Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many physical investigations the Environment Agency has made into pollutant discharges at (a) Wilson Brook and (b) Johnson Brooke, Hyde in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has physically attended six instances of reported pollution on the Godley Brook and unnamed tributaries. The Environment Agency worked with United Utilities and Local Authority Environmental Health Departments who attended a further six incidents and shared the information they gathered to further enquiries.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any (a) warnings, (b) fines or (c) prosecutions have been issued for pollutant discharges at (i) Wilson Brook and (ii) Johnson Brooke, Hyde in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Including the Godley Brook and its two unnamed tributaries (which feed the Wilson Brook and flow through Hyde Park) there have been five warning letters issued in the last five years (2021 x2, 2022, 2023 x2) and no prosecutions or fines.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many pollutant discharges have been reported to the Environment Agency for (a) Wilson Brook and (b) Johnson Brooke, Hyde in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the last five years: one pollution incident in the Wilson Brook has been reported to the Environment Agency (2022) and one pollution incident in the Johnson Brook has been reported (2020).
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 water quality in the River Tame between Johnson Brook and Wilson Brook.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The section of the River Tame between Johnson Brook and Wilson Brook comprises designated waterbodies River Tame – Swineshaw Brook to Mersey (GB112069061112) and Wilson Brook (GB112069061280). Johnson Brook is not a waterbody in its own right but forms part of GB112069061112. These water bodies were assessed for water quality classification by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2021/22. The next classifications are expected next year. Details of the current assessment of these water bodies can be found on the EA’s Catchment Data Explorer: GB112069061112 and GB112069061280.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the levels of microplastic pollution in the River Tame.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Manchester University led research is currently ongoing to investigate the microplastic load taken on by fish in the River Tame. The Environment Agency issued a permit to a PhD student in October 2022 to take samples of minnow, which will be analysed alongside sediment, water and macroinvertebrates, to better understand the mechanisms of uptake.
Under the Natural Course Project, the Environment Agency, United Utilities and Greater Manchester Combined Authority are jointly funding a study to further understand loading of microplastics in a variety of flow conditions.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy that a Clean Air Zone can be a (a) category B zone and (b) non-charging zone.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Air pollution is the most significant environmental threat to public health, and so we have an ambitious programme of work to deliver cleaner air. Our 2017 UK Plan for tackling nitrogen dioxide concentrations sets out that if a local authority can identify measures other than charging zones that are at least as effective at reducing NO2, and are at the same or lower cost, those measures should be preferred. Our Clean Air Zone framework sets out the principles for setting up a zone in England to give councils maximum flexibility to fit their local context.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had discussions with (i) the Prime Minister and (ii) Number 10 officials on the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 2 March 2022, Official Report, column 1037, regarding the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone plan is currently under review by their authorities as announced on 4 February. Prior to this, Ministers held discussions with the Mayor in agreeing to the review. Since then, there have been no further discussions between the Secretary of State and the Mayor on the proposals, but our officials continue to engage with Greater Manchester’s.
We have not yet received any detailed proposals and evidence from Greater Manchester authorities regarding their proposal, or setting out how it fulfils their legal obligations and can be implemented and delivered.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Mayor of Greater Manchester, (b) the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and (c) Transport for Greater Manchester on their request for a non-charging Clean Air Zone.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone plan is currently under review by their authorities as announced on 4 February. Prior to this, Ministers held discussions with the Mayor in agreeing to the review. Since then, there have been no further discussions between the Secretary of State and the Mayor on the proposals, but our officials continue to engage with Greater Manchester’s.
We have not yet received any detailed proposals and evidence from Greater Manchester authorities regarding their proposal, or setting out how it fulfils their legal obligations and can be implemented and delivered.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 the Prime Minister’s oral contribution of 2 March 2022, Official Report, column 1037, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the request from the Greater Manchester Mayor and Combined Authority for a non-charging clean air zone for Greater Manchester.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone plan is currently under review by their authorities as announced on 4 February. Prior to this, Ministers held discussions with the Mayor in agreeing to the review. Since then, there have been no further discussions between the Secretary of State and the Mayor on the proposals, but our officials continue to engage with Greater Manchester’s.
We have not yet received any detailed proposals and evidence from Greater Manchester authorities regarding their proposal, or setting out how it fulfils their legal obligations and can be implemented and delivered.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to set targets for hedgerow expansion in the forthcoming review of the 25 year Environmental Improvement Plan.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Hedgerows are one of the most important ecological building blocks in our farmed landscape. They maintain the distinctive character of our countryside, providing crucial habitats and food for wildlife. Our primary tools to deliver environmentally beneficial hedgerow management and hedgerow creation are the Environmental Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship schemes. Our future farming schemes will also incentivise the planting and sustainable management of hedgerows across England.
We are required by the Environment Act 2021 to set a legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, alongside other biodiversity targets we are currently consulting on. In order to meet our world leading species abundance target, we will need to create more, better joined up habitats, which will include hedgerows. We are also consulting on a target to create or restore in excess of 500,000 ha of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042. We propose that hedgerows should be one of the wildlife-rich habitats included in this target.