Every few weeks each department of government has a set time in Parliament where MPs can question the relevant ministers about matters for which they are responsible. This morning was question time for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
I'm grateful to Mr Speaker for squeezing me in at the end of the session - he had an issue with a landfill in his constituency so he is very sympathetic to issues facing Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The Waste Minister, Jo Churchill MP, is being regularly updated and is continuing to apply pressure to the Environment Agency, the regulator. She also confirmed that Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser has been talking to independent external scientific experts about Walley’s Quarry on site capping, gas management, air dispersal and leachate.
The Waste Minister reassured me that she and the Government are taking the situation very seriously. I will ensure that they continue to do so.
