Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what fiscal steps her Department is taking to support the 30by30 target.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is committed to protecting 30% of land and sea in the UK by 2030 (30by30). Delivering 30by30 on land in England means ensuring that our most important and wildlife-rich habitats are benefiting from effective, long-term conservation and management. We will publish our 30by30 Action Plan in due course, showing the concrete and targeted action we will take to make progress on 30by30 on land in England.
Similarly at sea we are focusing on ensuring England’s 181 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), covering 40% of English waters, are effectively managed.
The Government has committed to the largest investment into nature in history, with over £7 billion directed into nature’s recovery over the parliament until 2028/29. This investment will make a significant contribution to the Environment Act targets and 30by30, including improving the quality of water, air, and spaces for wildlife so biodiversity can thrive.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to provide financial support for the delivery of long-term sustainable drainage systems.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework we published on 12 December 2024 amended an existing paragraph regarding incorporating sustainable drainage systems in new development to make clear that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts.
National Planning Guidance is clear that local authorities should be satisfied that all Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) have clear maintenance and adoption arrangements in place for the lifetime of a development; however, the cost of delivery of SuDS would be covered by the developer.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
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 enacting Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 on the (a) uptake and (b) effectiveness of sustainable drainage systems on new developments.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is strongly committed to improving the implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and we are looking at what additional steps might be taken to support this.
We have made some immediate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to support increased delivery of SuDS. The NPPF now requires all development to utilise SuDS where they could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development. See paragraphs 181 and 182 of the NPPF.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide (a) financial and (b) other support to local authorities to help improve surface water drainage.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are investing £4.2 billion over three years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, to construct new flood schemes, including surface water schemes, and maintain and repair existing defences across the country. This builds on the £2.65 billion that we are investing in 2024/25 and 2025/26. The full list of over 700 schemes to benefit from fresh funding this year was announced on 31 March 2025 and can be found here.
The Government launched a consultation on 3 June on proposals to reform the way we fund flood and coastal defences. We will make it simpler for all risk management authorities to calculate their funding. The proposals would see the first £3 million of all projects fully funded. This would speed up delivery of vital schemes and ensure money was distributed more effectively across the country – including for surface water management schemes. The consultation has now closed, and we will publish our response in due course.
The Government is strongly committed to improving the implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), looking at what additional steps might be taken to support this. We have made some immediate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to support increased delivery of SuDS where they could have drainage impacts and require all development to utilise SuDS where they could have drainage impacts. In June this year, the Government introduced new national standards.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to consult young people in the development of (a) environmental policy and (b) climate-related decision-making.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government recognises that young people are at the heart of environmental and climate-related decision making and actively considers their views and needs.
This year, Defra collaborated with the Department for Education, Policy Lab and environmental NGOs to invite young people and representative groups to participate in an online ‘Collective Intelligence’ debate to inform our review of the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan.
Defra also works closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, who will publish a net zero Public Participation Strategy later this year which will set out how we will empower individuals and communities to take action, whilst ensuring that policies are designed in a way that is responsive to people’s needs, including young people.
As the lead Government department for climate adaptation, we are currently developing our approach to the next National Adaptation Programme. This includes how we will engage with wider society, including with young people, about building resilience to the climate change impacts we are already experiencing.
At the international level. Defra financed the participation of two UK members of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network at COP16 in Cali Colombia in October 2024. At COP29 in 2024, we were the first national government to endorse the Universal Youth Clause in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made recent progress on implementing section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government inherited a broken water system. These systemic issues require a proper reset with a reformed water sector in a new partnership with the Government to bring in the investment that is needed. The Government is committed to using legislation to reform the water sector and will continue to do so where necessary.
The Government recognises that current arrangements of sewer adoption need to be reviewed, which is why private sewerage has been included in the terms of reference of the ongoing review of the water sector, chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe to recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
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 (a) adequacy of the condition of the canal towpath network and (b) potential merits of enabling higher levels of use of the canal towpath network for (i) walking and (ii) cycling.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Use of towpaths by walkers and cyclists is an operational matter for individual navigation authorities, and Government does not have a role in that. However, Defra provides an annual grant of £52.6 million to the Canal and River Trust, which is the largest navigation authority in England and Wales with 2,000 miles of waterways. The Trust reports that towpath user satisfaction in 2023/24 was 91%.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to incentivise councils to increase the range of plastic packaging that can be recycled at the kerbside through the Extended Producer Responsibility.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Simpler Recycling is a reform to the recycling system which means that people across England will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school, putting an end to the confusion over what can and cannot be recycled in different parts of the country. By 31 March 2026, local authorities will be required to collect all six recyclable waste streams - metal, plastic, glass, paper/card, food, and garden (where requested) - from all households in England. We will require recyclable plastic film to be collected from households and non-household municipal premises by 31 March 2027.
Extended Producer Responsibility payments will be provided to local authorities for the costs of collecting and managing household packaging waste through efficient and effective services. This includes the collection of additional packaging materials for recycling such as plastic films and flexibles.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the reintroduction of beavers to the wild on meeting targets on halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 as set under the Environment Act 2021.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
No direct assessment of beavers’ impact on the species abundance target has been conducted but we continue to improve our evidence base underpinning the targets more broadly.
However, evidence demonstrates that beavers can boost biodiversity and create and restore wetland habitats. A 2020 evidence review of the interaction between beavers and the natural and human environments found that beaver reintroductions can bring many benefits by helping to restore lost natural ecosystem function. Therefore, beaver reintroductions could contribute to broad ambitions to restore biodiversity, through the restoration of more naturally functioning habitat mosaics, benefitting many species.
Beaver populations in England are currently small, so any positive impact on biodiversity and species abundance will be spatially limited.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department’s policy is on approving permit applications for new waste incinerators.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for assessing environmental permit applications for new waste incinerators to operate in England and has a duty to assess any application it receives against the requirements of the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) 2016. If it meets those requirements, the EA must issue a permit.
Under EPR 2016, operators of incinerators must use the best available techniques to minimise emissions and meet strict emission limits. The EA will only grant a permit if it is satisfied that these requirements will be met, and that the proposal would not give rise to any significant pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
When the EA receives a permit application for a new incinerator, it carries out a comprehensive impact assessment of emissions from the plant, and it also consults the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for their views on the application.