Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle (a) illegal landfill sites and (b) waste crime.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has a range of powers to tackle waste crime and take enforcement action. These powers, coupled with those of their partners ensure that it can confront criminals. Over the last 3 years the EA has stopped more than 1500 illegal waste sites and is now implementing powers from the Environment Act 2021 to increase funding available for enforcement work against waste crime.
This Government is committed to tackling waste crime. We are considering how to continue to increase the pressure on illegal waste operators.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release of 26 September 2024 entitled Immediate measures to step up safeguards against African swine fever from Europe, what additional resource has been allocated to (a) Border Force and (b) Port Health Authorities to help implement those measures.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra continues to monitor and review the impact of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), including the Border Control Post at Sevington. We are working closely with industry, trade partners and enforcement agencies to minimise disruption and costs to trade, while continuing to protect our biosecurity. The effectiveness of the import controls has been demonstrated throughout September and October by the interception at Sevington of 34 consignments of plants infested with Pochazia Shantungensis, a fruit tree pest native to China but now present in mainland Europe. The consignments were destroyed, preventing the potential for a damaging outbreak for UK fruit growers.
The BTOM is designed to assure the biosecurity of commercial imports. Illegal imports of products of animal origin are dealt with through separate intelligence led checks, conducted at the border by Border Force, in Border Force facilities, with the assistance of Port Health Authorities.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release of 26 September 2024 entitled Immediate measures to step up safeguards against African swine fever from Europe, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning all personal imports of (a) pork and (b) pork products including those manufactured and packaged to EU commercial standards.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 12666 on 5 December 2024.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effectiveness of the new Border Target Operating Model and (b) threat of its use as a route to illegally import products of animal origin.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has made additional funding of £1.9 million available to Dover District Council for the Port Health Authority, for the remainder of this financial year (2024 to 2025), to support Border Force to conduct safeguarding checks on the illegal import of products of animal origin. This is in addition to the £1.2 million already committed. This total funding of £3.1m million is based on the existing staffing costs provided by Dover Port Health Authority. This funding is only for this financial year. Defra has also contributed operational equipment to support Border Force with relevant checks.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) likelihood of an African Swine Fever outbreak in the UK and (b) potential economic impact of such an outbreak.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Epping Forest on 28 October 2024, to Question 10798.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 12061 on Agriculture: Land Use, if he will commission research into the potential impact of solar farms on soil (a) carbon storage, (b) structure and (c) biodiversity.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no current plans to undertake research on the specific impact of solar farms on soil properties.
We have undertaken an evidence review evaluating opportunities for agrivoltaic systems in England and Wales. Impacts on soil were not considered.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
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 potential impact of solar farms on soil (a) carbon storage, (b) structure and (c) biodiversity.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of solar farms on soil.
When considering development proposals that affect agricultural land and soils, the Government encourages developers and local planning authorities to refer to relevant Government policies and legislation that aim to protect all soils by managing them in a sustainable way.
The previous Government did not commission research into this space, so it is currently unclear what impact solar panels may have on soil properties such as carbon storage, structure and biodiversity across England. However, a solar farm development near Kenilworth (Honiley Road solar farm) reports that it delivered 135% Biodiversity Net Increase.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost of the introduction of extended producer responsibility fees to businesses.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department’s impact assessment published online here has considered the impacts on businesses from the introduction of extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR).
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what body will administer the non-household packaging elements of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme; and when he plans to publish details of that body.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Obligations on non-household packaging elements of the upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility scheme will continue to be enforced by the Environment Agency in England and the equivalent regulators in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as these obligations are in the current producer responsibility scheme.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what level extended producer responsibility fees will be set at.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In August 2024, we released the first set of illustrative packaging extended producer responsibility base fees covering the following eight packaging materials: aluminium, fibre-based composite materials, glass, paper or board, plastic, steel, wood and other materials.
In September 2024, we released a second set of illustrative base fees using an updated methodology, based principally on 'Report Packaging Data’ (RPD) producer reported tonnages from 2023 alongside Defra-modelled Local Authority costs. This is the same underlying approach and datasets that the Scheme Administrator intends to use for final fees from 2025, with all tonnages based on RPD data.
Final fees can only be calculated after 1 April 2025, the deadline for large organisations to report their packaging data for the period July to December 2024.
These fees have been published and can be found here: Extended producer responsibility for packaging: illustrative base fees - GOV.UK.