Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve air quality in (a) Peterborough and (b) the rest of the UK.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Local authorities are responsible for tackling air quality in their local communities. The landmark Environment Act 2021 enables greater local action on air pollution by improving the local air quality management framework in England.
The Act also introduces a clear duty to set two new targets for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) – the pollutant of most harm to health. Our dual-target approach will tackle the highest concentrations and ensure continuous improvement across the country.
The Government is taking robust and comprehensive action to improve air quality in the UK. We are working with local authorities to drive down levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to within legal levels, supported by £880 million of funding to develop and implement plans, alongside Clean Air Fund grants to support those most impacted by these plans. In addition, we have committed £1.5 billion to support the early market and remove barriers to zero emission vehicles ownership. We have pledged a further £2.8 billion package of measures to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles. In Summer 2020 the Prime Minister launched ambitious plans to boost walking and cycling in England, with a vision for half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2030. This commitment is backed with £2 billion of investment over five years.
The Clean Air Strategy sets out the comprehensive action that is required in England from across all parts of Government and society to meet our targets.
Air quality is a devolved policy the UK Government and the devolved administrations work collaboratively and consult on actions needed to improve air quality across the UK.
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
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 his response to the consultation on the Introduction of a deposit return scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Final details and next steps for the deposit return scheme will be presented in a Government response which will be published early next year.
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the charges made by local authorities for bulky household waste collections in England.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Defra does not collect information on the charges made by local authorities for bulky household waste collections in England.
However, Defra collects data on the tonnages of bulky residual waste collected by each reporting authority.
This information is published as part of Local Authority waste management statistics, available here: WasteDataFlow - Local Authority waste management on data.gov.uk
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
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 collect information on the number of bulky household waste collections in England.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Defra does not collect information on the charges made by local authorities for bulky household waste collections in England.
However, Defra collects data on the tonnages of bulky residual waste collected by each reporting authority.
This information is published as part of Local Authority waste management statistics, available here: WasteDataFlow - Local Authority waste management on data.gov.uk
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) financial and (b) other support he is giving to local authorities to (i) plant more trees and (ii) create new areas of woodland.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra supports tree planting in England through established mechanisms, almost all of which are available to Local Authorities and their partners if they can meet the rules of the scheme. These include the Woodland Creation Planning Grant, Woodland Carbon Fund, Countryside Stewardship and the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.
We have also announced a £640 million Nature for Climate Fund which will drive tree-planting in this parliament. Plans for that will be announced through a new England Tree Strategy, including how local authorities can access grant funding for tree planting and woodland management.