Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) grants and (b) other provisions are available to support householders in replacing domestic lead water pipes beyond the stopcock; and what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support for householders to replace those pipes.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As with other parts of a home, pipes on the customer’s property are the customer’s/homeowner’s responsibility. However, we are aware there can be problems relating to lead content and leakage issues in these supply pipes. Some water companies provide help to customers to replace these pipes, but this is not consistent.
Defra is gathering evidence on policies to reduce lead exposure. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has published a review of the currently available evidence on lead in drinking water and the possible long-term strategies to reduce exposure, which is available on the DWI’s website. Ofwat recently approved two trial projects to replace customer supply pipes made of lead by South West Water and Severn Trent.
With regard to leakage, a response to the 2019 ‘Water conservation: measures to reduce personal water use’ consultation, is expected to be published this spring. Measures to address leakage were considered as part of this consultation, and protecting our water resources is a priority for this Government. The consultation response will more clearly set out our intentions with regard to reducing leakage on customer supply pipes.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 reduce food waste.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra supports a range of action to reduce food waste.
At the household level, we are tackling food waste through supporting campaigns such as Love Food, Hate Waste and Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date as well as the UK’s first Food Waste Action Week which was held in March 2021. We also support the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and its work with retailers and other food businesses who play a key role in influencing household food waste through interventions such as pack sizing and labelling. These measures all help consumers to buy what they need and use what they buy.
For reducing waste in the supply chain, we support the Courtauld 2025 voluntary agreement delivered by WRAP that looks to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025. Action here is primarily through the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap and the Target, Measure, Act approach where businesses set a reduction target, measure food waste and act to reduce it. This is currently voluntary under the Roadmap, but we will consult this year on introducing regulations to make the transparent reporting of food waste mandatory for businesses of an appropriate size. We also support resource efficiency in the hospitality sector through the Guardians of Grub campaign delivered by WRAP.
Since 2018 Defra has made a series of grants available to help redistribute more surplus food to those who have a need and to stop it from going to animal feed or disposal destinations. In total over £11 million has been awarded to both large and small redistribution organisations across the country.
Defra has appointed Ben Elliot as Food Surplus and Waste Champion. Ben is motivating business leaders to tackle food waste from farm to fork, including through support for the delivery of the Courtauld 2025 commitments.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 13 October 2020 to Question 99604 on Pesticides: Regulation, what progress the Health and Safety Executive has made on its review of regulations on the use of pesticides by voluntary conservation groups for environmental conservation purposes; and when that review will be published.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Voluntary conservation groups are not prohibited from using pesticides. Volunteers may use products that are authorised for amateur use; they may also use products authorised for professional use providing they are trained and hold a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides. Untrained conservation volunteers may apply pesticides that are authorised for professional use but only if they are under the supervision of a trained certificated user and are working towards gaining a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides.
As stated in the answer to question 99604, this aspect of pesticide regulation is under review. We are expediting this work and I expect to be able to inform the hon. Member for York Outer of the conclusion within the next two months.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the animal welfare evidence for prohibiting the use of whips during horseracing.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Horse Welfare Board’s five-year Horse Welfare Strategy (HWS) “a life well-lived” was published on 20 February 2020. The HWS contains 20 recommendations for improving the welfare of horses bred for racing. The HWS recommends that, as a minimum, the penalties for misuse of the whip need to increase and that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) should conduct a consultation on the use of the whip. The Strategy also recommends that this consultation should gather views on future restrictions on whip use and on a possible ban. The opening of this consultation has been delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Defra officials will remain engaged with the BHA on the progress being made with the consultation. I would encourage anyone with evidence that a racehorse has suffered unnecessarily from being whipped to get in touch with the BHA and share their concerns. In the most severe cases of misuse, an individual may be investigated under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act, as well as receiving significant sanctions from the sport.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the risk to the marine environment from the clearance of unexploded ordnance; and what steps his Department is taking to mitigate that risk.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the significant impact underwater noise from ordnance clearance and other activities can have on vulnerable marine species. We are working closely with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), other Government departments, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) and marine industries to manage and reduce underwater noise but must ensure any clearance method for the removal of unexploded ordnance is both safe and effective.
The Government is currently investigating low order techniques as alternatives to detonation in the removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the seabed. Defra welcomed controlled quarry testing of deflagration, a specific low order technique which burns out the explosive material in a controlled manner, funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which showed positive noise reductions.
Defra’s recently formed Offshore Wind Enabling Actions Programme includes a dedicated team focusing on reducing, monitoring and managing the impacts of underwater noise, including from UXO clearance, to reduce harm and enable the sustainable and responsible growth of the offshore wind sector. This team will be working with BEIS through its Strategic Environmental Assessment programme to collect the further evidence needed on low order techniques for the clearance of UXO, to ensure safety and efficacy as well as confirming if findings are transferable to the offshore marine environment. Our aim is to commence further research this summer.
Additionally, any removal of UXO must be individually assessed in accordance with our Habitats Regulations. As the relevant marine regulator, the MMO considers all forms of potential mitigation to effectively manage underwater noise prior to issuing a marine licence under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009). A marine species licence is also required if the activity is likely to negatively affect a protected species, which includes all dolphins, whales and porpoises. Further, marine mammal specialists are deployed to ensure there are no marine mammals in the vicinity and where appropriate bubble curtains are used to limit the sound travelling through the water.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 effect of glue traps on (a) bats, (b) other endangered species and (c) animal welfare.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are aware of the concerns around the use of glue traps, which can cause immense suffering to both target and non-target animals.
It is an issue we are looking at very closely as part of our continued drive to maintain the highest animal welfare standards in the world.
Anyone using glue traps has a responsibility under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to act within the law to ensure their activities do not cause any unnecessary suffering.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 potential merits of including fast-growing Sequoia and Giant Redwood trees in the Government’s tree planting and climate change programmes.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a robust and widely welcomed forestry standard in place – the UK Forestry Standard. This is the UK governments’ guide to sustainable forestry. It is based on international scientific evidence. The relevant public authority in each UK country assesses woodland creation proposals against this standard before giving approval to such schemes. This robust regulatory framework provides a high level of scrutiny to protect landscapes and the wider environment to ensure the right tree is planted in the right place for the right reason.
Both species are included in the Ecological Site Classification Decision Support System to aid the selection of species suited to site conditions. It is accessible online via a web browser to help guide forest managers and planners to select ecologically suited species to sites.
There is some limited experience of growing both species in British conditions. The Coast Redwood is available from some forest nurseries and is being used by Forestry England on land they manage.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 reinstating the waiver on the plastic bag charge for home-delivery purchases that applied during the covid-19 lockdown announced in March 2020, to help prevent virus transmission via delivery drivers through allowing the doorstep deposit of delivered goods.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The obligation for supermarkets to charge for single-use carrier bags (SUCBs) supplied with online deliveries was temporarily removed in response to the first Covid-19 lockdown. This change was only temporary to allow retailers time to adapt their delivery systems, and the charge was reinstated in September 2020.
The department does not have any plans to further assess the need to reinstate the suspension of the charge for online deliveries. Since March, supermarkets have updated and improved their delivery systems to meet the increased demand due to the pandemic. They have also developed new practices to improve safety for both drivers and customers, and citizens are far more aware of the importance of social distancing. Retailers can still provide single-use carrier bags as a delivery option for customers so long as the charge is still in place.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Health and Safety Executive has made in their review of regulations on the use of pesticides by voluntary conservation groups for environmental conservation purposes.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Pesticides regulations do not prohibit voluntary conservation groups from using glyphosate and other pesticides in environmental conservation work. Volunteers may use products that are authorised for amateur use; they may also use products that are authorised for professional use providing they are trained and hold a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides. Untrained conservation volunteers may apply pesticides that are authorised for professional use but only if they are under the supervision of a trained certificated user and are working towards gaining a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides.
At the request of Defra, the Health and Safety Executive reviewed this aspect of the pesticide regulations and the options identified are being considered.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 potential effect on the natural environment in the event that voluntary conservation groups are prohibited from using glyphosate in environmental conservation work.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Pesticides regulations do not prohibit voluntary conservation groups from using glyphosate and other pesticides in environmental conservation work. Volunteers may use products that are authorised for amateur use; they may also use products that are authorised for professional use providing they are trained and hold a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides. Untrained conservation volunteers may apply pesticides that are authorised for professional use but only if they are under the supervision of a trained certificated user and are working towards gaining a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides.
At the request of Defra, the Health and Safety Executive reviewed this aspect of the pesticide regulations and the options identified are being considered.