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Written Question
Deep Sea Mining
Monday 26th June 2023

Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent (a) representations and (b) discussions on the potential impact of deep-sea mining on (i) biodiversity and (ii) ecosystems.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Defra works closely with leads across Government to advise on the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining and the provision of effective protection for the marine environment. This includes collaboration with the Department for Business and Trade, which is responsible for state sponsorship of UK Seabed Resources’ two exploration contracts, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which leads the UK delegation to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the international organisation through which States Parties organise and control deep-sea mining activities.

We recognise the growing pressure to extract deep-sea resources and are deeply concerned about the potential impacts of mining activities on the fragile marine environment. This is why the UK will maintain its precautionary and conditional position of not sponsoring or supporting the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems, and a strong, enforceable environmental regulatory framework has been developed at the ISA and is in place.

Informed by evidence, we continue to listen to and contribute to discussions on deep-seabed mining, including those at the ISA, pressing for the highest environmental standards in relation to existing exploration activity, and potential future commercial exploitation should that be approved by the ISA.

The UK is continuing to develop a better understanding of the impacts of deep-sea mining. Through Government sponsorship of academic research and existing exploration licences, over 70 peer-reviewed publications supporting a greater understanding of environmental issues have already been produced, with more to come. The Government also commissioned an independent review from the British Geological Survey, the National Oceanography Centre and Heriot-Watt University to provide a comprehensive description of current research related to deep-sea mining. It includes elements such as environmental, economic and societal considerations, and identifies key outstanding questions and evidence gaps. The terms of reference and a summary of the evidence review were published October 2022, in line with our commitment to transparency and developing the global evidence base in relation to deep-sea mining.

The UK Government is also funding the five-year SMARTEX project on seabed mining and resilience to experimental impacts, which aims to build a better understanding of the ecosystem in the Pacific abyss. In particular, the SMARTEX project aims to add to the scientific evidence base for informed decision-making by understanding the long-term environmental impacts of mining and whether this will have serious consequences for the ecosystem.


Written Question
Deep Sea Mining
Monday 26th June 2023

Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential environmental impact of deep-sea mining on the seabed.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Defra works closely with leads across Government to advise on the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining and the provision of effective protection for the marine environment. This includes collaboration with the Department for Business and Trade, which is responsible for state sponsorship of UK Seabed Resources’ two exploration contracts, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which leads the UK delegation to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the international organisation through which States Parties organise and control deep-sea mining activities.

We recognise the growing pressure to extract deep-sea resources and are deeply concerned about the potential impacts of mining activities on the fragile marine environment. This is why the UK will maintain its precautionary and conditional position of not sponsoring or supporting the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems, and a strong, enforceable environmental regulatory framework has been developed at the ISA and is in place.

Informed by evidence, we continue to listen to and contribute to discussions on deep-seabed mining, including those at the ISA, pressing for the highest environmental standards in relation to existing exploration activity, and potential future commercial exploitation should that be approved by the ISA.

The UK is continuing to develop a better understanding of the impacts of deep-sea mining. Through Government sponsorship of academic research and existing exploration licences, over 70 peer-reviewed publications supporting a greater understanding of environmental issues have already been produced, with more to come. The Government also commissioned an independent review from the British Geological Survey, the National Oceanography Centre and Heriot-Watt University to provide a comprehensive description of current research related to deep-sea mining. It includes elements such as environmental, economic and societal considerations, and identifies key outstanding questions and evidence gaps. The terms of reference and a summary of the evidence review were published October 2022, in line with our commitment to transparency and developing the global evidence base in relation to deep-sea mining.

The UK Government is also funding the five-year SMARTEX project on seabed mining and resilience to experimental impacts, which aims to build a better understanding of the ecosystem in the Pacific abyss. In particular, the SMARTEX project aims to add to the scientific evidence base for informed decision-making by understanding the long-term environmental impacts of mining and whether this will have serious consequences for the ecosystem.


Written Question
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Consultants
Monday 5th September 2022

Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The department’s spend on consultancy is published each year in the Annual Report and Accounts.

2020-21

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021 (page 100)

2019-20

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020 (page 87)

2018-19

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019 (page 64)

2017-18

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018 (page 51)

2016-17

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017 (page 42)

The breakdown of this expenditure could only be provided by incurring disproportionate costs.

Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.

All Government departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.


Written Question

Question Link

Monday 17th May 2021

Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)

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 bring forward legislative proposals similar to those recently brought forward by the French Government to require that all new washing machines are fitted with microfilters to help prevent synthetic microfibres from entering rivers and oceans and consequently entering the food chain.

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

The Government currently has no plans to require manufacturers to install microplastic filters on new washing machines. We are working with industry to encourage improved environmental outcomes and reduce water pollution on a voluntary basis. We will continue to assess new and emerging evidence and consider the need for legislation in the future if the current approach is not successful.

Water infrastructure is recognised as an important pathway for contaminants, including microplastics, to the wider environment. The Government is working with the industry and scientific community to focus on research which addresses the evidence gaps in knowledge of the issues and the real world impacts these materials are exerting on our ecosystems and people.

Defra has published the outcome of research - Investigating the sources and pathways of synthetic fibre and vehicle tyre wear contamination into the marine environment . The report highlights the prevalence of tyre-wear particles and fibres from clothing in air/water and storm drain pathways to the marine environment. A key conclusion from this research was that there are many textile fibres in the air close to roads, particularly those with pedestrians, which would settle into waterways. Comparatively, there were fewer fibres entering the marine environment from waste-water treatment plants. Before considering options to prevent microfibres entering the water environment, such as washing machine filters, there needs to be more certainty about the impacts of policy measures designed to reduce microplastic fibres entering freshwater and marine environments.