Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 (a) classifying wildlife crimes as either-way offences with a maximum sentence of up to five years imprisonment, (b) giving wildlife crime notifiable status and (c) incorporating wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously. In 2022 Defra more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) from a total of £495,000 over the three previous years to £1.2 million for the three-year period of 2022-25.
Significant sanctions are already available to judges to hand down to those convicted of wildlife crimes - up to an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence. Furthermore, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 realises the Government’s manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty – including acts against wildlife - by increasing the maximum penalty for this offence to five years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Sentencing those convicted of wildlife crimes is, however, a matter for judges; these decisions are rightly taken independently of Government.
Defra has actively supported stakeholders in making representations to the Home Office regarding the issue of making wildlife crimes notifiable. However, regardless of notifiable status, when it comes to responding to the most prevalent wildlife crimes, Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.
Wildlife crime is not mandated as authorised professional practice and therefore is not a training requirement via the College of Policing. However, the NWCU (funded to a large degree by Defra) currently provides training to police officers across the UK. This training reflects the National Police Chiefs' Council wildlife crime strategy and provides comprehensive training in UK wildlife crime priorities and emerging trends. Since November 2022 the NWCU has trained 890 officers and is in the process of building a comprehensive digital training platform for wildlife crime which police officers and police staff will be able to access nationwide. Additionally, the NWCU provides a digital information hub for almost 1000 police staff, with up-to-date guidance on investigating wildlife crime.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the guidance entitled Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply, published on 3 July 2023.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The updated bathing water guidance for England, published in July 2023, makes applying for bathing water designation clearer and more streamlined for applicants.
The main changes to the designation guidance were:
Defra engages with a range of stakeholders on bathing waters and welcomes views on the application guidance.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many inland bathing water site applications were received in 2022; and how many and what proportion of those applications were accepted.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2022 Defra received 16 bathing water applications for inland sites. Three of these sites were designated as bathing waters: Rutland Water Whitwell Creek, Rutland Water Sykes Lane and an area of the River Deben Estuary at Waldringfield, Suffolk.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 make an assessment of the impact on the environment of the (a) production and (b) sale of beef resulting from the Australia-UK free trade agreement.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Impact Assessment of the UK-Australia Free Trade Argument included an assessment of the potential environmental impact of the agreement. The Impact Assessment is available at gov.uk.
We continue to uphold our high environmental standards in our Free Trade Agreements and we are proud of the ambitious environment chapter agreed between the UK and Australia which affirms our shared commitment to the Paris Agreement and to strengthen cooperation on a range of environmental issues.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what value of dividends were paid to shareholders in England's private water companies in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Decisions on dividends for water company shareholders are made by water company boards. Company boards carry out these decisions within the framework of regulatory price controls, licence conditions and company law. Ofwat is responsible for economic regulation of the water companies.
Water companies publish their dividend statements in annual reports, which are not held by the Government.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of shares in England's privatised water companies are owned by organisations overseas.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
8 of the 15 English undertakers are wholly or majority owned by entities domiciled outside the UK.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 upgrade the sewage system in Northumberland.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through the Environment Act 2021 drainage and sewerage management planning is a statutory duty for sewerage undertakers. Each sewerage undertaker must prepare, publish, and maintain a drainage and sewerage management plan (DSMP). DSMPs will set out how water and wastewater companies intend to extend, improve, and maintain a robust and resilient drainage and wastewater system.
The Environment Agency is currently working with Northumbrian Water to review the options for the Drainage Wastewater Management Plan, which should be published in draft form by June 2022, with a final draft to be published in 2023.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 ensure the infrastructure in Northumberland has the capacity to handle waste sewage and drainage water.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through the Environment Act 2021 drainage and sewerage management planning is a statutory duty for sewerage undertakers. Each sewerage undertaker must prepare, publish, and maintain a drainage and sewerage management plan (DSMP). DSMPs will set out how water and wastewater companies intend to extend, improve, and maintain a robust and resilient drainage and wastewater system.
The Environment Agency is currently working with Northumbrian Water to review the options for the Drainage Wastewater Management Plan, which should be published in draft form by June 2022, with a final draft to be published in 2023.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 amount of water lost through leaks in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has challenged water companies to improve their performance on leakage. In the current price review Ofwat has set a target for an average 16% leakage reduction by 2025.
Longer term, the water industry has also committed to reduce leakage by 50% from 2017/18 levels sector-wide by 2050, a target which has been endorsed by Government and is set out in our Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many greyhounds were imported (a) commercially and (b) non-respectively from the Republic of Ireland to the UK in each year between 2015 and 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency is unable to provide the data requested for greyhounds as the breed of dog is not recorded on the system for commercial and non-commercial import of dogs from the Republic of Ireland to the UK.