Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - Devizes)
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 septic tanks on the cleanliness of rivers; and if he will make it his policy to ban septic tanks (a) in the catchment areas of chalk streams and (b) near other watercourses.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Large numbers of properties in rural areas of England rely on on-site water treatment systems as they are not connected to mains sewerage systems. Septic tanks, the most common on-site sewage treatment systems in these areas, are regulated to ensure they are maintained properly and do not cause pollution. Through our long-term Plan for Water, the Government is committed to delivering a clean water environment for people and nature, including the impact of private sewerage systems on chalk streams. This aligns with our broader commitment to review private sewage discharges regulation to manage environmental risk.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - Devizes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, further to the Answer of 27 March 2023 to Question 170767, what plans he has to make available financial support for increasing public access to the countryside under Environmental Land Management schemes.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are making further changes to our Environmental Land Management schemes in 2024 to increase support for farmers and foresters to put new permissive access in place. This gives more choice about how farmers and foresters provide access across their land and will help more people safely access the countryside. The new permissive access actions we are introducing are as follows:
Action: | Duration | Payment Rate | Summary Description |
Open Access | 5 years | £92 per hectare | Provide and maintain permissive open access to the public on areas of land |
Footpath Access | 5 years | £77 per 100m | Provide and maintain new permissive footpaths to the public |
Bridleways and cycle path access | 5 years | £158 per 100m | Provide and maintain new permissive bridleways and cycle paths |
Access for people with reduced mobility | 5 years | £221 per 100m | Provide and maintain new permissive access for people with reduced mobility |
Upgrading Countryside and Rights of Way for cyclists and horse riders | 5 years | £158 per 100m | Provide and maintain access alongside existing rights of way for cyclists and horse riders |
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - Devizes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2023 to Question 190527 on Deposit Return Schemes: Glass, how many representations her Department received from businesses against the inclusion of glass in the deposit return scheme for England and Northern Ireland; and from whom.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Businesses have been clear that adding glass to a deposit return scheme will add fundamental complexity for our pubs and restaurants, increase burdens on small businesses, whilst creating greater inconvenience for consumers.
Among other considerations, the UK Government took into account strong representations made by relevant businesses, including distillers and the hospitality sector.
Concerns raised included:
More broadly, the additional cost and complexity imposed on the scheme if glass were to be included.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - Devizes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) support and (b) require landowners to (i) undertake repairs to (A) footpaths, (B) stiles, (C) gates and (D) other rights of way and (ii) improve public access to the countryside under Environmental Land Management schemes.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports the health and wellbeing benefits that access to the countryside can bring, including improving physical and mental health and supporting local communities and economies.
Landowners have a statutory duty to keep public rights of way in good working order and therefore this is not covered by Environmental Land Management Schemes, unless they choose to upgrade to provide additional access, e.g. from a stile to a gate via under Countryside Stewardship (option AC1).
Under Countryside Stewardship, we currently pay for the following actions to help improve public access to the countryside:
Public access is also supported by our Landscape Recovery scheme, with projects being assessed for the benefits they will deliver for a wide range of objectives. Under the England Woodland Creation Offer, higher payments are available if woodland is located close to settlements within the 40% most deprived areas in England, or if it will provide new long-term permissive access for recreation.
Additionally, through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, we provide funding to support and improve Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. We pay for projects providing opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage, including permissive access.
We do want to offer further support for access to our countryside, and so under our Environmental Land Management Schemes we are also now exploring how we can pay for: