Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 adequacy of rights for residents living on houseboats in permanent moorings in the context of the (a) length and (b) security of their tenure.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made. Navigation authorities have responsibility for operational matters on their waterways, including setting the terms and conditions of the licences that they issue for the use of permanent moorings.
The length and security of tenure of houseboat owners will depend on the terms they agree with the mooring owner. The terms of the agreement issued by the mooring owner must comply with the unfair terms in consumer contracts requirements in the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Boat owners with residential moorings will also benefit from the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. This requires mooring owners to get a court order to evict boat owners who continue to moor after their license agreement has ended.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of people who live in residential houseboats in permanent moorings in (a) London and (b) England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department does not hold such information. Navigation authorities are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, including issuing licences for permanent moorings on their waterways. This does not necessarily involve recording the number of people living on a boat.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether people can import polystyrene cups into the UK.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The supply of expanded and foamed extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, including cups, that are used to contain food or drink that is ready-to-consume has been banned since 1 October 2023.
However, you may still import polystyrene cups. This facilitates their movement through the supply chain to allow for other uses.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 have taken to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme for plastic bottles.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to delivering the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers in October 2027, as agreed with the devolved governments of the UK, and in accordance with the Joint Policy Statement published in April 2024.
We plan to lay the DRS regulations for England/Northern Ireland before Parliament in late 2024 and for them to come into force in early 2025 (assuming parliamentary time allows) and for the Deposit Management Organisation, who will run the scheme, to be appointed in April 2025 as planned.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of (a) Thames Water and (b) local authorities in west London on Thames Water's proposed planning application for the Teddington direct river abstraction.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Thames Water has a statutory duty to consult with local authorities and water regulators on its Water Resources Management Plan, a long-term strategy for securing water supplies. The plan is further assessed by Government and water regulators before it can be finalised. The Teddington Direct River Abstraction (DRA) is part of this plan, and following robust review, the Secretary of State issued a direction on 22 December 2023 confirming the project is nationally significant.
However, this does not indicate that a Development Consent Order (DCO), which is required before construction can proceed, is more or less likely to be approved. When a DCO application is made, local authorities will have a key role in providing a local perspective on the proposals.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 the amount of non-recyclable shoes in landfill waste in England.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Textile waste was identified as a priority in the Resources and Waste Strategy and we outlined our proposals for dealing with it in Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste which was published in July. Our current focus is on clothing and other flat textiles such as towels and bedding. However, the Government is supportive of initiatives which promote keeping products in use for longer. We want to prolong the lives of the materials and goods that we use and move society away from the inefficient ‘linear’ economic model of ‘take, make, use, throw’.
Furthermore, we set an ambition in our Resources and Waste Strategy to send less than 10% of municipal waste to landfill by 2035. As a result of active diversion of municipal waste from landfill over the last two decades, only 8.1% of local authority collected waste was sent to landfill in 2021/22. This equates to a 90% reduction by weight since 2000/01 when 79% of municipal waste was sent to landfill.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the proposal to move the herbarium from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew to Reading.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The proposal to move the herbarium from the site at Kew to Reading is at a very early stage and so an estimate of the potential cost has not yet been made by Defra. Such an estimate will be developed at the appropriate stage and in line with the usual processes.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 received representations from officials at Kew Gardens on the proposal to move the herbarium from Kew.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra officials, as well as ministers, have regular interactions with Kew relating to their work and forthcoming initiatives. The Director of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew has asked to meet with the Secretary of State to discuss a range of issues including the proposals relating to the herbarium. This meeting has not yet taken place.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many vets are employed by her Department; and how many were employed in each year since 2018.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The department does not hold employee profession information. It does hold an individual’s work area, and since 2018 to present there are no employees in veterinary roles in the core department.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to increase the number of vets trained in England.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Luton North on 6 July 2023, PQ 191960.