Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 17 January 2023 to Question 102525 on Wood-burning Stoves: Regulation, if he will publish all regulations on the purchase and use of wood burning appliances in one place on (a) his Department's and (b) the UK-Air website.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We intend to consolidate and make available further information on domestic combustion regulatory requirements in due course.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 14 January 2022 to Question 98203 on Wood-burning Stoves, if he will publish the evaluation of the impact of the Domestic Solid Fuel Regulations 2020.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The evaluation of the Domestic Solid Fuel Regulations 2020 is ongoing.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 15 May 2023 to Question 183293 on Air Pollution, what guidance his Department has published on the use of low-cost sensors in measuring outdoor air pollutants.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In addition to information provided in the Local Air Quality Management Technical Guidance 2022, Defra’s Air Quality Expert Group has provided advice, made available on UK Air, on the use of ‘low-cost‘ air pollution sensors. Defra also funded a project in 2022 to develop a publicly available specification (PAS) on the use of low-cost sensors, which is due to be published through the British Standards Institute imminently.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 2 November 2022 to Question 70939 on Solid Fuels: Air Pollution, what his planned timetable is for publishing the project report of his Department's study to measure pollutant emissions from burning solid fuels in a range of domestic appliances under real-world conditions.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Emissions Factors for Domestic Combustion project is currently expected to run until August 2024.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
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 recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on the potential impact of railway electrification in Wales on air pollution.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent flooding in Wales in winter 2023-2024.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood risk management is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the potential impact of festival bonfires and fireworks on air pollution.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Data from Defra’s air quality monitoring networks is held on the UK AIR website. We often measure temporary elevated levels of PM2.5 in some locations on the 5th of November. Further information can also be found in ‘Air Pollution in the UK’ annual reports.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
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 plans to support Clean Air Night on 24 January 2024.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recently launched the ‘Burn Better, Breathe Better’ campaign which raises awareness of the cleanest and most efficient burning practices. We will continue to engage with the Global Action Plan in the run up to Clean Air Night.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the emission limit is in grams per hour for wood burning appliances in smoke control areas; and when it entered into force.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Wood may only be burned in a Smoke Control Area in a Defra exempt appliance. A Defra exempt appliance may not emit more than 5 grams of smoke per hour. The limits were first introduced in 1969 via the published document PD6434:1969, with the test methodology updated in 1994 via BS3841-1:1994.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve co-ordination between national, regional and local authorities on improving (a) indoor and (b) outdoor air quality.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has put in place a range of measures to improve coordination of actions to improve air quality, including creating Air Quality Partners, specific public bodies who are required to contribute solutions to air quality problems within their control. This includes neighbouring local authorities, upper tier authorities in areas with both district and county councils, the Environment Agency and National Highways. We have published a new Air Quality Strategy setting out our expectations of how local authorities should deliver air quality improvement, and issued extensive policy and technical guidance for local authority practitioners. This year we will continue to offer training and guidance to local authority officers, including workshops and template enforcement materials, in addition to providing funding through our Local Air Quality Grant programme, enabling high-quality locally-led air quality improvement schemes.
On indoor quality, we have set out ventilation requirements to maintain air quality as part of amendments to the Building Regulations. In our Air Quality Strategy, we highlighted guidance published by the UK Health Security Agency, in partnership with the National Institute of Clinical Excellence on indoor air quality and directed relevant local authority staff to this national guidance. We have also committed to reviewing our existing guidance on the health impacts of damp and mould in homes, and issuing new consolidated guidance tailored to the housing sector this year.