The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost of maintaining flood defences in each year of this Parliament.
Rory Stewart
The Environment Agency spent directly £171 million maintaining flood defences in 2014/15. Many more flood defences are maintained by Local Authorities and Internal Drainage Boards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has allocated to reducing light pollution in the next five financial years.
Andrew Jones
When environmental impacts of new transport infrastructure projects are identified as part of the assessment and design process, appropriate mitigation is funded from within the budget for that project.
As part of the Road Investment Strategy, Highways England also has a £300m environment fund to deliver environmental improvements on their network, both through retrofitting measures on the existing road network and maximizing opportunities offered by new road schemes. Where there is a strong case, some of this fund could support projects which reduce light pollution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in which towns and cities the Government intends to create pocket parks; and what the estimated cost will be to (a) his Department and (b) the Government of this programme.
Mr Marcus Jones
On Saturday 7 November the Government launched its Pocket Park programme which will provide a total of £1.5 million support to communities in urban areas to establish up to 100 pocket parks, in our busy towns and cities. The programme will support communities and their local authority partners across England and outside London (which has already benefited from funding from the Mayor). Full details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pocket-parks-support-for-communities-to-manage-small-green-spaces.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what role the National Wildlife Crime Unit will play as part of the UK’s commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade from March 2016.
Rory Stewart
In the UK’s Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT), published in February 2014, the Government committed to “take a national strategic approach to domestic action on IWT through . . . . funding the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) until 2016”. Defra and the Home Office together have provided £544,000 for the NWCU over 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Decisions on future funding of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2016 will be made as part of the current Spending Review process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Rural Payments Agency was not able to make advance basic payments from 16 October 2015.
George Eustice
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) remains focused on making full payments from December. The RPA is on track to make full payments on 2015 Basic Payment Scheme claims as soon as possible within the payment window, making the majority of payments in December and the vast majority by the end of January 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department plans to implement the Guidelines to Prevent the Risk of Poisoning to Migratory Birds adopted by the Eleventh Conference if the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in November 2014.
Rory Stewart
The UK has strict protection for migratory birds through existing statutory and policy provisions, noting our obligations under the EU Wild Birds Directive, as a Contracting Party to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), Rotterdam, Ramsar and Bern Conventions, and as a Signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Resolution 11.15 adopted by the Eleventh Conference if the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in November 2014, what assessment she has made of the extent and type of poisoning risk from lead ammunition in the UK.
Rory Stewart
The Government is considering the independent Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effect of lead shot on human and wildlife health and will respond as soon as possible.
The Food Standards Agency has produced advice on the consumption of lead shot game which can be accessed at https://www.food.gov.uk/science/advice-to-frequent-eaters-of-game-shot-with-lead.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the bee population over the summer of 2015.
George Eustice
Records from volunteer societies provide a rich source of data and can be analysed to show how bee populations are changing. In 2014 Defra published a pilot indicator of changes in the wild bee population in the UK. This showed that between 1980 and 2010 some bee species had become more widespread, but that a greater number had become less so.
Defra is working with the research community to improve and update this indicator on pollinators. However, there is currently insufficient data to provide an assessment of changes over the summer of 2015. We hope to update the indicator in future years.
The Government continues to work to strengthen monitoring. In 2014 Defra commissioned a two-year project to develop a robust and affordable framework for monitoring pollinators, which can be applied by volunteers and professionals across the UK. This will report in early 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a financial assessment and analysis of the effectiveness of badger culling in the first three quarters of 2015.
George Eustice
The expected benefits of the policy remain in line with those in the ‘Measures to address bovine tuberculosis in badgers’ impact assessment published in 2011.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce public exposure to lead in the food chain.
Jane Ellison
Government set up the independent Lead Ammunition Group in 2010 to provide advice on risks to wildlife and human health from lead shot game. The Government is considering the independent Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effect of lead shot on human and wildlife health and will respond as soon as possible The Food Standards Agency (FSA) accepts the expert advice of the UK Committee on Toxicity and the European Food Safety Authority that it is not possible to set a safe level for exposure to lead from food. However, to better understand the potential risk to UK consumers the FSA produced a risk assessment in 2012 based on its survey data from 2007 of game meat samples; Veterinary Medicines Directorate data from the national surveillance scheme was also considered. The FSA risk assessment considered the potential levels of exposure to lead from lead shot game for adults, children and toddlers based on different levels of game meat consumption.
This risk assessment led to FSA issuing targeted advice to frequent consumers of lead shot game in 2012, warning of the potential risks. The advice was promoted as especially important for vulnerable groups such as toddlers and children, pregnant women and women trying for a baby, as exposure to lead can harm the developing brain and nervous system. The FSA risk assessment was published along with this advice. The Government has not estimated the number of people who regularly consume game meat shot with lead.
More generally, the FSA, works on behalf of the UK within the European Union to agree harmonised controls to reduce public exposure to lead in the food chain. EU maximum limits apply for lead in a range of foods and these are regularly reviewed by the EU Commission and member states. These maximum limits apply to all food produced in the EU or imported to the EU.