Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to prevent British companies from selling hunting trips to British nationals to shoot so-called canned lions for sport and trophies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, which is the most effective approach the Government can take on this matter. The department continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can implement a robust ban. Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent British-owned companies from selling holidays that promote trophy hunting.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, which is the most effective approach the Government can take on this matter. The department continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can implement a robust ban. Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the weighted scores given to the academic studies reviewed by Natural England in its paper on the effects of managed burning (NEER155); and if whether she will publish them.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No such assessment has been made by Defra. This is because NEER155 went through rigorous peer review prior to publication, with all external peer reviewers being leading peatland experts at major universities and other expert institutions.
NEER155 is the most comprehensive evidence review available on the effects of managed burning on upland peatlands.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration she has given to designating the Trans Pennine Trail a National Trail.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to increasing access to nature and leaving a lasting benefit for future generations.
Although we do not currently plan to designate the Trans Pennine Trail as a National Trail, we remain committed to improving safe and appropriate access to green and blue spaces. In 2026 we expect to launch both the 2,700-mile King Charles III England Coast Path and Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route across the north of England as a National Trail. We are also progressing plans to deliver nine new National River Walks across England, one in each region and will share further details in due course.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to reduce fly-tipping and strengthen the power of local authorities to prevent fly-tipping.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We encourage local councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, which include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution action.
We are taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to more consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers. We are also conducting a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool.
In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.
In the meantime, Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities, National Farmers Union and the Environment Agency, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage: https://nftpg.com/
In addition, under our reforms, waste carriers, brokers, dealers will need to apply for a full environmental permit giving the regulator more powers and resources to ensure compliance, whilst making it easier for householders to identify legitimate waste services.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For the last financial year, the total cost to Defra of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in pg. 167 of Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees sections of her Department's Environmental Improvement Plan, published on 1 December 2025, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on maintaining the level of planning protections for protected landscapes in the forthcoming review of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has engaged with MHCLG on the forthcoming review of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This government is committed to the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 which includes an action to maintain current protections in the NPPF for ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees and improve the implementation of the policy. The government is currently consulting on changes to the NPPF and the proposed wording, which maintains current protections for ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees, is available to view here National Planning Policy Framework: proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system - GOV.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the geographical boundaries of each air quality agglomeration zone in England.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is divided into 43 zones for air quality assessment. There are 28 agglomeration zones (large urban areas) and 15 non-agglomeration zones. The geographical boundaries of air quality zones and agglomerations in England are set out in the Air Pollution in the UK Report (see attached) and are also made available through the compliance map on the UK-Air website.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government's progress in meeting reforestation targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to meeting the Environment Act target to increase woodland cover to at least 16.5% of total land area in England by 2050. In the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 we have also set the interim target to increase England’s tree canopy and woodland cover by 0.33% of land area by December 2030 from the 2022 baseline of 14.9%, equivalent to a net increase of 43,000 hectares.
Tree planting in England is at the highest recorded rate in over 20 years, with over 7,100 hectares planted in 2024/25.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support hedgehog conservation initiatives in the West Midlands.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are being prepared by responsible authorities to agree on priorities that help nature recover and support species of local and national importance. Responsible authorities are required to consider national environmental objectives when preparing their LNRS, including the target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. The West Midlands LNRS was published recently and maps specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement to support species such as hedgehogs.
Nationally, Natural England is supporting the National Hedgehog Conservation Strategy and the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme. Information gathered from these projects will provide insights into the factors contributing to hedgehog population decline, leading to the implementation of practical conservation measures to address this challenge.