Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on allocating the £75 million additional funding for Internal Drainage Boards.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At the National Farmers Union Conference in February the Prime Minister and Defra Ministers announced a new £75million one-off grant for internal drainage boards (IDBs) in 2024/25. This is following the winter storms and flooding and will be used to better protect agricultural land and rural communities. It will contribute towards helping IDBs recover and repair assets damaged from the recent flooding and will contribute towards modernising IDB infrastructure to lower costs and increase resilience to climate change.
Defra officials are working closely with the Environment Agency and the Association of Drainage Authorities (membership body that represents the interests of IDBs) on the details of the fund and application processes. We aim to allocate grants from June.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken with (a) the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities and (b) local authorities to increase public awareness of the environmental impacts of domestic wood burning.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works closely with local authorities on all matters pertaining to air quality, including through providing relevant training and resources.
Local authorities are also able to bid for funding for projects to tackle emissions in their communities through our annual Local Air Quality Grant. We have committed to spend at least £6million on such projects this year.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
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 reduce the risk of flooding in North Yorkshire.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood risk in North Yorkshire is complex and the Environment Agency works collaboratively with partners, including Local Authorities, Internal Drainage Boards and Yorkshire Water, to manage the risk of flooding and better protect people and properties in the county.
The Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management six-year Capital Investment Programme from 2021 to 2027 will see over £130 million being invested into North Yorkshire (including York), resulting in over 2000 properties benefitting from increased protection. Over 70 projects will be delivered across the county, including a new major £16 million flood alleviation scheme for Tadcaster, as well as further schemes within the Selby and Ainsty constituency in Selby, Cawood and Riccall.
The City of York Council OuseWem project programme looks at long-term catchment-scale nature-based solutions to help to improve flood resilience across North Yorkshire and in York. This forms part of the Government’s £150 million flood and coastal resilience innovation programme. This innovative project will secure a sustainable reduction in flood risk and plays a key role in the delivery of the National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England. A mixture of built flood defences alongside working with nature, adaptation, and increased resilience is key given North Yorkshire’s predominantly rural nature.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to help tackle waste crime in Selby and Ainsty constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, which is a blight on our local communities and the environment and damages legitimate businesses. We have strengthened regulators' powers, are tightening the law and have increased the Environment Agency's budget by £10 million per year to make it harder for rogue operators to find work in the sector and easier for regulators to take action against criminals. The Prime Minister’s Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan set out how we will support councils across the country to take tougher action against those who fly-tip such as by raising the upper limit on fixed penalty notices to £1,000, which we did earlier this year.
The Environment Agency’s Yorkshire Area has a dedicated team focussed on the investigation of waste crime across Yorkshire. All reports of waste related crime are recorded on the Environment Agency National Incident Recording System and investigated in order of seriousness.
As of 1 September 2023, the Environment Agency’s Yorkshire team is dealing with 37 active illegal waste sites across Yorkshire with 10 ongoing serious and significant investigations. None of these are in the Selby area. The team has completed six investigations into illegal waste sites and these have been authorised for prosecution and are being progressed. One of these is in the Selby area although the site is no longer active. Since September 2022, the Environment Agency has closed 34 illegal sites in Yorkshire.