Every parliamentary written question tabled by Josh Newbury this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–31 of 31 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding from the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme has been allocated to projects in the (a) Cannock Chase constituency and (b) the Cannock Chase National Landscape area.
Over £570,000 has been spent on approved projects in the Cannock Chase National Landscape area since the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL) launched in July 2021, with further projects in progress and to be completed by the end of 24/25.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the capacity of anaerobic digestion facilities, in the context of the planned introduction of mandatory food waste collection
The Government’s preference is for unavoidable food waste to be collected for treatment by anaerobic digestion (AD): producing bio-gas and digestate. Defra has been working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Waste and Res...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support waste collection authorities to deliver mandatory household food waste collections from 2026-27.
To support waste collection authorities to deliver household food waste collections, we provided capital transitional funding in February 2024 to cover reasonable costs of purchasing trucks and bins needed to deliver weekly food waste collections from 31 ...
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a mandatory charge for single-use coffee cups.
The Government recognises the urgent need to limit the environmental impact of single-use plastic, including fibre composite cups. The Government has committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. The Secretary of State has convened a Small ...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce response times for applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive has been expanded to now include Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier actions, with around a further 80 new actions now available for customers to select. The scheme is in the late stages of the controlled rollout, something ...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce pre-consumer plastic waste in supply chains.
The Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy and asked his Department to work with experts from industry, academia, civil society, and the civil service to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy ...
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the recycling rates of plastic film.
Yes, Defra is supporting the multi-million-pound FlexCollect project, launched in May 2022, funding local authorities to roll out kerbside plastic film collection trials. This will help gather insights to support effective collections more widely ahead of...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) increase biodiversity on farms and (b) ensure that farms are financially sustainable.
This Government will champion British farming. Our new deal for farmers will build a resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British farmers. We have already delivered on our commitment to restore stability by continuing the...
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with businesses on steps to reduce the (a) manufacture and (b) distribution of single-use plastic products other than wet wipes.
The Secretary of State has not held discussions on reducing the manufacture and distribution of single-use plastic products with businesses. However, officials have met with industry stakeholders through the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN), this ...
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the (a) powers and (b) resources of the Environment Agency to regulate landfill sites.
The regulatory framework in place is designed to serve operators and protect the local community. Where poor performance does occur the Environment Agency has a range of powers to bring sites back into compliance and, where necessary, to take enforcement ...
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to promote the (a) development and (b) use of bioplastics for single-use packaging.
No, Defra has not taken steps to promote the development or use of bio-based plastics for single-use packaging. More research is needed to ensure bio-based plastics lead to better environmental outcomes overall. During the production of these materials, t...