Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
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 improve the management of fly tipping in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The role of central Government in tackling fly-tipping is to support local action. Across two rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme, we have now awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots; recipients include Stevenage Borough Council who received just over £26,000 to install mobile CCTV and signage to deter perpetrators.
The Prime Minister’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan sets out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who fly-tip. This includes a commitment to significantly raise the upper limit on fixed penalty notices this year, to £1,000 for fly-tipping and £600 for people who give their waste to an unauthorised carrier.
Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, through which we work with a wide range of interested parties, including the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to (a) preserve, (b) extend the sunset date to 2026, (c) revoke or (d) replace the majority of retained EU law relating to the regulation of chemicals.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
HM Government is in the process of analysing all retained EU law. This analysis will enable us to determine what should be preserved as part of domestic law and what should be repealed or amended.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
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 it his policy to ensure a cross government approach on chemicals management which involves a commitment to (a) reducing exposure in the general population and (a) acknowledging the links between chemical exposure in the population and increased cancer risk.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our goal is to protect human health and the environment while enabling economic growth through managing the production, use and disposal of chemicals. We already have robust systems to identify the impact of chemicals, and to regulate them. We are currently developing our approach further to build on the commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to set out our strategy to tackling chemicals of concern and to significantly reduce the levels of harmful chemicals entering the environment. Defra continues to work closely with other government departments, arms-length bodies, and the Devolved Administrations to ensure a joined-up and UK-wide approach.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) plays a key role in protecting against and reducing exposure to chemical and environmental hazards thereby preventing cancer from exposure to chemicals. The primary focus of UKHSA’s work is on hazard characterisation and risk assessment including:
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
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 introduce hazard-based protection measures for reducing exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals; and if he will amend the classification, labelling and packaging regulations to introduce new hazard classes on endocrine disruptors and suspected endocrine disruptors.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The issue of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which have been linked to numerous human health and wildlife impacts, is scientifically complex. There is uncertainty surrounding the effects of EDC exposure from both an environmental and human health perspective, and we are contributing to international efforts to address the evidence gaps. We are considering the evidence available and drawing on a range of expertise with the aim of improving testing and identification of EDCs and assessing measures to further understand and manage the risks they pose.
The identification of intrinsic chemical hazards is a principal requirement of the classification, labelling and packaging regulation (CLP). The hazard classes in CLP cover physical, human health and environmental hazards. Endocrine disrupting properties are not captured by a specific CLP hazard class because they are a result of a mode of action rather than an intrinsic hazardous property. However, chemicals with human health endocrine disrupting properties are effectively covered in CLP by the closely related CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic to reproduction) hazard classes.
The hazard classification of a chemical is often used as a starting point for specific controls or protective measures and is the basis for many regulatory and legislative provisions in the risk management of chemicals. Endocrine disrupting properties are specifically taken into account by the regulatory regimes covering the use of pesticides and biocides, where identification of such properties prompts specific control measures.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether UK authorities routinely monitor all scientific literature for studies that show deleterious effects of hazardous chemicals.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has developed a Prioritisation and Early Warning System (PEWS) for chemicals of emerging concern to ensure consideration of the potential risks of emerging chemicals including to surface waters (both freshwater and saline waters), groundwater and soils. The EA routinely monitors a sub-set of the scientific literature for determining which chemicals of emerging concern we should focus on as part of this work. The system allows the EA to sift and to screen any chemical substance nominated using, where available, hazard data and environmental monitoring data to prioritise whether a substance may be a possible chemical of concern in England.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether UK REACH will seek to maintain alignment with EU Chemicals Regulations (EU REACH) beyond 31 December 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
UK REACH retains the fundamental approach and key principles of EU REACH, ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment. Having our own independent regulatory framework for chemicals allows us to identify the most pressing priorities which best reflect the specific circumstances in GB. The decisions we take are based on the best available evidence, including looking at approaches taken by chemical regimes across the world, including the EU.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
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 (a) farmers and (b) food producers in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency with extreme temperatures.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For some farmers, the hot, dry weather has had an impact on crop growth, yield and quality and has been of concern to growers in the arable and horticulture sectors. The main impacts appear to be on non-irrigated horticulture crops dependent on rainfall and the availability of grass for both grazing and conservation as winter animal feed.
The impacts will vary by region, crop and soil type among other factors. It is still too soon to say with certainty the final impact of the hot and dry conditions on crops.
To support farmers in the immediate term we have instructed the Environment Agency to take a flexible regulatory approach to its water abstraction decisions. Additionally, on 17 August we announced easements on Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship rules allowing farmers to cut or graze areas of land set aside in their agreements. These measures will last until the end of 2022, making it easier for farmers to provide food for livestock.
We continue to keep the situation under close review and have increased engagement with industry to supplement Government analysis with real-time intelligence. This provides the Government with the best possible intelligence on how the sector is coping.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the number of trees planted in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency since 2010.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Forestry Commission publishes statistics on new planting of woodland, and trees outside woodland, in England. For most Government supported new planting of woodland there are accompanying related geospatial data on its location. From these datasets our best estimate is that there were at least 400,000 newly planted trees with government support in woodland in the 12 years 3 months, from 1 April 2010 to 30 June 2022, in the Hitchin and Harpenden constituency.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
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 including rural areas in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency in an extension of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The power to consider areas for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) designation lies with Natural England (NE), which then makes an order to be confirmed by the Secretary of State. NE announced its current designation programme in 2021, which includes considering a variation to extend the boundary of the existing Chilterns AONB.
The Area of Search which is being assessed for potential designation includes an area in the Hitchen and Harpenden Area. Some areas of Hitchin are already included in the current Chilterns AONB.
The designation process will include a detailed assessment of the natural beauty of the area proposed for designation, and the desirability of designating the area.
In its assessment of the proposed extension, Natural England will work collaboratively with local partners to ensure there are good engagement and consultation opportunities during the process including statutory bodies, stakeholder organisations, landowners, farmers and the public.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
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 planning to take to help encourage (a) tree planting, (b) re-wilding and (c) wider planting in rural communities, including in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Our England Trees Action Plan (ETAP), published in May 2021, sets out the long-term, generational vision for trees and forestry to 2050. It recognises the vital contribution trees can make, including to nature recovery, Net Zero, and health and wellbeing.
ETAP details how we will treble tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament, contributing to 30,000 hectares of new trees per year across the UK by 2025. The Plan is supported by the £675 million Nature for Climate Fund.
This includes launching the England Woodland Creation Offer with over £15 million available in this year alone to support woodland creation from as little as 1 hectare, in blocks of 0.1 hectares. The Offer includes funding for natural colonisation, which allows trees to seed and grow naturally next to existing trees.
The Government is continuing to support the creation and enhancement of wilder landscapes as part of our broader approach to nature recovery including, where appropriate, species reintroductions. However, we recognise that as an approach, rewilding is not appropriate in all situations, and is not the only means of delivering the Government’s environmental goals.
Locally we have supported a variety of tree planting and establishment projects including over £25 million for our Woodland Creation Partnerships this year, establishing three new Community Forests with over 1,000 hectares of new woodland being planted across the total 13 Community Forests since 2020, up to £4.4 million available to rural communities through the Local Authority Treescapes Fund, and launched the ground-breaking Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund, which will have a total value of just under £8 million to provide financial support to local authorities to increase their capacity and specialist skills.
The Forestry Commission estimates that there were at least 400,000 newly planted trees with Government support in woodland in the 12 years 3 months from 1 April 2010 to 30 June 2022, in the Hitchin and Harpenden constituency.