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Written Question
Landfill: Safety
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency has made a recent assessment of the safety of historic landfill sites that are in close proximity to urban areas.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local Authorities have the statutory duty to inspect their Areas to identify contaminated land (including historic landfills and non-permitted sites) in accordance with a written inspection strategy which they must publish and maintain.

The Environment Agency has responsibility to require those responsible to remediate historic landfills and non-permitted sites if they have been determined as contaminated land and designated as a ‘special site’ by the local authority under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Since 2000, 54 sites have been designated as special sites including 13 historic landfills Contaminated Land Special Sites - data.gov.uk


Written Question
Landfill: Regulation
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

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 effectiveness of the regulation of landfill sites.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The vast majority of landfill sites do not cause problems and the regulatory framework serves them and their local communities well. Where poor performance does occur the Environment Agency has a range of powers to bring sites back into compliance and, where necessary, to take enforcement action against operators.


Written Question
Zane Gbangbola
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

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 opening an independent public inquiry into the death of Zane Gbangbola during flooding in 2014.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Surrey Senior Coroner has already carried out a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Zane Gbangbola’s death, taking into account a considerable amount of evidence.  The Coroner, as an independent judicial office holder, drew his own conclusions based on this evidence.

If there is a belief that the evidence was not considered properly during the original inquest, or that there is new evidence available, the correct process is for an application to be made to the Attorney General asking her to apply to the High Court to quash the inquest and order a fresh investigation. The High Court would take this course of action if it believed that it would be in the interests of justice.

I believe that this remains the proper process to follow. An assessment of the merits of an inquiry should be made at the appropriate time if, and when, the legal processes have been exhausted.


Written Question
Food: Coronavirus
Thursday 26th March 2020

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that people that are (a) elderly, (b) vulnerable and (c) required to self-isolate receive food deliveries.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

We are working closely across Government, with representatives of the food supply chain and with local authorities and charities to ensure that people who need to stay at home will have continued access to food.

To help supermarkets, the Government has already introduced new measures to keep food supply flowing. We have temporarily relaxed elements of competition law to enable supermarkets to work more closely together to ensure people can access the products they need. Food retailers will now be able to share data on their stock levels, cooperate to keep stores open and share staff, distribution depots and delivery vehicles. This will help keep shops open and staffed and better able to meet high demand. Guidance has been issued to local authorities to show flexibility to allow extended delivery hours to supermarkets to ensure shelves can be replenished more quickly. The Transport Secretary has also announced a temporary and limited relaxation of the drivers’ hours rules so that more goods can be delivered to every store every day. We welcome the actions that industry is taking, including hiring more staff, including prioritising delivery slots for those that need them most.

The Government is working to ensure that up to 1.5 million people in England identified by the NHS as being at higher risk of severe illness if they contract Coronavirus will have access to the food they need. A new Local Support System will make sure those individuals self-isolating at home and who are without a support network of friends and family will receive basic groceries. The Government is working with a partnership of the groceries industry, local government, local resilience forums and emergency partners, and voluntary groups, to ensure that essential items can start to be delivered as soon as possible to those who need it.


Written Question
Food: Sales
Monday 23rd March 2020

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance he has issued to businesses on preventing members of the public from stockpiling (a) food and (b) other essential products.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. Our retailers already have highly resilient supply chains and they are working around the clock to ensure people have the food and products they need. Industry is adapting quickly to any changes in demands, and food supply into and across the UK is resilient.

The Secretary of State is in regular dialogue with industry, including the British Retail Consortium and supermarket chief executives to discuss any additional support the Government can provide. To help supermarkets respond to this unprecedented demand we have already introduced new measures to keep food supply flowing. We have issued guidance to local authorities to allow extended delivery hours to supermarkets so that shelves can be filled up quicker, and we have implemented extensions to drivers’ hours.

We fully recognise the additional pressures on our food supply chain as a result of recent events. The UK’s major supermarkets have last weekend issued a statement to encourage everyone to shop as they normally would and pull together to support those staying at home.

We will continue to work closely with the industry over the coming days and months.


Written Question
Air Pollution
Tuesday 22nd January 2019

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department provides to local authorities to improve air quality.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

Local authorities already have responsibilities and many powers to monitor and reduce air pollution. Local authorities have been able to apply for grants from the Clean Air Fund. Recognising that there are still local authorities which are in breach of statutory limits on roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations, the UK government allocated £495 million of funding to support local authorities in its 2017 plan. This is part of the £3.5 billion investment into air quality and cleaner transport which has supported local authorities, including in London.


Written Question
Air Pollution
Tuesday 22nd January 2019

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

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 reduce the level of air pollution in (a) the UK (b) London and (c) Lewisham West & Penge constituency.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

Air pollution is reducing in the UK, as set out in the annual National Statistics report at the following URL:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics

There are 170 national monitoring stations in the UK, of which 16 stations are in London and 1 in Lewisham West and Penge constituency. Near real-time measurements from these sites and further data tools can be found on the UK-AIR website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/).

In July 2017 we published the UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations, setting out how we will achieve compliance in the shortest possible time, supported by a £3.5 billion investment in air quality and cleaner transport.

On 14 January 2019 we announced our world leading Clean Air Strategy. The Strategy focuses on the five most damaging air pollutants: ammonia, fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, non-methane volatile organic compounds, and includes new and ambitious goals, legislation, investment and policies which will help us to clean up our air faster and more effectively.

Measurements at stations in London on the national monitoring network show a general long-term reduction in air pollution. The London Boroughs also carry out local air quality monitoring as part of the Local Air Quality Management process and produce annual reports on the status of air quality within the Borough area. The Mayor is responsible for air quality in the capital and has reserve powers under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to reflect this. These powers enable the Mayor to take a broad range of actions, particularly in relation to transport.


Written Question
Air Pollution
Tuesday 22nd January 2019

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

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 trends in the level of air pollution in (a) the UK, (b) London and (c) Lewisham West & Penge constituency.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

Air pollution is reducing in the UK, as set out in the annual National Statistics report at the following URL:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics

There are 170 national monitoring stations in the UK, of which 16 stations are in London and 1 in Lewisham West and Penge constituency. Near real-time measurements from these sites and further data tools can be found on the UK-AIR website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/).

In July 2017 we published the UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations, setting out how we will achieve compliance in the shortest possible time, supported by a £3.5 billion investment in air quality and cleaner transport.

On 14 January 2019 we announced our world leading Clean Air Strategy. The Strategy focuses on the five most damaging air pollutants: ammonia, fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, non-methane volatile organic compounds, and includes new and ambitious goals, legislation, investment and policies which will help us to clean up our air faster and more effectively.

Measurements at stations in London on the national monitoring network show a general long-term reduction in air pollution. The London Boroughs also carry out local air quality monitoring as part of the Local Air Quality Management process and produce annual reports on the status of air quality within the Borough area. The Mayor is responsible for air quality in the capital and has reserve powers under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to reflect this. These powers enable the Mayor to take a broad range of actions, particularly in relation to transport.


Written Question
Air Pollution: Playgrounds and Schools
Tuesday 22nd January 2019

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

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 of the potential merits of introducing traffic exclusion zones near (a) schools, (b) nurseries and (c) playgrounds to help reduce children’s exposure to exhaust fumes.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

Local authorities and the Mayor for London already have powers regarding traffic and roads. Their local knowledge and interaction with the communities that they serve mean that they are better able to know the issues on ground in detail, and the solutions that may be necessary or appropriate to the locality.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs sets out the national policy framework for tackling harmful air pollution.


Written Question
Air Pollution
Tuesday 22nd January 2019

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

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 effect of air pollution on the (a) short-term and (b) long-term of (i) public health and (ii) the level of non-communicable disease mortality.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

Long-term exposure to air pollution reduces life expectancy by increasing deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory conditions and from lung cancer.

Short term peaks in air pollution are also associated with a range of adverse health effects including exacerbation of asthma, effects on lung function as well as increases in daily mortality and hospital admissions (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comeap-quantification-of-mortality-and-hospital-admissions-associated-with-ground-level-ozone).

Defra’s Daily Air Quality Index (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/air-pollution/daqi) assists in understanding air pollution levels and suggests recommended actions and health advice. Such advice applies to anyone experiencing symptoms.

The latest report from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP), an expert committee of the Department of Health and Social Care, estimated that long-term exposure to man-made pollution in the UK has an annual effect equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nitrogen-dioxide-effects-on-mortality). COMEAP has recently provided advice on the effects of air pollution on cardiovascular disease (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-and-cardiovascular-disease-mechanistic-evidence) and is currently assessing the evidence in relation to cognitive decline.

Public Health England (PHE) has also estimated the fraction of adult mortality attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution at local authority level (https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-framework).

PHE have undertaken research (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-a-tool-to-estimate-healthcare-costs) to quantify the effect of air pollution on the incidence of disease and, therefore, the costs to health and social care services. These modelled data shows that reducing the concentration of PM2.5 by 1 µg/m3 in England in a single year can prevent around 50,000 cases of coronary heart disease, 15,000 strokes, 9,000 cases of asthma and 4,000 lung cancers over the following 18 years.