Written questions by Strathern.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of producing standards on implementing sustainable urban drainage for (a) landowners, (b) local authorities and (c) businesses.

In June of this year, the Government introduced new national standards making clear that sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) should be designed to cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits in the form of flood prevention and storm overflow reduction, offering reuse opportunities, reducing run off, and helping to improve water quality, amenity, and biodiversity. The standards should be used by local authorities when assessing applications for development which could affect drainage on or around the site, see paragraphs 181 and 182 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of the Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme on bird species populations and their health.

The Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme is overseen by the Government Oversight Group (GOG) for Rodenticide Stewardship. This group is chaired by the Health and Safety Executive and includes representatives from relevant Government departments and agencies. It...

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to regulate the safe disposal of lithium-ion batteries.

Existing UK regulations place a number of obligations related to battery disposal on producers of lithium-ion batteries and products containing lithium-ion batteries. These obligations include the requirement for all batteries sold in the UK to be clearly...

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on the impact of lithium-ion battery explosions.

I have discussed the risks that incorrect disposal of waste batteries can have at a senior level with the Environment Agency, including in the context of fires at waste sites.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on the response to flooding in the Hitchin constituency.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of Defra’s five core priorities. That is why we have established a Flood Resilience Taskforce to improve coordination of the national and local flood response and strengthen preparedness ahead...