Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. We are interpreting this question as a request for information on the Government’s assessment of the role that anaerobic digestion (AD) can play in both treating food wastes and generating bioenergy.

I recognise the valuable contribution that wastes, including food derived wastes, can make towards our carbon targets when used in AD to produce biogas and biomethane.

The recently closed non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (NDRHI) provided financial support for AD plants, including on farms. As of December 2020, the NDRHI has supported 95 biomethane to grid plants and in 2019 supported the production of ~3.6TWh of biomethane injected into the gas grid. In 2018, the NDRHI changed to include a waste feedstock minimum threshold of 50%, to incentivise the use of wastes in the production of biomethane. The Green Gas Support Scheme, due to launch on 30 November 2021, is a successor to the biomethane element of the NDRHI and will maintain this minimum threshold.

Evidence indicates that the existing stock of AD plants, including on farms, may have the capacity to treat more food waste. As such, we are assessing the potential to increase waste that goes to AD.

No Defra Minister travelled to COP26 by aeroplane.

Supporting sustainable farming is a fundamental part of our Agricultural Transition Plan published last year. As part of that, we are introducing three schemes that reward the delivery of environmental benefits: the Sustainable Farming Incentive, the Local Nature Recovery scheme and the Landscape Recovery scheme.  Together, they will be an important vehicle in delivering our 25 Year Environment Plan ambitions and our carbon net zero goals. The schemes will reward farmers for, for example, sustainable farming practices, improving animal health, welfare, and creating, managing, and preserving habitats including freshwater habitats and habitats that store water.

We have already confirmed that the Sustainable Farming Incentive will pay farmers for management practices that improve soil health by improving soil structure, soil organic matter, and soil biology. More detail on the Local Nature and Landscape Recovery schemes will be published shortly.

Through our new Farming Transformation Fund, Water Management Theme, we are offering support for farmers to secure their water supplies though the construction of on-farm reservoirs. We will also help improve the more efficient use of water through irrigation, by offering support for best-practice application equipment, such as boom or trickle irrigators.

We are exploring the approaches to how best to support collaboration, learning from examples such as the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund.

Ministers holding meetings or phone calls on Government business are routinely accompanied by a private secretary or other official, in line with the expectations of paragraph 8.14 of the Ministerial Code.

Defra has engaged Mott MacDonald under contract to provide Design Assurance services to support the delivery of the Sevington Border Control Post (BCP) and the Dover Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) BCP. Their contract in support of Sevington BCP currently runs until 31 January 2022 and their work in relation to Dover SPS BCP until 4 February 2022. The Department is also in the process of engaging other companies to support the delivery and operation of its three inland border control posts.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is one of three new schemes that reward farmers and land managers for producing public goods. The other, future, schemes are Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery, both of which we will begin piloting next year. These schemes will operate together and pay for sustainable farming practices, improve animal health and welfare, improve environmental outcomes, and reduce carbon emissions. They will create habitats for nature recovery and make landscape-scale changes, such as establishing new woodland and other ecosystem services, providing key means to deliver against our 25 Year Environment Plan goals and carbon net zero targets.

Our approach to environmental land management is the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy and will be realised through a combination of schemes, using public money to reward farmers and land managers for delivering environmentally sustainable actions. The schemes are intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.

We agree that healthy soils should be a priority outcome for our new environmental land management schemes in England, and to help achieve our commitment to sustainably managed soils by 2030, we are already taking action to support land managers and farmers to achieve sustainable soil management. Firstly, we are focusing on soil in two of the first standards to be rolled out under the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme next year – the Improved Grassland Soils and Arable and Horticultural Soils standards. Recently published details on the Sustainable Farming Incentive set out for which sustainable farming actions to improve soil health farmers will be rewarded, such as the introduction of herbal leys and the use of grass-legume mixtures and cover crops.

It makes sense to start the early roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive with these soils standards because healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable farming and underpin a range of environmental benefits, as well as production. The soil standards will be widely applicable and will therefore provide opportunity for many farmers to be rewarded for sustainable soil management. The standards and the overall scheme are designed to support a range of farmers; including those who are beginning to adopt sustainable practices as well as those who are already experienced in these, who will be rewarded for increasing the ambition of their land management. We will test these standards in the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot and release further information on our plans for the Sustainable Farming Incentive on gov.uk in December 2021.

The number of SCS staff employed by the department by NUTS1 region is shown below:

This data aligns with the data published under the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) which all government departments provide. This annual data is as at 31 March each year and provides the official headline National Statistics on the size, shape and structure of the Civil Service. The data for 30 September also aligns to ACSES.

We have also shown in the above table the number of home-based SCS staff.

ACSES data is available from Gov.UK and the links for each year are shown below:

2019 – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2019

2020 – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2020

2021 - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2021

There are over 200 non-quota species (NQS). We are working to develop our evidence base for the current management regime for NQS, which is complex and irregular in places. Some of our most valuable and vulnerable species are NQS and there would be a significant impact on the inshore fleet and other fishers if the stocks are not well managed.

We are looking at how best to improve management and believe that the Fisheries Management Plans offer the best way to do so, working with the EU where appropriate.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has tried and tested contingency and outbreak response plans and these are currently working well in the face of the current outbreak. The plans include being able to draw on the support of culling and disposal contractors from contingency framework contracts and being able to deploy additional vets from the veterinary delivery partnership. APHA is also working closely with other agencies from within the Defra group to provide additional surge capacity as needed. The resourcing situation is kept under review during outbreaks.

The Environment Act will require all local authorities to collect glass, as well as metal, plastic, paper and card, food and garden waste.

In 2021 we published our second consultation on 'Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England,' which sought views on increasing consistency in recycling. We expect to set out the government response to this consultation, which will include timelines for new requirements on local authorities, early next year.

We are conducting a holistic review of the way we communicate air quality information and advice. This will ensure the public is provided with timely and relevant information about air pollution, the actions people can take to limit their personal exposure, the impacts of air pollution on their health, and their own influence on air quality. The Daily Air Quality Index is included in the scope of this review.

The improvement of air quality remains a priority for the Government. We are taking a range of actions to reduce air pollution, including through the landmark Environment Act 2021.

In line with commitments in the Act, we are currently reviewing the National Air Quality Strategy and will be publishing a revised Strategy in 2023. We aim to develop a strong support and capability-building framework to ensure local authorities have the necessary tools to take local action and to clarify the available powers and levers. The revised Strategy will also support greater local action to identify and address air pollution inequalities and reduce the impacts on vulnerable groups and communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution. Engagement with a wide range of stakeholders will be undertaken in coming months.

Through the Environment Act we are improving the Local Air Quality Management Framework, for example by broadening the range of bodies required to collaborate with local authorities in developing local Air Quality Action Plans. We are developing revised Local Air Quality Management statutory guidance in which we propose to include more emphasis on community engagement to increase public awareness of air quality issues, and additional information to support the consideration of air quality inequalities in local Air Quality Action Plans. We are engaging with a range of stakeholders, and especially local government as we develop and implement policies and guidance to support local action on air quality.

The Government is committed to promoting a more competitive, profitable and sustainable fishing industry across the whole of the UK, and setting a gold standard for sustainable fishing around the world. We are also committed to delivering 40GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 to deliver net zero. We recognise the spatial challenges this presents, for these industries and others.

Our existing English Marine Plans, which are in place for all English waters, seek to encourage opportunities for co-existence between fishing and other activities as well as promote new ways of working. However, we recognise that a greater level of spatial prioritisation may be required to enable this. A new cross-UK Government programme has been established to create a shared 2050 strategic vision for the marine environment. It will enable the Government to deliver on its commitments including net zero and sustainable fisheries.

This month, my department is also hosting a workshop with both the fishing and offshore wind industries to discuss the opportunities and challenges for co-location of activities.

The interim and long-term targets due to be set under the Environment Act will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Long-term targets will be set in statutory instruments subject to the affirmative procedure and our first suite of targets will be brought forward by 31 October 2022. Both Houses of Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise, debate and vote on the details and ambition of these targets.

We will be carrying out a public consultation on proposed long-term targets in early 2022. We will write to the chairs of the appropriate Select Committees in both Houses to update them before this launches.

Interim targets for the first suite of long-term targets will be included in the updated Environmental Improvement Plan, which be laid before both Houses of Parliament for scrutiny in early 2023.

The interim and long-term targets due to be set under the Environment Act will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Long-term targets will be set in statutory instruments subject to the affirmative procedure and our first suite of targets will be brought forward by 31 October 2022. Both Houses of Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise, debate and vote on the details and ambition of these targets.

We will be carrying out a public consultation on proposed long-term targets in early 2022. We will write to the chairs of the appropriate Select Committees in both Houses to update them before this launches.

Interim targets for the first suite of long-term targets will be included in the updated Environmental Improvement Plan, which be laid before both Houses of Parliament for scrutiny in early 2023.

As the Trade and Co-operation Agreement is between the UK and the EU, any discussions arising from it take place between the UK and Commission, with Member States present as observers for some of those meetings as appropriate. Discussions at all levels are ongoing.

I met Annick Girardin, the French Fisheries Minister, to discuss this issue on 21 September and 21 October 2021.

Improving water quality is a Government priority and we are taking significant action in this area for people and nature. The Environment Act sets a duty on the Government to publish a storm overflow discharge reduction plan by September 2022. This plan will address reducing the adverse impacts on public health of sewage discharges from storm overflows.

Where rivers are designated as Bathing Waters, the Environment Agency monitors water quality and classifies bathing waters in line with the health protective standards of the Bathing Water Regulations (2013) and publishes an annual classification of Poor, Sufficient, Good or Excellent. It must also exercise its pollution control powers to achieve at least Sufficient status. Currently there is one river with designated Bathing Water Status, the River Wharfe at Ilkley. This was monitored for the first time during the 2021 Bathing Water Season (15th May - 30th September). The classification result will be published in January 2022.

The Environment Agency publishes a profile for each designated Bathing Water on its Swimfo website (https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/), which provides water quality testing results, the annual classification and information on pollution sources affecting each Bathing Water.

The Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) have published Swim Healthy guidance on Gov.UK

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet).

Improving water quality is a Government priority and we are taking significant action in this area for people and nature. The Environment Act sets a duty on the Government to publish a storm overflow discharge reduction plan by September 2022. This plan will address reducing the adverse impacts on public health of sewage discharges from storm overflows.

Where rivers are designated as Bathing Waters, the Environment Agency monitors water quality and classifies bathing waters in line with the health protective standards of the Bathing Water Regulations (2013) and publishes an annual classification of Poor, Sufficient, Good or Excellent. It must also exercise its pollution control powers to achieve at least Sufficient status. Currently there is one river with designated Bathing Water Status, the River Wharfe at Ilkley. This was monitored for the first time during the 2021 Bathing Water Season (15th May - 30th September). The classification result will be published in January 2022.

The Environment Agency publishes a profile for each designated Bathing Water on its Swimfo website (https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/), which provides water quality testing results, the annual classification and information on pollution sources affecting each Bathing Water.

The Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) have published Swim Healthy guidance on Gov.UK

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet).

Improving water quality is a Government priority and we are taking significant action in this area for people and nature. The Environment Act sets a duty on the Government to publish a storm overflow discharge reduction plan by September 2022. This plan will address reducing the adverse impacts on public health of sewage discharges from storm overflows.

Where rivers are designated as Bathing Waters, the Environment Agency monitors water quality and classifies bathing waters in line with the health protective standards of the Bathing Water Regulations (2013) and publishes an annual classification of Poor, Sufficient, Good or Excellent. It must also exercise its pollution control powers to achieve at least Sufficient status. Currently there is one river with designated Bathing Water Status, the River Wharfe at Ilkley. This was monitored for the first time during the 2021 Bathing Water Season (15th May - 30th September). The classification result will be published in January 2022.

The Environment Agency publishes a profile for each designated Bathing Water on its Swimfo website (https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/), which provides water quality testing results, the annual classification and information on pollution sources affecting each Bathing Water.

The Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) have published Swim Healthy guidance on Gov.UK

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet).

Improving water quality is a Government priority and we are taking significant action in this area for people and nature. The Environment Act sets a duty on the Government to publish a storm overflow discharge reduction plan by September 2022. This plan will address reducing the adverse impacts on public health of sewage discharges from storm overflows.

Where rivers are designated as Bathing Waters, the Environment Agency monitors water quality and classifies bathing waters in line with the health protective standards of the Bathing Water Regulations (2013) and publishes an annual classification of Poor, Sufficient, Good or Excellent. It must also exercise its pollution control powers to achieve at least Sufficient status. Currently there is one river with designated Bathing Water Status, the River Wharfe at Ilkley. This was monitored for the first time during the 2021 Bathing Water Season (15th May - 30th September). The classification result will be published in January 2022.

The Environment Agency publishes a profile for each designated Bathing Water on its Swimfo website (https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/), which provides water quality testing results, the annual classification and information on pollution sources affecting each Bathing Water.

The Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) have published Swim Healthy guidance on Gov.UK

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet).

This Government is acting to drive down flood risk from every angle. We are investing a record £5.2 billion in around 2,000 new defence schemes. This investment will better protect 336,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion. We also announced £170 million to accelerate the building of 22 flood schemes across the country - on top of our record £5.2 billion investment in flood and coastal defences.

In July 2020, we published a long-term Policy Statement which sets out our ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement includes five policies and over 40 supporting actions which will accelerate progress to better protect and prepare the country against flooding and coastal erosion. A year on from its publication, we published an update on the significant progress that has been made to deliver these commitments and the further steps that we are taking to strengthen action. These include:

• The Government published its Investment Plan which sets out what will be achieved from the record investment of £5.2 billion, how the portfolio of projects will be developed to improve the country's flood and coastal defences, and how the investment will be managed.

• The Government committed to allow insurers to help flooded households to make their homes more resilient to future flooding using products such as air brick covers, flood doors and flood resistant plasterboard - and benefit from discounted insurance premiums if they have resilience measures installed.

• The Government published a review of policy for development in areas at flood risk. The review has found that there are robust measures in place to protect people and property from flooding and has identified opportunities to further strengthen the system. The Government is taking forward new actions in response to these findings.

• The Government published a report setting out the progress that has been achieved against the Surface Water Management Action Plan and a response to the independent review into the arrangements for determining responsibility for surface water and drainage assets.

• In addition, the Government published the terms of reference for a new advisory group which will be established by the end of 2021 and will bring together key bodies to inform the government's future policy proposals for reform to local flood risk management planning by 2026.

Taken together, these actions will help to create a thriving and resilient nation which is on the right footing to better manage and adapt to the risks of flooding and coastal erosion now, and in the future, reducing the risk of harm to people, businesses and communities.

The UK Forestry Standard clearly states that existing rights of access must be respected and not obstructed. In England and Wales, responsible access must be allowed on mapped access land, including woodland dedicated under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, unless a Direction is in place to restrict or exclude access. All government supported planting, such as under our England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) and Countryside Stewardship Scheme, must comply with these requirements.

Our Woodland Creation Partnerships will maintain existing public access on land that is planted and explore ways to enhance access provision. Additionally, we are working with land managers to promote access provision within their woodland plantations, for example via voluntary EWCO access grants.

Through the England Trees Action Plan, we are committed to ensuring the provision of safe and appropriate public access as a feature of as many woodlands as possible and to work with landowners and woodland users to develop and implement a plan to improve the quantity, quality, and permanency of public access to new and existing woodlands.

The Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) is an independent process undertaken by the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and NatureScot), working jointly through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The JNCC has now launched its stakeholder consultation on its recommendations for the addition or removal of species listed under Schedule 5 & 8 of the WCA. It will then make final recommendations early next year to Defra, the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government. Changes to species protection have not yet been recommended, nor have any decisions been made.

This Government has committed to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it, which is underpinned by our target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. Species protections are an important part of that work.

We have been working closely with industry throughout this period to understand how best to support it in response to the challenges caused by the pandemic, including the loss of the Chinese market to several processing plants, disruption to CO2 supplies, and a temporary shortage of labour, specifically skilled butchers in the processing sector. In response to these challenges, we recognise that in recent months a significant number of pigs have had to be kept on farm

On 14 October, the Government announced a package of measures to support the pig industry and to seek to reduce the animal welfare implications of pigs backing up on farms.

The package of measures for support includes the approval of up to 800 visas for pork butchers, a Private Storage Aid scheme, and a Slaughter Incentive Payment Scheme to increase the throughput of pigs at processors and working to identify new export markets for pork with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), particularly lightly-processed pork.

In England and Scotland, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Quality Meat Scotland have both introduced a suspension on the statutory levy for pig farmers and producers during November 2021 – suspending payments of the levy pig farmers and producers are required to pay. This will amount to savings for the sector of just under £1 million.

The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation and work closely with the industry through this challenging period.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response, and it is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. We do not anticipate disruption to the supply of alcohol this Christmas.

The Government has acted quickly to tackle the challenges to our supply chains, which were brought on by global pressures including the pandemic and the international shortage of HGV drivers.

Some of these Government-led key measures include the Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency’s action to increase HGV tests to 3,000 per week, the introduction of 16-week skills bootcamps to train new and returning drivers and the Department for Transport’s action to streamline HGV testing with a minimised regulatory framework adding around 50,000 more tests to be conducted.

In addition to this, the Transport Secretary relaxed driver hours regulation, allowing more deliveries to be made during unprecedented times of national driver shortage to manage food supply chain bottlenecks. This relaxation will last up to 9 January 2022 in England, Scotland and Wales covering the Christmas peak demand period for food across the supply chain.

The Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) set out the Government’s ambitions to improve the environmental performance of its own estate and operations. It includes sub-targets on business travel, against which departments are required to report every quarter for an annual published report.

The GGC annual report for 2019/20 shows that, compared to a 2009 to 2010 baseline, the Government as a whole reduced the number of domestic flights taken by 38%. Alongside other actions taken, this helped contribute to a 50% reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions for the government estate, compared to the 2009 to 2010 baseline. The reduced energy consumption, from the 50% reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions across the estate, saved the government an estimated £148 million in 2019 to 2020, compared to the 2009 to 2010 baseline.

To build on this progress, in October, Defra published a new Greening Government Commitments Framework for 2021 to 2025. This includes a refined sub-target on domestic flights: between 2021 to 2025, departments are required to report on, and achieve, reductions in emissions from domestic flights by at least 30% from a 2017/18 baseline. Departmental progress against this target will be published annually.

As set out in the Government response to Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s review of the Government’s strategy for achieving Officially Bovine Tuberculosis Free status for England, the next phase of the strategy focuses on developing a deployable cattle vaccine, wider rollout of badger vaccination and improvements to TB testing.

Badger culling will not be halted immediately – as set out in the Government’s response to the January 2021 consultation[1], no new intensive cull licences will be issued after 2022 and new supplementary badger culling licences have been limited to a maximum of two years. Culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed.

We have awarded funding for a five-year badger vaccination programme in East Sussex. The scheme, which will see vaccination deployed by the farming community, will help refine future delivery models for deploying large-scale farmer-led vaccination schemes. We are also undertaking Government-funded badger vaccination in an area where four-year intensive badger culling has ended. We are continuing to bolster our capability to deploy even more badger vaccination in post-cull areas from 2022.

Developing a deployable cattle TB vaccine, with the objective of introduction within the next five years, is one of the Government’s priorities. In 2021, world-leading bovine TB cattle vaccination trials began in England and Wales.

A change from annual to six-monthly routine surveillance testing of cattle herds was introduced in the High Risk Area (HRA) counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire in September 2020 and was extended to the rest of the HRA from July 2021. Herds in the HRA that meet certain risk criteria can remain on annual surveillance testing. In addition, in July 2021 criteria for mandatory use of the more sensitive, supplementary interferon gamma blood test were changed in order to include new breakdown herds in the HRA with lesion and/or culture positive animals that were officially TB free (OTF) for less than eighteen months, following a previous breakdown with lesion and/or culture positive animals. A number of other options for improving the effectiveness of cattle testing, including pre- and post-movement testing, are currently being considered.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bovine-tuberculosis-proposals-to-help-eradicate-disease-in-england

The efficiency of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is measured through specific service-based targets which are subject to regular performance review, including quarterly at Board level. Like all government departments, the MMO is also required to publish an annual report each year which provides information on its purpose, the key risks in achieving its objectives, and how it has performed. The latest published annual report from the MMO is available online.

The Marine Management Organisation operates several key services to support the development of major investment projects from marine enterprises, including grant funding and marine licensing. All these services include targets subject to regular performance review, including quarterly at Board level, and are published annually.

As part of our Resources and Waste Strategy, we want to make recycling easier and ensure that there is a comprehensive and consistent service across England. This will help to reduce confusion with recycling, ensure that there is more recycled material in the products we buy, and that the UK recycling industry grows.

Following support at public consultation, the Environment Act 2021 requires that all waste collection authorities in England must make arrangements for a core set of materials to be collected for recycling from households. This core set includes: paper and card; plastic; glass; metal; food waste and garden waste. The Environment Act 2021 also requires that all businesses and non-domestic premises in England must make arrangements to recycle the same set of recyclable materials, with the exception of garden waste.

In our recent consultation on ‘Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England’, we consulted on defining these waste streams in greater detail in secondary legislation. We are currently analysing stakeholder responses and will publish the result of these decisions in our government response in early 2022.

Earlier this year we consulted on proposals to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging in the UK, these proposals include a mandatory requirement for producers to label packaging to indicate whether it is or isn’t recyclable. This will ensure that consumers are provided with clear and consistent information and will help to make it easier for them to recycle. We are currently analysing stakeholder responses to the consultation and will set out further details in the Government Response which will be published in early 2022.

The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for managing water resources in England to ensure there is a sustainable supply of water for the public, businesses and the environment. This work is funded by licence fees charged to businesses which abstract or impound water, including hydroelectric power (HEP) operators.

The EA is proposing to reform its water resourcing charging scheme from April 2022 so that the scheme is fairer and recovers the full costs from customers for the services they require. The EA will continue to invest in the key foundations that deliver water resource management as well as in maintaining and operating infrastructure, modernising the licensing system and protecting water stressed catchments, particularly chalk.

On average it costs the EA nearly £13,000 to assess a HEP permit application due to the significant, wide-ranging, and complex risks these schemes can pose to the environment. The EA currently charges £1,500 for HEP permit applications, which means HEP applications are currently subsidised by fees paid by other businesses. To fully recover the costs of the services HEP operators require, the EA is proposing to change HEP permit application fees, depending on the volume of water required. Unlike most other abstractors, HEP operators generating less than 5 megawatts will continue to be exempt from annual subsistence fees. The charges for HEP permit applications were last increased in 2014.

The EA ran a public consultation on the proposed charges between 18 August and 10 November 2021. It is now analysing all consultation responses to consider whether any changes to the proposals are necessary. It will publish a response document within 12 weeks of the consultation closing.

The Government acknowledges the valuable contribution of hydropower to the UK energy mix over many decades, and it is important that it operates in a way that safeguards the environment.

This government has committed to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it, underpinned by our target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. Protecting and conserving bat populations, including species like the serotine bat, is an important part of this.

Natural England (NE) has not carried out a cost-benefit analysis of bat surveys in planning applications. However, NE is in the process of evaluating the benefit to bat conservation from actions taken as a result of regulatory work. It is expected that the initial findings will be published in early 2022/23.

NE is currently testing a new approach to bat licensing through the Bat Earned Recognition Pilot. The pilot aims to streamline the licensing process through accrediting ecologists, enabling them to have greater discretion to progress low risk cases, estimated to be up to 90% of all applications. This will reduce costs and delays for customers whilst providing better outcomes for bats. The pilot is well advanced and is currently in the process of accrediting ecologists, with a view to being operational from early in 2022.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement requires both Parties to share information on records of catches from each other’s waters. The UK receives information on records of catches of quota and non-quota species from the UK Exclusive Economic Zone by EU vessels on a monthly basis.

The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act, and completely bans hare coursing.

Issuing a license or giving permission for trail hunting is an operational matter for the landowner and Defra does not play a central role here.

In line with the wider Defra response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) currently operates an office based blended working model where all MMO staff can mix office based and home working, subject to safe office capacity. The MMO has also continued to operate sea and shore-based assurance inspections throughout the pandemic.

No assessment on the effect that home working has had on the effectiveness of the MMO has been undertaken.

Along with all other Government departments, Defra publishes annual data as at 31 March. The Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) provides the official headline National Statistics on the size, shape and structure of the Civil Service.

The number of Civil Servants employed by the department by regions for part (a) is available from this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2021. Table 12 of the ACSES data shows the regional breakdown by department.

For 1 June 2021 and 1 September 2021, the data is shown below

The data is line with the statistical methodology used by the Office for National Statistics. We have taken the end of the month closest to dates requested. We have also shown in the above table the number of home-based permanent staff.

We are aware that due to the increase in cost of natural gas across the globe, which is a key input for the production of ammonium nitrate-based fertiliser products, the cost of production of these fertiliser types has increased significantly. Increased demand has also increased the cost of other alternative fertiliser types. Rising cost of natural gas is affecting Europe and the global market with fertiliser companies halting production due to high input costs.

Industry data[1] reports that ammonium nitrate prices are at record highs, having nearly tripled in price since last November. They state that from November 2020 through to November 2021, the price of imported ammonium nitrate rose from £219 per tonne to between £600 and £630 per tonne, an increase of between 174-188%. Over the same time period, the price of UK produced ammonium nitrate also rose, from £208 per tonne to between £585 and £605, an increase of 181-191%.

A few months ago, the CO2 industry reached an agreement to ensure UK businesses have access to a sustainable supply of CO2. The Government supported this through a short-term financial intervention to allow CF Fertilisers to continue operating while the industry moved towards this agreement. Ammonium Nitrate production has therefore restarted and is being placed onto the domestic market.

Defra have been in contact with key industry figures including the NFU and fertiliser producers and importers, and have frequent contact with the key sector representative body for fertilisers the Agricultural industries Confederation (AIC).

We are continuing to monitor the security and stability of fertiliser and other supply chains and working closely with colleagues across government as well as industry figures. This will help inform how Defra and other industry bodies can best support farmers.

[1] AHDB Fertiliser price data (https://ahdb.org.uk/GB-fertiliser-prices) and Infofert in collaboration with Profercy european fertiliser review (https://www.profercy.com/)

We are aware that due to the increase in cost of natural gas across the globe, which is a key input for the production of ammonium nitrate-based fertiliser products, the cost of production of these fertiliser types has increased significantly. Increased demand has also increased the cost of other alternative fertiliser types. Rising cost of natural gas is affecting Europe and the global market with fertiliser companies halting production due to high input costs.

Industry data[1] reports that ammonium nitrate prices are at record highs, having nearly tripled in price since last November. They state that from November 2020 through to November 2021, the price of imported ammonium nitrate rose from £219 per tonne to between £600 and £630 per tonne, an increase of between 174-188%. Over the same time period, the price of UK produced ammonium nitrate also rose, from £208 per tonne to between £585 and £605, an increase of 181-191%.

A few months ago, the CO2 industry reached an agreement to ensure UK businesses have access to a sustainable supply of CO2. The Government supported this through a short-term financial intervention to allow CF Fertilisers to continue operating while the industry moved towards this agreement. Ammonium Nitrate production has therefore restarted and is being placed onto the domestic market.

Defra have been in contact with key industry figures including the NFU and fertiliser producers and importers, and have frequent contact with the key sector representative body for fertilisers the Agricultural industries Confederation (AIC).

We are continuing to monitor the security and stability of fertiliser and other supply chains and working closely with colleagues across government as well as industry figures. This will help inform how Defra and other industry bodies can best support farmers.

[1] AHDB Fertiliser price data (https://ahdb.org.uk/GB-fertiliser-prices) and Infofert in collaboration with Profercy european fertiliser review (https://www.profercy.com/)

The United Kingdom has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise, and be ready to respond to them, including Government intervention when appropriate.

In the past months, the Environment Secretary and I have agreed a series of solutions to increase the efficiency of our supply chain system and support businesses across the food and drink, and hospitality sectors. These include working with the Transport Secretary. We have adopted a series of measures to train, recruit and retain lorry drivers as well as improve the working conditions in the industry. Our joint-Government actions will continue to build more capacity across the food supply chain.

Some of these Government-led key measures include the Driver Vehicle Standard Agency’s action to increase HGV tests to 3,000 per week, the introduction of 16-week skills bootcamps to train new and returning drivers and the Department for Transport’s action to streamline HGV testing with a minimised regulatory framework adding around 50,000 more tests to be conducted. Defra has also announced that up to 4700 visas will be available for HGV drivers delivering food ahead of Christmas 2021.

In addition to this, the Transport Secretary relaxed driver hours regulation, allowing more deliveries to be made during unprecedented times of national driver shortage to manage food supply chain bottlenecks. This relaxation will last up to 9 January 2022 in England, Scotland and Wales covering the Christmas peak demand period for food across the supply chain.

Overall, these measures will improve the efficiency of the supply chain and the movement of food products across the interlinked food, drink, and hospitality businesses.

Environment Agency Position Statement 029: Anaerobic digestion of agricultural manure and slurry, Version 1.0, October 2010 has been assessed as part of a current waste quality protocols review. In December 2020 the Environment Agency published its first outcome of a review of the Anaerobic Digestate Quality Protocol. This concluded that, amongst other issues, the Environment Agency needs to review its position on the waste status of manure-based digestates (as detailed in Position Statement 029). The review is ongoing. The Environment Agency has set up a task and finish group with industry representation and the revision process has started. Details of this work can be found here.

Whilst neither I, nor Defra ministerial colleagues, have discussed the death of Zane Gbangbola with the Environment Agency, Defra group officials have discussed the case on many occasions and have briefed Minsters.

We understand the concerns that many stakeholders have about the 2026 cut-off date due to delays to the project brought about by our EU Exit and the need to reprioritise the Government’s legislative agenda accordingly.

Deferring the 2026 cut-off date for registration of historic rights of way is a possibility, which would create more time for the reforms to rights of way legislation to be implemented effectively. However, we must weigh this against the desire for certainty around where rights of way exist, which implementing the cut-off date will bring. Officials will continue to keep this under review in consultation with the Stakeholder Working Group.

The Government recognises the need for new water resources infrastructure, including reservoirs and water transfers, alongside reducing leakage and conserving water to provide a secure supply of water for future generations and to protect our environment.

The National Framework for water resources, launched in March 2020, brings together industry, regulators and government to transform the way we use and look after our water supplies, including the need to reduce demand, halve leakage and develop new supplies.

As part of the current price review round (PR19), Ofwat has allocated a £469 million fund for water companies to expedite and progress the development of new water infrastructure, which includes new reservoirs. Additionally, the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) has been formed to help accelerate the development of new water infrastructure and design future regulatory frameworks to enable this development.

Water companies have the statutory duty to provide clean and reliable water to customers under the Water Industry Act 1991. Statutory water resources management plans show how water companies will meet this duty and manage water supply and demand for at least the next 25 years. These plans are revised every five years and updated plans will be consulted on in 2022.

The UK is a globally important territory for migratory birds, and that is why we continue to take steps nationally and internationally to mitigate species decline. This is underpinned by our new target under the Environment Act 2021, to halt species decline by 2030.

In England, the Countryside Stewardship scheme can help to mitigate species decline, including migratory birds, through a range of options which provide food, habitat and nesting sites. Migratory birds which can be supported through the scheme include lapwing, stone curlew, turtle dove, whitethroat, redshank and snipe.

The Government's 25 Year Environment Plan commits us to restoring 75% of our one million hectares of terrestrial and freshwater protected sites to favourable condition by 2042. Many of these sites, which in total cover over 1 million hectares, protect the habitats of migratory birds even if not specifically notified for those species. Defra and the Devolved Administrations commissioned a review of the terrestrial and coastal UK network of Special Protection Areas, some of which are designated to protect the habitats of regularly-occurring migratory birds, and we have developed an England implementation plan in liaison with Natural England.

The Government continues to support specific conservation action for species, such as the curlew, and as part of the Nature Recovery Network (NRN), we have funded a trial translocation and recovery project in the east of England. We have also supported a range of successful reintroductions for migratory raptors including the white-tailed eagle to southern England.

Internationally, the UK is a signatory to, and proactively engaged with, a number of international agreements which seek to conserve and protect migratory birds and their habitats, in particular the Convention on Migratory Species, the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement and the International Task Force on Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds in the Mediterranean. In addition to domestic financial support, the UK provides targeted funding to support the conservation of threatened migratory birds and their habitats in developing countries, in particular in Africa.