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Written Question
Agriculture: Weed Killers
Friday 21st May 2021

Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what herbicide and sprout suppressants have been approved by his Department for use in the UK following the ban on the use of CIPC; and whether his Department has issued guidance to farmers switching from using CIPC to alternative herbicide and sprout suppressants.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The Government is aware that the loss of chlorpropham (CIPC), has left a gap in availability of products to control sprouting in stored potatoes, and that in some situations, particularly where potatoes are intended for processing, there are no similarly effective solutions currently available.

Before an alternative pesticide can be used, its active substance must be approved and the pesticide product itself must be authorised. Decisions on approval and authorisation are based on an assessment of the risks posed to people and to the environment. Such decisions are devolved and so are taken by the relevant government or by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on its behalf.

The active substance 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene (1,4-DMN) is an alternative to chlorpropham (CIPC). At present there is no authorised product. The UK Government and the Devolved Administrations have granted an emergency authorisation allowing the limited and controlled use until 31 May 2021 of the 1,4-DMN product, 1,4-Sight, to prevent sprouting of harvested potatoes. This emergency authorisation is granted in recognition of the need for sprout suppression and the lack, in certain circumstances, of alternative means of control. The application for full authorisation is being considered by the HSE. Advice on the availability and use of alternative products is provided by industry bodies.


Written Question
Roads: Litter
Friday 22nd January 2021

Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to help reduce and discourage littering on roads and major highways.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In the 2017 Litter Strategy, the Government set out a number of commitments to tackle roadside litter through education, improved infrastructure and enforcement.

We have already given councils new powers to hold the keeper of a vehicle responsible for litter thrown from it by issuing a civil penalty, carried out a pilot survey of roadside cleanliness on those parts of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) which are litter-picked by local authorities and engaged over 100 of those authorities in research to explore associated issues, challenges and good practice.

We expect to publish a report on our findings later this year. This work is ongoing and will also support future updates to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse.

On other parts of the SRN the responsibility for cleansing lies with Highways England, who have committed to their vision of a network predominantly free from litter, without compromising safety and delivered affordably, in their own Litter Strategy, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-england-litter-strategy

We will continue to promote anti-littering messages where possible, as we have done recently via social media and dedicated campaigns such as ‘Respect the Outdoors’.

On behalf of Defra and MHCLG, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have recently published guidance for local authorities and Business Improvement Districts in England on the provision of litter bins, which includes a section on ‘Highways, laybys and rest stops’. We are also making £2 million available in the form of grants to local authorities to improve the provision of litter bins.

The Right Bin in the Right Place guidance is available at https://wrap.org.uk/content/binfrastructure-right-bin-right-place .


Written Question
Fracking: Water
Friday 3rd May 2019

Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many waste water facilities in the UK are permitted to treat waste water from hydraulic fracturing operations.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

This is a devolved matter and the below information relates to England only.

There are currently five facilities in England with the appropriate environmental permits that would allow for the treatment of the waste water from hydraulic fracturing. There are a large number of sites around the country which, subject to obtaining the relevant permits, could accept and treat waste water from hydraulic fracturing.


Written Question
Fracking: Landfill
Friday 3rd May 2019

Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many landfill sites in the UK are permitted to dispose of (a) waste water sludge, (b) sand and (c) filter cake produced from hydraulic fracturing operations.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

Any sand or sludge resulting from hydraulic fracturing operations will form in the filter cake that is produced as part of the waste water treatment process. This solid waste needs to be tested to determine if it is hazardous or non-hazardous before it can be disposed of at a landfill site. Depending on the results, the filter cake can be sent to any landfill site that has the necessary permits in place. There are currently 21 hazardous waste landfill sites and 245 non-hazardous waste landfill sites permitted in England.


Written Question
Fracking: Water
Friday 3rd May 2019

Asked by: Lee Rowley (Conservative - North East Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what process did waste water go through in order to be (a) treated and (b) disposed of following hydraulic fracturing operations in 2018.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

The waste water from hydraulic fracturing was treated using a physio-chemical process involving the precipitation and filtration of metal solids. Two waste streams are produced from this treatment process – liquid effluent and solid filter cake. The liquid effluent is tested to ensure it complies with the strict limits of the trade effluent consent, and then disposed of to foul sewer. It then undergoes further treatment at the sewage treatment works, prior to discharge. The filter cake is tested to determine if it is hazardous or non-hazardous, and then sent to a suitably permitted landfill site.