Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will take steps to work with water companies to explore (a) the management of microplastics in sewage sludge and (b) options for protecting chalk streams; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Last year the Government launched the most ambitious plan to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows in water company history. The Environment Agency is currently developing a microplastics monitoring plan for English rivers . The Government has prioritised chalk streams in policy and legislation. In the Plan for Water, we reaffirmed our commitment to protecting chalk streams and recognised them as having a special natural heritage.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to improve methods of measuring the (a) amount and (b) types of (i) microplastic and (ii) microfibres in chalk streams; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency is currently developing a microplastics monitoring plan for English rivers . The Government has prioritised chalk streams in policy and legislation. In the Plan for Water, we have reaffirmed our commitment to protecting chalk streams and recognised them as having a special natural heritage.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
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 introduce water efficiency labelling for white goods; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
On 1st July 2021 Defra released a written ministerial statement on reducing demand for water in which we committed to introduce a mandatory water efficiency label. We published a consultation on 2nd September including our proposal for dual labelling for white goods that already have an energy label: UK Mandatory Water Efficiency Labelling - Defra - Citizen Space (https://consult.defra.gov.uk/water-efficiency-labelling/water-efficiency-labelling/).
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
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 it his policy to implement at least five no-take Highly Protected Marine Areas as defined by the Benyon Review.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are currently consulting on five candidate Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs). The consultation closes on 28th September. All evidence gathered will be analysed and will be used to inform the Secretary of State's decision on which sites to designate. Any pilot HPMAs will be designated by 6th July 2023, within one year of the consultation launch.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
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 it his policy to ban (a) bottom-trawling and (b) other bottom-towed fishing gear in all offshore Marine Protected Areas; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a devolved competency and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
We have designated a comprehensive network of MPAs and are now focused on making sure they are properly protected. Using new powers provided by the Fisheries Act 2020, we have already introduced byelaws in the first four offshore sites to protect sensitive habitats and species from bottom-towed gear and other damaging fishing activity. A call for evidence relating to the next 13 offshore sites has also been published and we are aiming to have all 40 MPAs in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
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 upcoming fisheries negotiations with the EU, Norway and north eastern Atlantic coastal states, if the Government will make it its policy not to set catch limits for any stocks in excess of scientific advice.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK advocates an approach towards setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs) which is founded on the best available scientific advice and which will maintain or rebuild sustainable fish stocks and fisheries.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to reduce sewage releases by water companies into chalk streams; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of its planning the Environment Agency (EA) has assessed the impact of sewage discharges on the water environment which has informed the development of the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) for the period 2020 to 2025. This programme of work is now being implemented by the water companies at a cost of over £4 billion with many of the improvements targeted at improving river water quality to support fisheries and improved habitats for wildlife. Within the programme there is work associated with sewage discharges at about 39% of the chalk stream water bodies in England. This work consists of improvement monitoring of sewage treatment works’ performance, investigations and improvements schemes. These investigations will inform further improvement work in the next investment programme (2025 to 2030).
Additionally, a new Taskforce has been established between Defra, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, the Consumer Council for Water and Water UK to set out clear proposals to address the volumes of sewage discharged into our rivers from storm overflows. The impacts on chalk streams are being considered by the taskforce as part of the prioritisation of work on storm overflows.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to reduce over-abstraction by water companies from chalk streams.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government's Water Abstraction Plan, that was published in December 2017 sets out clear objectives for achieving sustainable abstraction for England, plus mechanisms for delivery. Our approach to addressing these issues has three main elements:
Progress was last reported to parliament in May 2019 ( Report to Parliament )
The Environment Agency has already made changes to 124 licences to protect chalk streams from over abstraction, returning over 37 billion litres of water per year to chalk streams, and preventing a further 100 billion litres per year being abstracted. In addition, they have revoked 85 unused and underused licences in chalk streams, preventing 7.5 billion litres of water being abstracted every year.
Further sustainability reductions amounting to about 100 million litres per day in chalk streams will be delivered in the next 5 years by water companies through the Water Industry National Environment Programme. In addition, the Environment Agency is working with water companies to prioritise additional voluntary reductions in sensitive chalk catchments.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2015 to Question 2734, what progress her Department has made on restoring physical habitats on chalk rivers in North East Hertfordshire constituency.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Through its Restoring Sustainable Abstraction (RSA) Programme, the Environment Agency (EA) is working with local water companies and the Catchment partnerships to significantly improve the condition, flow and habitats of chalk streams Beane, Mimram and Lee.
As part of the Programme, Affinity Water and the EA have committed to investing £3 million by 2020 in habitat improvement projects for these chalk streams. These are currently in the planning and design stage. Delivery will accelerate as the Programme progresses over the next five years.
In order to achieve the greatest benefit from these works, Affinity Water has agreed to reduce abstraction from local chalk streams by over 40 million litres per day by 2024. It will significantly reduce abstraction at the Whitehall pumping station on the River Beane by 2018 by building a pipeline, currently under construction, to supply customers with water from alternative sources.
The EA partnership project at Waterford Marsh, also on the River Beane, has seen improvements for both wildlife and people through chalk stream restoration, pond creation, access repair, and the provision of new information boards.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2015 to Question 2734, what changes to phosphate pollution levels in Hertfordshire's chalk rivers have been recorded over the past 12 months; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Overall, the phosphate levels in Hertfordshire’s rivers have remained stable over the past 12 months. Phosphate can remain present in river sediments for a number of years, and it can take five to 10 years to show any signs of ecological recovery following phosphate reductions.