Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Debate between Mary Glindon and Caroline Spelman

Monday 23rd May 2011 Ministerial Corrections

[Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

1. What recent representations she has received from local authorities on her Department’s waste review.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

My ministerial colleagues and I have met a wide range of local authority representatives to discuss our review of waste policy in England. Eighty local authorities, and a range of partnership groups, responded to our call for evidence and many have participated in subsequent discussions with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officials, emphasising the diversity of local circumstances.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Glindon]

Can the Secretary of State tell me what DEFRA is doing to help local authorities to crack down on persistent fly-tippers in rural and urban areas?

[Mrs Spelman]

Responsibility for dealing with fly-tipping is also a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government, and I am sure that the hon. Lady is aware that, over time, the fines have been increased. The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 makes provision for penalties for fly-tippers, and I want to make it perfectly clear from DEFRA’s perspective that it is a practice that we abhor, and that we seek to catch and prosecute those who perpetrate it.

[Official Report, 12 May 2011, Vol. 527, c. 1333.]

An error has been identified in an oral answer given on 12 May 2011. It is the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as amended) that makes provision for penalties for fly-tippers, not the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.

The correct answer should have been:

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mary Glindon and Caroline Spelman

Thursday 12th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

1. What recent representations she has received from local authorities on her Department’s waste review. [Official Report, 23 May 2011, Vol. 528, c. 5-6MC.]

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

My ministerial colleagues and I have met a wide range of local authority representatives to discuss our review of waste policy in England. Eighty local authorities, and a range of partnership groups, responded to our call for evidence and many have participated in subsequent discussions with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officials, emphasising the diversity of local circumstances.

[Mrs Glindon]

Can the Secretary of State tell me what DEFRA is doing to help local authorities to crack down on persistent fly-tippers in rural and urban areas?

[Mrs Spelman]

Responsibility for dealing with fly-tipping is also a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government, and I am sure that the hon. Lady is aware that, over time, the fines have been increased. The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 makes provision for penalties for fly-tippers, and I want to make it perfectly clear from DEFRA’s perspective that it is a practice that we abhor, and that we seek to catch and prosecute those who perpetrate it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mary Glindon and Caroline Spelman

Thursday 9th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

17. What steps her Department is taking to encourage the procurement of food of British origin by the public sector.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

We are committed to ensuring that food procured by Government Departments, and eventually the whole public sector, meets British or equivalent standards of production wherever this can be achieved without increasing overall costs. I have written to ministerial colleagues asking them to look closely at how they can help us to meet this objective.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Glindon]

The Secretary of State referred to the fact that she has asked the Cabinet to implement her policy on food procurement. Will she explain more about the practical policies that she will implement to ensure that this procurement goes ahead?

[Mrs Spelman]

Again, I can give the hon. Lady this assurance. I have just said that I have written to all Departments about the importance that the coalition attaches to encouraging the public sector to procure food to the highest possible standards, followed up by the development of Government buying standards for food. However, I would like to give her some encouragement regarding our progress. It is demonstrable that we can implement this policy without increasing overall costs. Nottingham city council is a good example. It procures 90% of its fresh food from the east midlands area while demonstrating that the average cost per meal is 30% lower than the national average. That fact is welcomed by the Secretary of State for Health.