Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the report by the Animal and Plant Health Agency Year End Descriptive Epidemiology Report: Bovine TV in the Edge Area of England 2021, County: Hampshire, published on 7 October 2022 and updated on 28 November 2022, and (2) the implications for their policy on the timing of the badger cull in Hampshire; and what steps they will take to end the badger cull in that county as a result of the findings in that report that "badgers only accounted for 11 per cent of weighted risk pathways".
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are committed to achieving official freedom from Bovine TB for England by 2038 and intensive badger culling in areas where badgers are an important factor in spreading disease to cattle has been an important part of this. The badger cull has led to a significant reduction of bTB in cattle herds, with research showing a 66% and 37% reduction of new herd breakdowns in the first two cull areas.
Defra has published analysis by APHA on where in Edge Area counties, such as Hampshire, there is considered to be a local reservoir of infection. This analysis includes data from previous badger found dead surveys alongside information on cattle breakdowns and other sources: Bovine TB: local reservoirs of Mycobacterium bovis infection in the Edge Area of England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Badger culls are licensed by the licensing authority Natural England (NE) who take local reservoirs into account. NE licensed the final intensive cull areas last year, and Government is gradually building government-supported badger vaccination and surveillance. Badger culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 10 November (HL2965), which stated that the polymere based product "is used in treatment of the solid wastes, which have a waste water component that receives further treatment prior to discharge", how the further treatment removes the acrylamide which is water soluble; and whether they can confirm that polymeres are not tested to check if this has been successful.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In the solid slurry stabilisation process, only the minimum amount of polymer product is used to achieve the required result. The polymer will be preferentially bound within the solid waste with negligible, if any, carry over into the waste water from the slurry treatment process. This water then undergoes further treatment in the water treatment plant, including settlement of fine solids, reverse osmosis, and activated carbon filtration, which further reduce the risk of any polymer or constituents reaching the discharge point and therefore the environment. Due to the low potential for the polymer to be present in the slurry treatment process, waste water, and the further treatment provided by the water treatment plant, no testing was required as part of the permit for the presence of polymer or constituents.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 10 November (HL2965), which stated that "this discharge is made to surface waters rather than groundwater, greatly reducing the potential risk to the drinking water aquifer", whether this means that there is still some risk from the water being (1) reused in HS2 operations, including reinsertion to the aquifer at the tunnel boring operation, and (2) discharged to the water environment in a roadside ditch which is a winter born chalk stream directly above the principal aquifer.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Water is not discharged into the aquifer during tunnel boring operations. The roadside ditch is an artificial (i.e. man-made) drainage channel, not a winterbourne chalk stream. A quantitative risk assessment has been caried out for both surface water and groundwater impacts for discharge to the roadside ditch and the risk assessment showed the discharge was, given the controls on the permit, acceptable and not liable to cause pollution to either water receptor.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the findings of the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Nature-based solutions, including blue carbon habitats such as saltmarshes, have an important role to play in preventing biodiversity loss and supporting adaptation and resilience to climate change, alongside their carbon sequestration benefits. HM Government cannot currently commit to inclusion of coastal wetlands in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory as there are significant evidence gaps that prevent the accurate reporting of anthropogenic activities and therefore emissions from coastal wetland habitats, including saltmarshes.
The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is responsible for the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory, but through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with BEIS and the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon, including to support the potential future inclusion of saltmarshes within the inventory. The first aim of the Partnership has been to identify and then clearly set out the most pressing research questions relating to blue carbon in an Evidence Needs Statement that will act as a signal to the research community.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include the restoration of saltmarshes for blue carbon in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Nature-based solutions, including blue carbon habitats such as saltmarshes, have an important role to play in preventing biodiversity loss and supporting adaptation and resilience to climate change, alongside their carbon sequestration benefits. HM Government cannot currently commit to inclusion of coastal wetlands in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory as there are significant evidence gaps that prevent the accurate reporting of anthropogenic activities and therefore emissions from coastal wetland habitats, including saltmarshes.
The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is responsible for the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory, but through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with BEIS and the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon, including to support the potential future inclusion of saltmarshes within the inventory. The first aim of the Partnership has been to identify and then clearly set out the most pressing research questions relating to blue carbon in an Evidence Needs Statement that will act as a signal to the research community.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor, understand and analyse saltmarsh habitats, including the risks to present emissions and wider ecosystem value.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Nature-based solutions, including blue carbon habitats such as saltmarshes, have an important role to play in preventing biodiversity loss and supporting adaptation and resilience to climate change, alongside their carbon sequestration benefits. Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon.
In April 2022, HM Government launched its £140 million Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme, a flagship three-year R&D programme, spanning England’s land, coast and sea. The programme includes mapping of blue carbon stock and sequestration rates in important coastal environments such as saltmarsh habitats, alongside wider ecosystem services which provide societal, ecological and economic benefit. This work will be used to inform marine planning and development decisions.
In the programme’s proof-of-concept year, the Environment Agency (alongside its ongoing role monitoring saltmarsh extent and change), mapped areas within saltmarshes with different capacities to capture and store carbon, bringing the national saltmarsh zonation map up to 96.5% coverage of England’s total saltmarsh habitat.
In addition, Natural England monitors, and assesses the condition of, saltmarsh within sites of special scientific interest.
We are also improving understanding of the impact of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems. The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) synthesises the latest research and evidence on climate change impacts and predicted trends affecting those ecosystems. Established in 2005, MCCIP engages with a wide range of scientific authors and reviewers to produce updates on the evidence base.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the protection and restoration of saltmarsh habitats.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HM Government has a clear, long-standing ambition to implement measures that protect the marine environment, both internationally and domestically. England already has 40% of its waters in Marine Protected Areas, covering the majority of saltmarsh habitats. Our focus is now on ensuring these are effectively protected.
The Environment Agency’s (EA) Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative is working to restore our estuarine and coastal habitats to benefit people and nature. The EA’s restoration handbooks are a key tool to support restoration of coastal blue carbon habitats in the UK and beyond. They offer clear practical guidance on restoration best practice, including for saltmarshes, and were produced through collaboration between Government bodies, NGOs and academics. They provide a tool to support local authorities, community partnerships and environmental organisations to restore blue carbon habitats.
Natural England and the EA are also producing a national database/inventory of opportunities for restoration of coastal habitats including saltmarsh. This will signpost developers seeking to fulfil obligations under the planning system.
We are supporting direct investment into saltmarsh restoration through our £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund, which is supporting nature recovery projects across England. Through our Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund, we are supporting three projects with almost £300k of grants to measure and verify the carbon storage potential in saltmarsh habitats, which will help leverage private investment into these important habitats.
The public consultation on the next round of Flood Risk Management Plans (2021-2027) closed earlier this year. The proposed plans include provision for natural flood management approaches which will protect saltmarsh and also protect communities.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the water sources within the Colne Valley are now designated as having a poor chemical status because of the deterioration of the Blackford source; and on what date this designation changed.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Colne (confluence with the Chess to Thames) water body's chemical status deteriorated from Good in 2016, to Fail in 2019. This was due to the incorporation in the testing regime of two priority hazardous substances which were not previously classified. These are Perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) which were classified as 'Fail' in 2019, resulting in the water body chemical status change. The chemical status change is not linked to the status of the Blackford Pumping Station.
The 2019 river classification for chemicals reflected a change in the methods used to classify English water bodies to more accurately report the presence of certain chemicals that do not break down easily in the environment. The Environment Agency is working with a range of partners in England to reduce inputs at source and to better understand the impact on the environment from highly persistent chemicals.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the UK Chemicals Strategy.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have been engaging closely with external partners over the past few months to inform policy development across a range of chemicals issues. This builds on the commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to set out our strategy to tackling chemicals of concern. No publication date for a Chemicals Strategy has yet been set.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in protecting environmental and human health from the effects of chemical pollution.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HM Government's 25 Year Environment Plan set out actions to significantly reduce the levels of harmful chemicals entering the environment. Progress made against these actions have been published through our 25 Year Environment Plan Progress Reports and Indicator Framework. We are currently reviewing the 25 Year Environment Plan as required by the Environment Act 2021. The revised Environmental Improvement Plan will be subject to the relevant parliamentary laying procedures as set out in the Act.