Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to respond to the consultation on the proposed ban of the manufacture supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic, published on 14 October 2023.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The consultation on the proposed ban of wet wipes containing plastic closed on 25th November. The Government response to the outcome of this consultation will be published in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what legal mechanism her Department plans to use to ban wet wipes containing plastic.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Subject to consultation, the UK Government plans to legislate for the proposed ban on wet wipes containing plastic using powers under section 62(3) of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act (2008) and section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act (1990).
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 9 May 2023 to Question 183276 on Grass: Plastics, what steps her Department plans to take to help people and companies make the right choice, in the context of the purchase of artificial grass.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have taken a number of steps to help people and companies make the right choice in the purchase and use of artificial grass. In the 25 Year Environment Plan, we committed to introduce stronger new standards for green infrastructure and to support local authorities to assess provision. This new Green Infrastructure Framework was launched by Natural England in February. This shows what good green infrastructure looks like and helps local authorities, developers and communities to improve provision in their area. Included in this framework is a planning and design guide that references guidance on permeable surfaces in front gardens and advice from the RHS on the greening of front gardens, driveways and parking areas.
The Environment Act 2021 contains an ambitious package of reforms to restore and enhance nature and green spaces. This includes a new mandatory requirement for biodiversity net gain in the planning system, to ensure that new developments enhance biodiversity. In future, eligible developments will be required to enhance biodiversity through the biodiversity net gain requirement. This will incentivise more nature positive development.
The strengthened biodiversity duty, which came into force on 1st January 2023, requires all public authorities to consider how they can conserve and enhance biodiversity through the exercise of their functions. Public authorities will also have to have regard to Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Species Conservation Strategies and Protected Site Strategies in complying with the duty.
More widely, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities consulted in December 2022 on updating the National Planning Policy Framework to recognise the threat to wildlife created by developers using artificial grass when building new homes. The response to this consultation will be published in the Autumn.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a (a) ban and (b) tax on artificial grass for domestic use.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no plans to make an assessment of the merits of banning or taxing the use of artificial grass. While there are no plans to make such an assessment, we are clear its use should wherever possible follow published advice and guidance, including advice in the Green Infrastructure Framework launched by Natural England in February. Included in this framework is a planning and design guide that references guidance on permeable surfaces in front gardens and advice from the RHS on the greening of front gardens, driveways and parking areas. The framework sets out how the installation of artificial grass can have negative impacts on biodiversity and drainage for flood prevention if installed in place of natural earth or more positive measures.
We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic plastic products and materials to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of unnecessary plastic products. Our 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Given the scale of the plastics problem, we need to take a targeted and evidence-led approach to tackling the issues of plastic waste.
More widely, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities consulted in December 2022 on updating the National Planning Policy Framework to recognise the threat to wildlife created by developers using artificial grass when building new homes. The response to this consultation will be published in the Autumn.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's expected timescale is for (a) opening and (b) closing its consultation into banning plastic in wet wipes; and who will be invited to submit views.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Plan for Water published in April, the Government announced our intention to ban wet wipes containing plastic, subject to public consultation, the details of which will be available in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the questions her Department plans to ask in its consultation on banning plastic in wet wipes.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Plan for Water published in April, the Government announced our intention to ban wet wipes containing plastic, subject to public consultation, the details of which will be available in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 has considered the potential merits of a ban on wet wipes containing plastic using section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Plan for Water published in April, the government announced our intention to ban wet wipes containing plastic, subject to public consultation, the details of which will be available in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve wildflower (a) populations and (b) biodiversity in (i) farmland, (ii) woods, (iii) parks, (iv) towns and (v) cities.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In England we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity including to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 then to reverse declines and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, such as wildflower meadows, by 2042. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) published 31 January 2023.
In May 2022, Natural England launched five nature recovery projects spanning nearly 100,000 hectares, which will see the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats, corridors and stepping-stones. For example, the Cambridge Nature Network aims to develop a network of resilient wildlife rich habitats, including wildflower meadows, covering 9,200 ha in and around the City of Cambridge.
Countryside Stewardship, and its predecessor Environmental Stewardship, offers a number of grants to help improve wildflower populations including restoring wildlife habitats, creating and managing woodlands. We have approximately 40,000 live agreements under our stewardship schemes. Countryside Stewardship offers different options to create and restore wildflower habitats, including options for the management, restoration and creation of species rich grassland. These schemes are complemented by our new Sustainable Farming Incentive, which encourages farming in a more environmentally sustainable way and Landscape Recovery which funds longer-term, larger-scale, bespoke projects to enhance the natural environment.
The Green Infrastructure Framework launched by Natural England in January 2023 will help local planning authorities and developers to create or improve green infrastructure, which can include wildflower planting as well as other natural features.
We are supporting grassland creation and restoration, including through our Green Recovery Challenge Fund. For example, Plantlife’s ‘Meadow Makers’ project, which was awarded over £700,000 in the first round, restored 500 hectares of species-rich grassland at over 100 sites across seven landscapes.
Each year Defra coordinates Bees’ Needs Week, to promote and celebrate action to help pollinators thrive. The Bees’ Needs Champions Awards recognises individuals and groups who have taken positive action, such as restoring wildflower meadows and creating urban pollinator-friendly habitats.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what regulatory controls water companies must comply with when disposing of sludge from drinking water treatment to help protect the environment from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are several sets of regulations which regulate sludge output from water companies. The Sludge Use in Agriculture Regulations (1989) regulate against industrial contaminants in sludge which is spread to land and is supported by the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture Code of Practice, which sets out the parameters you must meet in order to spread sludge to land. These parameters include which treatment type the sludge has undergone, that it has been sufficiently tested, and further requirements to protect the environment and avoid public nuisance. The storage and use of mixed or co-treated materials that contain sludge is regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regime (2016).
Waste regulatory controls apply to water clarification waste. This means there will be a requirement to obtain an environmental permit from the Environment Agency for the disposal of sludge from drinking water treatment. The environmental permit provides the regulatory controls to that the waste is disposed of or recovered without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which could harm the environment.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the amount of sludge that water companies removed during drinking water treatment and released into the environment in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Sludge is nutrient rich output derived from the wastewater treatment process and is often used on agricultural land to meet soil and crop need. Sludge use on land is regulated through the Sludge Use in Agriculture Regulations (1989) and is supported by the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture Code of Practice.
The water clarification sludge generated by water companies during preparation of water intended for human consumption is regulated as a waste by the Environment Agency. Water companies holding an environmental permit must complete a national operator waste return. The returns provide details of the total amount, in tonnes, of all their hazardous and non-hazardous waste for each site. The information requested is held by the Environment Agency but is not collated centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.