Speeches by Whitby.

“I very much welcome the Government listening and acting so quickly on this subject. On 5 March, one of my constituents had an order of 500 litres of heating oil cancelled and was invited to remake the order, but he was then told that it would cost around twice as much as the previous order. Rob, who is on the state pen…”

“Doctor Kirby, you mentioned carbon. The Committee has heard conflicting evidence on the role of ancient woodland in carbon sequestration. Do ancient woodlands continue to generate a net reduction in greenhouse gases over time?”

“Do ancient trees actually stop sequestering carbon at any point, or do they always sequester something?”

“It is fair to say that the newer growth is where the majority of the sequestration is from. We heard concerns about the impact of significant replanting on ancient woodland sites. Is there a tension? Is it possible to balance that tension?”

“Is there a difference between PAWS and ASNW in terms of carbon storage and sequestration?”

“We have seen the options for the new SFI scheme. Grasslands have changed a little bit; they are in the higher-tier stewardship. I am just wondering how a farmer, let’s say a Derbyshire farmer, who does not have species-rich grassland at the moment would get there without some escalator policy, because they have to have…”

“NISTA has given the farming and countryside programme a red RAG rating, suggesting that the programme is significantly off track from meeting its objectives. Could you explain why you think the rating is red? What steps are being taken to address that?”

“Okay. How confident are you that the £2.7 billion a year for sustainable farming and nature recovery is sufficient for delivering both?”

“The question is whether it is going to deliver both of those objectives.”

“Mr Rockliff, paludiculture was mentioned earlier on. What effect is the exploration fund having so far?”

“Given the limitations placed on the amount of agri-investment funding that farmers can receive, how are we going to incentivise carbon or wetland farming and nature-friendly farming?”

“Does anyone else want to comment on the land use framework?”

“I have a question for the Environment Agency. To what extent could a land use framework contribute to the protection or the responsible use of peatlands?”

“4. What steps she is taking to help prevent the use of phones by children in schools.”

“What assessment has been made of the magnetic lockable pouches that are being used in some schools as a way of preventing any smartphone access during the entire school day, including lunch time and breaks? Could a national roll-out of those be considered?”

“T4. A growing number of ex-footballers are suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a form of dementia caused by repeated heading of the ball. These ex-players feel let down by the Professional Footballers’ Association, which has only provided support for those suffering from CTE once funding from the N…”

“I have spoken to groups across my constituency such as Transition Crich and Derbyshire Dales Community Energy, which are working to create new community-owned energy projects in order to cut bills and drive down emissions. The £1 billion announced today will significantly help with their aims. However, these groups wil…”

“T4. Tideswell brook was deemed to be the second most pharmaceutically polluted river in the UK, despite being a site of special scientific interest and in a national park. Concentrations of some chemicals are currently more than 2.8 times higher than annual average environmental standards. Will the Government therefore…”

“In terms of removed PFAS, are we going to be able to destroy all removed PFAS given the limited capacity of high-temperature incineration in the UK?”

“Do we need a reinstated contaminated land fund in order to support the cost of PFAS remediation?”