Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Veterinary medicines play a vital role in protecting our animals’ health and welfare. Defra is updating the Veterinary Medicines Regulations in respect of Great Britain, to ensure the Regulations continue to be fit for purpose, and we consulted on these changes earlier this year. We are finalising the response to the consultation, where we will set out the changes we are taking forward. We are aware that there is significant interest in our proposed changes and we are taking our time to make sure we get it right. We will then seek to introduce the revised Regulations as soon as possible.

Defra advises that XL Bully breeders should now stop all breeding activity as it will be a criminal offence to breed from, sell, transfer, exchange, gift or advertise these dogs from 31 December 2023. Defra convened an expert group to define the XL Bully breed type and guidance on this definition is available on gov.uk. Owners who are unsure if their puppy or adolescent dog will grow to be an XL Bully type breed are advised to apply for a Certificate of Exemption by 31 January 2024. From 1 February 2024 it will be a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog in England and Wales without a Certificate of Exemption.

Defra has regular discussions with the Devolved Administrations about a range of animal welfare topics. This includes our work to build the evidence base on the fur sector.

Defra ran a Call for Evidence in 2021 to gather data on the impacts of different types of animal welfare labelling reforms. Based on the information gathered, we will continue to work with stakeholders to explore how we can harness the market to improve food information for consumers. We will continue to gather evidence on the impacts of a wide range of market interventions, as well as how they could align with wider labelling proposals such as eco-labelling.

The National Minimum Wage and National Living Wages rates for all eligible workers, including those in agriculture, are set by the Government, based on the advice of an independent advisory group, the Low Pay Commission.

Recruitment and retention of agricultural workers, of which wages are one element, were considered in the independent review of labour shortages in the food supply chain which the Government commissioned in 2022. The review focussed on farming, processing, and food and drink manufacturing as sectors that are critical for food production and food security. The final report was published on 30 June 2023, and the Government Response will follow shortly.

The details requested for imports of oilseed rape dated back to 2013 can be seen in the below table. These are published annually by Government in Agriculture in the United Kingdom, the data set can be found under Table 7.5 Oilseed rape production, value, supply and use.

Units 1,000 tonnes

Oilseeds are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability. Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to respond to market developments, suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy including pest and disease management.

Together with the devolved administrations, Defra has established the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) to monitor and assess the impact of market developments across the UK. It monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) cross compliance rules 1, 4, 5 and 7a are not fully replicated in existing domestic legislation as follows.

GAEC 1, which requires the maintenance of green cover, non-cultivation of land and spraying of pesticides within two metres of a water course. Domestic legislation, the Farming Rules for Water, however, provides rules preventing the application of manure and fertiliser close to a water course. It also prescribes that farmers must take all reasonable precautions to prevent pollution from cultivation practices, such as spraying pesticides. The use of pesticides is also set out in the Code of Practice for using Plant Protection Products.

GAEC 4 and GAEC 5, which require a minimum soil cover and measures to minimise soil erosion. Again, the Farming Rules for Water sets out generalised soil cover and erosion measures where it may prevent agricultural diffuse pollution. There is no reference to mitigation of wind erosion in the Farming Rules for Water. GAEC rules 4 and 5 are not covered elsewhere in domestic legislation.

GAEC 7a, which requires the maintenance of green cover within two metres of the centre of a hedge and the prohibition of cutting a hedge between 1 March and 31 August. Also, the removal of stone walls, earth and stone banks. Defra has recently consulted on new legislation to replace the cross compliance hedgerow protections. As set out in January 2023 Defra plans to pay, as part of Environmental Land Management schemes, for new actions to maintain drystone walls, stone and earth banks in good condition.

Defra published a formal call for evidence on the fur trade in Great Britain, which has now closed. A summary of responses, setting out the results and any next steps in this policy space, will be published in due course. Any future measures would be subject to consultation.

We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. This includes commissioning the Animal Welfare Committee to explore current responsible sourcing practices in the fur industry.

We considered the ban on XL Bully type dogs carefully and we firmly believe that it is necessary to reduce the risks to the public by this type. This is why we have taken urgent action to ban XL Bully type dogs by the end of the year.

Owners of XL Bully type dogs who want to keep their dogs after the end of the transition period should apply to Defra for a Certificate of Exemption before 31 January 2024. From 1 February 2024 it will be a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog in England and Wales without a Certificate of Exemption. Vets are not responsible for providing the Certificate of Exemption but must confirm that the dog has been neutered by a certain date for the Certificate to remain valid. Defra has worked closely with stakeholders, including the veterinary sector, on the implementation of the ban on XL Bully type dogs. We will continue to work closely as the ban comes into effect.

We will shortly publish the Agricultural Transition Plan update and it will include reference to the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs engages regularly with the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) through dedicated officials who attend the bi-annual Executive Committees and the annual General Assembly. Officials have held bi-laterals with member states as well as the new Director General. The most recent engagement took place 2 - 4 October 2023 in Dijon, France. The main topic of discussion centred around the OIV Budget.

This information is not held centrally.

Subject to compliance with regulations and having regard to any statutory guidance, local authorities currently have the ability to design their local waste disposal services.

We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. This includes commissioning the Animal Welfare Committee to explore current responsible sourcing practices in the fur industry. Any future measures would be subject to consultation.

The £15m food waste prevention pilot fund announced in October 2018 was a ring-fenced one-off pilot. Funds were made available in the 2019/2020 financial year. The last scheduled payment was paid in 2022. Awards were made to small and large redistribution organisations for infrastructure to increase their capacity and capability and for Covid-19 emergency surplus food grants. There was also valorising food grants, funding for a Target Measure Act (TMA) field force, citizen behaviour change research, educational resources for schools and support for the hospitality sector. Further information can be found here: Food grants | WRAP.

We set out how we will deliver outcomes for food, farming and the environment through our Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in an update in January. This can be found at Environmental Land Management (ELM) update: how government will pay for land-based environment and climate goods and services. This includes our plans to expand and refine the schemes to contribute more to our environmental targets, including on nature recovery, and to target funding towards actions in places where they can have the biggest impacts, in ways that are joined up across larger areas, and that are designed to deliver the required results.

Since then we have launched the 2023 Sustainable Farming Incentive and further rounds of Countryside Stewardship and Landscape Recovery. We will publish more details on the 2024 offer in due course.

We set out how we will deliver outcomes for food, farming and the environment through our Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in an update in January. This can be found at Environmental Land Management (ELM) update: how government will pay for land-based environment and climate goods and services. This includes our plans to expand and refine the schemes to contribute more to our environmental targets, including on nature recovery, and to target funding towards actions in places where they can have the biggest impacts, in ways that are joined up across larger areas, and that are designed to deliver the required results.

Since then we have launched the 2023 Sustainable Farming Incentive and further rounds of Countryside Stewardship and Landscape Recovery. We will publish more details on the 2024 offer in due course.

The figure that over a quarter of a million hectares of priority habitat have been created or restored since 2010 is reflective of action taken towards target 1B (an increase in the overall extent of priority habitats by at least 200,000 ha by 2020) in Biodiversity 2020 (the Government’s biodiversity strategy for England up to 2020, published in 2011). This activity was not recorded in a spatial way, but this is something we are looking to change with reporting towards the Environment Act target to restore or create over 500,000 hectares of wildlife rich habitat outside of protected sites by 2042.

In the evidence report for the Environment Act biodiversity targets, on page 26, we published a breakdown of habitat created and restored between 2011 and 2019. Although this does not cover the whole time period referenced, it is indicative of the general split between habitat types created and restored.

Our best data on the location of priority habitat is the Priority Habitat Inventory. This is a spatial data set that shows where priority habitat has been recorded. Habitat must be of a sufficient quality to be considered priority habitat. Habitat is added or removed from the inventory as evidence on gains and losses become available.

Indicator 2a in the England Biodiversity Indicators provides more information about the condition of priority habitats in England. The indicator outlines the percentage area of priority habitats under several condition categories. Detail on how condition is assessed is given in the background section. The D1 outcome indicator of the 25 Year Environment Plan is undergoing further development and in time will describe the quantity, quality and connectivity of all major habitats across England; priority habitats would be included within this wider picture, although not at a disaggregated level.

The Government remains committed to legislating for a ban on the sale of peat as soon as parliamentary time allows. In the professional sector, our proposals include restrictions on the sale of peat from 2026 with a full ban from 2030. We are currently updating our economic Impact Assessment to reflect this.

There is an existing and ongoing strong domestic legal framework for protecting the environment, which will continue when cross compliance ends. We have recently consulted about introducing new hedgerow protections and we will publish the outcome shortly. Otherwise, it has been assessed that the gaps between cross compliance rules and regulatory requirements in regard to water, soil and stone walls are either mitigated by regulation such as through generalised provisions in Farming Rules for Water and the Water Resources Act, guidance like the Code of Practice for the use of Plant Protection Products, and standards in the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme. As a result of these, we do not believe farmers will lower standards and there will not be significant negative environmental impacts in these areas.

Since 2010, there have been de-designations of bathing waters in the following Environment Agency (EA) areas in England:

Several bathing waters were also de-designated before 2010 in the following EA areas: Alnmouth in the North East; Flamborough North Landing and Earls Dyke in Yorkshire; Lowestoft Gunton Denes in East Anglia; Poole Harbour Sandbanks in Wessex; Redgate and Gunwalloe Cove in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Most of these sites were de-designated due to low numbers of bathers and following an application to Defra, usually by the local authority. In some cases, sites were de-designated because the bathing water quality was classified as ‘Poor’ for five consecutive years. The Bathing Water Regulations 2013 (regulation 13) require sites to be de-designated in this circumstance and for permanent advice against bathing, in relation to at least one whole bathing season, to be issued. There can be many reasons for a ‘Poor’ bathing water classification, including run-off from agricultural land, sewage impacts and local activities. An application can be made to Defra to redesignate a site that has been de-designated as bathing water should the site meet the eligibility criteria set out in the bathing waters application guidance on GOV.UK.

The Environment Agency has made significant progress with the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier scheme. The detailed design for the barrier and downstream banks is nearly complete. Environment Agency contractors are on site carrying out enabling works (constructing site compounds and access tracks and undertaking vegetation clearance). This will allow the construction of the bypass channel, barrier structure, control building and downstream banks over the next four years.

The Bridgwater Tidal Barrier is a flagship scheme delivering protection to 12,800 properties, along with £2 billion benefits for the local area. The scheme is expected to achieve £7.50 of benefits for every £1 spent.

Like many other major capital schemes, the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier project has seen cost increases due to inflationary pressures in construction, not least on concrete, steel, energy and labour costs, all of which are major elements of the scheme’s cost. The project is exploring options for funding as well as for efficiencies and savings to ensure that an operational barrier can be delivered as planned by early 2027. Identifying the optimum construction sequence will also enable us to achieve best value.

Defra prefers to use the term ‘bio-based plastic’ instead of ‘bioplastic’ to avoid confusion with, for example, biodegradable plastics.

The Government is not currently looking to fund bio-based plastic research. Defra has previously funded research in this area as part of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) £60m Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging programme, which supported a portfolio of 70+ projects with academia and industry. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is undertaking research on potential resource efficiency measures in the plastic sector, this includes bio-based plastics.

Lead Local Flood Authorities are required to have a local flood risk management strategy. This must include an assessment of local flood risk and objectives for managing risk. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023-24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022-23.

The Government has committed to reform the current approach to local flood risk planning by 2026. Every area of England will have a more strategic and comprehensive plan that drives long-term local action and investment and supports a catchment-based approach. The Plan for Water also commits to greater join up and better integration between flood and water planning.

As part of the Government’s six-year £200 million innovation fund, £8 million was allocated to develop adaptation pathway plans in four locations across England. Adaptation pathways will look ahead, at least 50 years, to work out what flood defences are necessary in the long-term and when they should be built to avoid unnecessary investment costs in future and missed opportunities.

Defra and the Environment Agency use research to help policy makers and practitioners develop options to better manage flood and coastal erosion risk management.

The Joint Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme undertakes research on flooding. The Programme is overseen by the Environment Agency, Defra, Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Government on behalf of all risk management authorities in England and Wales. The Joint Programme has funded new projections for sea level rise to the year 2300 - which are critical for our long-term planning, including in coastal cities. It has also funded new projections of how climate change will affect river flooding, and in 2020 we published a synthesis of current knowledge on sources of river and coastal flooding in the UK. More information can be found on Gov.uk.

Defra has previously commissioned research to review the causes of flooding events that Lead Local Flood Authorities have assessed under Section 19 of the Floods and Water Management Act 2010. This research provided an understanding of the principal factors contributing to flooding from surface water in England and Wales since 2010.

Finally, the Environment Agency is developing a new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA2) to provide a wide range of more accurate data, covering risk from rivers, the sea and surface water. The new Assessment will be published in 2024 and will provide a refreshed evidence base to better inform our management of risk.

The Government has already taken significant steps to tackle plastic pollution (e.g. microplastics), including restricting the supply of several single-use plastics through introducing a plastic packaging tax from April 2022; restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds; and preventing billions of plastic microbeads from entering the ocean each year by introducing a ban on microbeads in rinse off personal care products.

The majority of microfibres are removed through water treatment and analysis of the evidence available to date does not show that there is a sufficient benefit to the environment that can justify legislation to mandate the microfibre filters in new washing machines with prices ranging from £30 to £122 per machine, dependent on manufacturer and whether the filters are disposable or reusable. Defra’s Plan for Water therefore includes a commitment for industry to develop low cost, effective microfibre filters on washing machines and encourage their effective use. We have met industry colleagues and posed this challenge and we look forward to any proposals they are able to share when they are able to do so.

The Government has already taken significant steps to tackle plastic pollution (e.g. microplastics), including restricting the supply of several single-use plastics through introducing a plastic packaging tax from April 2022; restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds; and preventing billions of plastic microbeads from entering the ocean each year by introducing a ban on microbeads in rinse off personal care products.

The majority of microfibres are removed through water treatment and analysis of the evidence available to date does not show that there is a sufficient benefit to the environment that can justify legislation to mandate the microfibre filters in new washing machines with prices ranging from £30 to £122 per machine, dependent on manufacturer and whether the filters are disposable or reusable. Defra’s Plan for Water therefore includes a commitment for industry to develop low cost, effective microfibre filters on washing machines and encourage their effective use. We have met industry colleagues and posed this challenge and we look forward to any proposals they are able to share when they are able to do so.

The Government has already taken significant steps to tackle plastic pollution (e.g. microplastics), including restricting the supply of several single-use plastics through introducing a plastic packaging tax from April 2022; restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds; and preventing billions of plastic microbeads from entering the ocean each year by introducing a ban on microbeads in rinse off personal care products.

The majority of microfibres are removed through water treatment and analysis of the evidence available to date does not show that there is a sufficient benefit to the environment that can justify legislation to mandate the microfibre filters in new washing machines with prices ranging from £30 to £122 per machine, dependent on manufacturer and whether the filters are disposable or reusable. Defra’s Plan for Water therefore includes a commitment for industry to develop low cost, effective microfibre filters on washing machines and encourage their effective use. We have met industry colleagues and posed this challenge and we look forward to any proposals they are able to share when they are able to do so.

The Government has already taken significant steps to tackle plastic pollution (e.g. microplastics), including restricting the supply of several single-use plastics through introducing a plastic packaging tax from April 2022; restricting the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds; and preventing billions of plastic microbeads from entering the ocean each year by introducing a ban on microbeads in rinse off personal care products.

The majority of microfibres are removed through water treatment and analysis of the evidence available to date does not show that there is a sufficient benefit to the environment that can justify legislation to mandate the microfibre filters in new washing machines with prices ranging from £30 to £122 per machine, dependent on manufacturer and whether the filters are disposable or reusable. Defra’s Plan for Water therefore includes a commitment for industry to develop low cost, effective microfibre filters on washing machines and encourage their effective use. We have met industry colleagues and posed this challenge and we look forward to any proposals they are able to share when they are able to do so.

No recent discussions have been held with EU member states regarding the introduction of legislation to ban fur farming or fur sales.

We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. This includes commissioning the Animal Welfare Committee to explore current responsible sourcing practices in the fur industry.

The Government acknowledges the devastating impact Storm Babet and Storm Ciarán have had on householders and businesses and sympathises with those affected.

The Environment Agency has been inspecting assets that may have been impacted. As of Wednesday 22 November, the Environment Agency have conducted almost 12,000 inspections – these inspections are in response to both storms. During Storm Babet the Environment Agency estimate that around 2,150 properties flooded, and around 97,000 were protected. During Storm Ciarán estimates are that around 180 properties flooded and around 42,000 properties were protected.

This Government is acting to drive down flood risk from every angle. 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. Alongside this, the Environment Agency’s National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England and Roadmap to 2026 is helping to create climate resilient places.

The Government is investing a record £5.2 billion over 6 years in flood and coastal erosion schemes to better protect communities across England. In March 2023, the Environment Agency estimated that approximately £1.5 billion of the investment programme had been spent, with over 200 flood risk schemes completed. Around 60,000 properties have benefited from better protection since the start of the current 6-year programme (between April 2021 to March 2023). This takes the total number of properties protected to 374,000 since 2015.

Lastly, Government is investing £200 million in a flood and coastal resilience innovation programme supporting local projects across the country. In September 2023, Defra also announced a new £25 million natural flood management programme. This information can be found on Gov.uk.

The Environment Agency (EA) does not have “flood support officers” as a role. The EA has numerous flood incident response roles that staff hold alongside their day jobs. Staff are regularly trained and exercised in these roles. Some of these roles are only activated during an incident and some are on standby 24/7 365 days a year.

The Environment Agency (EA) has introduced a new long-term ‘river surveillance network’ monitoring programme for rivers to give a national overview of the state of England’s rivers. It does not replace the Water Framework Directive compliant monitoring which will still continue.

This network is a key part of the ‘Natural Capital and Ecosystems Assessment’ which will provide a statistically robust assessment of the health of the water environment.

The formalisation of a UK-wide Watchlist would be a matter for the UK and Devolved Administrations. In England the EA has developed a Prioritisation and Early Warning System for new substances of concern and monitors changes to the EU’s Watch List. The EA also works closely with the devolved agencies to share information and approaches to monitoring programmes for emerging chemicals of concern in the water environment, including pharmaceuticals which might contribute to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

Further, the UK has set out a 20-year vision for containing and controlling AMR through a One-Health approach. A cross-departmental project called Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) was established in 2021 to understand how pathogens and AMR are spread in the environment and the agri-food system. This will inform future monitoring of the water environment and commitments within the UK National Action Plan on AMR.

Over £2m will be spent this year with the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a charity that helps business and citizens to waste less.

Included in this work is the development, provision of, and roll out of advice, best practice and guidance to help the supply chain redistribute more surplus food to the charitable sector.

Redistribution charities continue to benefit from the increased capacity and capability from the £13m that has spent since 2018 on infrastructure such as warehousing, vehicles, fridges and freezers.

This is an important issue which impacts many people, including those affected by prostate cancer treatment. The Government encourages local authorities to consider such provision in public toilets to support those with this need but does not have powers to compel the provision of sanitary bins in public toilets. I would encourage the hon. Member to raise the issue locally.

The Government announced a significant package of support, via the Flood Recovery Framework, to areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding as a result of Storm Babet. The Framework provides funding for eligible households and businesses and includes a £2,500 Business Recovery Grant for SMEs which have suffered severe impacts from flooding that cannot be recovered from insurance, and council tax discounts. Farmers in eligible areas may also access grants up to £5,000 per property to install property flood resilience measures where they have internal flooding to homes or business premises.

Wider support includes £25 million of funding to improve flood resilience through a new natural flood management (NFM) programme which closed on 10 November, and catchment sensitive farming advice for farmers on NFM, water and air quality. We will introduce further NFM measures under our environmental land management scheme next year. Also, as set out in the Environment Agency’s latest flood strategy roadmap, flood risk management authorities will be working with farmers and landowners to help them adapt their businesses and practices to be resilient to flooding and coastal change. The National Farmers Union is working with the Environment Agency to establish a rural resilience partnership focused on helping farmers and growers adapt to a changing climate.

The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, and it is an offence to dump waste on land without appropriate authorisation. The Prime Minister’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan set out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who fly-tip. We have raised the upper limit for fixed penalties for fly-tipping to £1,000 and taken steps to encourage councils to issue more of these penalties.

We are developing a toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, to help councils and others tackle fly-tipping. This includes a guide on how to present robust cases to court and a new framework on setting up and running effective local partnerships.

We have also awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots. We have recently launched another grant opportunity that could see a further £1m handed out in grants next year to help even more councils tackle the issue.

The Environment Agency (EA) investigates fly tipping if the incidents are large-scale, serious, organised illegal dumping or if it immediately threatens human health or the environment. They work in partnership with other local partners such as the police, local authorities, the fire service and United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as needed. This includes seeking advice from UKHSA about public health risks from illegal waste activities if necessary.

As part of its partnership work the EA has provided advice and guidance to the London Borough of Havering to help deal with a specific site in Havering and will continue to do so. The council is the lead authority on regulating this particular site and for monitoring air quality. Its work will take into account any advice on public health matters that it might receive from UKHSA.

The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, and it is an offence to dump waste on land without appropriate authorisation. The Prime Minister’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan set out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who fly-tip. We have raised the upper limit for fixed penalties for fly-tipping to £1,000 and taken steps to encourage councils to issue more of these penalties.

We are developing a toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, to help councils and others tackle fly-tipping. This includes a guide on how to present robust cases to court and a new framework on setting up and running effective local partnerships.

We have also awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots. We have recently launched another grant opportunity that could see a further £1m handed out in grants next year to help even more councils tackle the issue.

The Environment Agency (EA) investigates fly tipping if the incidents are large-scale, serious, organised illegal dumping or if it immediately threatens human health or the environment. They work in partnership with other local partners such as the police, local authorities, the fire service and United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as needed. This includes seeking advice from UKHSA about public health risks from illegal waste activities if necessary.

As part of its partnership work the EA has provided advice and guidance to the London Borough of Havering to help deal with a specific site in Havering and will continue to do so. The council is the lead authority on regulating this particular site and for monitoring air quality. Its work will take into account any advice on public health matters that it might receive from UKHSA.

Maintenance of public rights of way, including decisions to divert or extinguish them, is a matter for the local authority.

The Environment Agency and Natural England are working with local landowners and South West Water to review future flood risks that may impact assets that cross the flood plain, including the stretch of the Avon Valley path between Burton and Christchurch.

Public access on rights of way and common land in floodplains is regularly affected by winter flooding events. The frequency and duration of such events appears to be changing as a result of climate change, and adapting towards natural flood management needs to consider and balance this alongside rights of public access, public safety as well as land use.

The Environment Agency (EA) take flood risk incredibly seriously and have a long-term plan to upgrade and invest in flood defences across England to benefit local communities. When building flood defences there is a legal requirement that they cannot increase the flood risk of communities either upstream or downstream.

Creating climate resilient places lies at the heart of the EA’s National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England (FCERM Strategy) and Roadmap to 2026. The EA’s role in flood and coastal erosion risk management is outlined here. The EA is also a Category 1 responder set out by The Civil Contingency Act (2004).

The EA are in the third year of the current 6-year £5.2billion Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) investment programme. The funding can be spent on projects that better protect properties in England as well as the development of future projects.

At the end of March 2023, the EA estimated that approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested with over 200 flood risk schemes completed.

Around 60,000 properties have benefited from better protection since the start of the current 6-year programme (between April 2021 to March 2023). This takes the total number of properties protected to 374,000 since 2015.

During Storms Babet and Ciarán around 2,400 properties sadly flooded but defences protected a further 110,000.

The Government acknowledges the terrible impact Storm Babet and Storm Ciarán have had on householders and businesses and sympathises with those affected. There is no specific funding for National Plant Collection holders however, the Government has triggered the Flood Recovery Framework, to provide funding for affected households and businesses as a result of severe flooding caused by the storms.

In addition, the Government will be activating the Defra Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant Scheme for areas affected by Storm Babet. Eligible flood-hit property owners will be able to apply for up to £5,000 to help make their homes and businesses more resilient to future flooding.

Lead emissions are estimated in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. The latest data available is for 2021. Data for 2023 will be published in February 2025.

Across the UK there were 34.5 tonnes of lead emissions from road transport in 2021, of which 34.1 tonnes were from tyre and brake wear, 0.36 tonnes were from petrol use, and 0.01 tonnes were from other sources in road transport (including diesel engines, lubricant use and natural gas).

Lead emissions from road transport have declined over the long term, largely due to a decline in emissions from the combustion of petrol (falling 99.9% since 1970).

This is an important issue which impacts many people, including those affected by prostate cancer treatment. The Government encourages local authorities to consider such provision in public toilets to support those with this need but does not have powers to compel the provision of sanitary bins in public toilets. I would encourage the hon. Member to raise the issue locally. The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Government’s arm’s-length bodies, including the Health and Safety Executive, on a range of issues.