Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of powers and resources currently available to (a) local authorities and (b) the Environment Agency to enforce environmental protection laws.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities have a range of powers to enforce environmental protection laws, including through the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2016 and the Environmental Protection Act, 1990.
The Environment Agency, through the Environment Act 1995, has a range of powers to enforce environmental protection laws. Its principal aim is to protect and enhance the environment.
The Government committed in its manifesto to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development on the steps required to help ensure equitable global access to (a) vaccines and (b) antivirals which have been effective against Mpox.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The United Kingdom is the largest flexible donor to the World Health Organisation (WHO) globally, helping the WHO allocate resources to where they are needed most, including responding to health emergencies such as Mpox. We are also providing £3 million to the WHO Regional Office for Africa, for health emergency response.
The UK is also the second biggest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, providing £1.65 billion over the 2021 to 2025 period. Gavi works with governments to develop vaccine strategies, and will be critical to supporting a sustainable vaccine response. The UK also works with partners, such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, to support research and development for vaccines, treatments, and tests.
On the 21 August 2024 Lord Collins, The Minister for Africa and the United Nations, announced over £3 million of UK funding to partner with UNICEF in order to bolster efforts to tackle Mpox and cholera outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, helping to prevent the further spread of Mpox to neighbouring countries
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking in response to the declaration by the WHO of Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR).
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will continue to keep the global situation and our domestic preparations under close review, and ministers across the Government are working together to coordinate our response.
The UKHSA is engaged with our international partners, including the World Health Organisation, European, American, and African centres for disease control and prevention and national public health agencies, ensuring we receive updates about international cases in a timely fashion.
The Government holds a stock of vaccines to provide vaccinations to protect high-risk individuals during outbreaks. The Government will make further decisions on vaccine procurement as the situation evolves.
The risk to the United Kingdom’s population of being exposed to Mpox clade I is currently considered low. However, planning is underway to prepare for any cases that we might see in the UK. This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and able to recognise cases promptly, that rapid testing is available, and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of people who have the infection and to prevent onward transmission.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Government Ministers plan to attend the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, COP16, in Colombia taking place from 21 October to 1 November 2024.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs intends to attend the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Full details about the Ministerial and official delegation will be made available in due course.