MPs have voted against stopping measures aimed at protecting the environment.

This week MPs rejected several amendments to the Environment Bill which would have reduced river and air pollution, as well as protecting bees.

This was down to a majority Conservative Party decision to reject the amendments - with Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes amongst those voting them down.

Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton abstained from voting, as did Delyn's independent MP Rob Roberts.

Labour's Mark Tami, MP for Alyn and Deeside, was the only local MP to vote in favour of the amendments.

MPs did agree to an amendment proposing charges on single-use items made of any material, much like the charges now levied on plastic bags.

It comes less than two weeks before the UK hosts COP26 - the world’s biggest climate conference.

Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage said it was “astonishing that the government is opting out of amendments designed to better protect the planet and all its precious inhabitants”.

Air Pollution:

In March 2021, the UK was found guilty by the European Court of Justice of “systematically and persistently” breaching air pollution limits.

This followed the death of nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah in London, the first death to be directly attributed to air pollution in the UK.

The House of Lords introduced an amendment into the Environment Bill to bring air pollution limits in line with World Health Organisation guidance.

It suggested the limit would have to be met by 2030 at the latest.

The Commons voted the amendment down, saying that government powers “should not be limited in the manner proposed”.

Protecting pollinators:

The Lords also introduced protections for pollinators like bees from pesticides.

The amendment included introducing a “competent authority” to oversee pesticide products, with the body consisting of “individuals free from vested interests in pesticide use”.

This authority would oversee authorisation of pesticides, producing reports on their potential negative impacts and banning any which would be damaging to pollinators.

The house voted the amendment down, saying that “the law already makes provision to protect pollinators from the effect of pesticides.”

Sewage in rivers:

Last year, every river in England failed a test for pollution, with just 14 per cent deemed in “good ecological condition”.

Sewage discharges by water companies are partly to blame, with more than 400,000 incidents recorded in 2020 alone.

The Lords introduced an amendment in the bill imposing a duty on water companies to “take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows”.

The amendment was rejected, but no reason was given.

An independent environment watchdog:

A watchdog named the Office for Environmental Protection is proposed in the Environment Bill to monitor progress on improvements.

Peers added an amendment to guarantee the body would be independent, but this was voted down by MPs.

There was no reason given for doing this.

Meeting targets on environmental protection:

The Environment Bill contains clauses compelling the secretary of state to meet long-term targets on protecting the environment.

“Long term” is defined as no less than 15 years.

The Lords suggested an amendment compelling the environment secretary to meet “interim targets”, but this was rejected by MPs.

The reason given was that “the Secretary of State should not be placed under a statutory duty to meet interim targets.”