Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 implications for his policies of the Climate Change Committee’s report entitled Investment for a well-adapted UK, published on 1 February 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) was published in July 2023 and sets out how we are investing billions in projects to improve the UK’s climate resilience. This includes £5.2bn of investment over six years in flood and coastal erosion schemes in England, and £2.4bn per annum until the end of this current Parliament on the Farming and Countryside Programme which supports and helps to drive practices that embed greater climate adaptation in England's agriculture. Where government has concerns about the level of investment in resilience we have acted swiftly. For example, through the recent Plan for Water we have accelerated £2.2bn of investment in measures to secure a resilient, clean and plentiful supply of water now and in the future.
The Government has also committed to support the flow of private finance into adaptation through the government’s 2023 Green Finance Strategy ‘Mobilising Green Investment’. This includes working with private sector partners to improve the approach to climate resilience assessment and disclosure, and supporting private and public collaboration to overcome barriers to investment and assist in the functioning of new markets.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report by Women's Aid entitled Domestic Abuse Report 2024, The Annual Audit, published in February 2024; and whether his Department is taking steps to increase funding for the specialist domestic abuse sector.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises the vital role of local domestic abuse organisations in supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse, as highlighted by the Women’s Aid 2024 Annual Report.
The Government is committed to the delivery of safe accommodation with support for victims of domestic abuse and their children who need to flee their homes and has placed a duty on councils to provide safe accommodation services to victims under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
Since 2021, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has committed over £507 million, including £129.7 million in 2024/25, to councils across England to fund this duty. Funding from April 2025 will be determined at the next Spending Review.
I work closely with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, the Local Government Association, and the domestic abuse sector, including Women’s Aid, through a National Expert Steering Group on safe accommodation to ensure that councils have the support they need to deliver their duty requirements. DLUHC is also working closely with Women’s Aid, the specialist ‘by and for’ sector and local authorities to explore ways to improve the commissioning of 'by and for' services.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 coordinate a public engagement programme on adaptation including (a) the risks posed by climate change and (b) actions that individuals can take.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to hearing and learning from the views of different groups on how climate change impacts them, and how it can improve policies and programmes accordingly. The third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) sets out the actions we will take across Government to manage the risks of climate change in the period to 2028. We are taking a dynamic approach to managing the delivery of NAP3, to learn from what works and to continue to develop our response based on the science and developing climate projections. This will be informed by engagement with stakeholders.
A public dialogue, overseen by Defra and in partnership with UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI’s) Sciencewise Programme, Ipsos and the University of Leeds, explored the public’s perspectives on climate adaptation and how they think the government, businesses and civil society should address it. 120 members of the public took part in four locations across England. The report of this project was published in July 2023 on the Sciencewise website. It can be accessed at: https://sciencewise.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Climate-Adaptation-Dialogue-Report.pdf.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his Qatari counterpart on the case of Manuel Guerrero; and what steps he is taking to ensure Mr Guerrero has access to medical treatment.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Supporting the welfare of British nationals detained overseas is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and where there are concerns that an individual's needs are not being met, with their consent, we will raise this with the relevant authorities. Without consent, we are unable to provide comment on consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 tackle methane emissions from organic waste through (a) the UNFCCC and (b) other international fora.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Tackling methane emissions is one of the quickest and most cost-effective tools to limit global temperate rising to 1.5 degrees. The Government welcomes that this was a priority at COP28 and was pleased to see more countries joining the Global Methane Pledge, to collectively reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels, including across the waste, energy, and agriculture sectors.
We also recognise there is a need to support Governments and industry internationally to take tangible steps to identify and reduce methane emissions. This is why the UK made a £2 million contribution to the Methane Finance Sprint at COP, to help developing countries tackle methane emissions from their energy sectors.
The Government welcomes opportunities to engage internationally on methane emissions, including on measuring, reporting, and verifying emissions, as well as sharing lessons learnt on cost-effective measures to tackle methane emissions across sectors.
In the UK, overall greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector have decreased by 74% since 1990. This is mostly due to the implementation of methane recovery systems at UK landfill sites, increasing landfill methane capture rates, and reductions in the amount of biodegradable waste disposed of at landfill sites. In 2022, the waste sector accounted for 4.6% of total UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions, with landfill methane emissions responsible for 80% of the sector’s emissions.
We are committed to tackling these remaining emissions and are exploring options for the near elimination of municipal biodegradable waste being sent to landfill in England from 2028, in line with the commitment in the Net Zero Strategy. We issued a call for evidence on 26 May 2023 to support detailed policy development. A Government Response to this call for evidence and further information will be published in due course.
We are undertaking research to quantify site-specific methane emissions from landfill and update our understanding of residual (non-recyclable) waste composition. Both of these projects will support efforts to further reduce methane emissions from landfill sites and report our emissions in line with UNFCCC guidelines.
We are also exploring ways to ease the environmental impact of legacy landfills, in line with a commitment in our Resources and Waste Strategy, through new approaches to landfill aftercare.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2024 to Question 15265 on Shell: Nigeria, whether her Department has raised the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project during trade negotiations with Nigeria.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project was not part of the discussions with the Federal Government of Nigeria, when agreeing the UK-Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP). The ETIP is a forward-looking and non-legally binding arrangement, which aims to cover issues both countries wish to work on, to resolve non-tariff market access barriers, and to boost mutual trade and investment.
However, the UK encourages a coordinated effort between the Nigerian Government, oil and gas companies, and communities to bring an end to all forms of oil contamination in Nigeria.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16084 on L3Harris: Export Controls, what the nature of his Department's assessments are of Israel's (a) capability and (b) commitment to International Humanitarian Law.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have previously assessed that Israel is committed and capable of complying with International Humanitarian Law. We regularly review our assessment.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timeframe is for publishing the terms of reference for the cross-government delivery board on the (a) 25-year environment plan and (b) environmental improvement plan.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The cross-Government 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP) Board was established in December 2020. It is responsible for overseeing, coordinating and driving forward action to implement the 25YEP, and associated requirements under the Environment Act 2021. It is the central authority for cross-Government oversight, coordination and action towards the targets, outcomes and commitments of the plan across Government.
The 25 YEP Board is part of wider governance and assurance that includes Defra and cross-Government management of outcomes.
There are no current plans to publish the Terms of Reference.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of homes for social rent that will be delivered through the Affordable Homes Programme between 2021 and 2026.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
The Levelling Up White Paper committed to increasing the supply of social rented homes and a large number of the new homes delivered through our Affordable Homes Programme will be for social rent.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will commission research on the potential (a) social, (b) economic and (c) environmental merits of introducing targeted Government funding to (i) reduce the number of long-term empty homes, (ii) meet national net zero objectives and (iii) increase the supply of social housing.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government has a range of policy and funding commitments across social housing, net zero and long-term empty homes. Details of these are available on gov.uk and include the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme and the recently expanded Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme 2020. The Department’s empty homes policy. I also refer the Hon Member to answer given to Question UIN 197506 on 12 September 2023.
On net zero, the Government has implemented a number of measures to meet its net zero objectives for housing, including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. Details of the Future Homes Standard consultation, closing on 27 March 2024, can be found at the following link.