Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to raise public awareness of the potential health risks of open (a) coal and (b) wood fires for cooking and heating in the home.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the importance of raising awareness of air pollution and the associated health impacts. The Department of Health and Social Care is supporting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on their comprehensive Clean Air Strategy, which will include consideration of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced. In addition, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is undertaking a review of how we communicate air quality information to ensure members of the public, and vulnerable groups in particular, have what they need to protect themselves. The Government will also continue to raise awareness about the impact of domestic solid fuel burning.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy of schemes offered by the Government to encourage more people to buy electric vehicles and (b) effectiveness of those schemes in helping the UK reach its net zero targets.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government is committed to the transition to electric vehicles (EV) and is encouraging uptake through a range of taxation incentives and grants.

Drivers of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) will continue to benefit from favourable tax rates, such as generous company car tax incentives, which have been set until March 2030. ZEVs remain exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED) until April 2025, after which they will still have preferential first year rates.

In addition, the Government has announced £120m for next financial year to support the purchase of new electric vans and manufacturing of wheelchair accessible vehicles.

The Government is also committed to accelerating the rollout of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an EV. As of 1 November, there are over 71,000 publicly available charging devices in the UK, alongside 680,000 private chargepoints in England alone, supporting drivers to switch to EVs.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting a presumptive right to install electric vehicle chargers at their own cost to people living in rented accommodation.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government already provides support for people living in rented accommodation to install chargepoints, through its Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant. This provides up to £350 toward the costs of purchasing and installing an electric vehicle chargepoint. We will continue to review whether further steps are needed.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential (a) impact of green levies on electricity bills on electric vehicle drivers who charge their vehicles at home and (b) merits of imposing green levies on gas only.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of removing the exemption of care homes from the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 on public health.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have no current plans to assess the impact of removing this exemption. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, later amended by the Carbon Monoxide Regulations 2022, are for rented residential premises in England. The regulations exclude a range of settings, including care homes.

Ofwat price review

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns

Submit Evidence (by 20 Dec 2024)

The Environmental Audit Committee is seeking views on how the Government’s proposed reforms to national planning policy and housebuilding targets might affect environmental protections and current approaches to sustainable development.Read the terms of reference and find out how to submit written evidence through the Committee's evidence portal here.

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No description available

The Environmental Audit Committee in the 2024 Parliament has revived the predecessor Environmental Audit Sub-Committee on Polar Research’s inquiry into The UK and the Antarctic Environment.

Submit Evidence (by 13 Jan 2025)

The Environmental Audit Committee is undertaking an inquiry on flood resilience in England, focusing on how flood resilience can be strengthened in response to increasing risks from extreme weather, rising sea levels, and evolving flood hazards.

Submit Evidence (by 17 Jan 2025)

The Environmental Audit Committee is undertaking an inquiry on governing the marine environment, which will focus on the UK's environmental obligations under marine treaties and how the UK is delivering on them, as well as the Government's strategy for marine planning and protection in its domestic waters.