Oral Answers to Questions

Mary Creagh Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

1. What steps he is taking to promote biodiversity recovery.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)]

This Government are determined to halt and reverse the trend of nature loss in our country and end the cycle of destroy, regret and restore. We are investing £400 million in tree planting and peatland restoration. We have announced a new nature restoration fund and set out plans to end the use of neonicotinoid pesticides that harm our precious pollinators.

[Andrew George]

I am grateful to the Minister for her reply. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted nations on this planet. The “State of Nature Report 2023” indicated that up to one in six UK species faces the risk of extinction. The Minister’s reply is very encouraging, but just last week the Chancellor, promoting the Government’s growth agenda, urged us to

“stop worrying about bats and newts.”

If it really does come to that, who speaks for the Government, and whose side is the Minister on—the Chancellor or threatened wildlife?

[Mary Creagh]

We have to end the false dichotomy between creating places for people and creating places for nature. The previous Government introduced biodiversity net gain, which means that when a developer builds somewhere, they must deliver a 10% BNG for nature. That is in its early stages, after just a year, but we are looking to see how it might be extended. With the nature restoration fund, we have established a more efficient and effective way to allow obligations related to our most important sites and species to be discharged at scale, which has the greatest environmental benefit and is a win-win for nature and people.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Minister on announcing our plan to ban bee-killing pesticides. That is welcomed across Monmouthshire, particularly by our fantastic charity based in Monmouth, Bees for Development. Does she agree that where the Conservatives failed, this Government will restore nature and biodiversity for future generations?

[Mary Creagh]

I do agree, and I pay tribute to the people who are speaking for the bees in my hon. Friend’s constituency. We will deliver 30 by 30 on land in England. That means that we will protect and preserve 30% of our land for nature and long-term conservation and management as part of our contribution to international targets.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

When we thought it could not get any worse, the Government roll out their latest attack on our farming community and UK food production, setting the direction that they want to replace food production, with around 20% of farmland being dedicated to solar farms, tree planting, biodiversity offsetting and wildlife habitats, all to meet green targets. The figures are astonishing, with the Government proposing to take well over 1 million hectares out of food production.

The economic analysis already predicts that well over 12,000 farms will be lost within a generation as a result of this Government’s policies. Will the Minister acknowledge that hard-working farmers are being caught in the crossfire in this Government’s dash towards green targets, and does she recognise the fear among our farmers that their policies amount not to food security but food lunacy?

[Mary Creagh]

That is a lot of sound and fury, but this is something the Conservatives were working on in government. This has shades of the deposit return scheme, which was essentially the hon. Gentleman’s legislation, but those on the shadow Front Bench were absent without leave when it came to the vote. We have published a consultation on the land use framework. It has been welcomed by the National Farmers Union and by farmers for giving certainty and security—something that was sadly lacking from the previous Government.

[Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to increase the accountability of water company executives for service failures.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)]

10. What steps he is taking to improve the regulation of metal recycling businesses.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)]

Metal recyclers are regulated by local authorities and the Environment Agency and must meet specific treatment standards. We are ensuring that online marketplaces and vape producers contribute fairly towards the cost of recycling waste electricals, including metal components, and the sale of disposable vapes will be banned from 1 June.

[Alistair Strathern]

Six times in the past 12 months, Hitchin has had to endure repeated fires in industrial estates often triggered by lithium-ion batteries. It is clear that we need much tougher regulations to ensure the safety of those sites and, given the inherent risk that their businesses now pose, consideration of whether a time-limited licensing scheme would better enable local authorities to ensure that their location remains appropriate with evolving land use. Will the Minister meet me to ensure that we can make progress on this important issue?

[Mary Creagh]

I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend. Battery-related fires risk lives, livelihoods and the environment. The Environment Agency is currently reviewing approximately 2,000 metal recycling permits. The Hitchin shredder site is midway through its review, and a revised permit will be issued shortly. The Environment Agency has also produced new regulatory guidance on metal shredding and will consult on guidance for waste batteries in the spring.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

In Northern Ireland we are fortunate to have fairly good regulation of metal recycling businesses. Ards and North Down borough council, for example, do that exceptionally well. Other businesses across my borough, and indeed in Belfast and further afield in Northern Ireland, do the same. I know that the Minister loves going to Northern Ireland. Has she had an opportunity to speak to the relevant Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive to discuss what we are doing to help here?

[Mary Creagh]

The hon. Gentleman knows my affection and my origins in County Fermanagh, the lakeland county. I would be happy to talk to Minister Muir about what we can learn in England from the good practice that seems to be happening in Northern Ireland.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

T2. The people of Fleetwood, Thornton and beyond have suffered from toxic stenches for the past 12 months. Last night was extremely unpleasant, with residents reporting nosebleeds, breathing problems, headaches and vomiting this morning. The stench is due to the mismanagement of the local Jameson Road landfill site. Despite multiple interventions by the Environment Agency, including a six-week closure, the smell is now as bad as ever, if not worse. Order. These are topical questions—please get to the question. What can the Government do to ensure that the Environment Agency has much stronger powers to deal with landfill sites that bring daily misery to residents, such as those living in my constituency?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)]

My heart goes out to my hon. Friend’s constituents, who are clearly suffering terrible public health consequences from the stink at that site. There is an ongoing investigation into the cause of odour issues that have impacted the community in Fleetwood, which escalated in January 2024. The Environment Agency has told me that it expects odour issues to reduce within the next seven days. Should that not occur, it will consider any and all appropriate regulatory interventions to reduce the impact on the community. It has also launched—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We only have four minutes.

--- Later in debate ---

[Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield) (Lab)]

T3. Too many communities, including in Huddersfield, are forced to deal with persistent fly-tipping and littering in their streets and neighbourhoods, and residents are understandably fed up with it. What support are the Government providing to local areas to ensure that they have the resources they need to prevent and tackle persistent fly-tipping?

[Mary Creagh]

I visited a fly-tipping site in Lichfield where people have been trapped in their homes. Fly-tipping blights communities, harms wildlife and places huge costs on taxpayers and businesses. Councils dealt with over a million incidents in 2022-23, up 10% on three years ago. I do not believe that the waste carriers, brokers and dealers regime is fit for purpose, so I have asked officials to look at how we strengthen that regime to crack down on waste criminals.

[Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)]

I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Thoroughbred horses are high-health, high-welfare animals, and they should be treated as such to allow cross-border travel without physical border checks. Can the Minister commit today to recognise their high-health status, put welfare first and reduce this barrier to trade?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lee Barron (Corby and East Northamptonshire) (Lab)]

T6. Over a decade ago, planning permission was given to build an incinerator on the outskirts of Corby. That location now has thousands of houses, a school and a nursery. Frankly, it is now in the heart of the community and no longer on the outskirts. Given that the incinerator is yet to be built, does the Minister agree with me that, in the light of the crackdown on waste incinerators, the planning application should be looked at again and the incinerator moved?

[Mary Creagh]

It is not appropriate for me to comment on a specific planning permission case, but I do encourage those developing energy-from-waste facilities, including those that already have permission, to consider the evidence that DEFRA published over the recess, the new standards that we have introduced and the Government’s circular economy opportunities when determining whether their facility is still required.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.