The sand dune habitats of the Sefton Coast benefit from a range of legal protections - as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Ramsar site and National Nature Reserves (NNRs).

Natural England (NE) works proactively with landowners, land managers, developers, and the public to ensure these important habitats are protected. The Sefton Coast Partnership has a key role in bringing stakeholders together to ensure dune habitats are conserved. The Sefton Coast was a location in the Dynamic Dunescapes project which actively restored dune habitats by removing scrub, helping dune re-mobilisation, and utilising livestock grazing to manage vegetation.

In England, we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity, to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; to reverse species decline by 2042; to reduce the risk of species extinction; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, which will include psammoseres. These targets, alongside other targets on water and air quality for example, will drive action to create and restore habitats, reduce pressures on nature, and recover species.

A recently published paper, Environment Act Habitat Target – Definitions and Descriptions, developed jointly by Defra and Natural England, provides detail for those involved in on-the-ground activities to restore or create wildlife-rich habitats. It includes the list of wildlife-rich habitats, of which several are coastal, for example, littoral sand and muddy sand, coastal vegetated shingle and coastal sand dunes.

Natural flood management is a key part of our solution to tackling flood and coastal erosion risks. We will double the number of government funded projects which include nature-based solutions to reduce flood and coastal erosion risk. Actions such as dune restoration not only help to reduce flood risk, but also provide other environmental benefits to wider areas. In February we awarded £25 million of funding to 40 schemes around England for improving flood resilience through a new natural flood management programme.

The Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative is working to restore our estuarine and coastal habitats, including saltmarsh, to benefit people and nature. The initiative involves Defra arms-length bodies, and a partnership network of environmental non-governmental organisations. It has a mission to restore 15% of the current extent of our key estuarine and coastal habitats (such as saltmarsh, seagrass, native oyster reefs) by 2043.

Natural England is also undertaking climate change risk and vulnerability assessments across the SSSI network and developing site adaptive plans to identify climate vulnerable habitats, including sand dunes, and guide management to improve their resilience.

BEIS has not made any specific assessment of the effectiveness of sand batteries. However, sand batteries form part of a class of technologies known as thermal storage, all of which play a similar role in supporting the changes to the energy system needed to address climate change. These technologies are in an early stage of development and BEIS fund innovation in thermal storage as part of the Longer Duration Energy Storage Demonstration Programme. A list of projects funded can be found here:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/longer-duration-energy-storage-demonstration-programme-successful-projects/longer-duration-energy-storage-demonstration-programme-stream-2-phase-1-details-of-successful-projects.

Aggregate mineral surveys have been regularly undertaken by the Government since 1973. These provide an in-depth assessment of national and sub-national sales, inter-regional flows, transportation, consumption and permitted reserves of primary aggregates. The survey provides comprehensive data for monitoring and facilitating aggregates provision at a local, regional and national level.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) recognises that it is essential that there is a sufficient supply of minerals to provide the infrastructure, buildings, energy and goods that the country needs. It is clear that as minerals are a finite natural resource, best use needs to be made of them to secure their long term conservation. This is why mineral planning authorities are required to safeguard mineral resources through their planning policies, by defining Mineral Safeguarding Areas and Mineral Consultation Areas. Furthermore, the NPPF is clear that local planning authorities should not normally permit other development proposals in Mineral Safeguarding Areas if it might constrain potential future use for mineral working.

This proposal was considered by Wiltshire Council's strategic planning committee on 14 July. Government policy is that local planning authorities should, in general, be free to carry out their duties with regard to day-to-day planning control in their areas with the minimum of interference. Our proposed planning reforms will deliver a simpler, faster, more transparent process, giving communities certainty over what development is permitted through clear land allocations in local plans.

Waste water treatment in the UK is largely determined by the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994. The Regulations have the objective of protecting the environment from the adverse effects of waste water by setting minimum treatment levels supplemented by additional requirements to protect more sensitive receiving waters. The Regulations set the treatment standards to be achieved but do not prescribe the technology to be used to meet these standards. The use of sand traps to meet these standards is therefore a matter for water companies.

Planning for industrial minerals is a matter for minerals planning authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework asks that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals by providing a stock of permitted reserves to support the level of actual and proposed investment required for new or existing plant and the maintenance and improvement of existing plant and equipment, of at least 10 years for individual silica sand sites, and at least 15 years for silica sand sites where significant new capital is required.

National Planning Practice Guidance states that the required stock of permitted reserves for each silica sand site should be based on the average of the previous 10 years sales, and that the calculations should have regard to the quality of sand and the use to which the material is put.

Planning for industrial minerals is a matter for minerals planning authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework asks that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals by providing a stock of permitted reserves to support the level of actual and proposed investment required for new or existing plant and the maintenance and improvement of existing plant and equipment, of at least 10 years for individual silica sand sites, and at least 15 years for silica sand sites where significant new capital is required.

National Planning Practice Guidance states that the required stock of permitted reserves for each silica sand site should be based on the average of the previous 10 years sales, and that the calculations should have regard to the quality of sand and the use to which the material is put.

Planning for industrial minerals is a matter for minerals planning authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework asks that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals by providing a stock of permitted reserves to support the level of actual and proposed investment required for new or existing plant and the maintenance and improvement of existing plant and equipment, of at least 10 years for individual silica sand sites, and at least 15 years for silica sand sites where significant new capital is required.

National Planning Practice Guidance states that the required stock of permitted reserves for each silica sand site should be based on the average of the previous 10 years sales, and that the calculations should have regard to the quality of sand and the use to which the material is put.

Planning for industrial minerals is a matter for minerals planning authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework asks that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of industrial minerals by providing a stock of permitted reserves to support the level of actual and proposed investment required for new or existing plant and the maintenance and improvement of existing plant and equipment, of at least 10 years for individual silica sand sites, and at least 15 years for silica sand sites where significant new capital is required.

National Planning Practice Guidance states that the required stock of permitted reserves for each silica sand site should be based on the average of the previous 10 years sales, and that the calculations should have regard to the quality of sand and the use to which the material is put.

Details of which sites we consider suitable to become Marine Conservation Zones will be announced in a consultation that will take place in the first half of 2018. Designation of sites will follow within 12 months of the launch of the consultation.

Sand is used in the hydraulic fracturing process to keep the tiny fractures in the shale open. Sand itself does not pose a risk to health, but in some situations where sand is used on well sites the risk of occupational exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) should be considered by the employer. Occupational Health and Safety is under the remit of the Health and Safety Executive, who have issued guidance and advice to help employers manage risks and to raise awareness of the importance of controlling exposure to harmful materials at work.

Environmental Management, Conservation and Physical Planning is the responsibility of the Government of Montserrat (GoM). GoM is accountable for the compliance of its own environment and conservation legislation and planning regulations.

DFID is supportive of GoM’s attempts to strengthen their environment management and praises GoM for the passing of the Conservation and Environmental Management Act this year.

We are not aware of any infractions of physical planning regulations occurring on DFID funded projects in the last four years.

DFID has not funded infrastructure for the Marine Village, Pipers Pond, sand mining or Carr’s Bay Port development.

When designing projects DFID takes into account a wide range of issues and considerations including social and environmental impacts.

The Environment Agency holds this information locally and it would be disproportionately costly to collate the records to answer this question accurately in the time allowed.

The Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET) is the UK Government’s radiation monitoring and nuclear emergency response system which is operated on a 24-hour a day, seven days a week basis by the Met Office, on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Data from RIMNET has been inspected and shows no evidence of increased levels of radioactivity across the UK.

The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes a programme of far-field monitoring, away from nuclear sites, of radioactivity in air and rainwater. This programme involves constantly sampling air through filters in high volume air samplers. Filters are changed on a weekly basis and subsequently analysed. Past Saharan dust events have not caused any detectable increase in radioactivity on the filters. Results for the changed filters on 31 March and 7 April should be available in the next few days. The results will be published as consolidated data in the annual Radiation in Food and the Environment (RIFE) report which is published jointly by a number of UK and devolved agencies. Previous RIFE reports are available at:

http://www.sepa.org.uk/radioactive_substances/publications/rife_reports.aspx