Food Production Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con) 1. What steps she is
taking to increase food production. (902203) The Secretary of State
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dr Thérèse Coffey) The
Government food strategy sets out what we will do to create a more
prosperous agrifood sector that delivers healthier, more
sustainable and more affordable food, including commitments to
broadly maintain the level of food we produce domestically and to
boost...Request free trial
Food Production
(Erewash) (Con)
1. What steps she is taking to increase food production.
(902203)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Dr Thérèse Coffey)
The Government food strategy sets out what we will do to create a
more prosperous agrifood sector that delivers healthier, more
sustainable and more affordable food, including commitments to
broadly maintain the level of food we produce domestically and to
boost production in sectors with the biggest opportunities. We
are also providing support to farmers to improve
productivity.
With a greater emphasis on food security as a consequence of
Putin’s war in Ukraine, does my right hon. Friend agree that her
Department’s response to the independent Dimbleby review, only to
maintain broadly the current level of domestic food production,
lacks ambition? Will she now bring forward a national food
strategy that not only commits to increasing food production
significantly here in the UK but gives preference to the
production of healthy food to tackle the growing threat of
obesity, especially in children?
Dr Coffey
My hon. Friend is right to flag these issues, particularly
Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, which is a reminder of the
crucial importance of UK food producers to our national
resilience. I do not intend to change the Government food
strategy, but I am conscious that we need to ensure that food
security, as the heart of our vision for the food sector, is
delivered. That is why we will continue to maintain the current
level of domestic food production, but there are opportunities,
such as in horticulture and seafood, where we can do even
better.
(Barnsley Central) (Lab)
Some supermarkets are now rationing eggs and, ahead of Christmas,
there is a real concern about the supply of turkeys. The British
Free Range Egg Producers Association has said that a third of its
members have cut back on production as a result of avian
influenza. Can the Secretary of State say what the Government are
doing to help poultry farmers through this very challenging
time?
Dr Coffey
I understand that the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries,
my right hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (), is meeting the industry on a
weekly basis. It is fair to say that retailers have not directly
contacted the Department to discuss supply chains, although I am
conscious of what is happening on individual shelves. Nearly 40
million egg-laying hens are still available, so I am confident we
can get through this supply difficulty in the short term.
(South Norfolk) (Con)
Will the Secretary of State take the opportunity to visit Old
Hall farm in Woodton in my constituency to see the excellent work
done by Rebecca and Stuart Mayhew who use regenerative techniques
to produce high-quality food that both protects the environment
and reduces costs to the NHS through more healthy food?
Dr Coffey
My hon. Friend offers an interesting invitation. Given my diary,
I cannot commit now, but his constituents’ work is exceptionally
positive. We introduced the Genetic Technology (Precision
Breeding) Bill because we know we need to adapt some of our food
production industries to be resilient for the future.
(Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
We will produce less food if we have fewer farmers. In just a few
weeks’ time, the Government plan to take 20% of the basic payment
away from farmers, at the same time that barely 2% have got
themselves into the new sustainable farming incentive. Will the
Secretary of State consider delaying the reduction in the basic
payment scheme to keep farmers farming while she sorts out the
mess in her Department on the environmental land management
schemes? Will she also meet at the earliest opportunity
to discuss her important tenant review?
Dr Coffey
It has been well trailed for several years that we will shift
from the EU common agricultural policy for distributing money to
our farmers and landowners to using public money for public
goods. That is why we have been working on the environmental land
management schemes and will continue to make sure we get them
right. We will make further announcements in due course.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Cambridge) (Lab)
Food production is vulnerable to animal disease, and we have
heard about the impact of avian flu on supermarkets, which are
limiting the sale of eggs. This week, the Public Accounts
Committee highlighted what it describes as
“a long period of inadequate management and under investment in
the Weybridge site”
of the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The PAC warned that the
APHA would struggle if there were a concurrent disease outbreak.
As the Secretary of State well knows, other diseases do threaten.
Although staff are doing their very best, what is her plan if we
face another disease outbreak, or is it just fingers crossed in
the hope that it does not happen on her watch?
Dr Coffey
I have been at COP27 for the past few days, so I have not read
all of the PAC report, but I reject its assertion that our
biosecurity is not well done. We should be proud that the United
Kingdom is protected against such diseases, and that will
continue. That is why the APHA is an important part of what DEFRA
does, not only for England but for the UK.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Perth and North Perthshire)
(SNP)
Some of the things that we require to ensure increased food
production are good trade deals, and in a rare moment of
understated candour, the former Secretary of State, the right
hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (), has conceded that the
much-trumpeted flagship Australian trade deal is “not…very good”,
something any of us could have told him if he had been prepared
to listen. Why does it take the resignation or sacking of former
Secretaries of State to get that type of blunt candour? Does the
Secretary of State agree that these rotten deals betray and let
down all the sectors that she represents?
Dr Coffey
No, I do not.
Water Industry: Competition and Regulation
(Weston-super-Mare) (Con)
2. If she will instruct Ofwat to publish and execute plans to
strengthen competition and reduce regulatory burdens in the water
industry. (902204)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
I thank my hon. Friend for his independent report, “Power To The
People”, which focuses on competition in the regulated sectors.
Through our strategic policy statement, we have instructed Ofwat
not only to put the environment at the top of the agenda but to
promote competition where that would benefit consumers. This
year, we also instructed Ofwat to produce a competition
stocktake. It published that in July and we are reviewing it.
I thank my hon. Friend for her kind words about my report on
competition in all utilities, including the water sector, which
was commissioned by the Government but, as she says, is
independent. I am pleased to hear that we have now got a
statement or a request—a demand, I suppose—that Ofwat introduces
more competition. It is essential that we get dates and deadlines
on introducing more competition and reducing the regulatory
burden. Will she promise me that the Government’s response will
aim for those dates and deadlines, so there can be no backsliding
in progress towards helping my constituents with their water
bills?
By putting competition on the agenda for Ofwat, we have already
demonstrated that we mean business on this issue and we will
respond to that report. Ofwat has already put an outcomes-based
approach in its 2024 price review and it is already enforcing
competition for the procurement of infrastructure. That
demonstrates that we are going in a direction that I think my
hon. Friend may be pleased with.
(Tiverton and Honiton)
(LD)
South West Water, which covers both my constituency and that of
the Minister, has been given a one-star rating by the Environment
Agency because of water pollution. It is clear that Ofwat cannot
properly regulate some of the wayward companies that continue to
pay out huge sums in dividends while failing our communities.
Does the Minister agree with me that Ofwat should be abolished so
that we can create a new regulator that actually has some
teeth?
The answer to that is no. We are working very constructively with
Ofwat. It can fine a water company that is found to be in breach
10% of its turnover. It has used fines, and Environment Agency
fines have significantly increased over the last year as well. I
am certain that working with Ofwat, so that it works with the
water companies to bring them into line, is the right way to
approach the issue, and that is what Ofwat is doing.
Flooding
(Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
3. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of preparations
to support communities and businesses impacted by potential
flooding in winter 2022-23. (902205)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
We are investing £5.2 billion over the next six years in flood
protection to better protect communities across England. Some
35,000 properties have been better protected since April last
year. Last week was Flood Action Week and we encouraged many
communities to take note of whether they are in a flood area, as
many people do not realise that; they can check that on the
Environment Agency website. There are steps that we can all
individually take. The EA has also taken on more staff, who are
all funded and ready to respond whenever necessary.
In the last few weeks, with the weather getting wetter, I have
been contacted by anxious farmers and residents in the
Winmarleigh, Pilling and Hollins Lane areas of my constituency,
all of which fall within the catchment of the River Wyre. What
steps is the Minister taking to protect my constituents in Wyre
against flooding before it happens and devastation is caused?
Our flood funding is funding 2,000 infra- structure projects
across the country. There are three already in the hon. Lady’s
constituency: two are about to get under way and one we do not
yet have the date for, but all the work has been done. One of the
key ways that we work with farmers is on nature-based solutions,
so that they can take flood water if they have to do so. I am
working closely with the Minister responsible for farming, my
right hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood (), on the environment and land
management scheme, so that farms are also catered for to deal
with water issues as well as food production.
(Sleaford and North
Hykeham) (Con)
Residents near Sleaford were horrified to find out that Anglian
Water plan to flood a large area near Scredington, flooding their
homes, their farms and their businesses. Apparently, this is to
create a reservoir to provide water in the south-east of England.
It is an entirely unsuitable place for such a reservoir: it is a
large concrete-bunded, unnatural-looking structure. Will the
Minister meet me so that we can ensure that this reservoir does
not happen in this location?
We have already had a conversation on that and I am really happy
to follow it up. We need water infrastructure in the right place,
but we do need new water infrastructure, because we have to
increase our water supply. We also need to tackle leakage and
water efficiency. DEFRA is working hard on a combination of
measures to make sure that people have the water that they need.
I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that proposal.
Environment Agency: Enforcement Budget
(Wakefield)
(Lab/Co-op)
5. What assessment she has made of the potential effect of a
reduction in the Environment Agency’s budget on its enforcement
work. (902207)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
I feel a bit like a jack-in-the-box this morning, Mr Speaker.
Environment Agency enforcement is at a record high, and its
funding is closely monitored to ensure that it can continue to
hold polluters to account. Last year, record fines were handed to
water companies, making it clear that polluters will pay. The
EA’s total budget this year is £1,650 million. I am always bad at
reading out numbers and putting them into words. That is nearly
20% of DEFRA’s entire budget, including new ringfenced money for
special enforcement activities, such as 4,000 more farm
inspections and 5,000 more sewage treatment works
inspections.
I have been dealing with an Environment Agency complaint from
residents near a pig farm in rural Wakefield, which has been
operating without the necessary licence for more than a year.
However, I have seen delay after delay, with residents getting no
anticipated timelines and no commitments to resolve the problem,
leaving them none the clearer about when life can go back to
normal. Can the Minister set out how she will ensure that the
Environment Agency’s enforcement actions are fit for purpose so
that it can protect our communities?
I have already heard about that particular incident, but I do not
have all the details. I would be very happy if the hon. Gentleman
would like to meet me. It has been conveyed that the farm is
operating illegally, that the EA is involved, and that he has
already met the EA and will meet it again, but I am very happy to
have the details.
(Rochester and Strood)
(Con)
I understand that there are pressures with the prioritisation of
any kind of enforcement, but in my constituency, in the village
Borstal, we have been blighted with an illegal waste dump for a
number of years. It is totally illegal, causing distress to
residents and a blot on an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Will my hon. Friend meet me to discuss how we can get the
Environment Agency to take really swift action for something that
has gone on for too long?
One never wants to hear examples such as that. Of course I will
meet my hon. Friend to see what more can be done. We need to work
constructively with the Environment Agency, because there is a
protocol for what it does, and to get it involved with practical
actions that can help.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Leeds North West)
(Lab/Co-op)
It is a pleasure to welcome the Under-Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Taunton
Deane () back to her place.
The Environment Agency has a heavy responsibility for
environmental protection, especially investigation and
enforcement of pollution incidents such as sewage dumping.
However, the Government more than halved the agency’s
environmental protection budget from £170 million in 2009-10 to
£76 million in 2019-20, and that included the three years in
which the current Secretary of State was a Minister. Last year,
the budget was only £94 million. I know that the Minister had
some issues with the number, but that number was mainly around
capital spending on flooding, and we have seen a fall in the
budget for environmental protection, which is hugely important to
people around the country, especially those who live near rivers
and seas.
Morale is at rock bottom at the agency, and vacancy rates are as
high as 80% in some teams, with many breaches not being
investigated or enforced. How does the Secretary of State and the
Minister plan to resolve crippling staff shortages and get us
back to where we should be?
First, I would like to put on record that we must stop doing down
our Environment Agency, which does a great deal of really
exceptional work, particularly on the areas I have already
mentioned such as flooding. Its staff numbers have been
consistent for the last three years at around 10,700 and
enforcement is funded from the EA’s environment grant, which the
2021 spending review almost doubled to £91 million.
Coastal Businesses: Sewage
(Sefton Central) (Lab)
6. Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of
sewage spillages on coastal businesses. (902208)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
I am still bobbing; I feel as if I am back on the Back
Benches.
We are the first Government to tackle storm overflows through the
storm overflows reduction plan. We recognise the importance of
bathing waters to the economy of coastal areas, with each visit
adding approximately £12 to the local economy. Our strict new
targets will see £56 billion-worth of capital investment over 25
years and we will eliminate ecological harm from storm sewage
discharge by 2050. Our impact assessment on the storm overflows
reduction plans provides evidence of the benefits to businesses
and society of cleaning up the water.
People in coastal communities have seen for themselves the
increasing sewage on beaches during 12 years of Conservative
Government. Business owners have faced the consequences, with
tourists less likely to visit. Will the Minister admit that
cutting the Environment Agency budget was a mistake, and perhaps
apologise to Environment Agency staff for those cuts and for
making it harder for them to do their jobs? While she is
apologising, will she also apologise to coastal communities for
the damage done and tell us what the plan is to stop sewage
discharges on our beaches?
I take issue with that question. Our bathing waters in England
are a massive success story, with almost 95% achieving good or
excellent status last year, the highest since the stringent new
standards were introduced in 2015. I accept that there are
issues, and the hon. Gentleman will know how hard we are
working—harder than any Government ever before—to tackle storm
sewage discharges, hence our reduction plan and all the targets
we are setting the water companies. We will do it.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee.
(Ludlow) (Con)
The Minister will be aware that two or three weeks ago there was
a well-publicised spillage at the beach at St Agnes in Cornwall,
where a large volume of brown material was expelled into the
river. Many campaigners immediately leapt to the assumption that
it was a sewage discharge and became very voluble about how
disgraceful it was. Had it been sewage, it would have been
disgraceful, but it was in fact soil erosion. That is in itself
another problem, but we need to urge moderate language when we
manage these issues. People should not immediately leap to a
conclusion, but allow the Environment Agency and the water
company to be clear about what has caused the incident.
I thank my right hon. Friend for raising that particular issue.
Everyone jumped on the bandwagon, assuming that it was sewage,
and it was proven not to be. That is why monitoring is so
important and why this Government have set in place a
comprehensive monitoring and data-gathering programme and
project. We need that to sort out those issues, as well as all
the other measures we have put in place.
Natural England
(Christchurch) (Con)
7. What recent discussions she has had with the Chair of Natural
England on the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of that
body's regulatory work. (902209)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
I have recently met both the chair of Natural England, Marian
Spain, and the chief executive, Tony Juniper. DEFRA frequently
discusses regulatory work with Natural England. Its efficiency
and effectiveness is appraised in a range of measures, including
19 key performance indicators, which are published in Natural
England’s annual report and accounts.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that response. When she next
meets Natural England, will she tell it to stop exploiting the
insufficient information loophole, which prevents it from having
to respond within 21 days to planning applications as a statutory
consultee? Brocks Pine in my constituency is a development that
would be on the heathland and inside the green belt. It took
Natural England nine months to respond to that, and when it did,
it said it had insufficient information. Is that not wholly
unsatisfactory?
Clearly, when statutory consultees do not respond promptly, it
causes delays and deeper problems for developers and communities.
I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend and esteemed colleague to
discuss what went wrong with Brocks Pine, but I would say that
Natural England are making significant progress across a number
of measures, from countryside stewardship scheme agreements to
the coastal path, national nature reserves and many others. There
will be creases to iron out, and I will discuss those when I meet
him.
(Bristol East) (Lab)
Yesterday I met the chair of Natural England, which is doing
excellent work. Will the Minister say a bit more about what she
sees as Natural England’s role in nature-based solutions to
tackle climate change?
Natural England is a vital organisation that I work with closely
to ensure that we meet our environmental targets set out in the
world-leading Environment Act 2021. Whether it is working with
farmers, local communities or environmental organisations,
Natural England is at the heart of everything we are doing.
Air, Water and Biodiversity: Statutory Deadlines
(Battersea) (Lab)
8. What assessment she has made of the implications for her
policies of the Government failing to meet statutory deadlines on
(a) air quality, (b) water quality and (c) biodiversity.
(902210)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Dr Thérèse Coffey)
The Government already have existing legal targets driving
ambitious action on air and water quality. As the hon. Lady will
be aware, bio- diversity was included in the Environment Act
2021, so it is already in primary legislation. When I became
Secretary of State, frankly, I was disappointed to discover that
we were not in a place to publish these targets, but we are now
working at pace, building on the work of my predecessors and the
environmental implementation plan.
My constituents will continue to suffer from breathing toxic air
because of the Government’s failure to meet the legal deadline to
introduce targets under the Environment Act. The Government are
also planning to water down standards by committing to cut
PM2.5only by 2040, not by 2030, the target that the EU has
committed to, reneging on yet another pledge not to water down
standards post Brexit. Will the Secretary of State provide a new
date for the publication of environment targets and commit to a
2030 target?
Dr Coffey
I know that we are in a debating Chamber, but what the hon. Lady
said at the beginning of her question is factually incorrect. It
is important to say that legislation is already in place. We are
actually seeing air quality improving right across the country.
Indeed, I remind her that in her constituency, it is of course
the Mayor of London who should be driving improvements in air
quality. He has all the powers at his disposal to do so and it is
up to him to deliver.
Mr Speaker
We now come to the shadow Secretary of State, .
(Oldham West and Royton)
(Lab/Co-op)
May I welcome the Secretary of State to her post? She has been in
post for three weeks now, but the crisis of raw sewage turning
England into an open sewer can be traced back to her time as an
Environment Minister. To undo that damage, will she update the
House on when she held a roundtable with all the water bosses and
what the outcome of it was?
Dr Coffey
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that warm welcome. It is great to
be back at DEFRA, a Department in which I served for three
years—I am pleased to be there. Let us be candid about this: we
have seen some difficult situations with water companies. The
Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (), is already on the case in
that regard. I have not yet prioritised the water companies
specifically, because other Ministers are doing so and I am
prioritising my work to achieve environmental targets to satisfy
the legislation set out by Parliament, as well as the preparation
we are doing for the Montreal conference. My hon. Friend has
already set out to the House some of the work that is under way.
We are taking proactive action on sewage spillage.
The Secretary of State’s predecessor, the right hon. Member for
North East Hampshire (Mr Jayawardena), may only have been in
office for just over a month, but even he met the water bosses
for a roundtable on his first day in office. Why, for one of the
biggest scandals in her Department, has she not seen that as a
priority?
Moving on, in a stunning turn of events, ahead of COP27, the
Secretary of State announced that the Government will breach
their own self-imposed legal obligations to publish targets on
air quality, clean water and biodiversity. How does she expect
other countries to take us seriously at COP15 when we cannot even
get our own house in order?
Dr Coffey
I was at the last COP on the convention on biological diversity,
COP14, in Sharm El-Sheikh. I just got home from Sharm, from the
climate COP, to come back in time for orals today. I assure the
hon. Member that we continue to work with countries around the
world to ensure that our outcomes in Montreal are as ambitious as
they can be, including signing people up to the 30 by 30
coalition, and indeed the 10-point plan for biodiversity
financing. I assure him that we are working at pace in the
Department on the Environment Act, and the subsequent targets
from it that we need to put into legislation, and I hope to
update the House in the near future.
Fishing Communities
(Waveney) (Con)
9. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support
fishing communities. [R] (902211)
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs ()
The Government are providing £32.7 million a year to enable all
four fishing Administrations to deliver funding schemes to
support the seafood sector, such as the fisheries and seafood
scheme in England. In addition to that, £100 million is being
provided through the UK’s seafood fund to support the long-term
future and sustainability of the industry, helping to bring
economic growth to coastal communities and supporting levelling
up.
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer. I draw
attention to my role chairing Renaissance of the East Anglian
Fisheries, a community interest company promoting the fishing
industry in East Anglia. It is welcome that policy labs in the
Cabinet Office are engaging with local fishermen in producing the
bass fisheries management plan, and a REAF director recently
attended a workshop in Lowestoft. Can my right hon. Friend
confirm that he is also liaising with the Department for
International Trade to confirm that the management plan accords
with the trade and co-operation agreement, and will also apply to
EU vessels?
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his tenacious campaigning on
this topic. The bass fisheries management plan will manage bass
fishing in England and Wales. We are delivering on our
commitments in the Fisheries Act 2020. The fisheries management
plan will apply to all vessels fishing in these waters, and the
Fisheries Act 2020 requires consultation with all interested
persons. Our fisheries management plans will comply with the UK’s
international obligations, including the trade and co-operation
agreement.
Topical Questions
(Carshalton and Wallington)
(Con)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.(902221)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Dr Thérèse Coffey)
I pay tribute to the previous ministerial team, my right hon.
Friend the Member for North East Hampshire (Mr Jayawardena) and
my hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall (), on the work that they did
while they were Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs. I have just returned from my fourth climate
COP, the UN climate conference in Egypt, where I held productive
bilateral meetings with a range of counterparts from India to
Japan. Yesterday, I was delighted to announce a new big nature
impact fund for our country of £30 million as seed investment to
bring in other private investment that will help us to plant more
woodland, restore precious peatland and create new habitats, as
well as bring green jobs to our communities. We should be proud
of what we are achieving, and indeed the work that we are doing
to unlock financing around the world, but it is critical that we
have a great global effort, so that, as we head into the
financial negotiations ahead of the COP15 on the convention on
biological diversity in Montreal next month, we come together to
ensure that we have ambitions for the future of our planet.
Carshalton and Wallington residents warned the Lib-Dem-run
council that the incinerator that it campaigned for in Beddington
would one day want to increase its capacity. Sadly, they have
been proven right, because it is now seeking to burn more. I know
that the waste minimisation strategy calls for the phasing out of
incineration, so does my right hon. Friend agree that residents
should get involved in the Environment Agency consultation to say
that they do not want to see that increase?
Dr Coffey
It will be no surprise to anyone in this House that Liberal
Democrats often say one thing to get elected and then do the
exact opposite. We should be aware that generating energy from
waste should not compete with greater waste prevention, reuse or
recycling. Consideration must be given to the Government’s
strategic ambition to minimise waste and our soon-to-be-published
residual waste reduction target, and I agree that my hon.
Friend’s residents should respond to the consultation in full
force.
(Bolton South East)
(Lab)
T2. Since the Boxing day floods in 2015, my residents on
Riverside Drive have been living in fear. They recently found out
that the works will be further delayed until 2026—11 years after
the first floods. Moreover, a nearby floor basin project has
increased the volume of water in its part of the River Irwell,
meaning that the river now rises at a faster rate than before,
adding more stress for my residents. I have raised the issue many
times in Parliament, and I have asked successive Ministers to
come to visit Bolton South East to see it for themselves and
speak to residents. I ask the new Secretary of State to do the
same.(902222)
Dr Coffey
I am not committing to visiting the hon. Lady’s constituency, but
I am very concerned about what she just relayed. I have already
asked for the Environment Agency to meet for a deep dive on the
flooding budget. There is a frequently flooded fund, which can
support constituencies such as hers, and we need to make sure we
are delivering effective action. That also goes for councils,
which need to make sure they have cleared the gullies, so that we
do not get these levels of surface water flooding.
Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)
T3. I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’
Financial Interests. The packaging industry is ready to play its
part in creating a world-class recycling system, and extended
producer responsibility with a deposit return scheme and
consistent household collections of waste will achieve that, but
Government responses to consultations on the latter two are still
awaited. Given that businesses are expected to do their bit by
starting to record complicated packaging data for EPR from 1
January next year, in just six weeks’ time, could the Secretary
of State say when the responses to those schemes will be
available?(902223)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
Following consultations on the two schemes my hon. Friend
mentions, intensive work is going on in the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to make all the schemes link
up, because these are complicated issues. I can assure him that
we are aiming to publish our responses to the outstanding
consultations by the end of this year.
(Bristol East) (Lab)
T4. Under the previous Prime Minister, it was reported that the
best and most versatile land would be re-categorised to include
category 3b, with a view to blocking development, including solar
power, from that land. Is that still the Government’s
intention?(902224)
Dr Coffey
It is really important that we make the best use of our land, to
have the food security that was referred to earlier. It is also
important, when considering land use, that we think about the
best place to put renewable energy. By and large, I think most
people in this country would agree: let us have good agricultural
land for farming, and let us use our brownfield sites for other
energy projects too.
(Harrogate and Knaresborough)
(Con)
T5. I was grateful to the Under-Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member
for Copeland (), for her response to my
Adjournment debate last week about our campaign on bathing water
status for rivers, and specifically the River Nidd in
Knaresborough. Will she meet me to discuss that campaign and the
process for inland bathing water accreditation?(902227)
I hear that it was a lively debate, and I congratulate my hon.
Friend on his campaign. We are actively encouraging more
applicants for bathing water status, and I look forward to
receiving the application for the River Nidd and discussing it
with him. As I think my hon. Friend the Member for Copeland said
in that debate, it is time to get your Speedos out.
(Putney) (Lab)
There have been many warm words from successive Secretaries of
State on saving nature. Many species may soon be extinct,
including the red squirrel, the water vole and even the hedgehog.
Two years ago, I was on the Environment Bill Committee, and much
was made of new targets. The 31 October date for those new
targets was missed. Can the Secretary of State be clear today:
what is the date for publishing those targets and taking action
on saving nature?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
I would like to reassure the hon. Member that we remain
absolutely committed to publishing our environmental targets, and
I have been meeting partners, including farmers, environmental
organisations and the people managing protected landscapes. The
most important thing is that we deliver on the outcomes clearly
set out in our 25-year environment plan.
(Stroud) (Con)
T6. Communities in tiny villages such as Arlingham in my patch, a
beautiful peninsular on the River Severn, are desperately worried
about proposals for large solar farms. I welcome what my right
hon. Friend the Secretary of State said about protecting
agricultural land, but can she confirm that she is speaking with
colleagues across Cabinet, so that we can tighten up this policy
and provide clarity? I am not somebody who thinks these things
should be banned, but we need to do better on giving clarity to
businesses and communities.(902228)
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs ()
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. She will be aware that
planning policy is a matter for the Department for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities, and solar policy is a matter for the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but she
should be assured that my officials are working closely with
those Departments to ensure that we get the right balance between
boosting our food production and delivering long-term energy
security.
(Brighton, Pavilion)
(Green)
Can the Secretary of State guarantee that the outstanding
statutory deadlines we have spoken about on air, water and so
forth will be published before COP15, so that we can lead by
example? If she cannot guarantee that, does she agree that that
bodes incredibly ill for the deadlines in the utterly misguided
and reckless Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill? If we
cannot meet these deadlines, how will we meet those?
Dr Coffey
I completely understand why Members of the House are concerned
that the Government have not come forward with the secondary
legislation as set out in primary legislation, and I have already
expressed my disappointment. I assure the hon. Lady that we are
working at pace to get those targets in place. I am conscious
that we are still working on certain aspects of that, but I hope
to try to get them done as quickly as possible.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Select Committee, Sir Robert.
Sir (Scarborough and Whitby)
(Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend the fisheries Minister for rapidly
acceding to the Committee’s request to set up an independent
panel to investigate the cause of the mass shellfish mortality
off the north-east coast last autumn. When does he expect that
panel to be established and when might he expect it to report its
findings?
Obviously we want to set it up as soon as possible and we want it
to assess all the available evidence. All interested parties want
to make sure that we identify the challenge. A number of—if I can
use the term—red herrings have been thrown into the mix, so
establishing the true facts as rapidly as possible will be the
ambition of this rapid inquiry.
(East Renfrewshire)
(SNP)
Some 80% of UK firms say that they are struggling to trade with
the EU because of Tory Brexit red tape. Scots exports to the EU
have been slashed by 13%. The cost to households in Scotland as a
consequence of Brexit averages £900 a year. Additional Brexit
checks for meat exports are being imposed on 14 December that
will further hammer the agricultural sector. Where is the
promised Brexit dividend for farmers? So far, all they can see
from the Tories are restrictions and red tape.
One day, the hon. Lady will have to accept the result of the
referendum and the fact that Brexit took place. We are embracing
those opportunities in the Department. We are doing trade deals
and promoting British products around the world. We are proud of
what our British producers produce. We should get on the front
foot and big them up, rather than being negative.
(Newcastle-under-Lyme)
(Con)
I welcome the Secretary of State to her place and, hopefully,
will welcome her soon to Newcastle-under-Lyme to see Walleys
Quarry for herself. As she knows, that major issue has been
blighting the community for some time. Although the odour is
getting better, we still have no accountability. There are two
investigations going on—criminal and regulatory. Does she agree
that it is imperative for the Environment Agency to bring those
investigations to a conclusion as soon as possible so that my
constituents can have justice and accountability?
As my hon. Friend knows, I cannot comment on an ongoing
investigation, but I can confirm that the EA is continuing to
work closely to regulate the operator and to consider appropriate
action in compliance with the enforcement and sanctions policy.
That includes ensuring that the operator continues to implement
all the 20 or more measures that were recommended, which, I think
he will agree, are starting to have a real effect.
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