Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 6 September 2024 to Question 2316 on Equality, whether the socio-economic duty will apply to local authority decisions on the configuration of household waste and recycling collections.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities must comply with all relevant Equalities Act duties and in England this will include the socio-economic duty in due course.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to implement the policies set out in Annex A of the Government response to the consultation on Consistency in household and business recycling in England, updated on 21 November 2023.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
By default, the primary legislation requires that the recyclable waste streams are collected in separate containers, unless this is technically or economically impracticable, or provides no significant environmental benefit. Regarding exemptions that were announced in the Simpler Recycling Government response in October 2023 and May 2024: further regulations would be required to implement these exemptions. Ministers are reviewing these policies; we hope to provide further certainty and clarity to stakeholders as soon as possible.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to limit the number of bins into which councils require householders to separate their rubbish.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to delivering the Collection and Packaging Reforms to the announced timelines, including the Simpler Recycling policy in England, subject to spending review outcomes. Ministers are reviewing final policy positions relating to Simpler Recycling; we hope to provide further certainty and clarity to stakeholders as soon as possible.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) banning and (b) further regulating wood burning stoves in domestic dwellings.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Domestic wood burning stoves make a significant contribution to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions nationally, with implications for the health of everyone exposed to smoke. Defra is currently considering options for action to reduce the impact of wood burning stoves on people’s health and to meet our statutory targets for this pollutant.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 30 August 2024 to Question 1516 on Housing: Gardens, what the timetable is for the review of the effectiveness of all available options to manage unplanned increases in impermeable or hard surfaces and their costs and benefits.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is considering how best to take forward the review of the effectiveness of all available options to manage unplanned increases in impermeable or hard surfaces.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's timetable is for implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood & Water Management Act 2010; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing thresholds at which those measures would be applied to help reduce the potential impact on small-scale developers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is considering how best to implement its ambitions on sustainable drainage.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 potential impact of her policies on (a) the mitigation credit market and (b) investor confidence in nature markets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This government was elected on a mandate to get Britain building again, alongside protecting and restoring the natural environment. We are determined to transform the system to ensure a win-win for people and nature.
The existing nutrient mitigation market plays an essential role in enabling housing to go ahead in areas affected by nutrient neutrality without making pollution worse. The Government is continuing to support mitigation provision through Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund, which work with and alongside private sector providers.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department will disapply the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A healthy natural environment is critical to a strong economy. This government is committed to delivering for nature and will work with stakeholders, including nature conservation organisations, to develop an approach that both restores nature and enables economic growth. We will only legislate where we can confirm to Parliament that the steps we are taking will deliver positive environmental outcomes.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 support local authorities (a) manage and (b) care for neglected horses that have been left to fly-graze.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Control of Horses Act 2015 provides powers for landowners, land occupiers and local authorities to deal with horses placed unlawfully on any land, public or private (including equine abandonments). The 2015 Act allows for action to be taken quickly where horses are placed on land without the land-owner’s permission. If no owner can be identified within four working days, options include rehoming, either privately or via charities, or offering the horses for sale.
Local authorities are responsible for compliance with the legislation and its enforcement. Enforcement will vary according to location, depending on local priorities. We therefore encourage all interested parties to work together at local level to use the available powers to address the problem of abandoned horses.
The Government considers that the relevant legislation and guidance in place provides the right safeguards and powers in respect of protecting equine welfare. We remain committed to working with enforcement agencies and other interested parties to ensure issues of horse abandonments or neglect are effectively addressed.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 help ensure that people who neglect their horses are prosecuted.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 amends the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) to provide one of the toughest sanctions in Europe and strengthens the UK's position as a global leader on animal welfare. The 2006 Act, as amended in 2021, now means a maximum sentence of five years and/or an unlimited fine will apply to the most serious animal cruelty offences, including causing unnecessary suffering, and is a significant step forward in improving animal welfare.
Local authorities have powers under the 2006 Act to act where a horse is suspected to be suffering on any land, public or private. In such circumstances, the local authority may enter the land and take control of the animal.