Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has held with the Welsh Government on the differentiation of identical glass containers in scope of the Deposit Return Scheme in Wales and Extended Producer Responsibility in the UK from 1 October 2027.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra officials engaged extensively with Welsh Government on its decision to include single-use glass containers in its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). This led to an agreement by UK Government to an exclusion from the UK Internal Market Act 2020.
Welsh Government and their Deposit Management Organisation (DMO), once appointed, will need to consider how glass containers subject to their DRS will be labelled.
We continue to engage with the Welsh Government on the implementation of its DRS in respect of single-use glass.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether an interim solution to the exemption process for non-household waste under Extended Producer Responsibility regulations will cover non-household drinks containers supplied indirectly via business models such as wholesalers and third-party distributors.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra is working closely with stakeholders on potential changes to the household packaging definition in the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) regulations, including interim and longer-term approaches to dual-use packaging.
Any approach must be supported by sufficient evidence and be enforceable by regulators.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish a proposed interim solution to the exemption process for non-household waste under Extended Producer Responsibility regulations.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra is working closely with stakeholders on potential changes to the household packaging definition in the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) regulations, including interim and longer-term approaches to dual-use packaging. No final date has been set for any proposed interim solution.
Any changes would need to be workable, enforceable, and protect the operational integrity of the scheme across different supply chains and business models.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason her Department is considering box-level Not for EU labelling of wine and spirits in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is committed to full, faithful, and timely implementation of the Windsor Framework, including the 'Not for EU' labelling requirements of the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme. Defra continually reviews compliance with the Windsor Framework to ensure the UK meets its international obligations.
The Government is negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU, the benefits of which will flow to movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This depends on the UK showing itself to be a trusted partner by continuing to faithfully implement its existing Windsor Framework commitments.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
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 impact of method-of-production labelling on UK animal products on (a) the economy and (b) export growth opportunities.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We are considering the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of the ongoing development of the Government’s wider animal welfare strategy.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of mandatory method-of-production labelling on (a) animal welfare and (b) consumer transparency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We are considering the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of the ongoing development of the Government’s wider animal welfare strategy.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
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 an estimate of the change in the number of miles of (a) public footpaths, (b) bridleways, (c) restricted byways and (d) other public (i) walkways and (ii) cycleways in the UK since 2015.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The public rights of way network provides approximately 140,000 miles of linear access in England and Wales, with 83% found in England and 17% in Wales. In England this consists approximately of:
In addition, when both the King Charles III England Coast Path and Coast to Coast National Trail are complete, the total length of National Trails in England will be 4,952 miles. Permissive paths also give the public access to large amounts of the English countryside.
The National Cycle Network spans 12,000 miles of signed routes for walking, wheeling and cycling including over 5,000 miles of traffic free paths. There are 2,000 miles of canal towpaths in England and Wales.
Information on overall lengths of publicly maintainable cycleways and footways, along with changes to the public rights of way network and other walkways and cycle paths since 2015 in England is held by the respective local authority. Further information on public rights of way and other public paths or routes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Welsh and Scottish Governments and Northern Ireland Executive respectively.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
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 an estimate of the number of miles of (a) public footpaths, (b) bridleways, (c) restricted byways and (d) other public (i) walkways and (ii) cycleways in the UK.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The public rights of way network provides approximately 140,000 miles of linear access in England and Wales, with 83% found in England and 17% in Wales. In England this consists approximately of:
In addition, when both the King Charles III England Coast Path and Coast to Coast National Trail are complete, the total length of National Trails in England will be 4,952 miles. Permissive paths also give the public access to large amounts of the English countryside.
The National Cycle Network spans 12,000 miles of signed routes for walking, wheeling and cycling including over 5,000 miles of traffic free paths. There are 2,000 miles of canal towpaths in England and Wales.
Information on overall lengths of publicly maintainable cycleways and footways, along with changes to the public rights of way network and other walkways and cycle paths since 2015 in England is held by the respective local authority. Further information on public rights of way and other public paths or routes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Welsh and Scottish Governments and Northern Ireland Executive respectively.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
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 help protect the River Wandle from pollution.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Wandle pollution incident on 18 February was unacceptable. I understand the Environment Agency is investigating.
The Government is going further to clean up our waterways, delivering the Water (Special Measures) Act, giving Ofwat powers to ban bonus payments for water bosses. It also increases the Environment Agency’s ability to bring criminal charges against water executives. We launched the largest review of the sector since privatisation. It aims to build consensus for a resilient and innovative water sector and robust wider regulatory framework.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the levels of air pollution on (a) economic productivity and (b) workforce participation.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government assesses the impact on labour productivity and workforce participation of changes in air pollution from new policies. The Defra's damage cost guidance is used for these assessments and is publicly available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assess-the-impact-of-air-quality/air-quality-appraisal-damage-cost-guidance.
We estimate that achieving the Environment Act targets for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) will result in an increase in economic productivity valued at £710 million over the period from 2023 to 2040. [Source: The Environmental Targets (Fine Particulate Matter) (England) Regulations 2022].