Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the flood and coastal erosion risk management funding policy takes account of the cultural value of areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is investing at least a record £10.5 billion until 2036 – the largest flood programme in history which is projected to benefit nearly 900,000 properties.
On 14 October, following consultation, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. Under the new rules the benefits of heritage, natural environment, tourism, and recreation are included as part of project appraisal.
The new funding policy will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment. We will use government funding to unlock investment from public, private and charitable sources, making every £1 of Government investment go further. We will also invest at least £300 million in natural flood management over ten years – the highest figure to date for the floods programme.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the performance of Thames Water’s priority services register during the water supply interruption in (a) Lyneham, (b) Royal Wootton Bassett, (c) Lydiard, (d) Purton, (e) Cricklade and (f) Cirencester on 21 September 2025.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD), water companies are required to identify and prioritise vulnerable customers when responding to water supply interruption incidents. Defra expects companies to follow Ofwat guidance on priority services registers to meet this requirement.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) regulate water company performance against SEMD requirements.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps with (a) Ofwat, (b) the Department for Health and Social Care and (c) local authorities to enable proportionate data-sharing so that (i) water companies and (ii) councils can identify vulnerable households for priority services register support.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies manage their own lists of customers who are on the Priority Services Register.
Ofwat, the economic regulator, has set out in their vulnerability guidance that companies should consider how their records of customers’ needs can be designed in a way that can help deliver wider benefits to their customers; for example, reducing communication burdens for customers through data sharing.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the (a) Environment Agency and (b) Drinking Water Inspectorate assesses the potential impact of repeated potable-water leaks on (i) soil structure damage, (ii) runoff pathways and (iii) other (A) environmental and (B) soil issues; and if she will issue guidance to farmers on (1) reporting and (2) remediation.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has ensured that water companies have robust plans in place to halve leakage by 2050. The pathway to achieving this involves a reduction of approximately 30% by 2030 from 2019/20 levels. This equates to a nearly 700 Million litres per day reduction in leakage from the baseline. Water companies are now funded to deliver this through their business plans, and regulators will be assessing company performance in meeting this commitment.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) enforcement of the current illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing import controls.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is strongly committed to preventing seafood caught from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from entering the UK supply chain. Defra works closely with the Devolved Governments, Marine Management Organisation and Port Health Authorities to manage the risk of illegally caught fish entering the UK. For example, the UK maintains a strict ban on seafood imports from countries that have been identified as non-cooperative in tackling IUU fishing as well as seafood caught by vessels included in the UK’s IUU vessel list identified as having engaged in IUU fishing. Controls are also in place to prevent foreign vessels accessing UK ports if suspected of engaging in IUU fishing. Furthermore, all wild-caught fish imported into the UK must be accompanied by validated catch certificates to ensure legality and traceability.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 help expedite grant clearance under the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) understands the importance of cashflow for farmers and rural businesses. The Agency used an Online Application system to streamline data collection and is using automation to simplify due diligence checks. Agreement Holders should claim their payment by the deadline of midday on 31 March 2026 and provide all of the necessary evidence. The RPA aims to process and pay complete claims within 60 working days and continues to look at opportunities to expedite grant clearance for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund as promptly as possible.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
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 ensure (a) farmers and (b) exporters are protected from unfair supermarket practices not covered by the (i) Groceries Code Adjudicator and (ii) Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) is responsible for enforcing regulations developed under the Agriculture Act 2020 'Fair Dealing' powers (section 29). Regulations introduced using these powers promote fair contractual dealing and contribute to a more equitable relationship between producers and purchasers. To date, the powers have been used to create the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 and the Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025.
The ASCA can investigate relevant complaints around compliance with these regulations. This is distinct from the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), which regulates the relationship between large retailers and their direct suppliers.
The Government is committed to an evidence-based approach to regulating the supply chain and providing opportunities to assess the effectiveness of the approach.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of animal welfare abuse have been recorded in Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not collect figures for animal welfare abuse incidents by local authority area.
Oct. 20 2025
Source Page: Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will boost regional economiesAsked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on banning foie gras imports.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government shares the British public's high regard for animal welfare and has made clear that the production of foie gras from ducks or geese using force feeding raises serious welfare concerns. Foie gras production using force feeding has been banned in the UK for nearly 20 years as it is not compatible with our animal welfare legislation.
Defra is continuing to consider the evidence and options in relation to foie gras.