We are extremely lucky in Northamptonshire to be blessed with beautiful countryside which is home to diverse wildlife. There are many areas of outstanding natural beauty to be enjoyed and handed down safely to future generations, both in the UK and in our constituency.
I have always been passionate about the environment and will continue to be an advocate for environmental issues as long as I stand as your MP. It is great to see such strides made in this area at a national government level and I’m proud to be serving in a Government which is committed to reducing carbon emissions and taking the lead on environmental issues.
Brexit and the Environment
The decision to leave the European Union has created an historic opportunity to review our environmental policies. Outside the EU we can develop global gold standard environmental policies, not just to halt or slow environmental deterioration, but to raise our ambitions, restoring nature and reversing decline. We can, and I believe we will, be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it.
Having left the Common Agricultural Policy we can use public money for public goods, rewarding environmentally responsible land use. By leaving the Common Fisheries Policy we will be able to grant access and allocate quotas based on sustainability, allowing us to pursue the highest standards in marine conservation.
The Office for Environmental Protection, a new, world-leading independent regulator, will be established in statute to scrutinise environmental policy and law, investigate complaints and take enforcement action when necessary. This will ensure we succeed in leaving the environment in a better condition than we found it. The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan will also be placed on a statutory footing, and a set of environmental principles will be introduced that will be used to guide future government policy making.
In line with the Government’s 25 year plan, I have been working on a number of policies to improve our local environment.
National Strategy
As part of the Government, I stand to protect the national environment as well as our local environment.
National Environment Strategy - In national environment strategy, announced on the 12th June 2019, was the government’s legislated aim to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This makes the UK the first major economy in the world to do so. Carbon emissions have already been reduced a quarter since 2010 and this will continue to decrease, in order to provide a sustainable and greener future for the next generation. To continue this momentum, the Government has announced around £2 billion for new policies since setting the Net Zero targets and a new Prime Minister-chaired Cabinet Committee on Climate Change has been set up to ensure all arms of Government are focussed on tackling this challenge. The UK will also continue to use its position as a global leader by hosting the UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow in 2020 and will ask international partners to match the UK’s ambition.To read more about this new strategy, click here.
Reducing Food Waste - Another way the government is committed to making the future more sustainable is by reducing food waste. Food waste is a large contributor to climate change, as wasted food when degraded in landfill produces the greenhouse gas, methane. Also, it is inextricably linked to plastic waste from food packaging. In the UK, an estimated 10.2 million tonnes of food and drink is wasted each year, which is worth around £20 billion. To reduce this shocking amount, all major supermarkets have signed our ambitious pledge to “step up to the plate” and halve food waste by 2030.
Protecting the ecosystem - I firmly believe in protecting both the UK's vibrant ecosystem and the natural environment worldwide. Environmental and economic progress are not just compatible: they depend on each other. The Government is committed to being the UK's greenest ever, and has established a 25-Year Plan to Improve the Environment to help achieve this goal.
Trees - I was delighted to see that between 2010 and 2015 Ministers provided £7.5 million to establish 12 Nature Improvement Areas, created 150,000 acres of priority habitats and planted over 11 million trees; they are now committed to planting 11 million more.
These are just some of the issues which have been raised by constituents in the past. For a longer list of my current approaches to these issues, head over to the ‘Policy Letters’ section of my website.
Local Schemes
I work with the councils in my constituency at any opportunity to construct and promote schemes which protect local environments. If you would like to know more about how you can engage with these schemes, please feel free to contact me directly.
I will continue to update you all on what’s going on locally.
Daventry District Council
- Daventry District Council is offering community groups the opportunity to apply for up to 15 free saplings to plant in public spaces during National Tree Week, this runs from 23 November to 1 December. Groups can apply for an urban tree pack featuring five each of Crab Apple, Hazel and Field Maple trees or a bee-friendly pack including two each of Goat Willow, Hazel, Crab Apple and Rowan trees.
- The recently introduced 3-2-1 collection service allowed for the collection of a wide range of materials for recycling along with an increase in collection capacity.
- Prior to the introduction of the 3-2-1 service great efforts were made through various communication channels to improve food waste recycling.
- A subsidised home composting bin offer was run in conjunction with the introduction of the 3-2-1 collection service.
- The waste education team visit schools in the Daventry area by request to deliver talks on recycling.
- There are a number of other waste education initiatives such as Right Stuff Right Bin and Home composting. These are aimed at wider areas as well as Daventry.
Environment Agency
The environment agency invite you to submit your views to us via the link to the consultation below: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/environment-and-business/challenges-andchoices. The closing date for receipt of your comments is 24th April 2020.
If you are launching a scheme yourself, or are aware of any which you think I might able to assist with in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. I'll see what I can do to help.
