Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of harmful pesticides on the number of bees in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of pesticides on Hertfordshire’s bee population.
Defra funds a monitoring programme providing information about the concentrations of different pesticides in honey collected from beehives across England, and the subsequent risk to honeybees.
Defra partly funds the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) which generates systematic data on the abundance of bees and other flower-visiting insects at a national scale. Data from PoMS insect surveys contributes to providing an invaluable resource from which to measure trends in pollinator populations and target conservation efforts.
England biodiversity indicators provide data about the relative abundance of wild bees.
These schemes collect data from around the country and have been designed to ensure regional representation, but do not allow assessment of the impact of pesticides on bee populations locally.
Pesticides are only authorised following a thorough scientific risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met. This includes an evaluation of the effect on bees.
Use of the neonicotinoid pesticide Cruiser SB is not allowed on sugar beet in England in 2025 as an application for its emergency use was not approved. This decision underlines the Government’s commitment to protecting pollinators and the wider environment.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
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 had discussions with the Scottish Government on the potential impact of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 on the number of walkers in Scotland.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, the Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Scottish Government on the potential impact of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 on the number of walkers in Scotland.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of the public's right to roam on levels of (a) mental health, (b) obesity and (c) stress.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. We will be working across Government departments to achieve this, including with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Defra is already working closely with DHSC, alongside other partners, in the delivery of the Green Social Prescribing programme which directly examines the impact of increased use of nature-based interventions and activities on participants’ health and wellbeing. The first phase of the programme ran from October 2020 - March 2023, achieving around 8,500 referrals and demonstrating statistically significant improvements in participants’ mental health.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
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 extend the right to roam.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, and which boost public health and wellbeing, but too many across the country are left without access to the great outdoors. That is why the last Labour Government expanded public access by introducing the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provided the public a right of access to large areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. We will be reviewing the maps of this open access land ahead of the statutory deadline of 1 January 2031, to ensure that the public have clear information which can help them to access this land.
The Government has decided to repeal the cut-off date which will save hundreds of miles of unregistered historic rights of way from the threat of extinguishment in 2031 ensuring that they can continue to be enjoyed by the public for years to come.
We are continuing to increase access to nature for families to enjoy, for example through our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new National River Walks, plant three new National Forests, and empower communities to create new parks and green spaces in their communities with a new Community Right to Buy.
We will announce further details on our plans for improving access to nature in due course.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
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 Affinity Water's recent price changes on the financial security of residents in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As the independent economic regulator, Ofwat independently scrutinises water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030.
The Government is committed to taking action to address water poverty and help vulnerable customers with their water bills. All water companies, including Affinity Water, have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, including measures such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support.
Furthermore, we expect companies to hold themselves accountable for their public commitment to end water poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure appropriate measures are taken to this end.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
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 estimate of the number of sewage discharges into watercourses there have been in Hemel Hempstead constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including Thames Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. Furthermore, after writing to Ofwat, the Secretary of State has secured agreement that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.
The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector.
I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July, HCWS3.
The Environment Agency will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available here.