The Government recognises that the Trust has an important role to play in contributing to the Environmental Improvement Plan, alongside other government priorities.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect Atlantic salmon from extinction, following recent research from the International Union for Conservation of Nature that shows the species is at high risk.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates primarily to England.
Defra is working internationally to protect salmon populations through participation in the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO). A full list of actions related to salmon conservation can be found in the England and Wales NASCO “Implementation Plan”, along with annual progress updates, which can be found at https://nasco.int/conservation/third-reporting-cycle-2/.
The Environment Agency, responsible for managing salmon fisheries in England, ensured that 95% of salmon catches in 2023 were released alive through a combination of voluntary and mandatory measures. Between 2019 and 2023, they mitigated 58 barriers to fish passage on England’s salmon rivers. The Environment Agency is re-assessing the key pressures on salmon, in England, ahead of producing a new salmon Action Plan.
Cleaning up the water environment is a key priority for Defra. In October, the Government launched an Independent Commission of the water sector regulatory system. The Commission will report back this year with recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research led by Dr Mary Abed Al Ahad of the University of St Andrews showing that people exposed to high levels of pollution are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and psychosis; and whether they plan to reduce pollution in cities as a result.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Poor air quality is one of the largest environmental risks to public health in the UK. Epidemiological studies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution (over years or lifetimes) reduces life expectancy, mainly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer. Short-term exposure (over hours or days) to elevated levels of air pollution can also cause a range of health impacts.
Defra has not yet reviewed the research led by Dr Mary Abed Al Ahad. The Government continues to consider and evaluate the evidence of links between exposure to air pollution and a wide range of health effects including, adverse birth outcomes, diabetes, and increased dementia risk, as well as mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and psychosis.
The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants provides independent advice to the Government on how air pollution impacts on health, including on emerging research.
The Government is committed to protecting the public from the harm of pollution and will introduce a Clean Air Strategy to deliver our existing legally binding air quality targets, including a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of cases of bluetongue in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra acted quickly to contain bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) when the first case this season was detected on 26 August, implementing zones with movement controls on susceptible livestock to prevent spread. Disease control restrictions have been adapted in response to new findings and there is now a single restricted zone (RZ) covering the east coast and some inland areas in England, including Hertfordshire where there have been 3 cases to date.
The movement of susceptible animals from the RZ to live elsewhere in England requires a specific licence and is subject to free pre-movement and post-movement testing. This helps to prevent the possible establishment of new pockets of disease from undetected spread via animal movements. Some animals were humanely culled to prevent establishment at the outset and infected animals in cases found in free areas outside the restricted zone have also been humanely culled.
Defra has permitted the use of vaccines for BTV-3 which are now available for vets to prescribe in England.
Defra and APHA continue surveillance and epidemiological assessments, remaining vigilant for any changes, and are working closely with key industry stakeholders to review how we approach controls for BTV-3 for the coming winter months, in 2025 and beyond.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the Environment Agency is able to monitor and investigate illegal sewage discharges.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is working closely with the water industry regulators, including the Environment Agency (EA), to ensure they are properly equipped to carry out investigation and enforcement action against illegal sewage discharges.
The EA is recruiting up to 500 additional staff for inspections, enforcement and stronger regulation by March next year. This will enable them to increase compliance checks, quadruple the number of water company inspections and conduct more in-depth and independent audits to get to the root-cause of incidents.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill will introduce a requirement for water companies to publish information on discharges from emergency overflows in near real-time (within an hour of a discharge occurring). This data will be independently scrutinised by the regulators, supporting investigations into possible permit breaches, and will fulfil the government’s commitment to ensure independent monitoring of every outlet.
An independent commission on the water sector regulatory system was recently announced, in conjunction with the Welsh Government. The commission will make a set of recommendations which will include ensuring that water industry regulators are effective, have a clear purpose and are empowered to hold water companies to account.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the performance of the rural economy compared to that of other countries in Europe.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The rural economy makes a substantial contribution to England’s economy, and the government recognises that rural areas offer significant potential to support economic growth. Rural areas and the rural economy vary greatly across Europe, and it is difficult to make direct comparisons with other countries.
Defra has a team dedicated to developing the evidence base on rural areas. It publishes the Statistical Digest for Rural England to provide up-to-date analysis across a wide range of subjects including a Rural Economic Bulletin. At present this evidence base does not make any direct comparison between England and other countries in Europe.
Defra also routinely conducts research on the rural economy and is in regular contact with academic specialists in this field. This has included the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) who support collaboration between their member countries to address rural challenges.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Rural Coalition and Pragmatix Advisory Reigniting rural futures: Rural communities’ capacity to boost economic growth, published in May; in particular, the claim that the rural economy could generate between £9 and £19 billion of additional tax revenue with increased investment and infrastructure.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The rural economy contributes over £315 billion a year to England alone, with over half a million businesses are currently registered in rural areas.
We welcome the report published by the Rural Coalition and Pragmatix Advisory on Reigniting rural futures: Rural communities’ capacity to boost economic growth (attached).
Whilst the rural economy makes a substantial contribution to England’s economy, we know that overall productivity is typically lower when compared to predominantly urban areas. Additionally, we know that productivity varies greatly across rural areas reflecting their diversity. Whilst some offer good examples of successful businesses, others consist of deprived areas.
The Government recognises that rural areas, therefore, offer significant potential to support economic growth, and the government has committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities.
A prosperous rural economy will be underpinned by investment and improvements in rural infrastructure including transport, energy, digital, affordable housing and access to a diverse range of community services.