Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the rate of biodiversity decline in England in each year between 2010 and 2022; and what estimate they have made of the rate of biodiversity decline by 2030.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is no single way to measure the health of our biodiversity, so we use a number of indicators to pick up changes in the status of species and habitats. Taken together, they provide a more holistic picture of the state of nature. A summary of these indicators is available at https://oifdata.defra.gov.uk/, specifically in the wildlife section D. A wider range of biodiversity related indicators is available in the England Biodiversity Indicators publication.
Defra’s range of species indicators track changes in relative distribution and abundance. One of the indicators, which is still in development, measures change in relative abundance of widespread species in England. Analysis of this indicator was presented in Defra’s Biodiversity Targets Evidence Report. Based on data for 670 terrestrial animal species in England, analysis indicated a decline in species abundance of 2.8% per year on average between 2012 and 2018.
Whilst we expect some continued decline in species abundance we cannot reliably predict the rate of decline as species will be impacted by changing conditions which we cannot anticipate with any certainty. However, through the Environment Act 2021 we have set world-leading legally binding targets to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then to increase species abundance by at least 10% by 2042, ensuring levels are greater than in 2022.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 13 December (HL4004), whether they have data for those regions that have suffered a decline of (1) plants, and (2) mammals.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Data held by the Government does not contain sufficient levels of detail to allow for a regional assessment an assessment of species decline.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of woodland that will be lost by (1) 2030, and (2) 2050, in terms of (a) hectares, and (b) percentage.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A small amount of woodland is lost each year to development and for the restoration of priority habitat from woodland. We have taken this into account in estimating the area of new tree canopy and woodland cover that will need to be planted to meet the statutory target. The tree and woodland cover target is a net target and our pathway assumes that new planting will need to account for around 9,000 hectares of woodland loss by 2030 and a total of around 20,000 hectares by 2050, based on trends over recent years. This is equivalent to 0.7% and 1.5% of current woodland cover in England.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Benyon on 16 December 2022 (HLWS449) regarding the target to "increase total tree and woodland cover from 14.5% of land area now to 16.5% by 2050", how many hectares that two per cent increase will involve; and how much of that increase will be completed by 2030.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Increasing tree and woodland canopy cover from 14.5% to 16.5% of land area would mean increasing cover by around quarter of a million hectares, an area the size of Derbyshire, although the precise figure will be dependent on the revised baseline which will be published later this year. We will publish an interim woodland cover target, to be achieved in 2028, in the Environmental Improvement Plan.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Environment Agency report Working with nature, published in July, which stated that "99.7% of fens, 97% of species-rich grasslands, 80% of lowland heathlands, up to 70% of ancient woodlands, and up to 85% of saltmarshes" have been "destroyed or degraded", whether they will list by county where those degraded areas are.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Environment Agency only holds the headline national data, as presented in the Working with Nature report.
Data on fens, species rich grasslands, and lowland heathlands came from the Lawton report, Making Space for Nature (which itself cites other reports and papers). The author should be contacted for further information, including a county breakdown. Data on ancient woodlands data came from the Woodland Trust, who should be contacted for a county breakdown.
Although the Environment Agency holds the data on saltmarsh quality, these are not readily available with a county breakdown.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Environment Agency report Working with nature, published in July, which stated that "a quarter of mammals in England and almost a fifth of UK plants" are "threatened with extinction", whether they will list those counties that have suffered the worst declines of those species.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Data held by Government does not contain sufficient levels of detail to allow for an assessment of species decline at county level.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, what was the annual rate of species decline in England in each year between 2010 and 2022.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra’s indicator of species abundance tracks changes in the relative abundance of widespread and priority species in England, using data for 670 terrestrial animal species in England. Based on available data, the trend in the indicator shows a decline in species abundance of 2.8% per year on average between 2012 and 2018.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what research they have carried out in the last 12 months into (1) the propensity of (a) homeowners, (b) private residential landlords, or (c) social landlords, to carry out energy efficiency improvements to their properties, (2) the barriers to making such improvements, and (3) how any such barriers might be overcome; and what were the results of that research.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department continually gathers information on the propensity to install measures as it delivers energy efficiency policies. The potential issues these schemes address include financial barriers, information on what measures to install, concerns about the quality of installations and access to installers. Independent evaluation reports are published that summarise key lessons.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what health and safety measures fast food delivery companies are required to put in place to ensure employees carrying out deliveries on their behalf are charging their e-scooters and bikes safely.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
E-bikes provided by employers for use at work are classed as work equipment and employers should provide a charging unit recommended by the manufacturer; They should assess and manage the risks from e-bikes and chargers. Employers should make sure workers have the knowledge they need to use and maintain e-bikes safely, including giving them the information they need, e.g. manufacturer’s instructions, operating manuals and training courses. They should also check workers’ understanding of the information provided.
Where an employer is providing charging facilities at their workplace to charge any e-bikes then they have a duty to ensure the chargers appear safe to use, facilities are suitably designed and situated, and instructions provided.
In addition, the Health and Safety Executive have published guidance on the safe use of batteries, available at https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg139.pdf. The guidance includes advice to follow the battery manufacturer’s instructions on charging and to always use a dedicated, well-ventilated charging area.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what information they have received from Fire and Rescue Services about the safety of (1) e-bikes, and (2) e-scooters; and the safety of the batteries of those vehicles.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All e-bikes and e-scooters must comply with product safety legislation including the batteries used to power them. The Government maintains regular contact with the Fire and Rescue Services and has discussed many issues including fire incidents relating to e-bikes and e-scooters. We encourage users to follow available guidance, including from Electrical Safety First and from the London Fire Brigade, alongside manufacturer instructions on safe use.