Key Facts

• Extensive engagement has taken place on the Environment Bill since last year.
• Local government has invested over £4.2 billion in recycling services during a decade of funding changes due to austerity measures.
• The burden could increase by up to £700 million if the types of changes suggested in the Bill are implemented.
• There is a 40% reduction in funding for local planning authorities, with a current gap of £180 million between costs and funding from planning fees.
• The Environment Bill aims to respond to the climate emergency and uphold the principle of 'polluter pays'.
• Local authorities face a £700 million funding gap to meet the objectives set out in the Bill.
• 70% of councils recycle all seven common forms of plastic, but other types are still going into waste streams.
• Four people still wish to ask questions.
• There are fewer than eight minutes left in the session.
• Roger Gale introduces Dr Diane Mitchell from National Farmers Union representing about 50,000 farmers and grower businesses.
• Alan Law identifies as deputy chief executive at Natural England, which is Government’s wildlife adviser.
• Judicaelle Hammond represents the Country Land and Business Association with about 30,000 members in rural areas.
• Sue Young works for The Wildlife Trusts, a federated organisation of 46 charities across the UK.
• Local nature recovery strategies are part of the solution to ecological crises in England.
• The Bill currently lacks clear description on how these strategies will contribute to a national network for nature's recovery.
• Amendments to clause 97 could address gaps and ensure that local strategies align with national targets.
• The Environment Bill includes provisions for a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain.
• There is an agreement that 10% should not limit developers and local authorities from aiming for greater gains.
• Dr Young highlights the importance of ensuring environmental standards do not drop post-transition.
• The Environment Bill includes an exemption from net gain requirements for permitted development.
• In some high environmental value areas, farmers may find it difficult to meet the 10% net gain requirement.
• Conservation covenants are seen as a tool to secure long-term environmental gains and can be used in place of designation or agri-environment agreements.
• Abstraction licences are important for business security and certainty.
• Years of investment has gone into some businesses based on permission to abstract water.
• Natural England anticipates refocusing its organisation to align with the Bill's ambitions and the 25-year plan.
• Roger Gale highlights concerns about clarity in the Bill regarding conservation covenants.
• Landowners should be aware that an agreement meeting certain tests can be a covenant without explicitly stating so.
• The Bill needs to address this issue to prevent inadvertent signings of conservation covenants.
• The session was suspended due to a Division in the House.
• There may be another Division on Third Reading later.
• Rico Wojtulewicz is head of housing and planning policy at the National Federation of Builders and the House Builders Association.
• House builders have already done some excellent work on biodiversity and net gain voluntarily.
• The Bill mandates a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain, but specifics like canopy cover percentages may vary by site.
• Natural England will ensure protections for irreplaceable habitats.
• Developers can encourage more biodiversity through initiatives like undercutting hedgerows or raising hedges for hedgehogs.
• Local parish councils often oppose developments, leading to projects being built far from communities.
• Developers face financial challenges such as paying for substations for electric charging points.
• Broadband connectivity delays can lead to significant costs for property development.
• Encouraging developers to contribute to district solar panel schemes instead of individual installations can improve long-term maintenance and energy efficiency.
• There has been a 57% decline in swift breeding pairs since 1995 according to the RSPB.
• Ruth Chambers represents Greener UK, a coalition of environmental NGOs in the UK.
• Rebecca Newsom heads the political affairs unit at Greenpeace UK and is part of the Greener UK coalition.
• Ali Plummer is a senior policy officer at the RSPB.
• Ruth Chambers highlights the importance of legal foundations, funding frameworks, and organisational design for OEP's independence.
• Greenpeace supporters have contacted over 20,000 MPs about this issue.
• There are concerns regarding clause 35 and upper tribunal constraints on remedies.
• The Environment Bill includes a triple lock system with five-yearly improvement plans, annual reporting, and analysis by the Office for Environmental Protection.
• Stakeholders argue that short-term interim targets must have legal force to ensure progress towards long-term environmental goals.
• There is concern about the flexibility of interim targets in different environmental areas while maintaining their legal binding nature.
• The Environmental Principles clauses are subject to wide-ranging exemptions including armed forces, defence or national security, and taxation, spending or resource allocation within government.
• The Government has not yet published the environmental principles policy statement.
• Comparable bodies like the National Audit Office and Office for Budget Responsibility have tighter parliamentary oversight.
• The Environment Bill aims to enshrine domestic environmental ambition in law.
• Natural England has suffered significant budget cuts, impacting its ability to regulate effectively.
• There are provisions for cooperation between the OEP and the Committee on Climate Change to avoid duplication.
• Concerns about narrow biodiversity targets under the current Bill draft.
• Amendment 1 would require an appropriate number of targets to be set in each priority area.
• Sainsbury’s has made a voluntary commitment for plastic packaging reduction, but others have not.
• Plastic production globally is set to quadruple.
• The UK's current recycling infrastructure will struggle to cope with increased waste.
• A waste hierarchy focusing on reuse needs to be prioritized.
• The Committee passed a resolution earlier agreeing to accept written submissions.
• Further consideration of the session is ordered to be adjourned until Thursday 12 March at half-past Eleven o’clock.