Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has (a) analysed and (b) commissioned research on the potential long-term health impacts of organophosphate exposure on agricultural workers since 2014.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government commissioned a considerable amount of research to investigate whether there is a link between the use of organophosphate sheep dips and chronic ill-health. The outcome of this research was provided to the independent Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment who have published two statements in 2009 and 2014.

The independent scientific advice is that the research evidence does not support a link between the use of sheep dips and chronic ill-health. Therefore, it would be unlikely that further public inquiry would reach a different conclusion, making it difficult to justify committing public funds to an inquiry.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing an expert in animal welfare to the Food Strategy Advisory Board.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Members of the Food Strategy Advisory Board were selected as senior leaders who have a broad range of experience across the food system and reflect the diversity of the sector. Membership has been finalised. We are not looking to expand it at this time.

The Board represents just one aspect of our engagement with stakeholders across the food supply system. The food strategy will articulate the outcomes required to deliver food system change.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the use of pesticides by (a) local authorities and (b) other public bodies on the environment in public spaces.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of managing public spaces sustainably and its first priority is to ensure that pesticides do not harm human or animal health or pose unacceptable risks to the environment.

A pesticide may only be placed on the market following a thorough risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met. All professional pesticide users must minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public, receive training and register with Defra.

They are encouraged to follow the principles of Integrated Pest Management, which aims to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides by making use of lower risk alternatives and promoting natural processes. The UK Pesticides National Action Plan sets out how the Government will continue to promote the sustainable use of pesticides.

It is for each Local Authority to decide the best way of delivering effective and cost-effective weed control without harming people or the environment. I recently held a roundtable with local authorities, the Local Government Association and the Pesticide Action Network to share best practice on reducing pesticide use. I am keen to see best practices shared more widely, helping to support effective, innovative and sustainable pesticide use across our public spaces.

I am keen to see best practices shared more widely, helping to support effective, innovative and sustainable pesticide use across our public spaces.

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 his Department's guidance, New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, published on 25 March 2025, if he will make an estimate of the number of houses in Bedfordshire now classified as being in flood zone (a) 2 or (b) 3.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The number of properties in Bedfordshire classed within Flood Zone 2 is approximately 8200. The number of properties in Bedfordshire classed within Flood Zone 3 is approximately 3500.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed closure of Smithfield Market on (a) Scottish farmers and (b) UK meat producers.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is aware of the proposed changes to Smithfield Market and is engaging with the City of London Corporation.

The City of London Corporation’s Court of Common Council on 26 November 2024 ratified a decision to end its interest in co-locating the wholesale food markets of Smithfield and Billingsgate to a new site at Dagenham Dock.

A private bill was deposited in Parliament on 27 November 2024, which would end the City of London Corporation’s responsibilities to operate a market at these sites.

While the Market will cease to trade at the Smithfield site, it is not closing. The City of London Corporation is working with tenants to help them re-locate, together, to purpose-built facilities within the M25 and ensure continuity of trade.

Defra has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of the closure on Scottish farmers and UK meat producers but notes the valuable research on this matter undertaken by the City of London Corporation. This independent food security study found that the relocation is unlikely to pose significant risks to food supply. The Department recognises the importance of Smithfield as a distribution hub for meat products across the UK and will continue to monitor the transition closely.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure equitable access to the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund for farmers in Buckinghamshire.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) provides small capital grants to farmers, growers and foresters in England to help them invest in equipment and technology that improves productivity, manage slurry, and supports animal health and welfare.

Defra is conducting an evaluation to explore the impacts of grants on beneficiaries and their businesses, including environmental outcomes. This evaluation is focussed on Round 1 beneficiaries (launched in November 2021 and paid out in 2022).

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what mechanisms are in place to monitor the environmental outcomes from the equipment and technology funded through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) provides small capital grants to farmers, growers and foresters in England to help them invest in equipment and technology that improves productivity, manage slurry, and supports animal health and welfare.

Defra is conducting an evaluation to explore the impacts of grants on beneficiaries and their businesses, including environmental outcomes. This evaluation is focussed on Round 1 beneficiaries (launched in November 2021 and paid out in 2022).

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 policy paper entitled Plan for Change, published on 5 December 2024, what steps his Department plans to take to evaluate the effectiveness of measures to deter waste crime.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Resources and Waste Policy Programme Evaluation is running to 2027 and is designed to help Defra understand what has and has not been successful about the design and delivery of objectives and commitments within the policy programme, including waste crime. Link to Impact Evaluation Baseline Report.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund on the adoption of precision agriculture technologies among small and medium-sized farms in Buckinghamshire.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) provides small capital grants to farmers, growers and foresters in England to help them invest in equipment and technology that improves productivity, manage slurry, and supports animal health and welfare.

Defra is conducting an evaluation to explore the impacts of grants on beneficiaries and their businesses, including environmental outcomes. This evaluation is focussed on Round 1 beneficiaries (launched in November 2021 and paid out in 2022).

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he will take steps to reduce limits for acceptable levels of (a) forever chemicals and (b) per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has provided guidance on PFAS to water companies since 2007. In 2021 a guideline value of 0.1 micrograms per litre (µg/L) was adopted for drinking water which, since August 2024 when DWI’s guidance was updated. Companies are required to monitor for 48 individual PFAS in their supplies. These were agreed with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to be robust levels with an appropriate margin to ensure our drinking water is safe to drink. Concentrations of ‘sum of 48 PFAS’ greater than 0.1 micrograms must be reported to the DWI as a water quality event and all necessary actions to reduce concentrations below this value must be taken. There is no evidence of PFAS concentrations above this value in drinking water supplies.

The DWI continue to monitor publications and advice provided by the World Health Organization and the UK’s Committee on Toxicity in relation to PFAS. It will continue to act accordingly based on the scientific evidence as it emerges, to safeguard public health from the risks from PFAS in drinking water. Work continues across government to assess levels of PFAS to safeguard current high drinking water quality and to ensure our regulations remain fit for purpose.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Investor Partnerships programme at increasing the commercialisation of agricultural technologies.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Farming Innovation Investor Partnerships programme, launched on 2 June, builds on a pilot round where recipient companies were awarded over £4 million in grant funding that leveraged more than £10 million in private investment. Most of the companies involved now have commercially available products, and have unlocked additional private funding.

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 his Department's guidance, New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, published on 25 March 2025, what steps he is taking to support home owners now classified as being in flood zone (a) 2 and (b) 3.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government will maintain the highest levels of flood protection while taking decisive action to fix our broken planning system and deliver 1.5 million homes through our Plan for Change.

The Flood Zones in the Flood Map for Planning are aimed at planners and developers making decisions about the location and design of new development. By publishing the new flood and coastal erosion risk information in March 2025 the Environment Agency have ensured these decisions are based on the best available evidence.

This Government is investing a record £2.65 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26) for the construction of new flood schemes, and the maintenance and repair of existing ones.

The Flood Zones in the Flood Map for Planning are aimed at planners and developers making decisions about the location and design of new development. By publishing the new flood and coastal erosion risk information in March 2025 the Environment Agency have ensured these decisions are based on the best available evidence.

The Environment Agency also provides the Check for flooding service, giving information on flood alerts and warnings as well as a 5-day forecast. Its flood warning system directly alerts 1.6 million properties in England who are registered to receive flood warnings. In addition it provides advice on what can be done to reduce the impacts of a flood, including preparing personal flood plans, adapting a home or business and getting insurance.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to protect the UK food supply in the event of a (a) cyber or (b) physical attack.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on the the potential impact of the potential closure of the Vapormatic site in Exeter on the supply chain in that sector.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government recognises the importance of a fully functioning supply chain but does not normally intervene in the decisions made by individual companies.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bluetongue regulatory regimes in England and Wales are adequately joined-up to support farmers on the border who need to move stock between England and Wales to access land and markets.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, Defra and the Devolved Governments work closely together with the aim of providing, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response to disease prevention, mitigation, and control across the UK. A key forum for this is the Animal Disease Policy Group (ADPG), which is a UK wide policy decision making group.

Defra and Devolved Governments also engage closely with industry to inform policy development and implementation through the Livestock Core Group.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding to the Environment Agency to support the enforcement of waste crime legislation.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra works closely with the Environment Agency to ensure it is equipped to carry out its functions effectively and deliver for the public and the environment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which additional border control posts have been constructed in the UK due to the UK's departure from the EU.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The following BCPs have been newly constructed since the UK left the EU: Dover Bastion, Harwich, Heysham, Holyhead (Welsh Government project), Liverpool 2, Newhaven, Poole, Portsmouth, Purfleet, Sevington, Tyne.

Further information on the designation of ports is available on GOV.UK.

Animals, animal products and HRFNAO imports: authorised border control posts in the UK - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many 1 in 100 year flooding events have occurred in Bedfordshire since 2010.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Data on the return period (such as “1 in 100 years”) of recent events is not available as flooding is never consistent and affects communities differently each time. Environment Agency (EA) records show that since 2010, there have been around 10 notable flood events where property flooding occurred, these covered at least 22 communities in Bedfordshire.

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 help tackle the octopus bloom in Cornwall following discussions on 20 May 2025.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra, Government scientists (Cefas), the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and local Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) met on 20 May to discuss this phenomenon, the evidence, the impacts on the crab and lobster stocks and potential actions.

Since this meeting Defra has commissioned a report from Cefas on the background, available stock science and potential causes of the bloom. The Devon and Severn IFCA have issued guidance on the regulations regarding fishing for octopus. A meeting with industry is due to take place on 6 June,

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 his Department's press release entitled Avian Influenza Prevention Zone housing measures lifted, published on 12 May 2025, when the General Licence 45 for gamebird release in and near to special protection areas in England will be reissued.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There are currently no plans to reissue General Licence 45 for gamebird release on and near to Special Protection Areas in England. Anyone intending to release gamebirds on or near a Special Protection Area should apply to Natural England for an individual licence.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to Eunomia's report entitled Sky Lanterns, Single-Use Barbecues and Helium Balloons Risks and Mitigation Options, published on 9 February 2024.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is currently not planning a formal response to Eunomia's report on sky lanterns, single-use barbecues and helium balloons. This report was commissioned by the previous administration.

Local authorities already have powers to apply local controls to restrict or ban the use of sky lanterns, balloons or disposable barbecues on council or public land.

There are also existing powers in legislation which can be used to regulate and prohibit the lighting of fires on access land in National Landscapes and National Parks.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the flood risk and coastal erosion risk management budget has been allocated to nature based solutions in the current financial year.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Many projects in the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Capital Investment Programme deliver a combination of nature-based solutions (NBS) and hard defences, and we do not explicitly capture the expenditure on NBS separately. Due to this, we are unable to separate spend on NBS into each financial year.

For the years available, the total investment across the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Capital Investment Programme from April 2021 to March 2024 was £3.5 billion, with approximately £40.6 million spent on NBS. The total forecast investment across the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Capital Investment Programme for the current financial year, 2025/26, is £1.1 billion, with an estimated £24.8 million allocated for schemes that include NBS.

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 made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing in-ovo sexing technologies within UK hatcheries.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.

In its 2024 ‘Opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industries’, the Animal Welfare Committee considered a range of technologies that could help end the routine culling of male chicks by identifying or determining the sex of chick embryos before hatching. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of these technologies, and we welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.

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 tackle littering in tourist hotspots; and how these steps are tailored to the influx of visitors during peak seasons.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local councils are responsible for keeping public land clear of litter and refuse. The standards that they are expected to meet are set out in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, which is available at: Litter and refuse: code of practice - GOV.UK.

Councils will be best placed to understand littering patterns in their area. The code provides guidance on managing hotspots and seasonal variations in tourist areas. It explains that councils may need to increase cleansing activities and enforcement patrols to cope with an influx of people during peak periods.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 50256 on Farms: Lancashire, what steps he plans to take to ensure that British produce is prioritised in catering contracts; and whether this will include steps to support local farms in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The national procurement policy statement sets out requirements for Government contracts, including food, and favouring high-quality products that we believe British producers, including those in Fylde, and Lancashire more broadly, are well-placed to supply. This will aid our ambition for half of food supplied into public sector catering to be from local producers or those certified to higher environmental standards.

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 UK-EU Summit - Joint Statement, updated 19 May 2025, when measures on taking pets on holiday to the EU will take effect.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders Summit on May 19, 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone to reduce delays and paperwork at the border. Taking pets on holiday into the EU will be easier and cheaper. Instead of getting an animal health certificate each time you travel, you will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU.

Our aim is to start talks straight away and we want to remove barriers as soon as possible.

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 press notice entitled Government to crack down on waste incinerators with stricter standards for new builds, published on 30 December 2024, what are the strict new local and environmental conditions that new waste incinerators will be required to meet.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note and an accompanying statement, set out that the Government will only back new Energy from Waste projects which:

• Demonstrate a clearly defined need to facilitate the diversion of non-recyclable waste away from landfill, or enable the replacement of older, less efficient waste incinerators; AND

• Can be built Carbon Capture ready, in accordance with the Government’s ‘Decarbonisation Readiness’ requirements once they come into force;

• Demonstrate that making use of the heat they produce is viable.

We are considering how to reflect in the new set of national policies for development management to be developed. The Government has consulted on revisions to the National Policy Statements that support decisions on major energy infrastructure to reflect these conditions. The consultation ran from 24 April 2025 to 29 May 2025.

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 UK-EU Summit - Joint Statement, updated 19 May 2025, when (a) fresh sausages and burgers, (b) certain shellfish from domestic waters and (c) seed potatoes will be able to resume trade to the EU.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders Summit on May 19, 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone to reduce delays and paperwork at the border. British products that were banned under the last Government’s Brexit deal can resume trade to the EU once the common SPS area is in place. Trade in products such as fresh sausages and burgers, some shellfish from domestic waters, and seed potatoes will be able to resume, increasing markets for these goods and stimulating jobs.

Our aim is to start talks straight away and we want to remove barriers as soon as possible.

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 UK-EU Summit - Joint Statement, updated 19 May 2025, when routine checks on (a) agri-foods and (b) imports from the EU of (i) milk, (ii) dairy, (iii) eggs and (iv) other products will end.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders Summit on May 19, 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone to reduce delays and paperwork at the border. Once the agreement is in place, routine SPS border checks for goods in scope will be eliminated, so fresh produce can hit supermarket shelves more quickly, with less paperwork and fewer costs.

Our aim is to start talks straight away and we want to remove barriers as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which (a) scientific experts, (b) NGOs, (c) industry representatives and (d) other stakeholders he has consulted as part of the development of the negotiating mandate for the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The next Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention will be taking place on the 3 - 7 November 2025. Working documents and proposals for negotiation at this meeting have not yet been published but will be in due course. Officials in Defra will review documents when they are published and analyse the potential merits of proposals on an individual basis. Officials will also conduct any necessary external outreach on proposals ahead of the Conference.

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 potential merits of the proposed amendments on dental amalgam use to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The next Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention will be taking place on the 3 - 7 November 2025. Working documents and proposals for negotiation at this meeting have not yet been published but will be in due course. Officials in Defra will review documents when they are published and analyse the potential merits of proposals on an individual basis. Officials will also conduct any necessary external outreach on proposals ahead of the Conference.

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 ensure the Circular Economy Taskforce helps to encourage people to repair and reuse.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. We have convened the Circular Economy Taskforce, comprising experts from industry, academia, and civil society, to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The strategy will be accompanied by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis.

Defra recognises that repair and reuse are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. The Circular Economy Taskforce will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy throughout the development of the Strategy.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of the Flood Risk and Coastal Erosion Risk Management budget was spent on nature based solutions in the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial year.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Many projects in the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Capital Investment Programme deliver a combination of nature-based solutions (NBS) and hard defences, and we do not explicitly capture the expenditure on NBS separately. Due to this, we are unable to separate spend on NBS into each financial year.

For the years available, the total investment across the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Capital Investment Programme from April 2021 to March 2024 was £3.5 billion, with approximately £40.6 million spent on NBS. The total forecast investment across the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Capital Investment Programme for the current financial year, 2025/26, is £1.1 billion, with an estimated £24.8 million allocated for schemes that include NBS.

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 his Department's guidance, New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, published on 25 March 2025, whether his Department has had discussions with local authorities on the new flood zone mapping.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency has regular discussions with Lead Local Flood Authorities and Local Planning Authorities both nationally and locally, including before and after publication of the new flood and coastal erosion risk information.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take legislative steps to regulate bonfires.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

At this present time, we are not planning any new measures restricting bonfires. Government guidance on the rules about garden bonfires is available at: https://www.gov.uk/garden-bonfires-rules.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the public’s awareness of electrical goods recycling options; and what steps he plans to take to improve public awareness of those options.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment regulations make producers responsible for the electrical products they place on the market when they become waste. Within that framework producers fund a not-for-profit industry body Material Focus through the WEEE Compliance Fee. Part of the funds are used for consumer awareness campaigns highlighting the importance of properly disposing of their electrical waste.

A Material Focus communications campaign has helped lead to 30 million more small electrical items being recycled in 2024 compared to 2022.

We are considering further measures to deliver a Circular Economy, including across electricals, as part of the circular economy strategy.

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 guidance entitled New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, published on 25 March 2025, whether he has had discussions with the insurance sector on properties now classified as being in flood zone (a) two and (b) three.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The department regularly engages with the insurance industry, including bilaterally with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA). Engagement includes representation from the sector on the Flood Resilience Taskforce and an Insurance Roundtable hosted by me in September 2024.

The Environment Agency (EA) also has regular discussions with the insurance industry as part of its engagement on flood and coastal erosion risk management, including on the new flood and coastal erosion risk information.

It is important to note that insurance companies make decisions on premium prices based on their own assessment of the risk, using commercially available risk analysis models and are not mandated to use EA models.

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 potential impact of water consumption by data storage centres on (a) consumer and (b) agricultural water supplies.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Datacentre water consumption varies considerably based on their size and cooling method. There is currently no requirement for data centres to report on their water consumption, so an accurate assessment of their impact on water supplies to consumers and agriculture is difficult. We are working with datacentres and their trade associations to understand their impact and identify opportunities to improve reporting and water efficiencies in their design.

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 help improve the enforcement of littering.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local councils are responsible for taking enforcement action against littering. They can prosecute those suspected of littering which could result in a criminal record and a fine of up to £2500. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot) fine of up to £500.

Advisory guidance on littering enforcement is available at: Litter and refuse: code of practice - GOV.UK. We are considering the benefits of placing this guidance on a statutory footing. Any announcement will be made in the usual way.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation agreement includes provisions for mutual recognition of (a) agri-input standards, (b) fertilisers and (c) pesticides.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Technical Barriers to Trade chapter of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides the structures to address non-tariff barriers for businesses. Annex 14 to the TCA recognises the equivalence of organic regulations between EU and UK, facilitating trade in organic products. The TCA does not otherwise make binding provision for mutual recognition of technical regulations in relation to agri-food standards, pesticides and fertilisers.

On 19 May, the UK and the EU agreed the principles for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. The agreement will cover SPS standards and controls and also wider agrifood rules related to food labelling, organics, and key marketing standards and compositional standards – as well as pesticides. This will further bring down costs for UK businesses by removing the majority of regulatory trade barriers to agrifood trade.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure continuity of funding for peatland restoration between the closure of the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme and the full implementation of the Landscape Recovery Scheme.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities. We have ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatlands across the country, and we are working to ensure that we have the most effective mechanisms in place to go further than we have before.

Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. We will continue to work with partners, farmers and land managers to enable the delivery of peat restoration, supported by agri-environmental schemes that provide long-term funding to support restoration projects. We are providing advice and guidance to enable partners to transition to new funding arrangements.

Private finance will also be vital to meeting our peatland restoration ambitions. To support peatland restoration, the Government is implementing a range of policies that will mobilise private investment. These include working with the IUCN to attract investment through the Peatland Code.

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 potential impact of the projected funding gap for peatland restoration in the Great North Bog region between 2025 and 2028 on (a) rural employment and (b) environmental outcomes.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities.

Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. After this ends, we intend to work with partners, farmers and land managers to enable the delivery of peatland restoration, with continued support through agri-environmental schemes that provide long-term funding for restoration projects throughout the country.

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 community groups to (a) tackle littering and (b) promote environmental cleanliness.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local councils are often able to support community groups such as by providing equipment for litter picking. They may also be able to arrange for the collection and disposal of any rubbish collected by these groups.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to implement the proposed land use framework.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government ran a consultation on land use in England from January to April this year. The responses to this consultation, and feedback from supporting workshops, are being analysed. These responses and outputs will inform the preparation of the Land Use Framework, which will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the final Land Use Framework following the consultation process.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government ran a consultation on land use in England from January to April this year. The responses to this consultation, and feedback from supporting workshops, are being analysed. These responses and outputs will inform the preparation of the Land Use Framework, which will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Rt. hon and hon. Members on the Climate and Nature Bill since 24 January 2025.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is absolutely committed to tackling the climate and nature crises. Accordingly, we have engaged extensively with Roz Savage MP on the proposed Climate and Nature Bill and agreed how we can take forward the spirit and substance of the Bill. The minister responsible for the Bill area, Minister Creagh, met with Roz Savage on 27 January to discuss the government’s approach to taking forward the spirit of the Bill.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people in the UK have signed up to receive air pollution alerts from UK-AIR; and what mechanisms he is using to monitor the effectiveness of the air quality alert system at (a) reaching the intended audience and (b) meeting its other goals.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

450 people are currently signed up to receive air pollution alerts from UK Air. Metrics to monitor the effectiveness of the new system are being considered as part of the design process.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Land Use Framework will be applied retrospectively to existing Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project applications.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

When the Land Use Framework is published, it will set out the evidence, data and tools needed to help safeguard our most productive agricultural land and identify the best areas for nature’s recovery. The Framework will be a guide for decision makers on how we make the most of what our diverse landscapes have to offer, and its evidence base has underpinned wider Government reform, including the Strategic Spatial Energy plan. It will not bind decision makers or prescribe land uses in specific places.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 50256 on Farms: Lancashire, what the start date of the new Higher Tier scheme will be; and how farmers can apply.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra will open the rolling application window for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) later in the year. Currently, CSHT is by invitation only following contact by Natural England or the Forestry Commission. This ensures that bespoke pre-application advice is provided to support those invited. We have published information that sets out what you can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT on GOV.UK. (Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier: preview guidance - GOV.UK).

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will include PM2.5 in the UK Air quality alerts.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

PM2.5 is one of the pollutants already included in the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI). The department is currently in the process of making improvements to our air quality alert system to more closely align to the DAQI

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans for the Land Use Framework to be afforded material consideration in relevant planning policy documents.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

By law, planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

What constitutes a material consideration is very widely defined and it is for the local planning authority to determine what is a relevant consideration based on the circumstances of a particular case. The evidence base that underpinned the Land Use Consultation, and feedback on it, will inform the Government’s wider strategic planning agenda.

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 Government support for independent veterinary practices.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating the companion animal veterinary sector. Defra will consider any recommendations from the CMA once their work has concluded.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the Land Use Framework and the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan will work together to inform decision-making on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government consulted on land use in England earlier this year, the outcomes of which will inform the publication of the Land Use Framework later this year. The analysis underpinning the Land Use Consultation for England has fed into the development of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan’s methodology. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Defra will continue to work closely to ensure that the SSEP and the Land Use Framework work together cohesively alongside other sector plans.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which water companies are planning to trial progressive or rising block water tariffs, and to what timetables, according to the latest information held by (a) Ofwat and (b) his Department.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All companies plan to trial new charging structures by 2030. A list of all current and planned trials is publicly available on Ofwat’s website, which can be found here.

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 Annex 1 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Impact assessment, published in May 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the timing of the update of the National Policy Statement for Waste Water on sewerage capacity.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will speed up and streamline the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure.

As indicated in Annex 1 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill impact assessment, the Bill includes statutory timeframes for relevant National Policy Statements to be updated. Defra owns the National Policy Statement on wastewater, and it will be updated in line with this new statutory requirement. Once updated this will provide developers with heightened certainty enabling a smoother planning process.

The National Policy Statement sets out the process for development consent applications for major wastewater infrastructure. These major infrastructure projects fall within the definition of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) as defined in the Planning Act 2008.

Sewerage undertakers are required to prepare, publish and maintain Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs). DWMPs set out how the sewerage undertaker intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances. These plans will help sewerage companies to fully assess the capacity of the drainage and wastewater network and develop collaborative solutions to current problems and future issues.

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 potential impact of sewage discharge into (a) rivers and (b) coastal waters on public health in West Dorset constituency.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) South West regional team provides specialist advice and guidance on a range of public health threats to system partners across the South West region. This informs risk and needs assessments and includes routine surveillance to detect and manage exceedances of Gastro-Intestinal illnesses across the South West.

As part of the historic £10 billion of investment by water companies on storm overflow improvements in Asset Management Period 8 (2025-2030), in the West Dorset Constituency, Wessex Water plan to investigate 30 frequently spilling overflows and improve a further 18. The upcoming Progress Report on the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan (SODRP), scheduled for publication later this year, will include assessment of Wessex Water’s progress toward the Human Health (bathing water) target. This target requires water companies to improve all storm overflows affecting designated bathing water sites by 2035, reducing sewage-related risks to human health.

The UK and Welsh Governments have launched an Independent Water Commission, chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe, to recommend reforms to reset the water sector and ultimately serve both customers and the environment. His Interim Report was published on 03 June 2025; the report's findings can be found at Independent Water Commission publishes interim findings - GOV.UK. The final report and recommendations will be published later in the summer. These recommendations are expected to form the basis of further legislation to attract long-term investment and clean up our waters for good.

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 help mitigate the risks of coastal flooding associated with rising sea levels.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.

Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, this government is investing a record £2.65 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 for the construction of new flood schemes, and the maintenance and repair of existing ones.

With this funding, 1,000 flood schemes have been or will continue to be supported, better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to simplify regulatory requirements for community hydroelectric schemes; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on his (a) net zero and (b) other green energy targets.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government makes full use of the comprehensive and wide ranging environmental regulatory framework in England. Defra and the Environment Agency have contributed to HMT’s Regulatory Action Plan and other recent reviews into regulatory effectiveness, including the review led by Dan Corry.

We remain committed to upholding high environmental standards to protect our natural environment and local communities when supporting new infrastructure and development, including community hydroelectric schemes.

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 (a) powers and (b) funding available to local authorities to enforce smoke control areas.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra continues to support local authorities who have declared or are exploring declaring smoke control areas.

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 farmers following changes in the level of funding for mental health support; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of this change on rural communities.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra are continuing to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This funds charities to deliver projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. In the Hon. Member’s county, the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network is in receipt of funding and actively delivering projects specifically tailored to engage and support young people living, entering and working within the farming industry. The project will focus on education, resilience and the provision of 1:1 support.

For 2025/26, total Government mental health spending is forecast to amount to £15.6 billion. This represents a significant uplift of £680 million in cash terms in spending on mental health compared to the previous financial year

In addition, integrated care boards, including those with rural areas, are forecast to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard over the 2025/26 financial year, meaning that local health services will invest a greater share of their budgets into frontline mental health services.

As part of our commitment to mental health, the Government will hire 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes.

Rural communities, including farmers, will benefit from this increased spending.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the agriculture budget will be spent in South Shropshire constituency.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

At February’s NFU Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies to put money in the pockets of farmers in South Shropshire, and across the country.

We remain committed to a farming budget of £2.4 billion for 2025/25 and are on track to do so.

We will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome; and we are making £110 million available for new grant competitions to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure appropriate biosecurity checks are carried out on (a) vehicles and (b) goods arriving from France to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD), following a further confirmed case in Hungary, close to the Austrian border.

The Government has already banned personal imports of cattle, sheep and other ruminants and pig meat as well as dairy products, from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria earlier this year in response to confirmed outbreaks of FMD in those countries.

We recognise the risk posed by illegal imports via personal imports. Border Force officers are responsible for detention and seizure of any illegal products of animal origin (POAO) and Defra is working closely with authorities at points of entry to help control the illegal movement of POAO into Great Britain in personal imports.

Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether farmers currently on expiring Higher Level Stewardship agreements will be eligible for the new payment rates if they (a) renew and (b) transition to Environmental Land Management schemes.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Farmers whose Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement expired in 2024 and that expire in 2025 have been offered an extension to their agreement. If they accept this extension, then they will benefit from the increases in the HLS rates. An individual's payments increase will depend on the options in their agreement.

Most HLS agreements will naturally expire in 2028. We are reviewing our approach to transitioning farmers from existing agreements into new schemes. Where a farmer makes a new application, they will be entitled to the rates applicable to the scheme they choose as payment rates are set according to the scheme.

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 trends in the levels of recycling rates for (a) plastic, (b) metal and (c) glass beverage containers.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has not made an assessment of trends in the levels of recycling rates for plastic, metal and glass beverage containers.

However, Defra’s Impact Assessment for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) uses external estimates of the recycling rates for beverage containers made of specific materials for specific years –

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2024/217/pdfs/ukia_20240217_en.pdf

Defra more routinely publishes annual statistics on the total amount of UK packaging waste that is recycled broken down by material types. The following table shows the amount of packing waste recycled by material types for 2023. The amount of recycled packaging is based on tonnages reported by accredited reprocessors and exporters under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations.

Table1: Packaging waste and recycling, split by material, UK 2023 (thousand tonnes and % rate)

Notes

* ‘Other’ includes materials such as cloth, corks, gel, glue, hessian sacks and wax used as packaging

Arisings estimates made at point of manufacture.

UK packaging waste figures by material types for 2012 to 2023 can be found in the UK statistics on waste dataset: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of total UK fish stocks by (a) tonnage and (b) species will remain subject to EU access under the agreement to extend EU access to British territorial waters to June 2038; and what the UK's quotas will be in that period.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Annex 38 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement sets out which quota and non-quota stocks are subject to access arrangements. The new access arrangements announced on 19 May will give the UK and EU access to the same fish stocks.

UK and EU shares of quota stocks are listed in Annex 35 and tables A, B and F of Annex 36 and these shares will remain fixed from 2026 onwards. The average tonnage of non-quota stocks the UK and EU can fish in each other’s waters will remain fixed at the current average tonnage defined in Annex 38.

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 policy paper entitled UK-EU Summit: Explainer, updated on 19 May 2025, what proportion of UK fish stocks will be subject to shared access with the EU under the new 12-year access arrangement.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Annex 38 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement sets out which quota and non-quota stocks are subject to access arrangements. The new access arrangements announced on 19 May will give the UK and EU access to the same fish stocks.

UK and EU shares of quota stocks are listed in Annex 35 and tables A, B and F of Annex 36 and these shares will remain fixed from 2026 onwards. The average tonnage of non-quota stocks the UK and EU can fish in each other’s waters will remain fixed at the current average tonnage defined in Annex 38.

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 policy paper entitled UK-EU Summit: Explainer, updated on 19 May 2025, whether he plans to provide financial support to fishers impacted by the new 12-year access arrangement.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Alongside a new twelve-year fisheries access agreement with the EU, we have announced a comprehensive twelve-year Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund. Fishing and coastal communities will benefit from the £360 million investment to drive growth and boost the sector for the future.

We will work with the industry to target investment where it matters most. For example, by considering investment in new technology and equipment to modernise Britain’s fishing fleet, deliver new training and skills to back the next generation of fishers and promote the seafood sector to export our high-quality produce across the world.

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 plans to take to improve standards for kept animals.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department is engaging with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more details on this in due course.

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 made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility criteria of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund to include all poultry.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Grants for Animal Health and Welfare items remain focused on the most commonly farmed species: pigs, dairy cows, beef cattle, laying chickens, broiler chickens and sheep. No new assessment was conducted on expanding eligibility to additional species for this round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). Productivity and slurry items offered as part of FETF remain available to all eligible poultry keepers.

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 encourage (a) vets and (b) other people who interact with farmers to be trained on signposting farmers to health and support services.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra funds the Farmer Welfare Grant. This funds charities to deliver projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One consortium of charities, led by The Farmer Network, is delivering mental health first aid training to agricultural communities in the North of England, including Yorkshire. Recipients of this training, including farmers and farm businesses, reported a 100% increase in their knowledge and confidence of talking about mental health following this training.

Defra has set up a dedicated team to address the particular set of issues driving poor mental health outcomes in the farming and agricultural sector. One of the team’s top aims is to. improve awareness of mental health in frontline staff and ensuring frontline Defra staff are appropriately trained to deal with vulnerable customers.

Defra’s Farming and Countryside representatives were all provided training on the issue of mental health in the sector by the charity “We Are Farming Minds” facilitated by Mind in May 2025. This was in readiness for extensive outreach activity attending agricultural shows and auction marts.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers are (a) enrolled in the Higher Level Stewardship scheme and (b) expected to receive an uplift in payments from January 2025 in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Fylde constituency.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I can confirm that there are 164 live Higher Level Stewardship-related agreements that fall within the Lancashire County that should receive an uplift. This figure is spread across 16 constituencies in Lancashire and includes constituencies (Morecambe and Lunesdale & Southport) that are spread across county lines. None fall within the Fylde constituency.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to re-issue guidance to local authorities on requests from owners who have exempted their XL Bully dogs to keep their pets in social housing.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Guidance on the ban on XL Bullies is available on GOV.UK

In relation to keeping XL Bully dogs in social housing, or other rented accommodation, it is for the housing provider to decide their own policies on whether they permit tenants to keep exempted banned breed types.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 38171 on Farmers: Lancashire, how much and what proportion of the Farming Recovery Fund has been allocated to support the mental health and wellbeing of farmers in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Farming Recovery Fund provided a recovery payment for farmers who have suffered uninsurable damage from notably high main river flooding following Storms Babet and Henk or fall within an area which we have determined to be in receipt of exceptionally high rainfall during October 2023 to March 2024.

Lancashire did not fall into an eligible area.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of local abattoir closures on small-scale livestock farmers; and what steps his Department is taking to support the viability of local meat processing infrastructure in rural areas.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs, and the accompanying infrastructure play in supporting local livestock producers, sustaining rare and native breeds, providing skilled employment opportunities and maintaining a resilient, competitive food supply chain.

Defra is aware of the potential impacts local abattoir closures can have on small-scale livestock farmers, including reduced access to slaughter facilities and increased costs. While the wider meat processing sector remains resilient, we understand the unique pressures faced by some smaller operators.

To support the viability of smaller abattoirs, Defra continues to work closely with sector stakeholders including through the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These groups help identify challenges faced by the sector and support the development of practical solutions to improve sustainability.

It is recognised that there are many different and varied reasons why abattoirs close, and that closures can impact the access livestock producers have to local slaughter facilities. While the Government does not intervene in individual business decisions, it is committed to working with the sector to help, where possible, mitigate pressures abattoirs face.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 47556 on Animal Housing, what his Department's planned timeline is for sharing the findings of their review into banning the use of cages.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is a multifaceted issue with many factors that need to be carefully considered.

The Department has initiated a series of meetings with key stakeholders as part of the development of an overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more detail of plans in due course.

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 with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to incentivise manufacturers to design electrical products with longer lifespans to support (a) sustainability and (b) the circular economy.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy. We have convened the Circular Economy Taskforce, composed of experts from industry, academia, and civil society, to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy will be accompanied by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis, including a roadmap for electricals and electronic equipment.

While led by Defra, development of the strategy is a cross-government effort based on close collaboration between departments, including the Department for Business and Trade. Therefore, the strategy will reflect the needs and insights of industry leaders, trade associations, and other key stakeholders within the sector while improving lives up and down the country, growing our economy, and protecting our environment for generations to come.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 50256 on Farms: Lancashire, what measures his Department plans to introduce in the next phase of the Landscape Recovery programme; and how these measures will support farmers in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As a core element of the Environmental Land Management schemes, Landscape Recovery is uniquely placed to provide large-scale, long-term benefits for nature, delivering improvements to biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality, flood resilience and food security.

We have been gathering feedback and evaluating how the Landscape Recovery scheme is working, including from those projects in development near to and within the Fylde and Lancashire areas – namely the Brock & Calder Landscape Recovery Project and The West Pennines More Nature Partnership.

Landscape Recovery projects that were awarded funding in rounds one and two are continuing, and projects in the first round are moving into the delivery phase.

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 potential impact of the proposed Fens Reservoir at Chatteris on Chatteris Airfield.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Anglian Water is responsible for the development of the Fens reservoir. Proposals will be consulted on and will follow the requirements of the National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure. A traffic and transport assessment is currently underway and further information will be shared with communities as part of the next phase of consultation this Autumn.

Anglian Water plans to submit the application for a Development Consent Order in 2027. After which determination of the application by the Secretary of State is expected in 2028/29 and should Development Consent be granted, construction of the reservoir could start in 2029/30.

A socio-economic strategy for the project is being developed with input from the local authorities and community and includes assessing the number of jobs that could be created both during construction and operation.

Anglian Water is carrying out extensive land referencing, and the company’s approach is to seek to acquire land by negotiation, as far as possible. In support of this approach, the project has established a ‘Land Engagement Forum’, established in 2023 to complement the ongoing and direct engagement offered to all land and property owners.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the volume of trade is that is required to be processed through each additional border control post constructed in the UK as a result of the UK exiting the EU.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not hold information on what volumes of trade are required to be processed via individual border control posts due to the UK leaving the EU.

The Government has worked with commercial ports to ensure that the infrastructure required to facilitate trade is in place, while also respecting the discretion of port operators and other stakeholders to make decisions on a commercial basis about the use of their infrastructure and facilities.

Further information on which ports are designated as BCPs, is available on GOV.UK. Animals, animal products and HRFNAO imports: authorised border control posts in the UK - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Land Use Framework will be updated to include details on wildfires.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government consulted on land use in England earlier this year. While it did not specifically ask about wildfires, the consultation included questions on how we could better support landowners and land managers to adapt to climate change impacts. The consultation responses are being analysed and will inform the Land Use Framework that will be published in due course.

In 2024 and 2025, the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional national wildfire capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to wildfire risk, and to ensure coordination of approaches across sectors.

Defra regularly engages with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and other Government departments in addition to bodies such as the National Fire Chiefs Council and the England and Wales Wildfire Forum, to monitor and review sector-led improvements and mitigations. Defra also encourages landowners and land managers to undertake wildfire risk assessments and consider mitigating actions as part of good quality wildfire management plans.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of installing new flood mitigations in Maulden, Bedfordshire.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency (EA) recognises the impact of the flooding that residents of Maulden experienced following the severe weather events of 2024. Following events such as these, the immediate focus moves to recovery; Risk Management Authorities in the area have been and continue to work hard to progress this work.

Central Bedfordshire Council are leading flood risk studies in Maulden and nearby in Clophill to identify potential options to reduce flood risk in the future. These studies are being funded by the local Regional Flood and Coastal Committee and are expected to complete this financial year.

Whilst this work progresses, the EA and Central Bedfordshire Council, alongside other partners have worked to implement additional maintenance works in Maulden aimed at improving local flood resilience and the EA has offered support to the local Flood Action Group.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to improve sustainable drainage since July 2024.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to requiring standardised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in new developments. These should be to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits, reduce run off and help to improve water quality, amenity, and biodiversity. It is also important to ensure appropriate adoption and maintenance arrangements are in place.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 50256 on Farms: Lancashire, whether his Department plans to consult (a) farmers and (b) industry stakeholders on the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive before announcing further details.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for establishing water consumer panels.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As announced in July 2024, consumers will gain powers to hold water company bosses to account through powerful new customer panels. The Water (Special Measures) Act now provides Ofwat with the power to make rules on company governance, including rules which achieve having arrangements in place for involving consumers in decisions that are likely to have an impact on consumer matters.

Ofwat will conduct a consultation this summer that will determine the new rule and allow for the establishment of the panels.

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 monitor Higher Level Stewardship payments to ensure they deliver (a) measurable environmental benefits and (b) value for money in (i) rural communities and (ii) Fylde constituency.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Extensions to Higher Level Stewardships (HLS) agreements have been offered to all based on meeting specific eligibility requirements and an assessment that the current agreement continues to meet its expected environmental outcomes. This provides value for money and delivers environmental benefits in rural communities. No HLS agreements fall within the Flyde constituency.

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 trends in the level of breakage rate of glass beverage containers in kerbside collections.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has not made an assessment on the breakage rate of glass beverage contains in kerbside collections.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle littering; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging companies to increase (a) customer education on littering and (b) development of biodegradable packing.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Litter is a blight on our communities and the environment. Local councils are responsible for keeping streets clear of litter and have been given enforcement powers to help them do so.

The Government is targeting some of the most commonly littered items to reduce the presence of these on our streets. The sale of single-use vapes was banned on 1 June and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers which can be redeemed when the empty container is returned. Litter composition data indicates that 55% of litter by volume is made up of containers in-scope of DRS. DRS will significantly reduce this form of litter.

The UK is a leading voice in the negotiations for a new international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution and has taken an ambitious stance at all sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC). We have called for an agreement that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics, in order to end plastic pollution by 2040. The UK will continue to work with other countries, including as a member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, to reach an ambitious agreement at the resumed session in August 2025.

We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging companies to increase customer education on littering or on developing more biodegradable packaging. We remain concerned that many types of plastic labelled as biodegradable do not actually break down in the natural environment, and that people may be more likely to litter these items.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Independent Water Commission has made on producing its final recommendations.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will recommend reforms to reset the water sector and is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. It is considering a wide range of areas, as set out in the Commission’s Call for Evidence.

The Commission’s Interim Report was published on 03 June 2025; the report's findings can be found at Independent Water Commission publishes interim findings - GOV.UK. The final report and recommendations will be published later in the summer.

These recommendations are expected to form the basis of further legislation to attract long-term investment and clean up our waters for good.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to improve the (a) timeliness and (b) efficiency of the Environment Agency’s response to pre-application advice requests from (i) Stockport Hydro and (ii) other small-scale renewable energy producers.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Stockport Hydro scheme was licensed by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2011/2012 and there are no current pre-application enquiries or licence applications from them. The Environment Agency has dealt with over 100 pre-application enquiries over the last 8 years concerning hydropower schemes of various sizes.

Applicants are urged to make use of the enhanced pre-application service which supports applicants to apply for the right type of licences with the correct supporting information and reduces the likelihood of delays to decisions. There is clear written guidance on gov.uk for applicants.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers in South Northamptonshire with sustainable agriculture practices.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

At February’s National Farming Union Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies to put money in the pockets of farmers in South Northamptonshire and across the country.

We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget over two years and are on track to do so. This is the highest budget for sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our history.

We will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the re-formed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.

We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome; and we are making £110 million available for new grant competitions to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to implement recommendation 23 of the report entitled Delivering economic growth and nature recovery: an independent review of Defra’s regulatory landscape, published on 2 April 2025.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has welcomed the publication of Dan Corry’s review of Defra’s regulatory landscape and confirmed that it is actively considering all 29 recommendations. The Government also confirmed that work is already underway on nine key measures with the greatest impact for growth and nature recovery, which are being fast-tracked.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost was of each additional order border control post constructed in the UK as a result of the UK's departure from the EU.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Through the Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF), the Government provided grants totalling nearly £200 million to 41 ports to construct infrastructure required for import controls following the UK leaving the EU.

Information on ports which received funding from the Ports Infrastructure Fund is
available on GOV.UK: Port Infrastructure Fund - successful applicants - GOV.UK.

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 increase the recycling rate of glass beverage containers.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government has set ambitious recycling targets under the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) regulations, with annual increases to glass packaging. The packaging recycling target for glass in 2025 is 74% and will increase to 85% by 2030. Modulation of pEPR fees, which will be introduced from year two of the scheme, will be used to disincentivise packaging formats that are not readily recyclable by placing higher fees on these packaging materials.

The Government has also introduced the Simpler Recycling reforms, which will ensure that every household and workplace (businesses and relevant non-domestic premises like schools and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials, including glass.

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 potential impact of his Department's (a) rewilding and (b) land use policies on the amount of land available for (i) farming and (ii) food production.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Land Use Consultation published this year was underpinned by analysis of land use change for nature restoration and other objectives. This included analysis of potential spatial distributions of change to 2050, taking account of land’s suitability for food production. This analysis is set out in the Analytical Annex published alongside the consultation. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and feedback on this analysis and will take them into account in the preparation of the Land Use Framework, the forthcoming food strategy and future UK Food Security Reports.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 39813 on Air Pollution, whether the discussions his Department is having with the Met Office on areas for improvement includes the Air Quality Information Systems Review recommendation to review, update and expand the existing alert systems.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The department is engaging with the Met Office to deliver improvements to the pollution forecasts and alerts service.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people who do not (a) sign up to receive alerts and (b) actively check the UK-AIR website are alerted to high air pollution events.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The department has begun work to develop, test and launch a new air quality alert system which will make it easier for the public to sign up to receive alerts when high levels of pollution are expected.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on (a) which water companies are planning to trial seasonal water tariffs and (b) the timetables for those trials.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All companies plan to trial new charging structures by 2030. A list of all current and planned trials is publicly available on Ofwat’s website, which can be found here.

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 potential impact of Extended Producer Responsibility measures in relation to glass on the cost of a (a) bottled beer and (b) pint of beer in a pub.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.

On 20 December 2024 Defra published the third version of pEPR illustrative base fees for year 1 ahead of PackUK releasing formal communications in June 2025. Base fees, to invoice producers from October 2025, are expected to be calculated in June 2025 using data reported by producers for the full year of 2024. Fees will apply to bottled beer, but not a pint of beer served in a pub as this is served without packaging.

The Government has worked closely with industry, including the glass sector, throughout development of pEPR and developing the methodology for base fees. Feedback from stakeholders was factored into finalising the regulations, including formally consulting stakeholders on a draft of the pEPR regulations in 2023.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ensure that food producers are not undercut by imports produced to lower standards.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. We recognise farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to promote the highest food production standards. We will protect farmers from being undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support has been provided to farmers in Fylde constituency under Environmental Land Management schemes since January 2024.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is providing a record level of funding for the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes as part of the £5 billion it has secured over the 24/25 and 25/26 financial years for farmers across England, including Fylde.

Since 1 January 2024, the Rural Payments Agency has issued payments totalling £2,277,556 to farmers in the Fylde constituency under the ELM schemes.

Found: development within the new draft NPS also risks undermining efforts by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: One opportunity is to solve the mismatch between government departments such as DEFRA and the Rural

Found: on the environment of interest to government and business; we advise the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: the buyers and beneficiaries of imaging and geospatial data), such as the Environment Agency or DEFRA

Found: In fact, the Mauritian Prime Minister met with the Defra Secretary of State in the margins of the third

Found: heard from an expert panel and senior responsible civil servants including the Permanent Secretary of Defra

Found: the UK Government Timber Procurement Policy (TPP) which was set out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Street London SW1P 4DF T: +44 (0) 3459 335577 E: correspondence.section@defra.gov.uk W: gov.uk/defra

Found: signal of investment in flood resilience, and of not just limiting it to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: We understand that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) continues to develop

Found: BSI Nature Investment Standards Programme (NISP) In collaboration with Defra, BSI launched the Nature

Found: signal of investment in flood resilience, and of not just limiting it to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: On the 28th of February 2025 the Circular Economy Minister, responding on behalf of Defra, stated that

Found: signal of investment in flood resilience, and of not just limiting it to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Correspondence from DEFRA relating to Not for EU labeling, dated 5 June 2025. Correspondence

Found: had a strong background in both dairy, through his rural constituency, and biosciences, through his DEFRA

Found: the national level with the introduction spatial plans like the Land Use Framework being led by DEFRA

Found: review (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67ef87e9e9c76fa33048c7a9/da n-corry-review-defra-regulatory-landscape.pdf

Found: .  Lack of an overarching national spatial framework that consolidates the priorities of MHCLG, Defra

Found: 0.355 From the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA

Found: In England, we are working closely with the MMO and DEFRA to ensure we are aligned on the evidence base

Found: It is in part in this context that we are now investigating whether Defra and the Environment Agency

Found: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Defra should take a more active role in enabling regional working, for example by collecting catchment-based

Found: infrastructure.6 But borrow they did. 6 The Development of the Water Industry in England & Wales, Ofwat, Defra

Found: of that investigation, the OEP identified failures in England to comply with environmental law by Defra

Found: The Committee called on Defra, Ofwat and the Environment Agency to take urgent action to ensure a reliable

Found: The prospect of environmental land management schemes on their own reducing water pollution 1 Defra

Found: CCW has a very good working relationship with Defra, Ofwat and the Environment Agency, and this has

Found: environmental regulations, the water sector - regulated by the Environment Agency (EA), Ofwat, and Defra

Found: Street London SW1P 4DF T: +44 (0) 3459 335577 E: correspondence.section@defra.gov.uk W: gov.uk/defra

Found: That is the fundamental flaw, and that was the question that DEFRA itself found difficult to answer

Found: That is the fundamental flaw, and that was the question that DEFRA itself found difficult to answer

Found: We need to join things up across Home Office, Defra, HMRC and us and then DBT on the trade policy side

Found: Steve Reed MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the barriers to mental health support for farmers in isolated communities.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we recognise that those living and working in isolated communities, including farmers, may face particular challenges in accessing the mental health services that they need.

Specifically in relation to farmers and agricultural communities, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is supporting access to farmer mental health support services by funding the Farmer Welfare Grant. This aids organisations in delivering projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One recipient, the Farming Community Network, is using the funding to expand their FarmWell platform. This online resource provides business and personal resilience advice on topics including mental health, isolation, depression, and suicide.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is also developing options in consultation with communities, farming support organisations, and experts across the Government, as to how it can further support the Department for Health and Social Care’s investment in mental health interventions for those in agricultural communities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers experiencing mental health difficulties in rural areas.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We know that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we recognise that those living and working in isolated communities, including farmers, may face particular challenges in accessing the mental health services that they need.

Specifically in relation to farmers and agricultural communities, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is supporting access to farmer mental health support services by funding the Farmer Welfare Grant. This aids organisations in delivering projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One recipient, the Farming Community Network, is using the funding to expand their FarmWell platform. This online resource provides business and personal resilience advice on topics including mental health, isolation, depression, and suicide.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is also developing options in consultation with communities, farming support organisations, and experts across the Government, as to how it can further support the Department for Health and Social Care’s investment in mental health interventions for those in agricultural communities.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how responsibility for animal welfare policy is divided between (a) his Department, (b) the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and (c) the Home Office; and who the lead ministers are.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is responsible for technology policy around the development, validation and uptake of alternative testing methods, led by Lord Vallance. The Home Office is responsible for regulation of the use of animals in research under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which is the legislation that protects animals used for scientific purposes, led by Lord Hanson. Defra is responsible for enacting and enforcing the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which outlines the basic duty of care for animals, led by Baroness Hayman. Defra also develops and implements specific animal welfare regulations, such as animal transport.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the research presented to the Scottish government on ultra high frequency electronic identification technology in livestock.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

Farming policy is a devolved matter, and the Government has not formally assessed the impact of the Scottish Government's decision. Defra officials are working closely with devolved administrations to ensure compliance with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020).

In the recent UK-EU joint statement, the Government committed to building on the Windsor Framework and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to reduce trade barriers.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending a statutory duty on flood response to the Fire and Rescue Service.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this government. In Autumn 2024, as the minister previously responsible for fire, the Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson asked officials to undertake further work alongside Defra and other relevant partners to understand in more detail if there are gaps in the fire and rescue services flooding response and resilience system.

Fire and Rescue Authorities have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. Fire Rescue Authorities also have discretionary powers to respond to incidents under their core functions in the Fire and Rescue Services Act (2004) and in response to the risks set out in their Community Risk Management Plans prepared under the National Framework. At this time, a clear rationale for introducing a statutory duty has not been determined.

However, MHCLG officials and representatives of fire and rescue services will continue to work with Defra, as the lead government department for flooding, and its partners to understand the challenges that fire and rescue services face and consider how best to ensure that all partners involved in flood response have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

Found: Defra (2024). Farming evidence - key statistics (accessible version). GOV.UK. 42. Defra (2024).

Found: Communities Culture, Media and Sport Science, Innovation & Tech Transport Energy Security and Net Zero Defra

Found: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) publishes On-farm welfare codes of practice

Found: applying for compensation for the removal of waste.61 The minister also said the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Support for farmers

Change regulations to allow dogs of all sizes to travel in the cabin on flights to and from the UK, where airline safety policies permit. Work with DEFRA, the CAA, and airlines to create safe, humane rules that support pet welfare and passenger comfort.

Found: Work with DEFRA, the CAA, and airlines to create safe, humane rules that support pet welfare and passenger

Found: consenting Government departments: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Department for Environment; Food and Rural Affairs

Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire APPG
Tuesday 10th June 2025

Found: been involved as much as they should in the development of the Devolution White Paper, in particular DEFRA

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: introduced himself as a former director general of the Ministry for Primary Industries, the equivalent of Defra

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: responsible biotech use, while the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ (Defra) 2023 Farm Practices Survey found that

East of England APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: responsibility of your Department and will therefore also be writing to the Secretaries of State for DEFRA

East of England APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: on clean energy, Net Zero and Climate change - follow up letters have been sent to both DESNZ and DEFRA

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Lord Cameron of Dillington Guest speakers: Dr Penny Hundleby, John Innes Centre Dr Louise Ball, Defra

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: London: Cabinet Office Strategy Unit, 2008. 13 Defra. Food 2030 strategy.

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Defra, pp. 1–41.

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Health UK Phil McNaughton, British Sugar Stakeholder attendees: Professor Gideon Henderson, Defra

Sustainable Flood and Drought Management APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Caroline Dinenage MP Tim for Ian Sollom MP David Jenkins (Speaker – RFCC) Laura Lutkoski (Speaker – Defra

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: within the different departments of the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Defra is a ministerial department, supported by 34 agencies and public bodies. © Crown copyright 2024

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Because of Defra, agriculture sits on its own within government but it is an important sector of British

East of England APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Daniel Zeichner MP, DEFRA Minister of State, addressed the audience and welcomed the report’s launch

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Animal, Volume 15, Supplement 1, 100294 [80] Defra and UKRI.

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: coordination between carbon calculators following the publication in February of the ADAS report for Defra

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: England’s Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) notification system allows research

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: highlight the need for an evidence- based approach to policy development, for example calling on Defra

Small Modular Reactors APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: had a particular problem in the UK with using energy or pink hydrogen as an environment minister in DEFRA

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: The latest available Defra statistics group oilseeds with maize and protein crops, together totalling

Microplastics APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: manifesto commitments, the possibility of starting an EDM on this issue, and further meetings with DEFRA

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Group Agriculture Director, 2 Sisters Food Group Stakeholder attendees: Dr Richard Lloyd-Mills, Defra

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Manager, Simplot Plant Sciences Stakeholder attendees: Rebecca Sudworth, FSA; Richard Lloyd-Mills, Defra

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Rothamsted Research; Saskia Hervey, Earlham Institute; Dr Richard Harrison, WUR; Dr Louise Ball, Defra

Ocean APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: While Defra holds departmental responsibility, the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Fire Safety and Rescue APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Government and partners: We have engaged heavily with FCDO colleagues and the Environment Agency, through DEFRA

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: 2023 – July 2024 David Rutley MP FCDO Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (joint with FCDO and Defra

Scientific APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Kew is a non-departmental government body with exempt charitable status, partially funded by Defra.

Scientific APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero Professor Paul Monks Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Waterways APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: attendance by video were officials from the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: The Royal Society Stakeholders: Jon Williams, BASF; Prof Johnathan Napier, RRes; Tim Mordan, Defra

Scientific APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Kew is a non-departmental government body with exempt charitable status, partially funded by Defra.

Waterways APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Ben Wallace MP, Sir Roger Gale MP, Chi Onwurah MP Also in attendance by video were officials from Defra

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Indeed, Defra chief scientist Professor Gideon Henderson referred to ruminant livestock as the ‘low

Ocean APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Although DEFRA have planned to pilot 5 HPMAs in English waters, the APPG for the Ocean wants to see

Animal Welfare APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: publications Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Scientific APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Kew is a non-departmental government body with exempt charitable status, partially funded by Defra.

Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: breeder & Adjunct Professor of Biology, University of British Colombia Attendees: Dr Janet Talling, Defra

Cats APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Defra has promised a consutation but this hasn’t yet happened – Scotland is ahead on this. 4 - Recruitment

Tidy Britain APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Dunne MP, Chair of Environmental Audit Committee David Gell, Policy Lead for Deposit Return Schemes, Defra

Scientific APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Next Professor Gideon Henderson, Defra Chief Scientist, was questioned by the panel members.

Waterways APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Kruger MP, Brendan Clarke MP and Maggie Throup MP Also in attendance by video were officials from Defra

Parks and Green Spaces APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: , Housing and Communities (DLHUC) and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA

Found: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Q1 2025 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: 709 687 0 22 18 Department for Energy Security and Net Zero 372 339 0 33 147 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: govuk-table__cell">Q1 2025

Found: Dr Kulin Kantilal PATEL Veterinary Advisor for International Trade, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found:

Found: DEFRA) and international (e.g.

Found: disease prevention and overall gut health improvement Regulatory Bodies (e.g., Food Standards Agency, Defra

Found: gross efficiencies (%) 2.5% 3.7% 4.8% 2.103 The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra

Found: Sports Sector 34,898 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2,241,203 80.6% 80.6% 82.6% Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Department for Education • Department for Energy Security and Net Zero • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: FCDO, DESNZ and Defra will maintain progress on the UK’s domestic and international objectives on clean

Found: FCDO, DESNZ and Defra will maintain progress on the UK’s domestic and international objectives on clean

Found: are published on individual local authority webpages and submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: 9.7cm in males, measured as mantle length, equivalent to a body weight of 1 - 2.4kg for females (DEFRA

Found: & Slaughter Regulations, as administered by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra

Found: Plant) kW/tonne CO2 Table S4.3 Large combustion plant Performance parameters for reporting to DEFRA

Found: These gas turbines have the DEFRA LCP reference numbers LCP202 and LCP203.

Found: Large Combustion Plant(s) description and number The Permit uses the DEFRA LCP reference numbers to

Found: Details The Environment Agency gives notice that it has submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: We work as part of the Defra group (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs), with the rest

Found: We work as part of the Defra group (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs), with the rest

Found: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: shall have the meaning given to it in the document published jointly by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: (iv) R1 Calculation and the DEFRA Good Quality CHP Scheme The R1 calculation does not form part of

Found: Department for Transport, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: policy related projects funded by the Food Standards Agency, Safefood - Food Safety Promotions Board, DEFRA

Found: digitalisation and the future of work, during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Scottish Futures Trust = ‘smarter’ working expertise & access to Europe-wide learning • Welsh Govt, DEFRA

Found: DEFRA) also seek to follow those. 4.

Found: Justice, Department for Transport, Food Standards Agency (until 31 March 2015), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: gas oil reconciliation including the bottom up NRMM recalculations to incorporate revisions to the Defra

Found: Introduction The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Statistics release, on which

Found: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published a separate code of practice for