Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Government to crack down on waste incinerators with stricter standards for new builds, published on 30 December 2024, whether he plans to review environmental permits granted to schemes where construction has not started including the MVV Wisbech incinerator.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The statement and analysis issued by my department sets out that any new waste incineration facilities should demonstrate a clearly defined domestic residual waste treatment capacity need, to facilitate the diversion of residual waste away from landfill or enable the replacement of older, less-efficient facilities. These matters are considered through the planning, rather than permitting process. It is worth noting that the analysis published identified that of the seven local authorities that sent more than 40% of collected residual waste to landfill in 2022-23 (the most recent data available), four are located in the East of England and East Midlands.
My department also set out that new facilities will have to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy. To maintain confidence in the UK’s regulatory system, as well as support investment in UK infrastructure to support economic growth, it is important that modifications are not retrospectively imposed to environmental permits that have been granted in line with the established regulatory framework. However, those developing energy recovery facilities (at all stages in the process) are encouraged to consider forecast changes to future capacity, demand, and the Government's circular economy opportunities in light of the evidence we have published.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 publish all relevant reports submitted to the Environment Agency in 2024 by the operator of the Peterborough Stanground Thistle Drive Pumping Station in compliance with their obligations under the The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Relevant reports will be published in due course.
The permit (AWCNF428/10348) requires various information and data to be submitted to the Environment Agency as follows:
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the operator of the Peterborough Stanground Thistle Drive Pumping Station fitted an early duration monitor on the combined sewage overflow.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Peterborough Stanground Thistle Drive Pumping Station has an EDM (Event Duration Monitor) on site as this is now a legal requirement for sites that discharge storm sewage. Further information on EDM data across the UK can be found at Storm Overflow Spill Frequency and information from the Anglian Water website on EDM data for 2023 can be found here.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 (a) area and (b) value of (i) farms and (ii) farmland at a (A) hereditament and (B) local authority level.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Defra June Survey of Agriculture has statistical estimates of the English farmland areas at local authority level, the latest available is for 2021. Please note this survey only covers commercial holdings (defined as farms with more than five hectares of agricultural land, one hectare of orchards, 0.5 hectares of vegetables, 0.1 hectares of protected crops, 10 cows, 50 pigs, 20 sheep, 20 goats or 1,000 poultry).
Defra produces statistical estimates of the total income from farming by English county Data are only available on total fixed capital (value of land, plant and buildings) at UK level due to the calculation methodology used.
Defra do not hold financial data for farms at holding level. Some financial information is published at a farm business level (where multiple farm holdings can constitute a single farm business). This information is based on the Farm Business Survey which only covers farm businesses in England with a Standard Output of more than £21,000. Whilst the Survey captures the majority of agricultural activity, it excludes around 43,000 smaller businesses (which account for 2% of output). This means the statistics cannot be used to infer any statistical estimates for the whole population of farms. The published 2022/23 balance sheet statistics, which include the distribution of farms by net worth by region, are available in Table 6 of the Balance Sheets.
Please note that the data being asked for is already publicly available on the Defra Farming Statistics webpages: Food, Farming and Bio-security statistics - GOV.UK
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data the Rural Payments Agency holds on the (a) area and (b) value of (i) farms and (ii) farmland at a (A) hereditament and (B) local authority level.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) does not hold data at hereditament level, or any data on values of farms or farmland.
It does hold data on areas of land for businesses registered with the RPA and associated agricultural land, i.e. land registered as Arable, Pasture and Permanent Crops.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 farm holdings that are estimated to have a net value of (a) between £1,000,000 and £1,499,999, (b) between £1,500,000 and £1,999,999 and (c) over £2,000,000 in (i) England, (ii) Cambridgeshire and (iii) North East Cambridgeshire constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not hold financial data for farms at holding level. Some financial information is published at a farm business level (where multiple farm holdings can constitute a single farm business). This information is based on the Farm Business Survey which only covers farm businesses in England with a Standard Output of more than £21,000. Whilst the Survey captures the majority of agricultural activity, it excludes around 43,000 smaller businesses (which account for 2% of output). This means the statistics cannot be used to infer any statistical estimates for the whole population of farms. The published 2022/23 balance sheet statistics, which include the distribution of farms by net worth by region, are available in Table 6 of the Balance Sheets: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66d0410957321cdac841840a/fbs_balancesheetanalysis_2022_23.ods. The 2023/24 data will be published in March 2025.
For the East of England, the 2022/23 data shows that 17% of Farm Business Survey farms had a net worth between £1 million and £1.49 million, and 58% had a net worth above £1.5 million.
Farm business assets are not a clear guide to inheritance tax liabilities which are due on an individual’s estate at the time of their death whereas farm businesses can have multiple ownership and can be passed on as gifts before death.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 assessment of the potential impact of changes to Inheritance Tax announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 on levels of production of the five key crops by tonnage in the next five years.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The level of crop production is always subject to factors such as weather conditions and prevailing prices. Beyond such normal factors, the Government does not expect the inheritance tax changes to have a material impact on crop production.
We have robust domestic production, which alongside stable trade routes and diverse supply chains ensures the country continues to benefit from high food security. With the largest ever investment in sustainable food production, through our Environmental Land Management schemes, we are securing long term food security.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 proportion of farm holdings that are owned by a single person or entity.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2021, the statistical estimates for the proportion of farmers in England who have financial and legal responsibility for an agricultural holding is shown below:
Financial and legal responsibility for a holding | Proportion of holdings |
One person | 46% |
Two or more people who are close family members | 49% |
Two or more people who are not related | 1% |
An organisation (or a legal person) | 4% |
Sourced from the Defra June Survey of Agriculture
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 impact of changes to the mix of waste sent for incineration since 2017 on the carbon emissions of each unit of electricity generated by incinerators compared to (a) coal, (b) gas, (c) nuclear, (d) biomass, (e) offshore wind, (f) onshore wind and (g) solar.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra made no assessment of the effect of changes in the mix of waste sent for incineration on the carbon emissions of each unit of electricity generated by energy recovery facilities when the Rt Hon member for North East Cambridgeshire was Secretary of State. Defra is currently undertaking a composition analysis study of residual waste treated at energy recovery facilities. This will enable us to better understand the overall composition of residual waste treated at energy recovery facilities and, in due course, can form the basis for a better understanding of the fossil carbon portion of waste sent to incineration.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 reduce the amount of waste sent for incineration; and what estimate he has made of the volume of waste that will be incinerated in each of the next five years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our current use of resources has been set on a trajectory that is economically, environmentally and socially unsustainable. This Government will be creating a roadmap to correct course towards a circular economy, supporting sustainable economic growth by driving up resource efficiency and reducing our emissions and waste. As part of this we will consider the role of waste incineration, including Energy from Waste, and any implications for circularity, economic growth, and net zero.