Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the criteria for '30 by 30' at sea for the purposes of their commitment to protect and conserve a minimum of 30 per cent of land and sea for biodiversity by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra announced last week that we will undertake a review of the English MPA network to consider how it can better address biodiversity loss and be more resilient to climate change. We will update on the results of that review in due course.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - 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 timeline for implementing their 'marine net gain' policy.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to nature recovery. Work is underway to develop options for the role marine net gain may play including consideration of timescales for operation of the policy.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - 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 merits of ending operator self-monitoring of sewage overflows.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 01 January 2025, water companies are required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning (under section 141DA of the Water Industry Act 1991 as inserted by section 81 of the Environment Act 2021).
Data must be published in a way that is accessible to the public and in a form that allows the public readily to understand it. To support this, Water UK have launched a central hub that provides discharge data of every storm overflow in England on a single website.
To further support understanding of the impact that sewage discharges have on the receiving watercourse, a programme to rollout Continuous Water Quality Monitors near storm overflows and sewage treatment works is beginning in Price Review period (PR24), which runs from 2025-2030. Monitors will be installed at 25% of assets in scope for the continuous water quality monitoring programme in the next Price Review 24. Sites prioritised for monitoring will be based on Defra’s priority areas, such as those that impact designated bathing and shellfish waters.
Combined, these measures are creating an unprecedented level of transparency, enabling the public and regulators to see where, and how often, overflows are discharging, and to hold water companies to account. Where breaches of legal requirements are identified as a result of this data, regulators won't hesitate to take action.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - 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 use of visual sensors to monitor storm overflows.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 01 January 2025, water companies are required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning (under section 141DA of the Water Industry Act 1991 as inserted by section 81 of the Environment Act 2021).
Data must be published in a way that is accessible to the public and in a form that allows the public readily to understand it. To support this, Water UK have launched a central hub that provides discharge data of every storm overflow in England on a single website.
To further support understanding of the impact that sewage discharges have on the receiving watercourse, a programme to rollout Continuous Water Quality Monitors near storm overflows and sewage treatment works is beginning in Price Review period (PR24), which runs from 2025-2030. Monitors will be installed at 25% of assets in scope for the continuous water quality monitoring programme in the next Price Review 24. Sites prioritised for monitoring will be based on Defra’s priority areas, such as those that impact designated bathing and shellfish waters.
Combined, these measures are creating an unprecedented level of transparency, enabling the public and regulators to see where, and how often, overflows are discharging, and to hold water companies to account. Where breaches of legal requirements are identified as a result of this data, regulators won't hesitate to take action.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the monitoring of storm overflows.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 01 January 2025, water companies are required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning (under section 141DA of the Water Industry Act 1991 as inserted by section 81 of the Environment Act 2021).
Data must be published in a way that is accessible to the public and in a form that allows the public readily to understand it. To support this, Water UK have launched a central hub that provides discharge data of every storm overflow in England on a single website.
To further support understanding of the impact that sewage discharges have on the receiving watercourse, a programme to rollout Continuous Water Quality Monitors near storm overflows and sewage treatment works is beginning in Price Review period (PR24), which runs from 2025-2030. Monitors will be installed at 25% of assets in scope for the continuous water quality monitoring programme in the next Price Review 24. Sites prioritised for monitoring will be based on Defra’s priority areas, such as those that impact designated bathing and shellfish waters.
Combined, these measures are creating an unprecedented level of transparency, enabling the public and regulators to see where, and how often, overflows are discharging, and to hold water companies to account. Where breaches of legal requirements are identified as a result of this data, regulators won't hesitate to take action.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the harmful impact of commercial fishing in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) Marine Protected Area (MPA), designated by the SGSSI Government in 2012 and strengthened in 2013 and 2019, aims to conserve the rich marine diversity and provide the framework for management and research. The zone covers 1.24 million km2. Fishing is highly regulated and carried out in a way that protects the marine ecosystem.
Bottom trawling is prohibited throughout. Longline fishing is limited to depths of between 700 and 2,250 metres, restricted to 6 per cent of the MPA. Toothfish and krill fishing is only permitted during four winter months to reduce the impact on seabirds, penguins, seals and whales. No take zones, where all fishing activity is prohibited, cover 283,000km2 and include the most biodiverse regions of the seabed.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether existing management measures in place for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are sufficient to protect that marine ecosystem.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) is currently undertaking the second 5-year review of its Marine Protected Area (MPA). The review is considering the effectiveness of the current MPA measures, including whether the underpinning scientific research and monitoring is sufficient, particularly in light of climate change, and whether effective monitoring and surveillance capacity is in place. The review will determine whether additional measures are required to achieve the stated MPA objectives. GSGSSI is committed to reporting on its review by early next year.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to (1) implement a national framework for the licensing of land for geothermal drilling, and (2) streamline permissions to enable geothermal drilling to take place.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are currently no plans to license and streamline geothermal drilling, however, Officials will review the case for a comprehensive geothermal licensing regime as the sector develops. The Government is pleased to see that three geothermal power projects were successful in this year’s contracts for difference auction.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to developing a publicly accessible database on the UK’s subsurface to optimise understanding of it.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The subsurface enables a wide range of essential services that underpin our economy and society. The Government continues to invest to develop our understanding of the subsurface, for example:
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to the Policy design features for the car and van zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate consultation, which ran from 7 April to 10 June.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Responses to this consultation are being analysed and the Government will publish its response, and a full regulatory proposal and cost benefit analysis, in due course. The Government remains committed to targets entering into force from 01 January 2024.