The Resources and Waste Strategy for England sets out the Government’s plans to reduce, reuse, and recycle more plastic and Ministers have committed to work towards all plastic packaging on the market being recyclable or reusable by 2025.

Significant progress has already been made to address plastic pollution, including a ban on microbeads and restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. The use of single-use carrier bags in supermarkets has reduced by over 98 per cent.

Further, restrictions on a range of single-use plastics, including plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers have now come into force. England uses 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery and over 700 million single-use plates per year, but only 10 per cent are recycled. This new ban is the next step in cracking down on harmful plastic waste.

Through the Environment Act 2021, the Government has set a target is to halve residual waste by 2042. This refers to waste that is sent to landfill, put through incineration, or used in energy recovery in the UK or overseas. This is an intentionally broad target, which will include the most environmentally harmful materials like plastics, rather than banning a single type of material and risk producers moving to a different, more harmful material.

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Hedgerows are one of the most important ecological building blocks in our farmed landscape. They maintain the distinctive character of our countryside and provide crucial habitats and food for wildlife. Hedgerows can store carbon, improve local air quality and benefit the rural economy by boosting job creation for hedgerow planting and management in local communities.

Protection of hedgerows is a key component of the Government’s Environmental Land Management Schemes. Through the Countryside Stewardship schemes, Ministers are supporting farmers to maintain and restore over 10,000km of existing hedgerows while planting an additional 4,000km across the nation. As of January 2023, there were around 32,000 Countryside Stewardship agreements. This is a 94 per cent increase from 2020, and this included payments for 52,800km of hedgerows maintenance and management.

Further, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra’s) new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) hedgerow standard will pay farmers to assess the condition of hedgerows and manage them in a way that will work for wildlife and improve biodiversity. SFI payments were increased by 10 per cent at the beginning of this year, providing more money for farmers deliver change. 

This increased support for farmers will result in the creation of more hedgerows and flower-rich grass areas on the edge of fields. This will help the UK to meet its environment targets and contribute to the UK’s aim of halting biodiversity loss by 2030.

Cross compliance rules ended at the end of last year. This is because gaps between cross compliance rules and regulatory requirements are already covered by existing and ongoing strong domestic legal framework, such as through generalised provisions in Farming Rules for Water and the Water Resources Act, guidance like the Code of Practice for the use of Plant Protection Products, and standards in the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme. As a result of these, my Defra colleagues do not believe farmers will lower standards and there will not be significant negative environmental impacts in these areas. 

Finally, Defra recently carried out a consultation on how best to maintain and improve existing protections for hedgerows, as well as how they can be enforced. The consultation is now closed and a response will be published in due course.

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Around a million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction and the abundance, diversity and connectivity of species is declining faster than at any time in human history. Ministers take the welfare of all animals extremely seriously and are committed to strengthening and supporting long-term conservation of animals both internationally and at home.

In 2019, the Government held a consultation on the scale and impact of the import and export of hunting trophies. Over 44,000 responses to the call for evidence and consultation were received and 85 per cent of responses were in favour of further action. The Government’s response to the consultation set out plans to ban imports of hunting trophies from thousands of endangered and threatened species.

The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill was introduced to Parliament in June 2022, the last parliamentary session, as a Private Member’s Bill by Henry Smith MP to ban the import of hunting trophies from around 6,000 species, including lions, elephants, rhinos, and polar bears. The Government was disappointed that despite the overwhelming support from MPs and the public, this Bill failed to progress through Committee stage in the House of Lords. Accepting the amendments proposed by Peers would have undermined the Government’s important commitment in this area. However, the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill was re-tabled by John Spellar MP, and is having its second reading on 22nd March.

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Ministers are committed to cracking down on puppy smuggling and will ban the imports of young or heavily pregnant dogs, as well as dogs with mutilations, such as cropped ears or docked tails. Applying strengthened penalties will send a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated and will enable our courts to take a firmer approach to cases where pets are illegally imported. The Government plans to take forward legislative measures to tackle puppy smuggling as soon as parliamentary time allows.

The UK has one of the most rigorous pet travel border checking regimes in the world and every dog travelling into Great Britain on approved routes has its microchip and paperwork checked to make sure they are properly vaccinated and are old enough to travel. In addition, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consulted on proposed changes to the commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into Great Britain.

Further, Ministers have taken action to tackle the practice of puppy farming. Following the introduction of Lucy’s Law in 2020, everyone must now buy directly from breeders or consider adopting from rescue centres, which is a major step in stopping the illegal pet trade. If an individual sells puppies or kittens without a licence, they could receive an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to six months.

The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, sponsored by Selaine Saxby, seeks to tackle the unlawful dog, cat, and ferret smuggling trade. The Bill aims to introduce stringent measures to regulate the import of the titled pets, ensuring their health and safety during transportation and deterring illegal trade practices. Its Second Reading is scheduled for Friday 15th March.

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The UK is a global leader in protecting our seas, the ocean and marine life, working with counterparts both in the UK and overseas.

Almost 200 countries agreed a deal to protect nature at COP15 in December 2022, including a global commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and also to protect 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030 and the UK announced nearly £30 million to support developing countries to deliver the “30 by 30” target. In addition, in March 2023, UN Member States agreed the High Seas Treaty, which aims to place 30 per cent of the seas into protected areas by 2030.

Further, 374 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protect 38 per cent of UK waters, which are all subject to planning and licensing regimes to ensure they are protected from harmful activities. The Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) sets the country on a path to deliver an improved marine environment and halt the decline in biodiversity which benefits us all. As set out in the EIP, the Government has a statutory target to have 70 per cent of designated features in MPAs in a favourable condition by 2042, with the remainder in a recovering condition.

Finally, the first Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) have come into force. These areas of the sea will benefit from the highest level of protection which will exclude all fishing, thus encouraging full recovery of marine ecosystems. For HPMAs to be successful, the Government will work with the fishing industry, other marine industries and sea users in designating, managing and monitoring them.

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There is a firm commitment across government to end rough sleeping once and for all, backed by £2 billion worth of investment over three years. The Government’s ‘Ending Rough Sleeping For Good’ strategy is built around a ‘prevention first’ approach, including bringing forward investment so that nobody leaves a public institution – such as a prison, hospital or care – for the streets. Investment includes over £547 million for the Rough Sleeping Initiative which enables local authorities to provide tailored support, the £200 million Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme to provide long-term homes to people with complex needs with a history of rough sleeping, and more than 6,000 move-on homes through the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme. 

Police forces and local agencies have asked for more direct tools to respond sensitively, yet firmly, to instances of nuisance begging and rough sleeping that place individuals involved at risk or make the public feel unsafe. It is important to address the fact that begging can cause harm to the individuals involved as well as to wider communities and public spaces. Giving police and local authorities the tools they need will enable them to help more vulnerable individuals off the streets and will open up new ways to direct people to appropriate support, such as accommodation, mental health treatment or substance misuse treatment.

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The Elections Act is helping improve the accountability of the Electoral Commission by making provision for a Strategy and Policy Statement to be introduced. This measures makes the Electoral Commission more accountable will strengthen the integrity of the electoral process and help prevent fraud.

Once in force, the statement will set out guidance and principles which the Commission will have to consider when carrying out its functions. It is commonplace for the Government to set a broad policy framework, as approved by Parliament, by which independent regulators should work. This is already the case for Ofcom and Ofgem, for example.

As required by the Elections Act, the Government sought views on a draft of the Strategy and Policy Statement from the Electoral Commission, the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission and the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee. In light of the feedback of the consultees, the draft statement has been amended to provide additional reassurances that the statement in no way amounts to the Government directing the Electoral Commission. Changes include further clarifying that the Electoral Commission’s executive leadership will remain responsible for determining the Commission’s priority setting and allocation of its resources. The final draft of the statement has been laid before Parliament for approval.

These reforms will not compromise the independence of the Electoral Commission. While the Commission will be required to have regard to the Strategy and Policy Statement, this does not give the Government new powers to direct the Electoral Commission’s decision making. The Commission will continue to be governed by the Commissioners and will remain operationally independent of government. The introduction of the statement would not in any way affect the ability of the Commission to undertake investigative, operational or enforcement activity as it sees fit, but it will ensure greater accountability to Parliament on how the Electoral Commission discharges its wider functions. The Government introduced measures to prohibit the statement from including reference to specific investigatory or enforcement activity to provide further reassurance on the Commission’s operational independence.

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 The scale of the waste of disposable vapes in the UK is shocking, with around five million disposable vapes thrown away every week. Many of the disposable vapes thrown away each week are not recycled properly and are instead littered or discarded with residual waste.

The Government recently carried out a public consultation on the Prime Minister’s proposals to create the first smokefree generation and crack down on cheap and accessible disposable vapes. The consultation included proposals to restrict child-friendly flavours and bright coloured packaging. These proposals will be of major benefit to the environment by tackling a particularly problematic waste stream.  

Regarding the waste of vapes, retailers that sell over £100,000 of electrical equipment per year are obliged to provide in-store takeback of electrical items, including vapes, under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations. Smaller businesses can choose to contribute funds to the distributor takeback scheme instead to ensure vapes are recycled correctly.

Under these regulations, producers of electrical and electronic equipment, including vapes, are required to take financial responsibility for the collection, and proper treatment the products that they place on the market when those products become waste at household waste recycling centres or are returned to retailers. Consumers that wish to dispose of their old vapes can take them to their local authority household waste recycling centre. All vapes that are deposited at household waste and recycling centres will be collected and treated.

Finally, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not currently hold information on the potential risks to animals from exposure to disposable vapes, it has commissioned research which will better understand both the market for, and impacts of, disposable vapes and associated cost inputs. 

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The Government fully recognises the devastating impact that the theft of a pet can have on both the pet and families. In response to concerns about a perceived increase in pet theft during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) launched the Pet Theft Taskforce in May 2021. The taskforce’s findings and recommendations, published in September 2021, included the creation of a specific offence.

The Pet Abduction Bill, introduced by my colleague Anna Firth MP, would introduce a new criminal offence in relation to the theft of a dog or a cat. The Government supported the Bill during its Second Reading.

More widely, Defra has been making improvements to the cat and dog microchipping regime in England in line with the taskforce’s recommendations. This includes introducing legislation last year to extend compulsory microchipping to include cats, as well as dogs. This increases the likelihood of lost or stolen pets being reunited with their owner. In addition, police forces are working together to better coordinate and share best practice and advice on the steps owners can take to protect their pets.

The UK has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and the Government is delivering a series of ambitious reforms, as outlined in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare.

Any breaches of animal welfare legislation are completely unacceptable and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) investigates every allegation reported to it. All operational livestock farms, regardless of scale, must comply with all relevant legislation.

The APHA carries out investigations on farms to check compliance with the animal welfare legislation and codes. In most cases of non-compliance, the statutory enforcement body will be the local authority. The responsibility of the APHA is to support investigations where necessary. If a referral, complaint or allegation about poor welfare conditions on a farm is reported to APHA, an immediate veterinary risk assessment will be carried out and an inspection can be undertaken in 24 hours.

Further, the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway sets out how farmers and the Government will work together to improve continually the health and welfare of farmed animals, supported by the best science and evidence. Ministers have been looking to expand the pathway offer further to promote the production of healthier, higher welfare animals at a level beyond compliance with regulations.

Finally, under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare needs. In addition, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act provides one of the toughest sanctions in Europe. The Act’s maximum sentence of five years and / or an unlimited fine will apply to the most serious animal cruelty offences, including causing unnecessary suffering.