Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the two per cent increase in the number of fly-tipping incidents dealt with by local authorities in England in 2019/20 compared to 2018/19; and what plans they have to address fly-tipping.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Fly-tipping is a crime which blights local communities and the environment, and we are committed to tackling this unacceptable behaviour.
We have not made an assessment of the 2019/20 fly-tipping statistics for England published by Defra. A detailed breakdown of the incidents reported by local authorities is however available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england
We continue to work with partners to tackle this crime. In recent years we have bolstered local authorities' powers to tackle fly-tipping, such as by introducing the power to issue fixed penalty notices and to stop and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.
Our 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy set out our strategic approach to prevent, detect and deter waste crime. We committed to strengthen sentences for fly-tipping and to develop a fly-tipping toolkit to help local authorities and others work in partnership to tackle this crime. We also committed to increasing penalties for fly-tipping in our manifesto.
Budget 2020 allocated up to £2million to support innovative solutions to tackle fly-tipping. We are exploring funding opportunities and priorities at this stage, including considering the role of digital solutions.
We are also preparing a number of legislative reforms to tackle waste crime, which will help to tackle fly-tipping. We are taking forward the commitment in the Resources and Waste Strategy to develop proposals for the reform of the waste carrier, broker, and dealer regime. We are working with industry and the regulator and we intend to consult later this year. We also intend to consult on the introduction of mandatory electronic waste tracking. This will help to ensure that waste is dealt with appropriately and to reduce the incidence of waste crime and fly-tipping.
The Environment Bill also includes several measures to help tackle waste crime. The Bill will ensure agencies and authorities can work more effectively to combat waste crime through better access to evidence and improved powers of entry. These new powers will help ensure waste criminals, such as illegitimate waste operators reliant on fly-tipping for income, are held accountable for their actions.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 14 December (HL11081), whether a local authority which (1) has used, or (2) is expected to use, all of the funding provided for the costs of discretionary £500 payments to people who do not fulfil the main eligibility criteria but will still face hardship if they have to self-isolate should (a) announce that the pot is empty and no more such payments can be made, (b) pay further applicants who qualify out of their own general funds, or (c) apply to the Government for further funding; and whether such local authorities can make a reduced payment to more eligible persons.
Answered by Lord Bethell
If a local authority has used all of its discretionary funding, it is a matter for the authority to decide whether to accept further applications or to use other sources of funding to make these payments. While local authorities cannot apply directly for further discretionary funding, the Government has increased provision to local authorities to make discretionary payments to £20 million per month from March 2021.The amount paid for approved applications under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme remains at £500 per case and as such local authorities cannot make a reduced payment.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have downloaded the NHS COVID-19 application; how many contacts of people with COVID-19 tested positive after being traced through (1) the NHS COVID-19 application, and (2) other means, on each day since 1 January; and of such contacts, how many they were (1) able, and (2) not able, to communicate with.
Answered by Lord Bethell
As of 27 January 2021, the NHS COVID-19 app has been downloaded 21,629,902 times. As COVID-19 app users are anonymous, we cannot determine who has or has not been contacted by Test and Trace as well as receiving an app notification to self-isolate following contact with a positive case.
The information is relating to those communicated with is not held in the format requested, as data is not collected on a daily basis.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the planned schedules for the completion of the England Coast Path.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in some delays to the England Coast Path programme. It is still Defra’s intention, however, to have all stretches either open or with establishment works started by the end of 2021.
By the end of April, proposals for 99% of the path will have been published by Natural England. To date 1,483 miles (55%) of proposals for stretches of the England Coast Path have been approved by Secretary of State, 401 miles (15%) of which are already open to the public.
As further stretches are ready for opening, this will be published.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what priority they will give to (1) COVID-19 testing, (2) ensuring that people with COVID-19 isolate, (3) contact tracing, and (4) tracking the movements of people with COVID-19, as part of their strategy for preventing the spread of COVID-19 as the number of cases reduce.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government has put in place the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history. NHS Test and Trace has capacity to respond to increases in demand and people can have confidence that if they have symptoms and need a test, they can get one, and get their result the next day. Over 72 million tests have been processed so far and we have the capacity to carry out almost 800,000 tests per day The Test and Trace Support Payment has been introduced in response to feedback from local authorities and directors of public health that some of their residents were struggling to self-isolate as directed due to financial constraints. It is to help ensure that people on low incomes self-isolate when they test positive or are identified as a contact, and to encourage more people to get tested. This will help to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. 86.4% (171,847) of people who tested positive and were transferred to the contact tracing system were reached and asked to provide information about their contacts and 96.6% of contacts where communication details were given were reached and told to self-isolate. This has remained constant for the past five weeks. It is a legal requirement to self-isolate if you have Covid symptoms, receive a positive test result, or are told to isolate by NHS Test and Trace.
The vast majority of people are complying – and know that we all have a role to play in getting this virus under control. And for those who don’t, the police can and will request data from NHS Test and Trace to confirm that an individual has a legal duty to self-isolate.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to issue a new version of the Countryside Code; if so, when; and what plans they have to launch a publicity campaign directed at people who are likely to use the UK countryside and coast for holidays in 2021, to offer advice on appropriate activities and behaviour.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Natural England is working on a refresh of the Countryside Code alongside stakeholders, and a relaunch of advice to the public is planned for Easter. The launch at Easter will mark the beginning of a year-long piece of work with stakeholders and partners to promote the Code more widely and look at how we can best encourage positive behaviours. We want to make the code inclusive and welcoming, to make sure that people are aware that nature is available to all, and that they understand how they can respect and protect the countryside.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to phase out diesel traction passenger trains in the North of England.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s ambition is to remove all diesel-only trains from the network by 2040 and replace them with low-carbon traction technologies, including electrification, hydrogen and battery trains.
The Network Rail-led Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS) provides advice about which decarbonising technologies could best suit each part of the network. TDNS will inform the Department’s forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan and Government decisions about the scale and pace of rail decarbonisation between now and 2050.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Prime Minister on 22 February (HC Deb, col 626–8), what discussions they have had with train operating companies about resuming a full service on the railways; and what is the timetable for such plans.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Train Operating Companies are preparing to meet demand as restrictions are gradually eased, as outlined by the Prime Minister on 22 February. In preparation for the return of schools on 8 March, they are working closely with local transport planning authorities and schools, to meet the demand for student travel. As demand for rail services returns, operators will plan to run the appropriate level of service for demand whilst maintaining reliability.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Great North Bog Initiative.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government is committed to the restoration and sustainable management of England's peat. England's peatlands store around 580 million tonnes of carbon but are emitting around 9.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Restoration, through initiatives such as the Great North Bog, is a crucial tool in combating climate change and achieving the Government's aim to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
We have engaged with the development of the Great North Bog from an early stage. Restoration of these habitats can achieve multiple natural capital benefits, including havens for rare wildlife and flood protection. We have already invested a significant amount of our early Nature for Climate funding in peatland restoration projects in Great North Bog areas, including the Yorkshire Dales, Peak District and the North Pennines AONB.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of private renters with significant rent arrears since restrictions to address the COVID-19 pandemic were introduced; what assessment they have made of the figure of 800,000 with rent arrears in England and Wales suggested by the National Residential Landlords Association; and what steps they plan to take to prevent large-scale evictions once the protections put in place during the pandemic are lifted in England.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The vast majority of tenants are meeting their rental commitments. Data from the English Housing Survey (EHS) Household Resilience Study June-July 2020 suggests that around 7% of private rented sector households are in rent arrears compared to around 3% pre-COVID. 5% of private renters had spoken to their landlords and agreed a rent holiday and a further 6% had spoken to their landlords and agreed a rent reduction.
The NRLA also reported that 7% of renters have built up arrears, and that 91% of private renters have not built any arrears since March 2020.
The UK Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support which is available to tenants. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the wider package of economic support measures are supporting private renters to continue paying their rent. Local housing allowance (LHA) rates will be maintained at their increased level in cash terms in 2021/22, meaning claimants renting in the private rented sector will continue to benefit from the significant increase in the LHA rates applied in April 2020 in cash terms. Even in areas where rents have reduced and so the 30th percentile level has gone down, LHA rates will remain unchanged. For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. For 2021-22 the Government will make available £140 million in DHP funding, which takes account of the increased LHA rates.