Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
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 protect chalk streams.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.
Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our holistic programme of reforms for the water sector.
Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. In 2024/2025, there are over 45 chalk stream projects receiving funding from the Government's Water Environment Improvement Fund, each leveraging private investment.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
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 ensure the continuation of Mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain for new developments.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) has recently passed the one year anniversary since it went live for most major development in England, I can confirm that this Government is fully committed to making BNG work effectively to protect our natural world.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
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 encourage (a) recycling, (b) composting organic waste and (c) chemically recycling film plastic; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of levying a charge on producers of film plastic to fund its recycling.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has confirmed its commitment to delivering the Collection and Packaging Reforms to the announced timelines, subject to spending review. The reforms will mean that people across England will be able to recycle the same materials, whether at home, work or school. This will include a weekly food waste collection for every household and, from March 2027, kerbside collections of plastic film packaging. Separately, packaging Extended Producer Responsibility will place a charge on all household packaging that is placed on the market, including plastic film, to cover the local authority costs of its collection, treatment and disposal.
Together with mechanical recycling, chemical recycling technologies play a role in enabling the transition towards a circular economy. The government is aware that some stakeholders with an interest in chemically recycling plastic film are keen that a mass balance approach is used to calculate chemically recycled content in plastic packaging for the purposes of the Plastic Packaging Tax. His Majesty’s Treasury consulted on the incorporating of mass balance into the Plastic Packaging Tax in October 2023 and are preparing to publish their response before the end of the year.