Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 the Circular Economy Taskforce on the development of the repair and reuse economy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy. We have convened the Circular Economy Taskforce to help develop the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England, which we plan to publish for consultation in the coming autumn. The strategy will be accompanied by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis.
Defra recognises that repair and reuse are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. The Circular Economy Taskforce will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy throughout the development of the strategy.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 public’s awareness of electrical goods recycling options; and what steps he plans to take to improve public awareness of those options.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment regulations make producers responsible for the electrical products they place on the market when they become waste. Within that framework producers fund a not-for-profit industry body Material Focus through the WEEE Compliance Fee. Part of the funds are used for consumer awareness campaigns highlighting the importance of properly disposing of their electrical waste.
A Material Focus communications campaign has helped lead to 30 million more small electrical items being recycled in 2024 compared to 2022.
We are considering further measures to deliver a Circular Economy, including across electricals, as part of the circular economy strategy.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to incentivise manufacturers to design electrical products with longer lifespans to support (a) sustainability and (b) the circular economy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy. We have convened the Circular Economy Taskforce, composed of experts from industry, academia, and civil society, to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy will be accompanied by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis, including a roadmap for electricals and electronic equipment.
While led by Defra, development of the strategy is a cross-government effort based on close collaboration between departments, including the Department for Business and Trade. Therefore, the strategy will reflect the needs and insights of industry leaders, trade associations, and other key stakeholders within the sector while improving lives up and down the country, growing our economy, and protecting our environment for generations to come.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the effectiveness of the household waste electrical and electronic equipment collection scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The January 2025 Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the WEEE regulations assess a range of measures aimed to drive up the levels of separately collected WEEE for re-use and recycling.
We are considering further measures to deliver a Circular Economy, including across electricals, as part of the circular economy strategy.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 implications for his policies of the report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee entitled The Government’s vision for farming, HC 906, published on 16 May 2025.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State and Minister Zeichner met the Committee recently and had the chance to discuss this Government’s approach to farming policy at that time. The Secretary of State’s oral evidence sessions sets out the Ministerial his assessment.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 help support farmers to trade with other countries.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is focused on supporting trade opportunities for the UK’s world class agri-food sector. We are working hard to secure new agreements, including an SPS agreement with the EU, and to resolve export barriers. Our network of 16 agri-food attaches resolve barriers around the world and support UK companies deliver growth and capitalise on strong global demand for UK products. We have secured access to the US market for UK beetroot growers and resuming pork exports to China for major UK producers, which industry estimates are worth £80million.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 he has made of the potential impact of the 1991 Act of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants Convention (UPOV 91) on small farming businesses.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is a contracting party of the 1991 convention of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, known as UPOV.
Under UPOV 1991, the UK has an effective plant variety protection system in place providing intellectual property rights over plant varieties, known as plant breeders’ rights. Plant breeders’ rights are important in enabling breeders to control the use of protected material and collect royalties on varieties which can be re-invested into further innovation, critical in the face of climate change and food security. Royalties and limits on the use of seed and propagating material apply to protected varieties only.
In the UK, a grower or farmer may use seed that they have saved from a crop grown on their own holding for re-sowing on their own holding - this is known as Farm Saved Seed. All farmers must declare their use of Farm Saved Seed and pay equitable remuneration to the right holder. This provides farmers with a low-cost source of seed and allows control over seed quality, provenance, and treatment. Small farmers are exempt from this payment.
The UK is engaging with UPOV via the Working Group on Guidance concerning Smallholder Farmers in relation to private and non-commercial use, to better understand the impact of the 1991 convention on small holder farmers and subsistence farmers globally.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 tackle unlawful discharges of sewage by water companies into waterways in Surrey.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, water companies have discharged record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.
That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will strengthen regulation, including delivering new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bringing criminal charges against persistent law breakers.
We are also carrying out a full review of the water sector to shape further legislation that will transform how our water system works and clean up rivers, lakes and seas for good.
The Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) will continue to drive investment and improvement at a range of Thames Water Sewage Treatment Works and Storm Overflows across Surrey. Several schemes were funded in WINEP 2020-25 in the Guildford constituency including to monitor sewage spills at storm tanks and to tighten environmental permit limits for phosphorous.
The final determination for the next Price Review by Ofwat, due on the 19 December, will confirm additional investment planned by Thames Water for 2025-2030 to reduce phosphorus levels and improve storm overflows in Surrey.