Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce smoke and diesel pollution from canal boats moored in residential areas; and what assessment they have made of the case for removing the exemption for such vessels from the Clean Air Act 1954.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Domestic solid fuel burning is a major contributor to fine particulate matter emissions, and in line with our Clean Air Strategy, we are taking action to tackle this issue including from moored canal boats.
Through the Environment Bill we are amending the Clean Air Act 1993 to make it easier for local authorities to reduce smoke emissions from domestic burning in smoke control areas (SCAs). This includes enabling local authorities to bring moored inland waterway vessels such as canal boats into scope of SCAs should they have a specific issue in their area. In such cases, chimney smoke from boats could be liable to a financial penalty. The use of this power will be subject to public consultation by local authorities.
In addition, we recently introduced new legislation to restrict the sale of the most polluting solid fuels used in domestic burning, including on canal boats used for permanent habitation. The aim of this legislation is to drive a transition to cleaner fuels: from wet wood to dry wood (which can reduce emissions by 50%), and from traditional house coal to smokeless coal and low sulphur manufactured solid fuels. We will also be ensuring that only the cleanest stoves are available for sale by 2022.
My department will continue to review emissions from these sources and will monitor the impact of the new legislation, considering in due course any additional legislative measures that may be needed to reduce emission levels further.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their strategy for reducing quotas if fish stocks fall below their maximum sustainable yield.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Scientific advice indicating that fish stocks have fallen below their maximum sustainable yield will inform the UK’s positions in annual negotiations to determine the total allowable catches (TACs). In addition, a key part of our approach to rebuilding the health of depleted stocks is improving selectivity in mixed fisheries. The on-going development of Fisheries Management Plans will also assist in addressing such issues and inform the TAC-setting process moving forward. Fisheries Management Plans require assessments of the health of fish stocks and policies to restore and/or maintain stocks at levels capable of supporting sustainable harvesting. Where appropriate, they will set out actions to improve data collection and ways to establish sustainable harvest rates.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who are the official advisors on (1) the natural environment, and (2) climate change, within the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Government is advised by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) – the independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008 – whose role is to advise the UK and devolved Governments, including MHCLG. The Department also seeks the relevant advice from executive non-departmental bodies such as Natural England and the Environment Agency.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what expert advice on climate change impacts they received before deciding not to refuse planning permission for the proposed coal mine in Cumbria.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In the decision of 6 January, the Secretary of State decided not to call in the planning application for the proposed West Cumbria Coal mine. In that decision, the Secretary of State carefully considered this case against his published policy on calling in planning applications, as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012. Further representations to MHCLG when received are carefully considered.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they (1) sought, or (2) received, advice from the Climate Change Committee before deciding not to refuse planning permission for the proposed coal mine in Cumbria.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
In the decision of 6 January, the Secretary of State decided not to call in the planning application for the proposed West Cumbria Coal mine. In that decision, the Secretary of State carefully considered this case against his published policy on calling in planning applications, as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012. Further representations to MHCLG when received are carefully considered.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the quantity of "blue" carbon released from English waters as a result of bottom trawling.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government understands that marine carbon stores in sediments can be released due to human activities such as bottom trawling. However, the magnitude and direction of change in these carbon stores following trawling impacts remains uncertain, and it is difficult to quantify accurately based on current knowledge.
We are therefore continuing to gather evidence to improve assessments of impacts to marine carbon stores and fluxes. This builds upon the £10.5 million, six-year Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry research programme (2011-17), jointly funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and Defra.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of households in London that are unable to insulate their lofts under the Green Homes Grant scheme due to a shortage of qualified contractors.
Answered by Lord Callanan
The Department is working closely with industry to ensure there are enough installers to meet demand. More than 1,000 companies are registered with TrustMark and are able to carry out measures under the Green Homes Grant Scheme, with more registering every day. We have changed the way the Simple Energy Advice website displays installers so that consumers can find increased numbers of registered tradespeople that can deliver work in their area.
Officials are working actively with TrustMark scheme providers and certification bodies to support installers to get certified as quickly as possible. They are also surveying installers who have not signed up to the scheme to understand what may be holding them back so we can address those issues.
The Department recently launched a £6.9m skills competition to provide training opportunities for the energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains to deliver works and scale up to meet additional consumer demand.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 28 October (HL39), what estimate they have made of the total area, in hectares, of trackside vegetation cleared by Network Rail during the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Network Rail (NR) is one of Britain’s largest landowners, responsible for 20,000 km of track and 52,000 hectares of land in its estate. Since 2016, NR has recorded operational vegetation management across 9,749 hectares. Total figures in hectares are not available for before 2016 as some vegetation management was then recorded in track miles. Vegetation management on NR’s estate includes the removal of some trees where necessary, but also periodic trimming of trees or hedges.
As a responsible landowner, NR must effectively manage the natural environment on its estate. It is currently developing a biodiversity strategy that will ensure the protection and enhancement of biodiversity while still ensuring the safety and performance of the railway.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 28 October (HL39), what assessment they have made of the impact of clearance of trackside vegetation by Network Rail on the UK’s carbon budget.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government expects Network Rail to achieve no net loss in biodiversity by 2024, and net gain by 2040 as the primary environmental objective of its lineside vegetation management. Network Rail does not currently calculate the carbon impact of vegetation clearance. As a responsible landowner Network Rail must effectively manage the national environment on its estate, whilst ensuring the safety and performance of the railway,
The Government believes that the railway should make a significant contribution to achieving our objective of net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the economy by 2050.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 28 October (HL39), whether Network Rail carries out any habitat and carbon offsetting to compensate for the removal of trackside vegetation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government expects that, where it is not safe or practical to mitigate habitat loss on its lineside estate, Network Rail makes use of opportunities to improve biodiversity elsewhere on its estate or more widely.
Network Rail does not currently carry out carbon offsetting against the removal of trackside vegetation. The Government believes that, system-wide, the railway should make a significant contribution to achieving our objective of net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the economy by 2050.
Following the publication of the Varley Review on 28 November 2018, the Government published a policy statement: Enhancing Biodiversity and Wildlife on the Lineside. This sets an ambitious target for Network Rail to achieve no net loss in biodiversity on its existing lineside estate by 2024, and to achieve biodiversity net gain on each route by 2040. The policy statement sets out the Department’s expectation that Network Rail develop a Biodiversity Action Plan.