Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 help the British fishing industry operate sustainably.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
HM Government is committed to sustainable fishing and the principle of Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and our Fisheries White Paper.
The draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) included a list of proposed Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) around the UK with a timetable for their publication. FMPs will be evidence-based action plans developed with fishermen and stakeholders to deliver sustainable fisheries for current and future generations.
The £100 million UK Seafood Fund (UKSF) is being used to reform and modernise infrastructure, encourage new entrants to the industry and ensure the best science research and technology is used in fisheries management. One of the key objectives of the Fund is to enable an environmentally sustainable fishing industry that gives most value for money and reflects the long-term needs of the sector.
In addition to the UKSF, HM Government delivers an annual investment of £32.7 million to support the fishing and seafood sectors and protect the marine environment. Funding is divided between each of the four fishing administrations and is designed to deliver grant funding schemes, support evidence gathering and protect our waters. The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme invests at least £6 million annually to help support the long-term sustainability, resilience, and prosperity of the seafood sector in England. Funding across the UK has been secured every year until April 2025, providing long term investment to the sector.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he will take to support famers on delivering (a) nature recovery and (b) other vital services.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We know that farmers face many pressures. Farmers do essential work in producing high quality food for consumption at home and for export. In the light of the current global economic situation, we know that the cost of inputs has gone up, which might make it more difficult for farmers to both improve the natural environment and underpin food production.
We are looking at the frameworks for regulation, innovation and investment that impact farmers and land managers, to make sure that our policies, including nature recovery, are best placed to both boost food production and protect the environment. We are designing all our schemes, including our farming investment fund and environmental land management schemes to be accessible and supportive. We’ll continue to work closely with the sector to ensure these are designed and rolled out in their best interests, delivering the outcomes that the British people want to see.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 introduce new environmental protections in this Parliament.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We have been clear about the importance of environmental protection across the United Kingdom, not least through our world leading Environment Act, which includes a legally binding target to halt the decline of nature by 2030. We are committed to meeting this target and will not undermine our obligations to the environment in pursuit of growth.
Earlier this year we published a Nature Recovery Green Paper, setting out proposals to reform our system of protections, including the Habitats Regulations. The Nature Recovery Green Paper consultation closed in May and we are now in the process of analysing responses.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 repeal any environmental protections in the current Parliament.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We have been clear about the importance of environmental protection across the United Kingdom, not least through our world leading Environment Act, which includes a legally binding target to halt the decline of nature by 2030. We are committed to meeting this target and will not undermine our obligations to the environment in pursuit of growth.
Earlier this year we published a Nature Recovery Green Paper, setting out proposals to reform our system of protections, including the Habitats Regulations. The Nature Recovery Green Paper consultation closed in May and we are now in the process of analysing responses.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to strengthen environmental protections.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We have been clear about the importance of environmental protection across the United Kingdom, not least through our world leading Environment Act, which includes a legally binding target to halt the decline of nature by 2030. We are committed to meeting this target and will not undermine our obligations to the environment in pursuit of growth.
Earlier this year we published a Nature Recovery Green Paper, setting out proposals to reform our system of protections, including the Habitats Regulations. The Nature Recovery Green Paper consultation closed in May and we are now in the process of analysing responses.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions relating to consumption.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
All UK domestic and international GHG emissions reduction targets are based on territorial emissions. The UK has driven down territorial emissions by 44% over the past three decades, the fastest reduction of any G7 country and in October 2021 we published our Net Zero Strategy which delivers a comprehensive set of measures to support and capitalise on the UK's transition to net zero by 2050. Nevertheless, measuring consumption-based emissions provides helpful insight and supports policy development, enabling us to keep track of our carbon footprint and informing our efforts to reduce this.
Many of our policies to reduce emissions will help reduce consumption emissions. One example is the Resources and Waste Strategy which sets out steps to improve resource productivity by reducing consumption of raw material. The strong link between material resource efficiency (or resource productivity) and GHG emissions related to consumption, as measured by UK Carbon Footprint, means that measures to improve resource productivity should help reduce our consumption related emissions. The measures in the strategy include reforms to waste collection and packaging, the launch of the Waste Prevention Programme and a commitment to double resource productivity by 2050. Additionally we will continue to monitor levels of raw material consumption (our 'material footprint') and resource productivity via the set of indicators, Monitoring Progress, which was launched under the Strategy.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing levels of both (a) consumption- and (b) territory-based emissions.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process, we report on UK territorial production emissions to an internationally agreed standard. For the purpose of assessing progress towards UK Carbon Budgets, measurement of the country's carbon emissions is on a territorial emissions basis. Although a few countries do publish consumption figures, there is no equivalent internationally agreed methodology for the calculation of, nor the comparison of, consumption emissions. However, we recognise the importance of monitoring the emissions that relate to our consumption, including emissions within the countries we import from. For this reason Defra has for a number of years published the emissions that relate to our total consumption UK Carbon Footprint.
The carbon footprint published by Defra refers to emissions that are associated with the consumption spending of UK residents on goods and services, wherever in the world these emissions arise along the supply chain.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 requiring changes to tyre manufacturing processes on the levels of toxic particles in the environment.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Transport commissioned a three-year research project in February 2021, which aims to understand better the measurement techniques, material properties and control parameters of tyre wear emissions. The project will also assess how the composition of tyres affects the emission of pollutants from tyre wear, with the aim of informing any policy or legislation that may be required to reduce these emissions.
Industrial emissions from tyre manufacturing are controlled through the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2016 and are categorised as either “Part A2” or “Part B” installations. Local Authorities regulate these sites in accordance with the regulations and current guidance in England. This regulatory framework requires industrial facilities to have an environmental permit and they cannot exceed limits on allowable emissions. These regulatory standards may be updated in future to help further reduce emissions from industry.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 take steps to ensure that the UK fashion sector reduces its stake in overseas emissions.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government’s Net Zero Strategy sets out policies and proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet our net zero target by 2050. The fashion and textiles industry is estimated to account for between 4% and 8% of global emissions. More than 70% of these emissions occur during the production of a garment. Emissions of air pollutants from textiles treatment facilities are controlled through environmental permits, using best available techniques (BAT). Operators must not exceed limits on allowable emissions.
The Government's Resources & Waste Strategy for England identified textiles as a priority sector for action. We fund Textiles 2030, a voluntary partnership with industry to reduce the environmental impact of textiles, with signatories covering over 62% of all clothing put on the UK market. This programme is underpinned by ambitious science-based targets, including halving the carbon footprint of new products and reducing the water footprint by 30%, both by 2030. This initiative is driving forward action on design, circular business models and recycling.
We are considering what wider framework of policy measures could best help reduce the environmental footprint of fashion, potentially using a range of powers from our landmark Environment Act 2021.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he will take to work with COP26 partners to reduce emissions from the global fashion industry.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government’s Net Zero Strategy sets out policies and proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet our net zero target by 2050. The fashion and textiles industry is estimated to account for between 4% and 8% of global emissions. More than 70% of these emissions occur during the production of a garment. Emissions of air pollutants from textiles treatment facilities are controlled through environmental permits, using best available techniques (BAT). Operators must not exceed limits on allowable emissions.
The Government's Resources & Waste Strategy for England identified textiles as a priority sector for action. We fund Textiles 2030, a voluntary partnership with industry to reduce the environmental impact of textiles, with signatories covering over 62% of all clothing put on the UK market. This programme is underpinned by ambitious science-based targets, including halving the carbon footprint of new products and reducing the water footprint by 30%, both by 2030. This initiative is driving forward action on design, circular business models and recycling.
We are considering what wider framework of policy measures could best help reduce the environmental footprint of fashion, potentially using a range of powers from our landmark Environment Act 2021.