Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much has been paid to farmers to improve environmental sustainability since 2016.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government spent £3.745 billion on Environmental Stewardship, Countryside Stewardship and the Sustainable Farming Incentive from 2016 up to 28 February 2025 to improve environmental sustainability. An additional £36 million has been paid through the England Woodland Creation Offer.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) where and (b) how standards apply in statutory regulations to control concentrations of pollutants in ambient air in England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The key legislation that details how and where air pollutant concentration standards apply in England are the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 and the Environment Act Targets (Fine Particulate Matter) Targets (England) 2023. Requirements for local air quality management are set out in the Environment Act 1995 requiring local authorities to review and assess air quality concentrations in their areas.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what standards exist in statutory regulations for controlling concentrations of pollutants in ambient air in England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The key legislation that details how and where air pollutant concentration standards apply in England are the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 and the Environment Act Targets (Fine Particulate Matter) Targets (England) 2023. Requirements for local air quality management are set out in the Environment Act 1995 requiring local authorities to review and assess air quality concentrations in their areas.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where the limit values set in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2016 to control concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) in ambient air apply.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The limit values set in the Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) to control concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) in ambient air apply across the UK. Compliance with the limit values is assessed through a combination of monitored and modelled data, with non-compliance being determined if any one location breaches the limit value.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which five pollutants in ambient air in England have seen the largest reduction in concentrations since Directive 2008/50/EC was introduced.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Trends on air pollutant concentrations can be found in Defra’s annual compliance reporting here.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of (a) limit values, (b) objectives and (c) targets to control concentrations of pollutants in ambient air in England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Limit values, national objectives and long-term targets complement each other and are all recognised as necessary in delivering cleaner air.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there have been any formal complaints to the Office for Environmental Protection on exceedances of the nitrogen dioxide annual limit value in the UK.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As an independent public body set up to hold public authorities to account, the OEP does not routinely share information regarding specific complaints with Defra unless those complaints relate directly to Defra and are considered eligible by the OEP. To date, the OEP has notified us of one complaint in relation to this topic. The OEP publishes a quarterly complaints report on their website providing an overview of the complaints received and ongoing enforcement activity. They also publish information relating to individual casework where investigations have been launched and resolutions achieved.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 reduce concentrations for pollutants in ambient air once the relevant limit value has been achieved.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 where levels of pollutants are below the set limit values, they must continue to be maintained. We have also set a Population Exposure Reduction Target for PM2.5, which will continue to reduce peoples’ average exposure across the country.
The Government is committed to working with local authorities and stakeholders to continue reducing air pollution and its harmful effects.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are allowed to exceed the annual mean limit value once achieved throughout a zone or agglomeration.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010), there is a requirement to meet annual mean limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) of 40μg/m3. This is an ongoing requirement and does not expire once the limit value has been met in a single reporting year.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) applicants and (b) successful applicants there were to the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund for each of the four application rounds since 2015.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2015 there were 351 applications for the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund and 276 were offered an agreement. The Rural Payment Agency does not readily hold data for each of the four application rounds since 2015 and establishing this would incur disproportionate costs.