Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department had with the Department for Business and Trade during the negotiation of accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership; and what assessment her Department has made of the (a) implications for her policies and (b) potential impact on exports of differing standards of pesticide use in states party to that Agreement.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Department for Business and Trade (DBT) officials worked closely together to deliver the successful negotiation of the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The Impact Assessment relating to the UK’s accession to the CPTPP agreement is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cptpp-impact-assessment. It sets out the Government’s assessment of the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the agreement.
The independent Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) will also produce a report by 30 November on whether the UK’s accession to the CPTPP agreement is consistent with the maintenance of statutory protections in relation to animal and plant health and life, animal welfare and the environment. Informed by the TAC’s conclusions and advice from the Food Standard Agency and Food Standards Scotland, the Government will then lay its own report under section 42 of the Agriculture Act 2020.
Finally, the Hon. Member asks about the potential impact on exports to the UK of differing standards of pesticide use in states party to the CPTPP Agreement. The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. Decisions on these standards will remain a matter for the UK and will be made separately from any trade agreements. Nothing in the CPTPP agreement creates new permissions for imports. All agri-food products must comply with the UK’s import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's authored article entitled What the PM’s new approach to Net Zero means for you, published 20 September 2023, whether he had held discussions with Cabinet colleagues on potential proposals for each household to receive seven bins for domestic waste; and whether he planned to introduce legislative proposals to implement such a policy before 20 September 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
The Environment Act as it stands would require local authorities to collect six recyclable waste streams (glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, food waste and garden waste) separately from residual (non-recyclable) waste, and separately from each other unless there was a technical, economic or environmental exception to allow waste streams to be collected together. In practice this could sometimes lead to a situation where households would need to sort their waste into multiple different containers.
The new Simpler Recycling policy, which will shortly be announced, will ensure that local authorities retain the flexibility to collect the recyclable waste streams in the most appropriate way for their residents.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent advice the Government received from Natural England on Government policy on problem nutrients.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to her PQ 198699 of 21 September 2023.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to require large food businesses to publicly report on their levels of food waste.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government committed to consulting on options to improve reporting of food waste volumes by large businesses in England. As set out in our published response to the consultation, the Government has decided to enhance the voluntary approach to food waste reporting. Around a third of large food businesses already provide evidence to WRAP on their food waste and we propose to increase this number.
A regulatory approach has greater total costs to businesses and the public sector than the voluntary approach and is not suitable at this time, when any additional costs may be passed on to consumers.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the proportion of farmers that are engaged with rewilding.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We do not keep information on “rewilding” which is a term with a wide range of interpretations and definitions. We are supporting farmers to improve the environmental sustainability of their business through Environmental Land Management. Those schemes are designed so that farmers can choose what to do with their land.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to issue pet passports that are valid for the entire pet's life.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Under EU rules, pet owners from Great Britain are required to use an Animal Health Certificate for travel to the European Union. We are continuing to seek agreement from the European Commission on awarding Great Britain 'Part 1’ listed status. Achieving this would allow pet owners and assistance dog users to use pet passports when travelling to the EU.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 tackle levels of debt in the water industry.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are allowed to raise debt to fund the delivery of the services, and it is for companies to decide their finance structure. This is normal practice across all parts of the private sector.
Debt levels significantly increased in the 2000s as it was a cheaper way to raise finance. At sensible levels, debt can be an appropriate way to fund investment for essential infrastructure over the longer term, avoiding sharp increases in customer bills in the immediate term.
However, both Government and Ofwat recognise that levels of debt at some companies in the sector are too high. There are measures in place through ring fenced license conditions to improve the financial resilience of the sector and to protect customers. These were introduced in 2007 and were strengthened this year, following new licence modification powers that this Government gave to Ofwat via the Environment Act 2021.
As part of the new tougher measures, Ofwat now has additional powers to stop water companies making dividend payments earlier if a company's financial resilience is at risk, and has set a requirement for stronger reporting and governance of companies’ credit ratings.
Ofwat has encouraged water companies to de-gear and the average gearing level across the sector fell by 4% from 2020 to 2021.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to freeze water bills.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Customer bill levels have remained stable in real terms over the last two decades. The average household bill is £448 in 2023-24, that is £1.23 a day for high quality drinking water supplied to homes and sewage being removed.
Ofwat, as the independent economic regulator, sets the bill level. Ofwat must ensure that water companies are meeting government priorities and legal obligations and that they balance the interests of the consumers too, including affordability.
Government is very mindful that consumers are concerned about their bills and we carefully assess bill impacts through our policy development process. For example, our Storm Overflows Plan balances ambition and pace to clean up our water and protect the environment with impact on consumer bills. Our Plan will see £56 billion capital investment by 2050, with an estimated £12 average increase in customer water bills between 2025 and 2030. We ruled out options adding £122 to household bills per year for the same period.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on proposals to increase the number of domestic recycling bins.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We continue to engage with key stakeholders including the Local Government Association and District Councils Network.
Through powers in the Environment Act, local authorities will be required to collect the same set of recyclable waste streams for recycling, but they will be able to decide how they deliver these commitments, in line with the legislation and any guidance. This could mean applying an exception, as allowed within the legislation, to collect some, or all the dry recyclable waste streams together in the same bag or bin.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of water levels in reservoirs to prevent water shortages.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) receive regular data on reservoir levels from water companies. They use this information to report the water situation which is published each month. The information is used in operational, drought management and water planning activities.
Public water supply reservoir storage for England is at 92% of total capacity (as of 16 May) compared to 88% this time last year. EA have assessed the water company’s public water supply projections for this summer and autumn if there was a repeat of the hot, dry conditions experienced in 2022. Overall, water levels are improved, but ongoing action will remain vital for securing our water supply into the future. The EA continue to monitor water availability and work with National Drought Group members to maintain operational planning and ensure the water needs of the public, other water users and the environment are balanced.
Defra recently published its Plan for Water which set out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply. The Plan sets out our commitment to a twin track approach to improving water resilience, with action to reduce water company leaks alongside investing in new supply infrastructure. On leakage, the Plan sets out a trajectory for water companies to reduce leakage, with targets of 20% by 2027 and 30% by 2032. The industry has committed to reducing leakage by 50% by 2050.
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide clean and reliable water to customers. To fulfil this duty there are statutory requirements to consult, publish and maintain Water Resources Management Plans, to balance water supply and demand at least twenty-five years into the future, and to develop drought plans setting out the actions taken to maintain secure supplies during drought events.
In addition to their Water Resources Management Plans, water companies are also using the £469 million made available by Ofwat in the current Price Review period (2019-2024) to investigate strategic water resources options, that are required to improve the resilience of England’s water supplies. In April 2023, Ofwat announced that water companies are bringing forward £1.6bn for new infrastructure, starting in the next two years, aimed at improving our water resilience and secure water supplies in the long term.