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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 595W, on flood control, what the extra sum allocated in Budget 2014 is for each of the devolved administrations for flood defence in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Danny Alexander

HM TREASURY

Maria Eagle MP

GARSTON & HALEWOOD

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 595W, on flood control, what the extra sum allocated in Budget 2014 is for each of the devolved administrations for Government funding for flood defence in 2014-15 and 2015-16. [194953]

DANNY ALEXANDER

The table below sets out the extra funding allocated to the devolved administrations through the Barnett formula which reflected new funding provided to UK government departments for flood defence measures at Budget 2014.

	Scotland	Wales		Northern Ireland
	2014-15 £m	2015-16 £m	2014-15 £m	2015-16 £m	2014-15 £m	2015-16 £m
Flood Maintenance (Resource)	2.0	3.5	1.2	2.0	0.7	1.2
Flood Maintenance (Capital)	6.0	2.5	3.5	1.4	2.0	0.8

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential risks fracking pose to livestock; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson

Our regulatory framework is robust and provides stringent environmental safeguards which will protect both humans and animals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many inspectors the Environment Agency employs to carry out checks on fracking sites in England and Wales.

Dan Rogerson

The Environment Agency has nine inspectors and two team leaders who have particular knowledge in onshore oil and gas production facilities in England. These inspectors form part of an Onshore Oil and Gas Sector Group. As and when hydraulic fracturing or other unconventional oil and gas extraction facilities become operational, the regulation of these sites will fall to this group. The membership of the group reflects the geographical distribution of the oil and gas extraction industry. If the industry expands, the size of the sector group will expand to reflect this.

Sites in Wales are regulated by Natural Resources Wales.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much notice the Environment Agency is required to give to companies ahead of inspections of fracking sites in England and Wales.

Dan Rogerson

The Environment Agency does not need to give companies operating hydraulic fracturing sites in England any notice of inspections and can make unannounced visits.

Sites in Wales are regulated by Natural Resources Wales.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Environment Agency has made on the potential for flood risk at UK fracking sites; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson

For surface installations required for borehole construction and hydraulic fracturing, the Environment Agency is a statutory adviser in the planning process. Where appropriate, it will require flood risk assessments. It may object to developments if flood risk is unacceptable or require conditions on how the site is constructed and operated to mitigate flood risk, through flood consents.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the marine environment of the exemption of biodegradable plastic bags and paper bags from his single-use plastic bag charging policy.

Dan Rogerson

Plastic, mainly plastic bags and bottles, is estimated to account for more than 70% of the total number of marine debris in European seas. The charge will focus on plastic bags as this is a targeted, proportionate approach to the problem of carrier bag distribution and littering.

Paper bags make up less than 0.1% of carrier bags distributed in the UK by the seven major supermarket retailers. Overall, paper bags make up a very small proportion of total carrier bag numbers, the vast majority of which are single-use plastic bags.

Plastic carrier bags take the longest to degrade in the natural environment, therefore decomposition in the marine environment will be one of the considerations when setting a standard for a biodegradable plastic bag exempt from the charge.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from the production, transport and disposal or recycling of currently available biodegradable plastic bags.

Dan Rogerson

The calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from bags currently labelled as biodegradable or compostable is available in the 2011 research report Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags, which was commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency. This reviewed the bags available in 2006. I have placed a copy of the report in the library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from the production, transport and disposal or recycling of paper bags.

Dan Rogerson

The calculation of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from paper bags is available in the 2011 research report Life cycle assessment of supermarket carrier bags, which was commissioned and funded by the Environment Agency. This forms part of the evidence base for the Impact Assessment that will be available in due course. I have placed a copy of the report in the library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total number of projects involved was in Lot 2, Phase 1 of his Department’s Biodegradable Plastic Carrier Bags Solutions through Innovation Research Call; and how many of those projects addressed the technical and economic issues outlined in the research call.

Dan Rogerson

Defra received two bids for Lot 2, Phase 1 of this research call.

Both bids addressed the technical and economic issues outlined in the research call and are being funded by Defra.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the Government’s policy is on the European Commission’s proposed amendments to Article 4 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, relating to reducing consumption of lightweight, less frequently re-used plastic bags with a thickness below 50 microns.

Michael Fallon

The UK Government welcomes the flexibility the European Commission proposal offers. We will seek to limit the derogation to the single market as far as possible to what is necessary to allow measures to be taken on lightweight carrier bags.