Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) Greater Manchester Combined Authority or (b) any other councils within that Combined Authority (i) applied for and (ii) secured funding through the Air Quality Grant scheme 2022-23.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra did not receive or accept any applications from Greater Manchester Combined Authority or any councils within the combined authority as part of the Air Quality Grant scheme 2022-23.
79 applications were received from councils for this year’s scheme. 44 applicants were provided with funding totalling £10.7 million, which is helping them to develop and implement measures to benefit schools, businesses and communities and reduce the impact of air pollution on people’s health. Examples include supporting programmes that will educate doctors, nurses and social care workers about air quality; support for an e-cargo bike library helping local businesses in Norfolk to cut operating costs while lowering their emissions; and data collection to develop and deliver a traffic management plan that will reduce congestion and improve traffic flow across Derbyshire.
The air quality grant scheme sits alongside a further£883 million made available as part of the government’s NO2 Plan to support local authorities in cleaning up transport and cutting levels of nitrogen dioxide down to legal levels in the shortest possible time.
Under the 2017 UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Concentrations, Greater Manchester authorities are required to take urgent action to address NO2 pollution and develop plans to bring levels to within legal limits in the shortest possible time.
Greater Manchester’s review in July 2022 identified they would not be fully compliant with legal limits before 2027 without action, with 79 points of exceedance predicted in 2023. We have reviewed Greater Manchester’s proposals and identified a number of gaps in the evidence, meaning it is not yet possible to understand how the proposed approach will achieve compliance with NO2 limits in the shortest possible time. We have requested further evidence from the Greater Manchester authorities to enable us to consider the plans further.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
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 is taking steps to ensure that healthy animals are not euthanised by vets prior to consultation with the owner.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
In 2021, we worked closely with the veterinary profession to provide greater assurance that alternatives to euthanasia are explored before a healthy dog is put down. Following these discussions, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RVCS) agreed to incorporate the principle of scanning a microchip before such euthanasia into the guidance that underpins their Code of Professional Conduct. This applies to all veterinary surgeons practising in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the Pets (Microchips) Bill.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government’s favoured approach is to work collaboratively with all parties to effect positive change without the need for legislation.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
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 inform local authorities on best practice guidance on scanning microchips of deceased cats found on the roadside.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government has committed to introducing compulsory cat microchipping and this will increase the likelihood that cats injured or killed on roads can be reunited with their keeper.
It is established good practice for local authorities to scan any cat found by the roadside so that the owner can be informed. Highways England has clear guidelines for contractors to follow when they find a deceased cat.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
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 ensure microchips in cats are scanned when found following a road traffic collision; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government has committed to introducing compulsory cat microchipping and this will increase the likelihood that cats injured or killed on roads can be reunited with their keeper.
It is established good practice for local authorities to scan any cat found by the roadside so that the owner can be informed. Highways England has clear guidelines for contractors to follow when they find a deceased cat.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has provided for the improvement flood defences in Bury North constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra has provided £26.43 million for the improvement of flood defences in Bury North. This is the capital investment in flood risk management schemes/projects covering the period from 2012 – 2023.
£15.19 million of this was spent up to March 2021, £11.24 million has been allocated in the current financial year, and £2.6 million is allocated in the programme for 2022/23.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what air quality monitoring data his Department has received from (a) the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and (b) each borough within the Greater Manchester region in 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The UK Air website provides data from monitoring sites within the Greater Manchester region, including locally managed sites and sites managed by DEFRA. This data is accessible through the data selector tool, found through the following URL:
https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/interactive-map?network=nondefraaqmon
An interactive map of monitoring sites in the UK provides information on all the monitoring sites in the Greater Manchester region, and can be accessed through the following URL:
https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/datawarehouse
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) submit to Defra a single Annual Status Report via The Greater Manchester Air Quality Working Group, led by Transport for Greater Manchester, representing the ten authorities that constitute the GMCA – Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan. The Annual Status Report submitted in 2021 (covering 2020) can be viewed on the GMCA website via the URL below.
https://secure.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/download/4166/air_quality_reports
This report includes the air quality monitoring data for 2020. Data for 2021 will be submitted as part of this years’ Annual Status Report expected later this year.
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are available in the event that a local authority does not give a ruling on a Definitive Map Modification Order within a reasonable timeframe.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Anyone who has applied to the local highway authority for a modification to the area's definitive map and statement and has not been advised of the authority's decision within 12 months, can apply in writing to the Secretary of State for a direction. The Secretary of State may direct the authority to decide the application by a certain date.
The decisions are made by a Planning Inspector on behalf of the Secretary of State, and a link to this guidance can be found here:
Asked by: James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to support the incorporation of Tuks Law and Gizmo’s Law into statute.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
This Government launched a public consultation on cat and dog microchipping and scanning in England which ended on 17 February 2021. The consultation asked for views on compulsory scanning of animal’s microchips prior to euthanasia (Tuk’s Law) and dead cats found by the roadside (Gizmo’s Legacy). The responses are currently being analysed and the Government will issue its response later this year.