Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his expected timetable is for publishing his Department's roadmap on household water efficiency.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We published our ‘Roadmap on water efficiency in new developments and retrofits’ in the Environmental Improvement Plan in 2023. This sets out 10 actions to achieve our statutory target to reduce water demand by 20% by 2038. Within this we committed to implementing a Mandatory Water Efficiency label by 2025, to enable consumers to identify water efficient products. In October 2023, the Government publicly committed to a spring consultation to fulfil the roadmap action to Review the Building Regulations 2010, and the water efficiency, water recycling and drainage standards (regulation 36 and Part G2, H1, H2, H3 of Schedule 1), considering industry competence and skills.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with water companies to help tackle leaks.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Reducing losses through leakage is an important part of maintaining secure supplies of water for customers now and in the future. Government is committed to reducing leakage and has set a statutory water demand target to reduce water demand per person by 20% by 2038. This includes reducing leakage by 37% by 2038, on a trajectory to a 50% reduction in leakage by 2050. Ofwat set out a £51 billion five-year investment package in the Price Review 2019, including requirements for water companies to cut leaks by 16% and reduce mains bursts by 12% between 2020-2025. Ofwat will hold water companies to account for delivering leakage reduction targets, with financial penalties if they fail to meet them.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of the population have access to (a) green space and (b) water within 15 minutes walk from home.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The data we currently use on the number and proportion of people with access to greenspace is taken from Natural England’s Green Infrastructure (GI) Framework analysis. Natural England’s G3 Indicator report shows that as of October 2021, the proportions of the total population in England living within Accessible Greenspace Standards ‘criteria’ (straight line distances from the boundary of the greenspaces) are:
• 1 in 3 people live within 200 metres of a doorstep greenspace of at least 0.5 hectares
• 1 in 4 people live within 300 metres of a local natural greenspace of at least 2 hectares
• 1 in 2 people live within 1 km of a neighbourhood natural greenspace of at least 10 hectares.
We are currently working to establish a robust baseline of walkability to green and blue space, including working with NE and with the Rivers Trust to create data on blue space access points. In August we will publish an official statistic in development on walkability within England to the nearest green space. This will use network analysis to calculate travel time/distance rather than straight-line distances, and enhanced use of data on the rights-of-way network. For full details see https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/access-to-green-space-in-england.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
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 sustainability of the future water supply.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies, consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years. Within the plans, water companies consider all options, including demand management and new water resources infrastructure. The draft plans show how the Government’s water demand targets will be met, including reducing leaks, and contain proposals for multiple new water resources infrastructure schemes, such as reservoirs, by 2050.
Further information on the water resources plans can be found in the Environment Agency’s Summary of England’s draft regional and water resources management plan published in March 2024.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hectares of new wildlife habitats have been (a) created and (b) restored since 31 January 2023.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We do not currently have an estimate for habitat created and restored in 2023, the first year of the target.
Data on habitat created and restored is not usually available by year end. We expect there to be a two-year lag before having a 'complete' count due to the time taken for data to be reported and the quality assurance process.
In April, we published information about actions that will count toward our statutory habitat target, the list of wildlife rich habitats, and definitions of restoration and creation (available here).
We are currently working with Natural England to set up a formal reporting system for monitoring progress towards our statutory habitat target.
While we establish this formal reporting system, we are looking at whether we can collect a subset of data from Defra Group delivery mechanisms for ad hoc interim reporting.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
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 he has made of the impact of artificial grass on (a) natural habitats and (b) the wider environment.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government has not made a formal ecological assessment of the impact of the use of plastic grass in residential or commercial settings, however we continue to use available research to understand the impacts on biodiversity. We recognise that, in itself, artificial grass has no value for wildlife. Its installation can have negative impacts on soil health, biodiversity and drainage for flood prevention or alleviation if installed in place of natural earth or more positive measures such as planting flowers or trees or providing natural water features.
Our 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Given the scale of the plastics problem, we need to take a targeted and evidence-led approach to tackling the issues of plastic waste. We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and materials to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of unnecessary plastic products.
Improving biodiversity is a key objective for the Government. We prefer to help people and companies make the right choice, rather than banning or taxing items outright. For example, the Environment Act 2021 introduced a number of policies that will support the restoration of habitat. Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities will work together to drive action, including to create or restore habitats that enable wildlife to recover and thrive, while conservation covenants will help secure habitat for the long term.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that men with bowel and bladder incontinence have access to public sanitary disposal bins.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government encourages local authorities to consider such provision in public toilets to support those with this need but does not have powers to compel the provision of sanitary bins in public toilets. I would encourage the hon. Member to raise the issue locally.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
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 her Department's consultation regarding the registration of all birdkeepers, published on 7 March 2023, for what reason that policy applies to caged birds without exposure to other birds.
Answered by Mark Spencer
On 7 March 2023, Defra, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government launched a joint 12-week public GB-wide consultation on proposed registration requirement for all bird keepers as part of our work to tackle avian influenza. The consultation closes at 23:45 on 31 May 2023.
Proposed changes include extending the mandatory registration requirements to all bird keepers and not just those who keep 50 or more poultry (as is the current legal requirement) and requiring a mandatory annual update to the registration information. This includes owners of backyard flocks, birds of prey and pigeon fanciers. This proposal will not affect pet birds that are kept entirely inside a domestic dwelling. For example, a parrot or a budgie kept in a cage entirely within a domestic dwelling and which never leaves the said dwelling except for veterinary assistance or short-term (a few days or 2-3 weeks) periods where the owner is unable to look after the bird(s) themselves.
A review of the poultry registration process was identified as one of the key lessons from the 2021/22 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak and previous HPAI outbreaks. In addition, the 2018 Dame Glenys Stacey Review recommended the removal of the lower bird number limit for registration of poultry, due to the risk of exotic disease and the operational need to reach all poultry owners when an outbreak occurs. The mandatory registration requirements will enable the Government to communicate with bird keepers quickly, to manage potential disease outbreaks, such as avian influenza, and limit the spread. By registering their birds, keepers will ensure they receive important information on biosecurity rules to help protect their flocks from the threat of avian influenza.
Information bird keepers will need to provide includes contact details of the owner, the location where birds are kept and details of the birds (species, number, and what they are kept for). Efficiency and ease of use will be one of the key driving factors in any registration tool. We are working on moving the register to an online portal to allow keepers to access and update their record directly. The online platform will be rolled out in phases, with the first phase likely to be rolled out by summer 2023. The proposed changes will not be implemented until new keepers can register their bird(s) via the online portal and those already registered are able to review and update their information via the online platform.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
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 help ensure any registration process for birdkeepers is effective and easy to use.
Answered by Mark Spencer
On 7 March 2023, Defra, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government launched a joint 12-week public GB-wide consultation on proposed registration requirement for all bird keepers as part of our work to tackle avian influenza. The consultation closes at 23:45 on 31 May 2023.
Proposed changes include extending the mandatory registration requirements to all bird keepers and not just those who keep 50 or more poultry (as is the current legal requirement) and requiring a mandatory annual update to the registration information. This includes owners of backyard flocks, birds of prey and pigeon fanciers. This proposal will not affect pet birds that are kept entirely inside a domestic dwelling. For example, a parrot or a budgie kept in a cage entirely within a domestic dwelling and which never leaves the said dwelling except for veterinary assistance or short-term (a few days or 2-3 weeks) periods where the owner is unable to look after the bird(s) themselves.
A review of the poultry registration process was identified as one of the key lessons from the 2021/22 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak and previous HPAI outbreaks. In addition, the 2018 Dame Glenys Stacey Review recommended the removal of the lower bird number limit for registration of poultry, due to the risk of exotic disease and the operational need to reach all poultry owners when an outbreak occurs. The mandatory registration requirements will enable the Government to communicate with bird keepers quickly, to manage potential disease outbreaks, such as avian influenza, and limit the spread. By registering their birds, keepers will ensure they receive important information on biosecurity rules to help protect their flocks from the threat of avian influenza.
Information bird keepers will need to provide includes contact details of the owner, the location where birds are kept and details of the birds (species, number, and what they are kept for). Efficiency and ease of use will be one of the key driving factors in any registration tool. We are working on moving the register to an online portal to allow keepers to access and update their record directly. The online platform will be rolled out in phases, with the first phase likely to be rolled out by summer 2023. The proposed changes will not be implemented until new keepers can register their bird(s) via the online portal and those already registered are able to review and update their information via the online platform.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to communicate the peat ban for the professional horticulture sector with (a) UK-based nurseries and (b) international suppliers of plants and trees that import products into the UK.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We have conducted a formal consultation which ended on 18 March 2022. This was followed up with more detailed stakeholder engagement last autumn with over seventy representatives from the horticultural sector. The Government response to the consultation was published on 27 August 2022. The latest government position can be found at: https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/24/media-reporting-on-peat-ban-for-the-professional-horticulture-sector/
In recent weeks I have met with a range of stakeholders, including the Horticultural Trade Association and visited horticultural businesses where I have discussed our proposals. My officials are in regular contact with representative groups, including the National Farmers’ Union and the British Leafy Salads Association. Further meetings with stakeholders are planned in the coming months.