Written questions by Barron.

Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues on licence approvals for incineration plants in residential areas.

The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for assessing environmental permit applications for new incinerators to operate in England and has a duty to assess any application it receives against the requirements of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations (EPR) 2016. The EA must follow the guidance on determining permit applications which is set out in Section 7 of the EPR Core Guidance and in the EPR Part A Guidance, including for incinerators in residential areas. The guidance documents can be found at the following links: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-permitting-guidance-core-guidance--2https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7b8e02e5274a7318b8f6b3/pb13898-epr-guidance-part-a-130222.pdf As set out in the guidance, in England all large incinerators must comply with strict emission limits and the Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions for waste incineration. If impacts from an incinerator could cause an Air Quality Limit or Standard to be exceeded for the local area (as set out in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010), a lower limit for the relevant pollutant could be specified in the permit, or the permit may be refused. The EA will only grant a permit if it is satisfied that the proposal would not give rise to any significant pollution of the environment or harm to human health.

If she will make an assessment with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade of the potential impact of withdrawing temporary easement for wine on business operations and the UK supply chain.

In August 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty so that products are taxed in proportion to their alcoholic strength, not volume. The reforms aimed to modernise and simplify the system, to prioritise public health and incentivise consumption of lower strength products.To help the wine industry adapt to the new duty system, the current, temporary duty easement was introduced as a transitional measure, which was intended to allow time for wine producers to adapt to calculating duty based on alcohol by volume.By the planned end-date of 31 January 2025, the wine industry will have had over two years to adapt to the new strength-based system. The Government publishes tax information and impact notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes. The summary of impacts from the changes to alcohol duty announced at Spring Budget 2023, including the wine easement, can be found here: Reform of Alcohol Duty Rates and Reliefs - GOV.UK