Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the potential impact of high ocean temperatures on marine biodiversity in UK waters.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with its agencies, the Met Office and research community to monitor and understand potential impacts of high ocean temperatures on marine biodiversity. Satellite observations and data from ships, buoys, floats and gliders are used to track marine heatwaves, forecast ocean temperature changes and model potential impacts on the health of our seas. Research is examining links between high temperatures and biodiversity, including shifts in fish and shellfish populations, damage to important habitats such as seagrass and kelp, and incidence of harmful algal blooms and marine life mortality events.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the recent heatwave in UK waters on marine species and habitats.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with its agencies, the Met Office and the research community to understand the potential impacts of marine heatwaves on marine species and habitats. This includes funding the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership and collecting reports of impacts to fisheries and marine biodiversity that may be linked to the recent heatwaves. The Department will use the 4th National Adaptation Plan to set out how the government will continue to manage the impacts of climate change in our seas, including marine heatwaves.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of which local transport authorities have the greatest opportunities to increase the modal share of a) walking, b) wheeling and c) cycling.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made. All local transport authorities will be supported by Active Travel England to deliver their local active travel ambitions in line with the Government’s devolution agenda.