Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
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 Answer of 20 September 2023 to Question 198801 on Exhaust Emissions: Environment Protection, how much funding has been provided for Selective Catalytic Reduction bus retrofit technology (a) since 2013, (b) in total and (c) per scheme.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government provided £19 million for trials of retrofit technology including Selective Catalytic Reduction through the 2013 and 2015 Clean Bus Technology Funds and the 2014 Clean Vehicle Technology Fund. £64 million was provided for Selective Catalytic Reduction bus retrofit by the 2017-2019 Clean Bus Technology Fund. Between 2017 and 2023 the NO2 programme provided £31 million for bus upgrade and retrofit schemes to local authorities, with some local discretion about how this funding is allocated.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish (a) correspondence and (b) advice sent by her Department to local authorities on the effectiveness of retrofitting technology funded by the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
There are no plans to publish the correspondence sent to Local Authorities at present.
Government has communicated to Local Authorities that we have paused new Government funding for Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) bus retrofit technology, following research by Scottish Government and internal monitoring which suggested it might not always be as effective as expected.
We are conducting a programme of work to investigate the performance or bus retrofits and we are still on track to complete our investigations this Autumn.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the Joint Air Quality Unit to issue evaluation guidance to Local Authorities on how NO2 compliance will be determined for the purpose of clean air zones.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Joint Air Quality Unit is working closely with local authorities that are part of the NO2 Programme. A comprehensive suite of guidance has already been issued to Local Authorities on 28 June, covering a range of issues including how JAQU will determine the success of Local Authority NO2 Air Quality Plans. The Joint Air Quality Unit has also held a workshop with Local Authorities to go through this guidance on 5 July 2023.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish guidance on the completion of health certificates for products on the prohibited and restricted list.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We published the certificates for meat products listed as prohibited and restricted by the EU on 27 January, and the certificates' notes for guidance, for use by the certifying officers, on 29 January.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which aspect of SPS checks on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be phased in.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Regarding trade from Great Britain (GB) to Northern Ireland (NI), the NI Protocol will enter into force from 1 January 2021. At this point, new requirements will apply, in particular to the movement of live animals, plants and agrifood goods. Guidance on these requirements has been published on GOV.UK at the link below, which continues to be updated.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/moving-goods-under-the-northern-ireland-protocol
The requirements that will apply on 1 January to particular types of trade continue to be subject to discussion with the EU. The Government intends to be in a position to provide guidance to traders, based on the outcome of these discussions, in the very near future.
Regarding trade from NI to GB, the draft Definition of Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 are currently before Parliament. These draft regulations set out that, from the end of the transition period, all goods in free circulation in NI moving directly from NI ports to GB will qualify for unfettered market access.
For goods moving from NI to GB which qualify for unfettered market access from 1 January 2021, direct trade will continue as it does now. Any existing sanitary and phytosanitary checks will continue but there will be no new requirements to place these goods on the market. Appropriate authorities can continue to use existing powers after 1 January 2021 to manage and control the threat of disease and pest outbreaks in NI and GB where necessary. This will ensure that our high standards on food safety, plant and animal health, animal welfare and environmental protections can be maintained.
These regulations are part of a phased approach. This will be developed alongside NI business and the NI Executive and introduced during the course of 2021.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether construction has begun on the expanded infrastructure required at each Border Control post in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK Government has been working closely with the Northern Ireland (NI) Executive, and specifically DAERA, on additional or expanded Border Control Post designations at NI points of entry. Work is ongoing at the Points of Entry at Larne, Belfast and Warrenpoint Ports to deliver the facilities needed to undertake sanitary and phytosanitary checks on goods coming into NI from Great Britain (GB) following the end of the transition period. This work has been principally informed by existing trade patterns.
The UK Government is in negotiations with the EU about GB-NI movements. Once these negotiations are complete and a clear process for GB-NI has been defined we will communicate this.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the average daily volume of (a) goods and (b) goods requiring documentary paperwork for SPS checks travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the event that the UK and EU do not reach an agreement on those checks.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra and Daera are working together to ensure that both trade and the movement of goods will continue at the end of the Transition Period. Outcomes from this work, including the process by which controls are conducted, and their frequency (including the level of physical checks required) are being discussed with the EU in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee. Discussions are based on the context of the provision in the Protocol that both parties must use their "best endeavours" to avoid controls at Northern Ireland ports.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of veterinary officials that will be required at border inspection posts in Northern Ireland for trade from Great Britain; and how many of those veterinary officials have been recruited to date.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Decisions on the requirement for and recruitment of veterinary and other technical staff within Northern Ireland, including at points of entry from Great Britain, are for the Northern Ireland Executive. Defra continues to work closely with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on this and other aspects of implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. We are also taking steps to increase official certifier capacity in Great Britain in line with the requirements of the Northern Ireland Protocol. In addition to funding provided last year, we recently launched a £200,000 scheme to provide training for Official Veterinarians and £100,000 for Certification Support Officers.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on the allocation of additional resources to recruit veterinary and other technical staff to manage the new requirements under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Decisions on the requirement for and recruitment of veterinary and other technical staff within Northern Ireland, including at points of entry from Great Britain, are for the Northern Ireland Executive. Defra continues to work closely with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on this and other aspects of implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. We are also taking steps to increase official certifier capacity in Great Britain in line with the requirements of the Northern Ireland Protocol. In addition to funding provided last year, we recently launched a £200,000 scheme to provide training for Official Veterinarians and £100,000 for Certification Support Officers.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether plans to implement digitally the documentary and identity SPS checks on goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As set out in the Command Paper on the UK’s approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, it is the Government’s intention that checks required under the Protocol should be supported by relevant electronic processes.
Defra continues to work closely with the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and relevant enforcement bodies, who have responsibility for undertaking controls for sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) purposes on goods entering Northern Ireland, on the process by which these controls will take place.
In line with our shared determination to maximise the free flow of trade, we are actively seeking to simplify and minimise electronic documentary requirements for SPS purposes.