Tag: Kerry McCarthy

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the appropriateness of the application of the CITES Annex 1 listing to elephants; and what assessment she has made of the potential effect of that listing on the domestic trade in ivory.

Rory Stewart

All proposals for the 17^th Conference of Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) are currently being assessed against the established scientific criteria for listings set out in the Convention. Where justified by the scientific evidence, the UK will advocate further protection to support the survival of endangered species. This includes in negotiations with the Member States of the EU to ensure that our positions on proposals are taken into account before the final negotiating position for the EU and its Member States is agreed.

If the elephant uplisting proposal is successful at CoP17, it will prohibit international, commercial trade in ivory apart from in exceptional circumstances. The commercial use of ivory would generally be prohibited domestically, subject to certain exemptions, such as for worked, older pre-Convention items.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the framework for her Department’s 25-year plan for the environment; and what the timetable will be for (a) consulting on the plan and (b) publishing the final plan.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

We will publish a 25 Year Environment Framework this autumn, starting off a period of public engagement to help shape the 25 Year Environment Plan which we aim to publish in 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its arm’s length bodies has spent on staff redundancies in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

The cost of compulsory redundancies is set out in Defra’s Annual Report and Accounts. These are published annually on GOV.UK and links are provided below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012–6

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-12-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he made of the effect on (a) environmental bodies, (b) biodiversity conservation, (c) pollution prevention, (d) waste reduction and (e) public parks of the proposed reduction in the Landfill Communities Fund.

Damian Hinds

Since its introduction in 1996, the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) has contributed over £1.4bn to community projects in areas affected by a local landfill site and the government acknowledges the positive impact of this funding for communities. However, as the LCF is a tax credit scheme, it reduces the government’s tax revenues and we therefore have a responsibility to seek value for money for the taxpayer.

Despite difficult decisions on spending, the government has decided to retain and reform the LCF. The value of the LCF for 2016-17 will therefore be set at £39.3m. The government is committed to providing the best value for communities, and over the next five years £20m of the additional Landfill Tax revenues resulting from this change will be used by the Environment Agency to address waste crime.

The government wants LCF money to get to communities more quickly. Our reforms will encourage money to be spent in the communities that need it. The LCF will provide £39.3m additional funding for communities in 2016/17 alone and we hope more unspent funds, which this year totalled £118m, will also reach projects as soon as possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions the Clean Growth Committee has met to discuss air quality to date; and who attended each such meeting.

Rory Stewart

The inter-ministerial group on Clean Growth meets as and when required and its members include ministers and officials from the relevant departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department spent on biodiversity conservation in the UK Overseas Territories in each of the last five financial years.

Rory Stewart

Defra has spent a total of £11.6 million on biodiversity conservation in the UK Overseas Territories over the last five financial years as follows:

2015/16 – £2.2 million

2014/15 – £1.6 million

2013/14 – £2.2 million

2012/13 – £2.9 million

2011/12 – £2.7 million

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department’s contribution is to the Government’s emissions reduction plan; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Defra is working with DECC towards the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan. This will be the successor to the 2011 Carbon Plan, which is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-carbon-plan-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions–2.

The Plan will set out our policies and proposals for meeting the UK’s carbon budgets.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 32962, how her Department calculated that the Climate Ready Support Service enabled hundreds of organisations to understand their climate risk and take action; and what the exact number of such organisations was.

Rory Stewart

The Environment Agency does not have exact figures for the number of organisations accessing the Climate Ready Support Service because the service worked extensively through partners and intermediaries, as well as directly with organisations.

The number given in my previous answer was calculated using statistics that the Environment Agency does have available, for example:

• Download statistics show that over 8000 businesses have used the Climate Ready Business Resilience Health Check tool online.

• The service, in partnership with Climate UK, provided training and qualifications in business resilience, including preparing for severe weather and climate change, to over 300 business advisors and small businesses (SMEs).

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.