Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, How much her Department has spent on the enforcement of the [Dangerous Dogs Act 1991] in the last year.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The police and local authorities are responsible for enforcing the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Defra has, therefore, not incurred any enforcement costs in the last year.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
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 estimate of the (a) costs to local authorities of maintaining kennels, (b) legal costs of listing a dog on the Index of Exempted Dogs, (c) cost of enforcement by police authorities and (d) other costs of enforcing the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in the last year.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not hold this information. Any information on the costs of kennelling and enforcement associated with dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 will be kept by individual local authorities and police forces.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for dogs to be listed on the Index of Exempted Dogs there were in the last year; and how many of those were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Applications to be listed on the Index of Exempted Dogs (“the Index”) are governed by the Dangerous Dogs Exemption Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015. The person in charge of a prohibited dog may only apply for the dog to be listed on the Index if the court has granted a contingent destruction order under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in relation to a prohibited dog. The person in charge of the dog must fulfil a number of conditions for the dog to be listed on the Index, including ensuring that the dog is neutered, microchipped and that they have a policy of third-party insurance in respect of the dog that is to be exempted. Defra will list the dog on the Index and issue the applicant with a Certificate of Exemption following receipt of a completed application form, evidence showing that the conditions have been met and payment of the fee within the specified period. In 2021, 129 applications were processed successfully and 17 applications were not successful.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government will respond to the further consultation on the introduction of a deposit return scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which closed in June 2021.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Further details on when a Deposit Return Scheme will be introduced will be set out in the Government response to last year's consultation. We are working towards publication in late 2022.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timescale is for (a) the review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in England and (b) the implementation of recommendations from that review.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The review is currently underway and will report in 2022.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
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 23 March 2020 to Question 30111 on Metaldehyde, when the Government plans to make a fresh decision on whether the sale and use of metaldehyde products should continue to be authorised.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Pesticides are subject to strict regulation and can only be sold and used if they are authorised following an assessment of the scientific evidence on risks to people, wildlife and the environment. The Government is required to make a decision on whether the sale and use of metaldehyde products should continue to be authorised. This decision will be taken as soon as possible on the basis of the legal requirements.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
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 proposal in Greater Manchester's Clean Air Plan that non-compliant vehicles are subject to a daily penalty payment, whether funding will be allocated by the Government to support (a) people and (a) businesses to purchase compliant vehicles.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving air quality in the UK and has provided £572 million to support the development and implementation of required measures by local authorities. This includes a Clean Air Fund that is aimed at mitigating the impact of local plans on individuals and businesses including sole traders.
We are mindful of the challenges of delivering a clean air plan across Greater Manchester and the need to support individuals and businesses that may be affected by the resulting charging Clean Air Zone (CAZ). We have provided at this stage a first tranche of £36 million towards implementing the CAZ and intend to provide further funding, both for implementation and for mitigating the impacts of the CAZ, from the Clean Air Fund, once we have a clearer picture of the scale of need based on our assessment of additional evidence being provided by Greater Manchester.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
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 Chancellor of the Exchequer on allocating funding in the forthcoming Budget to support the implementation of clean air zones.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving air quality. That is why £572 million is already available to support local authorities implement a range of clean air measures to deliver compliance with NO2 levels, including Clean Air Zones. I am considering what future support is needed to deliver Government priorities via a range of clean air measures. I will discuss Defra’s Budget proposals with the Chancellor in due course.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to include provisions for achieving World Health Organisation limits on (a) nitrogen dioxide, (b) PM2.5 and (c) PM10 emissions by 2030 in his forthcoming Environment Bill.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We consulted on our Clean Air Strategy earlier this year, which set out our plans to reduce exposure to air pollution including fine particulate matter, and which signposts our intention to progressively move towards WHO guideline levels for PM2.5, committing to halve the population living in areas with concentrations of fine particulate matter above WHO guideline levels by 2025. This goes further than European Union requirements and we are the first industrialised nation to commit to progressively reducing fine particulate matter pollution in this way.
Through our UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations, we are working with local authorities to assist them in reducing exposure to nitrogen dioxide, and to bring these within agreed limits in the fastest possible time.
WHO guidelines are very ambitious, which presents a particular challenge for all countries, particularly in large urban areas and some coastal areas. We will set out provisions to be included in the Environment Bill in due course. Our final Clean Air Strategy will be published shortly.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester, Withington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the World Health Organisation conclusion that there is no safe level of PM2.5 or PM10.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Particulate matter will always exist as long as we have sea salt, sand and other forms of dust. Particulate pollution is also blown over from neighbouring countries.
We will continue to reduce public exposure to particulate matter from man-made sources in the environment as set out in our draft Clean Air Strategy. We consulted on a commitment to halve the population living in areas with concentrations of fine particulate matter above World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline levels by 2025. The WHO have commended our ambition; this goes further than European Union requirements and we are the first industrialised nation to commit to progressively reducing fine particulate matter pollution in this way. Our final Clean Air Strategy will be published shortly.