Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 plans to provide funding for flood mitigation in Loughborough over the next 5 years.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is working with partners to manage flood risk within Loughborough.
The EA has allocated funding to develop the Wood Brook and Tributaries Flood Risk Management Scheme which will better protect over 150 properties. Under the Government’s partnership funding policy, £4.7 million of Flood Defence Grant in Aid is available for the scheme.
The EA is also working with partners to develop a Strategic Catchment Plan to create a holistic and long-term approach to managing flood risk within Loughborough and the wider catchment.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 it her policy to increase the level of financial support available to dairy farmers.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the challenges facing the dairy sector. The Prime Minister set out new support for farmers to strengthen food security and grow the economy at the Farm to Fork Food Summit on 16 May 2023. This includes the creation of a £1 million programme to help dairy businesses, particularly SMEs, to seize export opportunities.
In addition, the Government has acted to support the agricultural sector, including dairy farmers, in a number of ways.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 2 May 2023 to Question 182475 on Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control, if she will make it her policy to change the compensation calculation for farmers in England whose cattle have been culled due to tuberculosis so that each animal is individually valued.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Until 2006, compensation for TB affected cattle in England was determined using individual valuations. There was however significant evidence of overcompensation so, following a public consultation in 2004, Defra moved to a table-based valuation system. Almost all cases of TB compensation in England are now determined using table valuations. Table valuations are objective and based on real market data. There are no plans to alter this approach.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Welsh Government on differences between compensation payments in England and Wales for farmers whose cattle have been culled as a result of tuberculosis; and whether she plans to take steps with her counterpart to align compensation payment levels.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bovine TB is the most significant animal health problem facing cattle keepers in England and Wales and so my Department works closely with Welsh Government to support the development of more effective disease eradication policies. However, responsibility for animal health matters, including approaches to compensation, is fully devolved.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that businesses separate recyclable waste from general waste.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We want to increase the recycling of packaging material, food and other recyclable material in the ‘non-household’ municipal sector, which includes businesses, public organisations (e.g. schools, universities, hospitals and government buildings) and other organisations. This will help us to increase the amount of material that we recycle and reduce the amount of waste that we send to landfill.
Following support in response to initial consultation, the Environment Act 2021 stipulates that all businesses will be required to arrange for the collection of a core set of materials (glass; paper and card; plastic; metal; and food waste) for recycling in England
In 2021 we published a second consultation on recycling consistency. This consultation sought views on increasing consistency in recycling, including on the materials in scope of collection; exemptions; statutory guidance for waste collectors and cost reduction options for micro firms.
We are finalising our policy positions and analysis for impact assessment – we aim to publish the consultation response soon.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 it his policy to impose a moratorium on new build incinerators and withhold any increase in capacity requests to licences already in place until additional research on incinerator overcapacity has been concluded.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra has no plans to introduce a moratorium on new energy from waste (EfW) capacity in England. In the Resources and Waste Strategy we committed to monitoring residual waste treatment capacity and we intend to publish a fresh analysis over coming months. Local authorities are responsible for determining their waste treatment capacity needs at a local level via Waste Local Plans and need to factor national policy measures being implemented into their forward planning. A proposed plant must not result in overcapacity of EfW waste treatment at a national or local level.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 manage the capacity of existing waste incinerators throughout the country so that over capacity does not encourage waste destruction rather than repair, reuse and recycling.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Energy from waste should not compete with greater waste prevention, reuse or recycling. Defra is currently working to set the long-term commitments of the Resources and Waste Strategy for England (RWS) into legislation under the 2021 Environment Act through legally binding targets, including a target on waste reduction. Defra continues to engage with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities regarding planning for waste infrastructure and, as per the RWS commitment, continues to monitor England's waste infrastructure capacity and associated infrastructure requirements.