Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 he has had with Natural England on the effectiveness of its guidance entitled Bats: advice for making planning decisions, last updated on 7 April 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In April 2025, Natural England (NE) published updated standing advice on protected species, including bats. This update is aligned with the Government’s radical action plan to cut red tape and kickstart growth.
The revised advice provides Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) with clearer, more accessible guidance. NE simplified the content by removing unnecessary links to lengthy documents that LPAs do not need to review when making planning decisions. The guidance now also recommends that LPAs consult qualified ecologists for specific queries related to surveys and assessments, cutting time and cost for developers.
NE will assess the need for further updates as part of their ongoing commitment to make guidance more proportionate and streamlined for stakeholders as part of its planning and regulatory reforms.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 press release entitled Independent Water Commission publishes interim findings, published on 3 June 2025, whether consideration of changes to household water tariffs is within scope of the final report of the Commission.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Commission will report later in 2025 on how to tackle inherited systemic issues in the water sector to help restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health, meet the challenges of the future and contribute to economic growth.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 21 May 2025 to Question 51391 on Water Charges, whether he plans to provide (a) guidance and (b) directions on innovative tariffs.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the previous answer, as the water regulator, Ofwat regulates the charging trials by issuing rules that require companies to set fair charges for all customers, and to ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 21 May 2025 to Question 51391 on Water Charges, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) progressive and (b) rising block metering tariffs on water bills for homes occupied by families with children.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As the water regulator, Ofwat regulates the charging trials by issuing rules that require companies to set fair charges for all customers, and to ensure all trials are consistent with good practice principles. Companies must also consult with the Consumer Council for Water in developing their trials to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. Through these trials the sector will learn how to best support customers, including families, with their water bills.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for responding to the consultation on making the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse statutory, which closed in April 2024.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A copy of the consultation document on publishing statutory litter enforcement guidance will be deposited in the Library.
This consultation was run in March 2024 under the previous Government. This Government has yet to make a decision on whether to publish statutory guidance. Any decision will be announced in the usual way. Following this, we would expect to release a consultation response.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 place in the Library a copy of the consultation document on making the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse statutory guidance.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A copy of the consultation document on publishing statutory litter enforcement guidance will be deposited in the Library.
This consultation was run in March 2024 under the previous Government. This Government has yet to make a decision on whether to publish statutory guidance. Any decision will be announced in the usual way. Following this, we would expect to release a consultation response.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 Written Statement of 3 June 2025, HCWS680, on Consulting on a reformed approach to investing in flood resilience and coastal erosion, how much of the £2.65 million in funding was originally allocated by the previous Government.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, this Government is investing a record £2.65 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 for the construction of new flood schemes, and the maintenance and repair of existing ones. With this funding, 1,000 flood schemes have been or will continue to be supported, better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026.
This Government has also announced the largest flood programme in history – committing a record £7.9 billion capital investment as part of its landmark 10-year Infrastructure Strategy.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether expenditure on (a) swift bricks and (b) bee houses and biomes for new-build homes can be counted towards biodiversity net gain units.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, expenditure on swift bricks, bee houses and bee biomes cannot be counted towards biodiversity net gain (BNG) units which must be calculated using the main Statutory BNG metric or the small sites version of it.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many days Ministers in his Department have worked in (a) departmental offices and (b) Government hubs outside London since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As under the previous Government, Defra does not hold specific information regarding how many days Defra Ministers have worked in departmental offices and Government hubs outside of London since 5 July 2024.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 help increase sewage capacity for new build homes.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, setting company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. The £104 billion funding package is the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation and is set to be the second largest private sector investment programme in this parliament. This planned investment will support new home building.
Under the Environment Act 2021, a new duty has been created for water companies in England to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans. These explain how a water company intends to improve its drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances.