Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to expand the deposit return scheme for plastic and aluminium drinks containers to include glass drinks containers.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
UK Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland consulted in 2019 and 2021 on the detail of introducing a DRS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In January 2023 we published the government response to the 2021 consultation, setting out policy decisions and next steps for introducing the scheme (link here).
As outlined in the government response, glass bottles will not be captured by DRS in England and Northern Ireland as the respective governments believe the addition of glass will add additional complexity and challenges to delivery of DRS in particular to the hospitality and retail sectors, as well as additional consumer inconvenience. Given concerns raised on managing glass in a DRS, delivery of the scheme will focus on plastic bottles and aluminium/steel cans in England and Northern Ireland.
Whilst not in-scope of the DRS in England and Northern Ireland, glass drinks bottles will be covered by the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging scheme in both nations, which will place targets on producers in relation to glass recycling. The proposed recycling target for glass packaging under EPR is 83% by 2030. Producers will also be responsible for the costs of managing glass packaging in household waste and disposed in street bins provided by local authorities.
England and Northern Ireland welcome continued engagement with the glass sector on how glass recycling rates can be improved through kerbside collections.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 plans to expand the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 to include (a) laptops, (b) smartphones and (c) other e-waste currently not included.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no plans at present to expand the Ecodesign Regulations to include laptops and smartphones. However, in November 2021, the then Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published the Energy-related Products Policy Framework, which set out how the Government plans to push products to use less energy and reduce carbon emissions and other resources. This will help achieve Carbon Budgets 5 and 6 and to save consumers money on their energy bills. Defra will also publish a consultation reviewing the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations this summer, which will seek views on potential policies to increase the resource efficiency, reuse and recycling of waste electricals.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2012 to 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of dogs imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2017 to 2021 are as follows:
Year | Number of Dogs |
2017 | 287016 |
2018 | 312996 |
2019 | 307263 |
2020 | 163562 |
2021 | 162923 |
In line with data retention the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) does not hold data prior to 2017 so previous years have not been supplied.
The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals.
The information provided is a true reflection of the information that APHA has access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into the pets returns by a third party.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many ferrets were imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2012 to 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of ferrets imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2017 to 2021 are as follows:
Year | Number of Ferrets |
2017 | 765 |
2018 | 112 |
2019 | 101 |
2020 | 45 |
2021 | 60 |
In line with data retention the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) does not hold data prior to 2017 so previous years have not been supplied.
The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals.
The information that we have provided is a true reflection of the information that APHA has access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into the pets returns by a third party.
For information, the number of ferrets imported in 2017 is much higher than later years. This is because 619 ferrets were imported in October 2017.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many cats were imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2012 to 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of cats imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2017 to 2021 are as follows:
Year | Number of Cats |
2017 | 26480 |
2018 | 29570 |
2019 | 31890 |
2020 | 21972 |
2021 | 28667 |
In line with data retention the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) does not hold data prior to 2017 so previous years have not been supplied.
The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals.
The information provided is a true reflection of the information that APHA has access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into the pets returns by a third party.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the UK re-joining the EU pet passport scheme.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK has been formally ‘listed’ as a ‘Part 2’ third country for the purposes of the EU pet travel scheme, which means that new rules apply to pet movements from Great Britain (GB) to the EU and to Northern Ireland. The pet health and documentary requirements for such pet travel are set out under the EU Pet Travel Regulations.
Defra recognises the impact that these changes are having on pet owners and assistance dog users. We are continuing to seek agreement from the European Commission on awarding GB ‘Part 1’ listed status and recognition of the UK’s tapeworm-free status, and we see no valid animal health reason for these not to be granted.
Achieving these would alleviate a number of pet travel rules for all travellers. We have one of the most rigorous pet checking regimes in Europe to protect our biosecurity and we are engaging with the EU to progress this issue.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has held with the devolved Administrations on improving the clarity of the regulatory framework that applies to the import of colonies and packages of bees to Great Britain via (a) Northern Ireland or (b) other routes since the end of the transition period.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since only queen honey bees can be imported into Great Britain, packages or colonies arriving here would be returned to the country of export. Guidance on the new rules for importing bees was published and known importers were contacted prior to the end of the transition period.
Movements of queens, packages and colonies from Northern Ireland to Great Britain remain permitted. There is, and will remain, unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods including honey bees to the rest of the UK market.
We are aware of concerns raised by some beekeepers and we continue to listen to beekeepers and their associations as part of our monitoring of the new trading arrangements. We have continued to update guidance in response to questions raised.
Regular discussions take place between Defra and colleagues in the devolved Administrations working in this policy area. We are keeping the situation under review to ensure that there are suitable trading arrangements for the UK beekeeping sector.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect (a) imported packages of and (b) colonies of bees in the context of (i) permissible bee imports to GB extending only to queen bees and (ii) sectoral uncertainty on bee imports via Northern Ireland.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since only queen honey bees can be imported into Great Britain, packages or colonies arriving here would be returned to the country of export. Guidance on the new rules for importing bees was published and known importers were contacted prior to the end of the transition period.
Movements of queens, packages and colonies from Northern Ireland to Great Britain remain permitted. There is, and will remain, unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods including honey bees to the rest of the UK market.
We are aware of concerns raised by some beekeepers and we continue to listen to beekeepers and their associations as part of our monitoring of the new trading arrangements. We have continued to update guidance in response to questions raised.
Regular discussions take place between Defra and colleagues in the devolved Administrations working in this policy area. We are keeping the situation under review to ensure that there are suitable trading arrangements for the UK beekeeping sector.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department is providing to (a) areas of Salford and (b) the UK who experience poor air quality.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
(a) Government support has included £250 million, since 2017 alone, to Greater Manchester for cleaner better transport to help improve air quality. Manchester authorities, including Salford, are working together to develop a Clean Air Plan for Manchester. The Government is committed to providing the required financial and technical support to local authorities to enable delivery of their air quality plans. We are working closely with Greater Manchester to reduce air pollution and have committed £495 million for local authorities to implement and mitigate their plans. We will be able to consider Greater Manchester’s funding requirement once their final plan is received; it was due in December 2018, but will not be provided until March 2019.
(b) The UK continues to meet all current international air quality limits, except for Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations (NO2). In July 2017, we published the NO2 Plan, backed by £3.5 billion of funding, which sets out the steps we are taking to reduce NO2 concentrations in the shortest possible time, thus complying with NO2 limits as soon as possible. We are working intensively with local authorities, to identify measures to swiftly bring forward compliance, and support them with guidance and funding. This includes major cities outside the Capital which are exceeding NO2 limits, including Greater Manchester Authorities, such as Salford. Additionally, we published our new world leading Clean Air Strategy on 14 January 2019, which has been welcomed by the World Health Organisation as “an example for the rest of the world to follow”.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 reduce air pollution in (a) Salford and (b) the UK.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
(a) Government support has included £250 million, since 2017 alone, to Greater Manchester for cleaner better transport to help improve air quality. Manchester authorities, including Salford, are working together to develop a Clean Air Plan for Manchester. The Government is committed to providing the required financial and technical support to local authorities to enable delivery of their air quality plans. We are working closely with Greater Manchester to reduce air pollution and have committed £495 million for local authorities to implement and mitigate their plans. We will be able to consider Greater Manchester’s funding requirement once their final plan is received; it was due in December 2018, but will not be provided until March 2019.
(b) The UK continues to meet all current international air quality limits, except for Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations (NO2). In July 2017, we published the NO2 Plan, backed by £3.5 billion of funding, which sets out the steps we are taking to reduce NO2 concentrations in the shortest possible time, thus complying with NO2 limits as soon as possible. We are working intensively with local authorities, to identify measures to swiftly bring forward compliance, and support them with guidance and funding. This includes major cities outside the Capital which are exceeding NO2 limits, including Greater Manchester Authorities, such as Salford. Additionally, we published our new world leading Clean Air Strategy on 14 January 2019, which has been welcomed by the World Health Organisation as “an example for the rest of the world to follow”.