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Tag: Maria Eagle

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 31W, on the Environment Agency, when the review of existing workloads against enforcement priorities and available budgets will be completed; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    It is expected that the process of reviewing the baseline total enforcement and legal casework to match this to the Environment Agency budget will be completed within the next six weeks.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    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.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) the ongoing monitoring of the pilot badger culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire will be independent and (b) their effectiveness, humaneness and safety is based on rigorous scientific methodology.

    George Eustice

    Monitoring of compliance with licence conditions will continue to be carried out by the licensing authority, Natural England. AHVLA will continue to carry out post-mortem examinations of carcases. Defra is currently working closely with Natural England and AHVLA to develop the detail of how the monitoring will be implemented, including auditing and evaluation procedures.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of the Severe Weather Recovery Scheme awarded to local authorities for costs incurred during the recent floods has been (a) allocated to and (b) received by local authorities to date.

    Brandon Lewis

    £73.5 million has been allocated to, and received by, local authorities for costs incurred during the recent floods under the first phase of the Severe Weather Recovery Scheme. The closing date for the second tranche of the funding was 6 June.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish (a) the results of the review of each area of the Environment Agency’s existing workloads against enforcement priorities and available budgets and (b) any decisions made about the future workload and priorities of the enforcement and legal caseload.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency’s process of reviewing its baseline total enforcement and legal casework to match its future budget will be used for internal workforce planning and resource allocation. It is, therefore, not intended for publication.

    The announcement in the budget statement of an additional £5m for tackling waste crime means that the Environment Agency is reviewing its planning assumptions and associated workload.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    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.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons cage trapping and shooting of badgers was implemented during the pilot badger culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire in 2013 when the culls were testing for effectiveness, humaneness and safety of free shooting.

    George Eustice

    Both controlled shooting and cage trapping and shooting methods were always available to the cull companies. There was no compulsion on the contractors to use a defined proportion of cage trapping and controlled shooting. How they used these two methods was a decision for them to make. As the pilot culls progressed, cull companies decided to use more cage trapping, as this technique was found to work well under certain circumstances. Ministers were kept informed of progress during the pilot culls from an early stage.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings his Department had with the National Farmers’ Union in the six months before the start of the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2013; and whether he advised that union to operate a media blackout during the first phase of the culls.

    George Eustice

    Meetings were held with the National Farmers Union in the six months prior to the start of the pilot culls in 2013.

    There was no media blackout during the pilots. Defra and the National Farmers Union continued to make spokespeople available to talk to the media throughout the period in which culling was taking place.

    However, both the National Farmers Union and Defra were always clear that operational information that could compromise the effectiveness of the cull or the safety of those involved would not be disclosed during the operation.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff worked in investigation, legal and enforcement action in each geographical area of the Environment Agency in each year since 2010.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency is unable to provide a breakdown of the number of staff that worked in investigation, legal and enforcement action across geographical areas since 2010 due to disproportionate cost.

    Many Environment Agency staff work on investigation, legal and enforcement action as part of their role and across more than one geographical area.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    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.