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  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which flood insurance providers have joined the Flood Re re-insurance scheme; and what proportion of the domestic flood insurance market is now able to access the Flood Re scheme.

    Rory Stewart

    Participating insurers represent around 80% of the domestic insurance market. Flood Re maintain a list of participating insurers which can be accessed via their website here at: http://www.floodre.co.uk/homeowner/find-an-insurer/.

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  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of microplastics entering the sea on protected species in UK waters.

    George Eustice

    Defra has funded a project, undertaken by the University of Plymouth, to study the effects of microplastics in the marine environment. The study did not specifically cover protected species. The project studied whether chemical pollutants stick to plastic particles, whether marine organisms ingest plastic particles and pass them along the food chain, and whether the plastics themselves, or associated chemical pollutants, could cause harm to those organisms. The final report for this project is expected to be published shortly.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will direct the Rural Payments Agency not to make any bonus payments to its Chief Executive until payments to eligible farmers have been completed.

    George Eustice

    Senior Civil Servants (SCS) who are moderated as top performers at the end of the performance management year are eligible to receive a bonus payment.

    The performance management year for the SCS runs from 1 April to 31 March. Performance markings for 2015/16 will be determined by the end of May 2016. Only then will the eligibility of SCS for bonus payments be known.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans that the national litter strategy will include beach and aquatic litter.

    Rory Stewart

    The Litter Strategy for England will focus on three key themes: education and awareness; punishing offenders; and better cleansing and litter infrastructure, which should lead to a reduction in the amount of litter reaching local areas, including our beaches and the aquatic environment. To develop the Litter Strategy we are working with a range of interested stakeholders, including representatives from the Marine Conversation Society, Thames21 and the Canal and Rivers Trust.

    The UK Marine Strategy Part Three, published in December last year, sets out the actions we are taking to improve the marine environment. It covers measures that contribute to reducing the sources of marine litter, including sources of beach and aquatic litter, and to remove what has already reached our beaches and aquatic environment. Actions related specifically to UK beaches include Defra-funded beach cleaning schemes on priority beaches.

  • John Stevenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Stevenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stevenson on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association has not been invited to meetings of the litter strategy advisory group.

    Rory Stewart

    We welcome all views on how the problem of litter, including that caused by cigarettes can be tackled. As such, Defra will consult with a wide range of stakeholders to inform the development of its policies, and does so in line with the government’s Consultation Principles and other obligations.

    The Litter Strategy Advisory Group currently has over 20 members, which include representatives from, among others, local government, the packaging industry and organisations with expertise in running national campaigns to address the problem of litter. Without making the Group too large, which could reduce its effectiveness; the Group’s membership strikes a balance between different interests but still allows for effective discussion.

    We recognise that a desire to see littering reduced extends beyond just the organisations represented on the Group, and we intend to seek input from a wider base that this, with the Group being only one way that views and contributions on litter prevention can be fed in.

  • Graham Stuart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Graham Stuart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stuart on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to speed up the process enabling UK pig producers to export trotters to China.

    George Eustice

    Defra has submitted detailed information required by the Chinese authorities, which they are reviewing. The UK Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor, based in Beijing, has met with the Chinese authorities to raise the importance of this agreement and we continue to press for expeditious consideration of the UK application to allow exports of UK pigs’ trotters to commence as soon as possible.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations the Government has received from (a) the Chinese government and (b) Chinese energy companies on the use of alternative nuclear technology to that proposed by EDF at Hinkley Point.

    Andrea Leadsom

    No representations have been received from (a) the Chinese Government, or (b) Chinese energy companies on the use of alternative nuclear technology to that proposed by EDF at Hinkley Point.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taken to encourage the use of solar power in new building developments in England.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Solar power is a good option for developers looking to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their building stock. We encourage such installations by allowing solar power on new building developments to qualify for the Feed-in-Tariff scheme, and through Building Regulations that set demanding energy performance targets for new buildings.

    The Regulations were strengthened most recently in April 2014, to a level that means builders increasingly have to consider the use of renewable technologies in their designs. These could be solar panels, or they could be other types of renewables, which might be more appropriate depending on the location.

    As the costs of panels continue to fall, we expect developers will increasingly see the value of installing solar power on new buildings.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2016 to Question 34978, what resources his Department plans to allocate to local authorities in Northamptonshire to develop their capacity to deal with flash floods in the next three years.

    James Wharton

    The Government provides funding to lead local flood authorities to carry out their duties in relation to managing and co-ordinating local flood risk under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Local flood risk includes surface water run off. Previously this was paid through a special grant by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs. In 2016-17 this funding transferred into the Local Government Finance Settlement, which distributes Revenue Support Grant to local authorities.

    Revenue Support Grant is an unringfenced grant. We have however protected the visibility of a number of named elements of funding within the Local Government Finance Settlement, including funding for lead local flood authorities, in order to signal the priority we attach to these issues and encourage local prioritisation.

    This funding will be supplemented by a new section 31 grant to ensure that these elements of funding for lead local flood authorities are protected in real terms in each year of the Parliament. Ultimately it is up to each local authority to set its budget taking into account local priorities.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36450, what consultation meetings she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with trades unions for UK oil and gas workers on the development of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Oil and Gas plan for the UK oil and gas workforce.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is engaging with a range of stakeholders as it develops a UK oil and gas workforce plan. A range of Unions were invited to a workshop on the 21st March 2016 to discuss the emerging proposals. The Department, along with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will continue to engage with Unions as appropriate.