Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 HCWS1230, what funding she has allocated to the place-based uplands approach announced at the Oxford Farming Conference; what objectives it is intended to achieve; and how food production will be safeguarded within that approach.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government knows how important upland landscapes are for farming, nature and rural economies, and is committed to investing in this work to deliver meaningful benefits for upland communities. By empowering local decision‑making, Defra will unlock the economic potential of the uplands and ensure that the people who live and work there can shape their future and decide what will help their communities thrive.
Defra has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. The department will say more about funding for the place-based uplands approach in due course.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in reference to HCWS1230, 8 January 2026, when the Farming Roadmap will be published; what timescales it will set out for future changes to farm support; and how it will provide long-term certainty for farmers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Farming Roadmap will set the course of farming in England for the next 25 years. Over the last year, the Government has held workshops with farmers, industry leaders and farming and environmental groups to identify themes and content the roadmap should include. Defra will aim to publish later this year (2026).
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 mean and median total income per business for the Sustainable Farming Incentive was in the year to October 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farm businesses can hold multiple Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements under the SFI scheme. As of October 2025, there were 44,474 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements including SFI 23 and SFI 24. Over the full term of the agreement the mean value of these agreements was £57,000 and the median value of these agreements was £32,000.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 HCWS1230, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to the Sustainable Farming Incentive on levels of domestic food production, farm profitability and the distribution of scheme payments; how the revised scheme will address the previous concentration of funding; and when revised actions, payment rates and transitional arrangements will be published.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Some of the main improvements the Government is making to the new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer are:
Previously, 90% of SFI spending went on fewer than 40 of the 102 actions available and a quarter of SFI money goes to just 4% of farms. This is not fair. Therefore, Ministers are considering ways to address this, such as introducing an agreement value cap, and are making improvements to the offer to ensure more farmers can access funding.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
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 impact of potential barriers to rural workforce housing on farm labour availability.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government regularly reviews and publishes data relating to rural housing on GOV.UK: Housing Statistics for Rural England - GOV.UK. The Government gives all due consideration to this data, including implications for the rural workforce, when formulating policy.
In relation to seasonal workers via the visa route, there are no housing barriers identified for this cohort as accommodation is provided as part of the conditions of their sponsor, in the main part as on-farm caravan accommodation.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The table below details Defra’s advertising and marketing costs for the 22/23, 23/24 and 24/25 financial years. Defra publishes details on spend on a monthly basis on GOV.UK as part of routine government transparency arrangements.
| 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 |
Advertising | £274,456.69 | £827,530.88 | £26,426.58 |
Marketing spend (other) | £192,984.23 | £484,027.95 | £18,322.07 |
The current Government came into power within the 2024/25 financial year and completed a review of all 131 public campaigns with spend of over £100k.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on measures to control the spread of avian influenza in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Each of the three devolved Governments, along with the UK Government, is an integral part of the decision-making process for avian influenza control. They are core members of the regular chief veterinary officer strategic stocktakes and they also sit on the Animal Disease Policy Group (a UK-wide policy decision making group).
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 HCWS1230, when the Farming and Food Partnership Board will be established; what criteria will be used to ensure balanced representation across the farming and food sectors; and what role the Board will play in the development of future farming policy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is committed to resetting the relationship between the Government and food and farming sectors as a genuine partnership. More details on the timeline for establishing the new board will be made available as soon as possible.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 is taking to introduce fair food labelling to provide clear information on sourcing and production.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. All food sold on the UK market must comply with food labelling rules, which include the requirement for specific information to be presented in a specific way.
Food origin information is mandatory for some, but not all foods. In all cases where origin is provided, it must not be misleading. We continue to review origin labelling using comprehensive evidence to ensure clear and transparent labelling for consumers.
As set out in the Government’s animal welfare strategy, we are committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, we will work with stakeholders to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the total capital and operational cost of transitioning its vehicle fleet to 100% Zero Tailpipe Emissions by 31 December 2027; and what assessment has been made of the difference in cost compared with retaining and maintaining a petrol and diesel fleet over the same timeframe.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The estimated cost to transition 309 vans from diesel to electric to achieve 100% Zero Tailpipe Emissions (under 3.5 tonnes) by 31 December 2027 is £10.1 million compared with a diesel equivalent of £12.2 million. These costs are based on “whole life costs” of five years and include electric maintenance costs forecast at 60% less than comparable diesel.
Defra also operates a fleet of 4x4s (1,132 vehicles). The department applied to the Department for Transport for an exemption from the requirements of the Government Fleet Commitment, with the productive engagement with Office for Zero Emission Vehicles. This was granted on 28 May 2025.