Asked by: Lorraine Beavers (Labour - Blackpool North and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to strengthen the Environment Agency's due diligence processes for (a) awarding and (b) transferring environmental permits.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Guidance on due diligence checks for a) awarding and b) transferring environmental permits under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 are set out in the legal and operator competence guidance and the relevant convictions guidance published on GOV.UK. The legal and operator competence guidance was last updated in 2019 (/www.gov.uk/guidance/legal-operator-and-competence-requirements-environmental-permits) and the relevant convictions guidance in July 2023 (www.gov.uk/government/publications/relevant-conviction-guidance-for-permit-applications-for-waste-activities-and-installations-only).
Defra works closely with the Environment Agency to monitor its performance and ensure it enforces environmental protection laws and delivers for the public.
Defra also continuously evaluates the effectiveness of the environmental permitting framework in upholding environmental and human health protections. The most recent Post Implementation Review published in June last year (www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1154/pdfs/uksiod_20161154_en_003.pdf) found that the regulations appeared to be functioning effectively.
Asked by: Lorraine Beavers (Labour - Blackpool North and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to simplify the process for the issuance of abatement notices by the Environment Agency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is responsible for the domestic legislation covering Statutory Nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, whilst Local Authorities environmental health departments are the main enforcers of the Statutory Nuisance regime and associated legislation.
It is Local Authorities, not the Environment Agency, that issue abatement notices if a statutory nuisance is found to have happened; is happening, or will happen in the future.
Asked by: Lorraine Beavers (Labour - Blackpool North and Fleetwood)
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 take steps to require landfill operators to publish regular information on the (a) types and (b) quantities of waste deposited at each of their sites.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The waste data for landfills in England is publicly available through the Environment Agency. Operators must report waste types and quantities, which are part of a public register accessible via the Environment Agency and published annually on GOV.UK: How to access waste management data for England - GOV.UK
The most recent data can be found online through the 2023 Waste Data Interrogator - data.gov.uk webpage.
Asked by: Lorraine Beavers (Labour - Blackpool North and Fleetwood)
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 banning further licenses for coastal landfill sites.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State does not currently have plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of banning further licences for coastal landfill sites.
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations provide an integrated framework for the regulation of activities that could harm the environment or human health. The Environment Agency issues permits only if pollution risks are acceptable and requires coastal landfill operators to prevent waste release, considering future climate risks. Local planning authorities have responsibility for providing planning consent for facilities such as landfill sites and decide upon future landfill locations.