Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for proposals for a legislative nature restoration target; and whether he plans to make funding available to the public and private sectors to support that target.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Act 2021 requires a new legally binding target to be set to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, alongside other biodiversity targets we are currently consulting on. This world leading target will drive wide-ranging actions to deliver nature recovery.
This target will be supported by significant investment from public and private sources, recognising the scale of the challenge. This includes over £750 million through the Nature for Climate Fund, biodiversity net gain and future farming agri-environment schemes.
The Government has also set a new target to mobilise at least £500 million in private finance to support nature's recovery every year by 2027 in England, rising to more than £1 billion by 2030. As part of the work to realise this ambition, we are catalysing a pipeline of investible nature projects through the £10 million Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund and developing an impact fund that blends £30 million of public capital with private sector capital to invest in projects of this type.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of local authorities that have areas with levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide that are above (a) UK limits and (b) WHO guidance.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010, Defra undertakes an annual assessment of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. In September 2021, Defra published the latest ‘Air Pollution in the UK’ report, detailing the results of this assessment, and is available through the following URL:
https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/annualreport/air_pollution_uk_2020_issue_1.pdf.
Local authorities carry out air quality monitoring as part of the Local Air Quality Management process and provide Defra with annual reports on the status of air quality within their local authority boundary. Summary statistics for all their air quality measurements can be found within their annual status report, publicly available on the website of the respective local authority.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has produced an impact assessment on the setting of UK limits for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide levels above those in WHO guidance.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
An Impact Assessment was carried out in 2010 when the UK transposed the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC into UK Legislation, the 'Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010'. These Regulations set limit values for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide concentrations. This Impact Assessment can be found at the following URL: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1001/impacts
We are taking an evidence-led process to set our new air quality targets through the Environment Act 2021 (applicable to England). An Impact Assessment will be published as part of the upcoming public consultation on this and other targets under the Act.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 21 February 2022 to Question 121866, on Animal and Plant Health Agency: Customs, at how many commercial ports construction work is underway to build the necessary infrastructure and facilities to enable the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks to be carried out from 1 July 2022.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
21 ports are building the necessary infrastructure and facilities to enable the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks to be carried out from 1 July 2022.
For plants and plant products, a total of 47 applications are being/have recently been processed for new inspection facilities. This includes 22 new or extended Border Control Posts (BCPs). The remainder are either ‘inspection centres’ (7) or ‘control points’ (18).
Sea ports: Sevington, Bristol, Dover, Immingham, Heysham, Hull, Killingholme, Liverpool, Purfleet, Thamesport, London Gateway, Tilbury 2, Newhaven, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Southampton, Harwich, Felixstowe, Tees and Tyne.
Inclusion on this list does not mean that ports will be designated as BCPs.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department will introduce equivalent protections to cats as those proposed for dogs in the Kept Animals Bill to provide for a ban on the import of (a) kittens under 6 months, (b) pregnant cats which are more than 42 days pregnant and (c) cats which have been declawed.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. The number of non-compliant cats seized at the border is much lower than for dogs, for example, in 2020 we seized and detained 17 kittens (under 15 weeks) compared to 543 puppies. We have also not seen the same issues with pregnant cats being imported, with no pregnant cats seized and detained in 2020.
The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 ensure that the Animal and Plant Health Agency is prepared to conduct physical checks on sanitary and phytosanitary goods at border control posts from 1 July 2022.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Construction work is currently underway at many commercial ports to build the necessary infrastructure and facilities to enable the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks to be carried out. The Government is also working to build further Border Control Post (BCP) capacity across the country. Its Port Infrastructure Fund awarded around £200 million to improve infrastructure at 41 ports, including helping to establish BCPs at key ports around the UK. In addition, the Government is constructing new inland BCPs in Kent, where work is progressing at pace towards the delivery of Sevington and Dover SPS BCPs for operation from 1 July.
Sevington is on course for both completion of works and designation, in readiness to deliver SPS checks from 1 July on plants/plant products, wood/wood products and some live species arriving through the Short Straits.
At Dover, Defra acquired the lease on an existing distribution warehouse at the White Cliffs Business Park, and work is underway to convert this into Dover SPS BCP. Works are on track for the facility to be designated and operational from 1 July 2022 for SPS checks on plants as part of a mixed load with products of animal origin.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 a veterinary or SPS agreement with the EU in order to (a) reduce the complexity of or (b) eliminate the need for Export Health Certificates on agri-food imports and exports.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
I refer the hon. Member the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton on 28 January 2022, PQ UIN 111667.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
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 complexity of documentation pertaining to exporting food with the European Union for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is committed to improving export processes for traders, for example through greater digitisation, to help reduce burdens.
Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls for exports of plants, seeds and products of animal origin to the EU are set by the EU.
Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement we hold regular discussions with the EU. This allows us to take a risk-based approach to our respective SPS border controls and provides a basis for cooperation on avoiding unnecessary barriers to trade.
In addition, we seek to facilitate trade to the EU for GB exporters by regularly raising technical issues with certain Member States.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to (a) curb trail hunting on Government-owned land and (b) improve the effectiveness of the law on hunting.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government’s manifesto was clear that no changes will be made to the Hunting Act. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act, and completely bans hare coursing. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what date he expects the substance tetraethyllead to be banned from use by all sectors of the UK aviation industry.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Annex 14 of UK REACH (the Authorisation List) lists substances of very high concern that cannot be used after a specified ‘sunset date’ unless an authorisation has been applied for and been granted. As part of its recent draft recommendation for substances that are a priority for adding to Annex 14, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommended that no action on tetraethyllead is needed under UK REACH at the moment. The HSE set out that it may be appropriate to revisit the regulatory approach to tetraethyllead when technical evaluations of potential alternatives are completed, as none are currently available. This is expected to happen by the mid-2020s. As the process for recommending substances for Annex 14 prioritisation is a regular one, the regulatory approach to tetraethyllead will be reassessed in future prioritisation rounds.
The Department for Transport is working to encourage industry to transfer to cleaner aviation fuels where possible. In December 2020, the Secretary of State for Transport asked officials to speed up work on encouraging the aviation sector to use unleaded fuels such as UL91 which it is believed a significant proportion of the piston engine aviation fleet can use.