Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the Greening Government Commitments 2020 to 2021 report has not been published; and when the Government plans to publish it.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Greening Government Commitments 2020-21 annual report was delayed to reduce pressure on facilities teams across government, as a result of COVID-19. We continue to make progress in reducing our environmental impacts and the report will be published in early 2023.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 is taking to ensure (a) roadside air pollution is kept under a legal limit and (b) the UK meets its air quality targets set under the Environment Act 2021.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has placed a duty on local authorities to keep air pollution within legal limits and we expect them to take action. The Government has provided £883m of dedicated funding to help local authorities develop and implement local NO2 air quality plans and support those affected by these plans. This sits alongside wider funding to support the transition to cleaner, more sustainable transport, including £2bn to kickstart a cycling and walking revolution, and £120m to support zero emission buses as part of the £3bn National Bus Strategy.
The UK has a high ambition for domestic air quality. The targets to be set under the Environment Act 2021 and the policy paths by which they will be achieved will be announced shortly.
Using new powers under the Environment Act 2021 we have on 7 December designated National Highways as a Relevant Public Authority which means National Highways will be required to collaborate with local authorities in developing and carrying out their Air Quality Action Plans. This means that all authorities with responsibility for roads in England are now required to work together to ensure that Air Quality Objectives are not exceeded at roadside.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps will be taken in the design of England’s DRS to avoid material switching from smaller formats to larger containers.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In our 2021 consultation, we set out a proposal that the Deposit Management Organisation would be able to decide whether to have a fixed or variable deposit. A variable deposit could help prevent significant shifts in consumer behaviour. Further details on next steps for DRS will be set out in the upcoming Government's response to the 2021 consultation. We are working towards publication shortly.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will publish an updated cost-benefit analysis of the introduction of DRS against current recycling rates.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government published a consultation stage impact assessment alongside the publication of our 2021 consultation in March 2021, and can be found here - https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environment/consultation-on-introducing-a-drs/supporting_documents/Impact%20Assessment.pdf. Further details on next steps for DRS will be set out in the upcoming Government's response to the 2021 consultation. We are working towards publication shortly. We are continuing to update our cost benefit analysis and will publish a Final Impact Assessment in advance of the DRS regulations being laid in Parliament.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 made an assessment on the efficacy of installing in-road apparatus to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions and concentrations of particulate matter from motor vehicles on UK roads.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is aware of this emerging technology but notes that it is still in development. Currently there is limited peer reviewed evidence available on real world application and the impact of the technology on concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. Defra and DfT will continue to assess the operational relevance of promising science and technology such as this on an ongoing basis.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the full evidence behind in the decision to exclude glass from the Deposit Return Scheme, including the assessment it would have had on glass recycling and impact on consumer behaviour.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Government published a consultation stage impact assessment alongside the publication of our 2021 consultation in March 2021, and can be found here - https://consult.defra.gov.uk/environment/consultation-on-introducing-a-drs/supporting_documents/Impact%20Assessment.pdf. Further details on next steps for DRS will be set out in the upcoming Government's response to the 2021 consultation. We are working towards publication shortly. We are continuing to update our cost benefit analysis and will publish a Final Impact Assessment in advance of the DRS regulations being laid in Parliament.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 has taken to evaluate and trial Digital DRS technologies.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Digital DRS is an approach to DRS that is in its infancy and is still being tested and trialled, and for that reason it is not the right time to commit to a full scale digital DRS.
We do recognise the benefits of a digital model and remain interested in seeing the continued testing of the feasibility for introducing a digital scheme in the future.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is planning to introduce a Deposit Retention Scheme in the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In its 2019 manifesto, HM Government committed to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers to incentivise people to recycle more and to reduce littering of in-scope containers. HM Government has consulted twice on the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and further details will be set out in the Government response to the 2021 consultation. We are working towards publication of the Government response in late 2022.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of investment zones on (a) biodiversity and (b) waterway pollution.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Defra and DLUHC are working closely together on Investment Zone policy to support our growth objectives and maintain HM Government’s strong position on the environment. Investment Zones will be locally led and areas have been asked to submit Expressions of Interest. We are not weakening our environmental ambition either at home or abroad and remain committed to delivering on the Environment Act, including setting new environmental targets that will drive action to protect and enhance the natural world.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
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 the announcement on 24 September 2022 of Investment Zones, whether existing protections for ancient woodlands and trees will be maintained in those zones.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Making sure that our ancient woodlands are adequately protected and suitably managed to provide a wide range of social, environmental and economic benefits to society remains a key commitment of HM Government.
The National Planning Policy Framework states that development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats (such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees) should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists.
Natural England and the Forestry Commission have published ‘standing advice’ for ancient woodland, ancient trees and veteran trees. It is a material planning consideration for local planning authorities and as such should be taken into account when making planning decisions that affect ancient woodland, ancient trees or veteran trees.
HM Government has also recently updated the new Keepers of Time policy, providing updates to HM Government’s policy to recognise the value of England’s ancient and native woodlands and ancient and veteran trees. It restates our commitment to evaluate the threats facing these habitats and sets out our updated principles and objectives to protect and improve them for future generations.