Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 merits of including priority grassland habitats in the list of Irreplaceable Habitats for biodiversity net gain.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Irreplaceable habitat includes some of England’s most ecologically valuable terrestrial and intertidal habitats.
The list of irreplaceable habitats in the biodiversity net gain regulations broadly mirrors the non-exhaustive list of examples of irreplaceable habitat in the National Planning Policy Framework. Defra will provide an update on irreplaceable habitat in due course.
In the meantime, we are gathering evidence to inform whether an updated list would offer welcome additional protection to these important habitats, whilst aligning with wider Government objectives for house building and growth.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 include ice age ponds in the list of Irreplaceable Habitats for biodiversity net gain.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Irreplaceable habitat includes some of England’s most ecologically valuable terrestrial and intertidal habitats.
The list of irreplaceable habitats in the biodiversity net gain regulations broadly mirrors the non-exhaustive list of examples of irreplaceable habitat in the National Planning Policy Framework. Defra will provide an update on irreplaceable habitat in due course.
In the meantime, we are gathering evidence to inform whether an updated list would offer welcome additional protection to these important habitats, whilst aligning with wider Government objectives for house building and growth.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish his Department's consultation on a broader definition of irreplaceable habitat.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Irreplaceable habitat includes some of England’s most ecologically valuable terrestrial and intertidal habitats.
The list of irreplaceable habitats in the biodiversity net gain regulations broadly mirrors the non-exhaustive list of examples of irreplaceable habitat in the National Planning Policy Framework. Defra will provide an update on irreplaceable habitat in due course.
In the meantime, we are gathering evidence to inform whether an updated list would offer welcome additional protection to these important habitats, whilst aligning with wider Government objectives for house building and growth.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to (a) end funding for the Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement for oil and gas companies and (b) redirect any savings to international climate finance.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement (RFES) maintains the time value of oil and gas exploration, appraisal and development costs. This recognises that oil and gas projects have high costs before production begins, but no production income to set these costs against. By maintaining the time value of these costs when they are used against production income in future years, RFES supports investment in the sector by ensuring companies receive an appropriate deduction for their expenditure. The government currently has no plans to change this aspect of the tax system, but keeps all of its taxes under review as a matter of course.
This Government is engaged in international discussions regarding ways to mobilise finance at the scale needed to respond to the climate crisis. This includes mobilising funding from non-traditional donors, the private sector, philanthropies and through innovative financing.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of joining the School Meals Coalition.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is assessing the latest evidence on the impact of school feeding interventions on nutrition, education and social protection and continues to track developments in the evidence base for school feeding interventions. We note, for example, the World Bank's Investment Framework for Nutrition from October 2024 which states that investing in the first 1000 days of a child's life is more effective and cost-effective for preventing and reducing malnutrition. We are not a member of the School Meals Coalition but actively engage in global dialogue on school feeding through other processes, such as the World Food Programme's Executive Board, the G7 and the G20.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 review the issuing of licenses to export endangered European eels.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The international trade in eels is regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Because the European eel is critically endangered, any international movements are subject to rigorous scrutiny, including through assessments of legal acquisition and non-detriment. The UK’s approach to international trade of any endangered species is kept under constant review to ensure legality, sustainability, and alignment with global conservation efforts.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions of the UK/Colombia: Bilateral Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments on the (a) natural environment and (b) rights of indigenous peoples.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the Hon. Member for North Herefordshire to my response to Question 12968 on 12th November 2024.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the standard of accommodation provided to seasonal agricultural workers on UK farms in line with the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government appreciates the importance of all seasonal workers living in safe accommodation.
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) provides a framework for identifying hazardous condition in residential premises. Local authorities in England and Wales have a duty to keep the housing conditions in their area under review and have enforcement powers if they identify a hazard through an HHSRS assessment. This applies to accommodation for seasonal agricultural workers that is within scope of the HHSRS. However, as the HHSRS is a system designed for buildings, it does not apply to caravans or other non-building accommodation types.
Guidance for sponsors of seasonal agricultural workers on a Seasonal Worker visa, which can be found on gov.uk here, is also issued. It sets a requirement that scheme operators must ensure that safe and hygienic accommodation is in place, that complies with all relevant UK laws.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with local authorities to ensure that tied accommodation provided to seasonal agricultural workers meets the Housing Health and Safety Rating System standards.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government appreciates the importance of all seasonal workers living in safe accommodation.
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) provides a framework for identifying hazardous condition in residential premises. Local authorities in England and Wales have a duty to keep the housing conditions in their area under review and have enforcement powers if they identify a hazard through an HHSRS assessment. This applies to accommodation for seasonal agricultural workers that is within scope of the HHSRS. However, as the HHSRS is a system designed for buildings, it does not apply to caravans or other non-building accommodation types.
Guidance for sponsors of seasonal agricultural workers on a Seasonal Worker visa, which can be found on gov.uk here, is also issued. It sets a requirement that scheme operators must ensure that safe and hygienic accommodation is in place, that complies with all relevant UK laws.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the amount of social housing available for families in need of housing support who need four or more bedrooms.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Data is collected on the number of households on local authority housing registers requiring three or more bedrooms. This stood at 69,434 as of 31 March 2024. Data on households requiring four or more bedrooms is not collected but will be a subset of this number (Source: Section C, Local Authority Housing Statistics 2023-24. Please note the data in the table covers both general needs and supported housing lettings).
In 2023/24 there were 41,159 new general needs social housing lettings with three or more bedrooms, of which 4,163 were lettings with 4 or more bedrooms. (Source: Table 2c (Social_housing_lettings_in_England_tenancies_summary_tables_April_2023_to_March_2024.ods. Please note the data in the table only covers general need lettings as the number of bedrooms is not collected for supported housing lettings).