Every parliamentary written question tabled by Toby Perkins this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 63 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed fee structure for the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on economic growth.
In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the definition of household waste under the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging scheme to apply exemptions to products consumed and disposed of within hospitality venues.
The Government has been engaging extensively with stakeholders from various sectors, including the hospitality sector, to develop a better understanding of the potential impacts of a change in the definition of household packaging. The government will set out its intended next steps on the definition shortly.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging scheme that will be introduced in April 2025 on the drinks industry.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I provided to PQ 33304 on 4 March 2025.
Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraphs 82 to 85 of the Fourth Report of Session 2023–24 of the Environmental Audit Committee, The UK’s contribution to tackling global deforestation, HC 405, whether she plans to implement the recommendation on human rights abuses in supply chains.
We note the committee’s recommendations regarding the rights of indigenous people and local communities, and customary land tenure. We will set out our approach in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the scope of the Environment Act 2021 to include more (a) sectors and (b) definitions of (i) legal and (ii) illegal deforestation.
The approach to tackling deforestation in UK supply chains is being considered and we will provide an update in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of broadening the scope of measures within the Environment Act 2021 to help tackle illegal deforestation.
The approach to tackling deforestation in UK supply chains is being considered and we will provide an update in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the decision-making process on whether to grant conditional emergency authorisation to use a product containing neonicotinoids includes an assessment of the potential impact of those neonicotinoids on butterflies.
Decisions on emergency authorisation applications must be taken in line with legal requirements. In making these decisions, Ministers take full account of the available evidence and expert advice, including on risks to pollinating insects. The Government will honour its manifesto commitment on this topic.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on dredging rivers.
Defra works closely with the Environment Agency (EA) to ensure it is equipped to carry out its functions effectively and deliver for the public and the environment; this includes flood risk management and watercourse maintenance. The EA focuses its efforts on those activities which will achieve the greatest benefit in terms of protecting people and property from flooding. Dredging and main river clearance are an important part of EA’s maintenance programme. Before undertaking dredging, the EA will work in close consultation with local communities to assess whether it is technically achievable and cost effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream, and is environmentally acceptable. In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of neonicotinoids that have been used since 2020 following an emergency authorisation on wildlife.
Three neonicotinoids – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – are not permitted for general use because of the risks they pose to pollinators. However, emergency authorisations were granted by the previous Government for the use of the thiamethoxam-containing pesticide Cruiser SB to treat sugar beet seed in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Environmental monitoring activities were undertaken as a condition of the emergency authorisations for the use of Cruiser SB granted by the previous administration, alongside government-funded monitoring projects. The results of this monitoring work can be found within the HSE’s emergency registration reports, published on GOV.UK. This year I rejected the application for an emergency authorisation to use Cruiser SB on sugar beet in England. I did not take this decision lightly, considering expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive and Expert Committee on Pesticides, the Defra Chief Scientific Adviser and Defra economists. In making my decision, I recognised that the potential adverse effects to bees and other pollinators could not be excluded if the Cruiser SB authorisation were to be granted. In December last year we published a policy statement outlining our intention to end the use of these neonicotinoid pesticides for good. We will update the guidance that sets out the approach to decisions on applications for emergency authorisations to take full account of the importance of pollinators. Further, we will identify legislative options to prevent future use of emergency authorisations for products containing clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, which are extremely toxic to pollinators.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support UK businesses to comply with (a) domestic and (b) EU regimes for the prevention of deforestation in supply chains.
Businesses are supported to comply with UK timber regulations through the Office for Product Safety and Standards. There is currently no domestic regime in place in relation to other commodities. Guidance in respect of complying with EU legislation is a matter for the European Commission.
Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on bringing forward the Forest Risk Commodities regulations to enact the Environment Act 2021 provisions on deforestation in supply chains.
We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. We will set out our approach to addressing deforestation in the UK’s supply chains in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations within the Environmental Audit Committee's report entitled The UK's contribution to tackling global deforestation, published on 4 January 2024.
We note the recommendations put forward by the committee and recognise the important work that there is to be done.
Food and Rural Affairs, when the (a) River Rother and (b) River Hipper was last dredged.
The Environment Agency has no record of dredging the rivers Rother and Hipper during the last 10 years. The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes dredging to manage flood risk where it is technically effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream and is environmentally acceptable. In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue. Since 2009, the EA has spent the following amounts on dredging rivers. Note that more funding was used on dredging in 2016/17 mainly due the winter floods of 2015/16 and an additional £40 million resource funding that was announced in March 2016. This allowed teams to undertake more maintenance activities, including dredging. Financial YearChannel Maintenance (£M)Dredging (£M)2010/114552011/1239102012/134582013/143042014/1545122015/164792016/1759222017/185982018/194552019/204552020/213442021/222932022/233662023/24387
Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's policy is on the regular dredging of rivers.
The Environment Agency has no record of dredging the rivers Rother and Hipper during the last 10 years. The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes dredging to manage flood risk where it is technically effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream and is environmentally acceptable. In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue. Since 2009, the EA has spent the following amounts on dredging rivers. Note that more funding was used on dredging in 2016/17 mainly due the winter floods of 2015/16 and an additional £40 million resource funding that was announced in March 2016. This allowed teams to undertake more maintenance activities, including dredging. Financial YearChannel Maintenance (£M)Dredging (£M)2010/114552011/1239102012/134582013/143042014/1545122015/164792016/1759222017/185982018/194552019/204552020/213442021/222932022/233662023/24387
Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Environment Agency has spent on dredging rivers in each year since 2009.
The Environment Agency has no record of dredging the rivers Rother and Hipper during the last 10 years. The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes dredging to manage flood risk where it is technically effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream and is environmentally acceptable. In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue. Since 2009, the EA has spent the following amounts on dredging rivers. Note that more funding was used on dredging in 2016/17 mainly due the winter floods of 2015/16 and an additional £40 million resource funding that was announced in March 2016. This allowed teams to undertake more maintenance activities, including dredging. Financial YearChannel Maintenance (£M)Dredging (£M)2010/114552011/1239102012/134582013/143042014/1545122015/164792016/1759222017/185982018/194552019/204552020/213442021/222932022/233662023/24387
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the regular dredging of rivers on flooding.
The Environment Agency has no record of dredging the rivers Rother and Hipper during the last 10 years. The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes dredging to manage flood risk where it is technically effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream and is environmentally acceptable. In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue. Since 2009, the EA has spent the following amounts on dredging rivers. Note that more funding was used on dredging in 2016/17 mainly due the winter floods of 2015/16 and an additional £40 million resource funding that was announced in March 2016. This allowed teams to undertake more maintenance activities, including dredging. Financial YearChannel Maintenance (£M)Dredging (£M)2010/114552011/1239102012/134582013/143042014/1545122015/164792016/1759222017/185982018/194552019/204552020/213442021/222932022/233662023/24387
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the levels of yellow virus on sugar beet; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet on w
Viruses transmitted by aphids can severely reduce yields of sugar beet crops. The degree of threat varies from location to location and from year to year. Decisions on emergency authorisation applications must be taken in line with legal requirements. In ...
Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hybrid and (d) electric (i) cars, (ii) vans and (iii) other vehicles his Department hired in each of the last five years.
The data for Defra has been provided by our supplier of hire cars “Enterprise”. Data from Enterprise shows the following: Hires:FuelNo of hires Petrol5,171Diesel660EV/Hybrid174 Due to time constraints, we have only engaged with our main vehicle hire suppl...
Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to improve the flood resilience of the river (a) Rother and (b) Hipper in the Chesterfield area.
The Environment Agency is:Developing a business case for a flood alleviation scheme to reduce the risk of flooding to properties on the River Hipper in Chesterfield. The project currently has a significant funding gap. Funding will need to be identified for the project to be delivered.Investigating the removal of a disused bridge over the River Hipper at Clayton Street to reduce obstructions to flow during flood events.Developing a project to refurbish a flood defence wall in the St Augustine’s area. This asset reduces risk from the River Rother to properties on Hawthorne, Sherwood, Bridge Street and River View. The Environment Agency, Derbyshire County Council and Chesterfield Borough Council have undertaken a community flood resilience event to discuss how to be better prepared in the event of a flood.Reviewing flows and performance of the Avenue Flood Storage Area following Storm Babet. This asset reduces risk from the River Rother to communities downstream in Chesterfield. Subject to funding, the Environment Agency will undertake an optimisation study to assess whether there are any operational improvements that can be undertaken to further reduce flood risk.With other partners, investigating any potential for further storage on tributaries of the Rivers Rother and Hipper, for example Spital Brook and Holme Brook.Continuing to work with partners to develop natural flood management opportunities within the Rother and Hipper Catchments to help slow the flow and reduce risk to downstream communities. The Environment Agency also carried out a flood warning validation exercise following Storm Babet to help improve the flood warning service. To ensure that communities are better protected, Defra has established a ministerially led cross-governmental Flood Resilience Taskforce, with the first meeting taking place in September. The Flood Resilience Taskforce will ensure that preparedness and resilience to flooding is reviewed regularly before the start of the main flood season; and that it is continuously improved to ensure optimum protection to people, homes and businesses. It will also provide ministers with longer-term oversight of wider floods resilience strategy and investment programmes.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to amend the targets included in the Environment Act 2021.
We are committed to the Environment Act targets. This Labour government is committed to ensuring the Environmental Improvement Plan is fit for purpose and will focus on delivering our Environment Act targets. The new government will work in partnership with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world. We intend to publish the Annual Progress Report on implementation of the Environmental Improvement Plan this summer, which will reveal the situation labour have inherited. This will cover the April 2023 to March 2024 reporting period in accordance with section 9 of the Environment Act 2021.