Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on ensuring that craft operating on the River Thames do not adversely affect the air quality of the surrounding area.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
My Rt Hon Friends the Environment Secretary and the Secretary of State for Transport work closely together on issues related to air pollution, which poses the biggest environmental threat to public health. Defra officials also have regular discussions with their counterparts in the Department for Transport.
The Mayor of London is responsible for air quality and transport strategy in the capital and, through Transport for London, is also responsible for managing traffic on the river.
Local authorities are required to review and assess local air quality and to take action where there are high levels of air pollution. Defra provides support for local authorities through statutory guidance, a dedicated helpline and assessment tools. In London the Mayor provides this support.
River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) are strategic plans for England’s waters and set statutory objectives for water bodies and how to achieve them. In London, the Environment Agency is working in partnerships, updating RBMPs and flood risk management plans together, for a more integrated approach to improving water quality in London, including the Thames.
The London Tideway Tunnels are being built to intercept the 39 million tonnes of diluted sewage that would otherwise spill into the River Thames from storm overflows in a typical year. The Tideway tunnel will start to intercept sewage overflows by 2023 and be fully completed by 2025, resulting in further significant improvements to water quality in the tidal Thames. At a community level, the Environment Agency works with Thames Water and local authorities on combined flood and water quality projects, including Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with local authority leaders in the City of London to mitigate levels of (a) water and (b) air pollution within and around the River Thames.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The responsibility for transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London, and the River Thames in London is managed by the Port of London Authority.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 circumstances that led to the stranding of a minke whale in the Thames in May 2021; and what steps he is taking to prevent future similar incidents from occurring.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
During the recent stranding of a minke whale in the Thames, Defra officials worked closely with the Government-funded Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme (CSIP). Unfortunately, due to the extremely poor condition of the whale, it was euthanised on welfare grounds.
CSIP investigates causes of death in stranded cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and carried out a post-mortem on the minke whale. This indicated the female calf was in poor nutritional condition and was likely already in a very poor state of health when she entered the Thames. This is consistent with the whale being only a few months old and having been separated from her mother and/or social group. Follow-up work is ongoing to understand whether there were any significant underlying issues to explain her unusual presence in the Thames.
The UK Government plays a leading role championing the conservation and welfare of all cetaceans both in the UK and internationally. We recently let a 10-year contract for the continuation of the extremely important CSIP to help us improve our understanding of, and ability to tackle, key threats to cetaceans.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the (a) London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and (b) Port of London Authority on legal responsibility for the closure of the River Thames at Hammersmith Bridge.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
As asset owners, London Borough Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) are responsible for the closure of Hammersmith Bridge. In August 2020, LBHF instructed the Port of London Authority (PLA) to close the river under the bridge.
LBHF and PLA are both members of the Government-led Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce. Within this forum, discussion on the closure of Hammersmith Bridge is ongoing. To date, the Taskforce has met 14 times. Our continued leadership through the Taskforce has meant that the Case for Continued Safe Operation Board accepted PLA’s proposal to allow limited and controlled river transits when there are no workers on the bridge; this is only for vessels which cannot carry out their activity elsewhere on the river.
Discussions continue at officials’ level between the Department, LBHF and the PLA. DfT engineers have also extensively engaged with their counterparts at LBHF to offer support in evaluating the condition of the bridge
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what long term estimates his Department has made of the level of risk of flooding in the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre site in Victoria Tower Gardens from a potential (a) breach of river wall or (b) overtopping of the river wall if water levels were to rise as a result of global warming.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
a) The Flood Risk Assessment required under paragraph 163 of the National Planning Framework, together with other associated assessments submitted by the applicant, has satisfactorily demonstrated that the integrity of the flood defence can be maintained throughout construction. This is subject to the actions of a detailed monitoring plan outlined within the application.
b) The applicant has demonstrated, through design and loading calculations, that the proposal will not preclude the requirement to raise the flood defences in the future as required by the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan.
It should be noted that while it may be impacted by this proposal, the flood defence is outside of the application boundary and will require cooperation between the applicant and the riparian owner to ensure that a continuous defence is maintained at all times.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has made to the Port of London Authority to re-open the River Thames at Hammersmith Bridge for commercial traffic to support the river economy, jobs and businesses.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, as the bridge owner, took the decision to close Hammersmith Bridge to river traffic in August 2020, as advised within the Case for Continued Safe Operation. The Government wants to see the bridge reopened to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic as soon as it is safe to do so.
For some time, the Department for Transport and the Port of London Authority have been in discussion with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on the possibility of revisiting the Case for Continued Safe Operation to allow river traffic when engineers are not working on the bridge. Controlled transits are now allowed at specific times every Sunday, and discussion continues on how a greater number of transits can be permitted, in line with increased demand as the river community emerges from both winter and COVID-19 lockdown.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's Clean Air Strategy, what discussions he has had with the (a) Mayor of London, (b) Transport for London and (c) the Port of London Authority on encouraging the use of 100 per cent renewable diesel by scheduled Thames passenger services and other commercial river traffic.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The responsibility for transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London, and the Thames in London is managed by the Port of London Authority.
Officials have regular discussions with the Port of London Authority on environmental issues, these have focused on advanced fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, as well as the use of battery electric vessels to address both air pollution and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on granting the Mayor of London new powers to tackle non-road pollution sources including those on the Thames from scheduled passenger boats and commercial river traffic which still predominantly rely on fossil-based diesel.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The responsibility for transport in London and environmental planning is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London. Officials have regular discussions with TfL on environmental issues.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the (a) Mayor of London, (b) Transport for London and (c) the Port of London Authority on encouraging the use of 100 per cent renewable diesel by scheduled Thames passenger services and other commercial river traffic.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The responsibility for transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London, and the Thames in London is managed by the Port of London Authority.
Officials have regular discussions with the Port of London Authority on environmental issues, these have focused on advanced fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, as well as the use of battery electric vessels to address both air pollution and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to manage, and (2) to mitigate, the risk of increased tidal flooding in the Thames Estuary; and what plans they have to build further flood barriers in that Estuary.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Environment Agency (EA) is working with its partners, including councils, to deliver the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan. The Plan was published in 2012 and sets out a strategy for managing increasing tidal flood risk in the estuary until the end of the century.
The Thames Estuary is at significant risk from tidal flooding. A complex network of defences, including 8 major barriers, 330km of walls and embankments, and over 900 flood gates, outfalls and pumps, work together to protect 1.3 million people and £275 billion worth of property from tidal flooding. Climate change, population growth and ageing flood defences mean that tidal flood risk will increase over time, unless this risk is carefully managed.
The Thames Estuary 2100 Plan (approved by the Government in 2012) is internationally recognised as a leading example of a climate change adaptation strategy. It is designed to be adaptable to different projections for climate change and sea level rise. The EA is now working on the 10-Year Review of the Plan, using the latest climate evidence and data to revise the strategy for managing tidal flood risk, ensuring we can continue to protect the Thames Estuary from rising sea levels into the future.
The Thames Estuary 2100 Plan identifies various options for replacing or improving the Thames Barrier, when the current Barrier reaches the end of its life. Latest data indicates that a new barrier will need to be operational by 2070.
The EA is currently holding three potential sites for a new barrier, either at the current site, in Long Reach or Tilbury. The locations are determined mainly by navigational requirements on the river. The team are working on securing land at all of these sites to ensure that they will be available if we need them.
A decision on the location is planned for around 2040, to allow enough time for planning, approval and construction by 2070. The preferred option will depend upon how the climate changes between now and 2040, as well as future projections.