Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to impose sanctions on local authorities that have not used grants under the Emergency Active Travel Fund to introduce relevant measures to encourage or facilitate active travel; and what sanctions these will be.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department for Transport has consistently made clear to local authorities that it reserves the right to claw back funding for active travel schemes where it is not satisfied that it has been appropriately spent. In determining future funding allocations, it will take into account local authorities’ track record in delivering active travel schemes.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the funding awarded from the Emergency Active Travel Fund to Oxfordshire County Council to support the Jericho Low Traffic Neighbourhood has been used for the purpose for which it was awarded.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Department has asked all local authorities, including Oxfordshire County Council, to monitor and evaluate the impacts of their active travel schemes, and will take this into account in determining future funding allocations. The detailed design of local schemes is however, a matter for local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 22 March (HL13985), what plans they have to reduce air pollution from diesel (1) engines, and (2) generators, on canal boats moored in residential areas.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government is working to address emissions from canal boats as part of our wider commitment to improve air quality. Recent efforts have focussed on reducing pollution from solid fuel burning but government is actively exploring what options are available in the longer term to eliminate harmful emissions from the small diesel engines used on watercraft including the inland waterways sector.
Analysis undertaken by the Department for Transport has identified that alternative fuels and power sources will be needed in order to achieve substantial long-term reductions in air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from the inland and UK domestic fleets. In response to this the Government has recently launched the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, a £20m fund aimed at supporting innovation in the wider maritime sector and accelerating the commercial availability of low and zero emissions technology for vessels in the UK. While primarily focused on maritime activity it is expected that this fund will also benefit related sectors including inland fleet, particularly in areas like engine technology and alternative fuels.
Additionally, the maritime elements of the Government’s forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) will consider the wider opportunities to reduce pollutant emissions arising from our transition to net zero in 2050 and will consult upon appropriate policy responses to support this outcome. The TDP is planned for publication in late Spring.
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 - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.