Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 the shortage in the production of sodium hypochlorite on food production; and what steps he plans to take to alleviate any such impact.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Sodium hypochlorite is a key input into the food system and is used as a cleaning product during the food production process. Along with other critical inputs to the food supply chain, Defra monitors the supply of sodium hypochlorite and stands ready to act if needed should an issue arise. To date, the reduced supply of sodium hypochlorite has been mitigated by industry through the various alternatives available depending on intended use.
The day-to-day supply of sodium hypochlorite is a commercial matter for industry and they are well versed in responding to shortages without delay and the least amount of disruption to the public. Defra works closely with industry to monitor supply issues relating to both food products and critical inputs in the food system. Defra further works to encourage diverse and resilient supply chains to protect consumers and businesses.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 shortages in production of sodium hypochlorite on water supplies; and what steps he is taking to help alleviate that impact.
Answered by Steve Double
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Maintaining the strategic supply of chemicals to the water sector is a priority for government and industry. Chemicals are critical to water treatment processes for both the provision of safe drinking water and wastewater services to protect the environment.
We work continuously with the water sector to understand chemical supply issues and manage the strategic risks of interruption to drinking water supplies and wastewater. This includes frequent contact with the water sector, both specific companies and with Water UK, an industry representative body. We also frequently engage with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who lead on chemicals sector supply chains.
The routine supply of sodium hypochlorite is a commercial matter for industry. We are monitoring the strategic supply of sodium hypochlorite to water companies, and we frequently encourage diverse and resilient supply chains. We will continue to do so to protect drinking water and wastewater services.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
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 support the creation of smallholder and community-led horticulture jobs in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan this Government will provide funding to create lasting opportunities for new entrants to access land, infrastructure and support to establish successful and innovative businesses including in horticulture. These could involve business models such as Community Supported Agriculture and small holdings.
The details and eligibility criteria of the new entrant scheme are being developed through a consultative co-design process with stakeholders.
The co-design steering group includes representatives of local authorities with council farm estates, new entrant farmers, providers of innovation support for young farmers, cooperative and community land organisations and private landowners. We are also engaging a wider range of stakeholders to help us design the scheme. We will report more details of the scheme this summer and aim to launch the scheme in 2022.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ensure that air quality levels in (a) Wallasey and (b) the North West remain lower than they were prior to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our ambitious plans to improve air quality and support more active forms of travel have not changed, including the £3.8 billion we are already investing to clean up our air. Our recent rapid call for evidence will ensure we can fully understand the impact that coronavirus is having on changes to air pollution emissions, concentrations and exposure.
On 9 May, the Government announced a £2 billion funding package for cycling and walking: the largest ever investment in active travel. This includes £250 million to be spent in the current financial year on measures to get people cycling and walking, such as pop-up bike lanes, wider pavements, safer junctions, and cycle and bus-only corridors and a bike repair voucher scheme.
Local authorities already have a range of powers to take action to reduce pollution from road vehicles. Through the Environment Bill we are improving co-operation within the Local Air Quality Management framework to widen the range of bodies that play a role in improving local air quality, including neighbouring local authorities and relevant public bodies, ensuring action is taken by all key players to tackle pollution sources and to improve air quality locally.
Additionally we are working hard to implement our world-leading Clean Air Strategy, which focuses on reducing broader emissions beyond road transport.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the top five countries were for chicken imports to the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The attached table shows the top five countries importing chicken meat into the UK in the last five years. It is based on Defra analysis of HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with supermarkets on providing adequate home delivery shopping slots for people who are (a) self isolating or (b) have covid-19.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We are working closely across Government, with representatives of the food supply chain and with local authorities and charities to ensure that the elderly, vulnerable groups, and people who need to stay at home will have continued access to food.
To help industry respond to this unprecedented demand we have introduced new measures to support food deliveries. We have issued guidance to local authorities to allow extended delivery hours to supermarkets so that shelves can be filled up more quickly, and we have implemented extensions to drivers’ hours. We are also temporarily relaxing certain elements of competition law to ensure retailers are able to collaborate effectively in the national interest, for example by sharing distribution depots and delivery vans. We welcome the actions that industry is taking, including hiring more staff, including prioritising delivery slots for those that need them most.
The Government is working to ensure that up to 1.5 million people in England identified by the NHS as being at higher risk of severe illness if they contract Coronavirus will have access to the food they need. A new Local Support System will make sure those individuals self-isolating at home and who are without a support network of friends and family will receive basic food and essential supplies. The Government is working with a partnership of the food industry, local government, local resilience forums and emergency partners, and voluntary groups, to ensure that essential items can start to be delivered as soon as possible to those who need it.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who are reliant on coal for fuel in (a) Wallasey, (b) Merseyside and (c) the North West.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The impact assessment published alongside the Government response to the consultation on cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood included an assessment of the number of people who use coal as a primary heat source across England. The impact assessment can be viewed at the following site: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/867428/burning-wood-consult-ia.pdf. The proposals included in the Government response outline our intention to rollout the policy in a phased approach, this is to ensure that those reliant on coal as a primary heat source have the time and support they need to transition to the cleanest alternative fuel type, whilst minimising any associated costs.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the titles of the reviews that her Department is undertaking.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra is currently supporting 5 independent reviews.
These are:
The reports for which are due over the course of this year.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the number of trees planted in Wallasey.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is developing policies to increase tree planting at a national scale and does not target particular constituencies.
Working with the Devolved Administrations, the Government is committed to planting 30,000 hectares per year of new forests across the UK by 2025, in line with the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendation. In England, the Nature for Climate fund will help drive planting in this Parliament.
We are supporting the creation of a Great Northumberland Forest, where one million trees will be planted by 2024. We are also investing £5.7 million to accelerate and further develop the Northern Forest - planting 1.8 million new trees, helping towards a long-term ambition of 50 million trees over 25 years.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of air quality in (a) the North West, (b) Wirral and (c) Wallasey.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Air quality is generally improving in the UK, as set out in the annual National Statistics report at the following URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics.
There are 171 national monitoring stations in the UK operated by the Environment Agency on behalf of Defra, of which 18 stations are in North West and Merseyside including two in Wirral (Wirral Tranmere and Birkenhead Borough Road). Near real-time measurements from these sites and further data tools can be found on the UK-AIR website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/). Within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral annual mean levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter have been below statutory limit values and stable over the last five years, consistent with national trends.
There are no automatic monitoring stations in Wallasey. However, Wirral Council also assesses its own air quality using 31 passive monitors to measure NO2 across the Borough which is made available through Annual Status Reports (https://www.wirral.gov.uk/environmental-problems/pollution-control/air-quality). Only one exceedance of the annual mean limit value for NO2 was observed in 2018 with levels at most sites either showing a lower or similar value compared to 2017 levels.