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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to co-ordinate the response to the threat of H5N1 and H5N5 transmission to companion animals, cattle, domestic poultry, wild birds and humans.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery as set out in the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England, Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain and the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. This includes working closely to share information and manage incidents with the Department for Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency and the Food Standards Agency.

In addition, international collaboration and knowledge exchange on the threat of avian influenza from across Government is coordinated by Defra and facilitated through discussions between the UK Chief Veterinary Officer and representatives from Defra policy teams and APHA’s avian influenza national and international reference laboratories, and their global counterparts through the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Quadripartite Organisations and allied projects. Including through the the joint World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Scientific Network on animal influenza OFFLU.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the report of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in released pheasants in Worcestershire resulting in mass mortality, what estimate they have made of the number of pheasants and other birds killed; what assessment they have made of the impact of released pheasants on the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza; and what plans they have, if any, to increase disease surveillance of game birds.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carries out year-round surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dead wild birds, including wild gamebirds, in Great Britain and publishes results on GOV.UK. These can be explored through APHA’s interactive map and dashboard available at GOV.UK

To ensure our approach to disease control reflects any risk these activities pose, APHA has assessed the impact gamebird releases have on the likelihood of transmission of avian influenza to wild birds, and between wild birds and kept birds. The need to update this risk assessment in response to new scientific evidence or veterinary advice or significant changes in the epidemiological situation is kept under review as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza.

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 ensure (a) internships and (b) job opportunities in (i) his Department and (ii) its non-departmental public bodies are open to all applicants.

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

The core department complies with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles by ensuring that appointments to the Civil Service are made on the basis of merit following a fair and open competition. Defra’s Non-Departmental Public Bodies are accredited by The Civil Service Commission, which means the relevant HR Policies are similarly compliant with the Recruitment Principles.

Internships in both the core department and Defra’s Non-Departmental Public Bodies are commonly linked to a specific scheme or programme. They are therefore open to all applicants who meet the relevant advertised entry requirements of the individual scheme or programme.

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 improve border infrastructure for importing (a) large plants and (b) trees.

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

Defra continues to work with port operators to ensure that there are effective import inspections of large plants and trees to maintain the UK’s high biosecurity standards, including ensuring equipment is available to handle goods. Defra has laid legislation which will implement an exemption to enable certain large commodities to be unloaded and inspected in outside areas at these facilities, subject to certain requirements. This will come into force on 30 January 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the (a) River Rother and (b) River Hipper was last dredged.

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

The Environment Agency has no record of dredging the rivers Rother and Hipper during the last 10 years. The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes dredging to manage flood risk where it is technically effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream and is environmentally acceptable.

In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue.

Since 2009, the EA has spent the following amounts on dredging rivers.

Note that more funding was used on dredging in 2016/17 mainly due the winter floods of 2015/16 and an additional £40 million resource funding that was announced in March 2016. This allowed teams to undertake more maintenance activities, including dredging.

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 (a) adequacy of flood warnings and (b) potential merits of steps to ensure they are as (i) timely and (ii) accurate as possible.

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

There are 1.6 million users in England signed up to the free flood warning service by the Environment Agency (EA) which sends a message directly by voice message, text or email when a flood warning is issued. In November and December 2024, the EA issued over 1,500 Flood Warnings (977 Flood Alerts, 543 Flood Warnings and two Severe Flood Warnings), two million messages were sent directly to the public via email, phone and text. The EA is developing the next flood warning system, ready for launch by the end of 2025. This will deliver a new flood warning capability that is more resilient.

The EA issues Flood Warnings ahead of flooding so that the public can take action to protect their safety and their livelihoods. The EA undertakes reviews on Flood Warnings issued and makes appropriate improvements to the service, this includes improvements to the forecasts and processes to ensure Flood Warnings are as accurate and timely as possible. As a resilience measure the EA has developed an automated warning system to make sure that communities receive Flood Warnings at all times, even for example when there is significant flood risk across the country.

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 number of additional homes in (a) Runcorn and Helsby constituency and (b) the North West at risk of flooding by 2050.

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

On 17 December 2024 the Environment Agency published the ‘National assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk in England 2024’ report on GOV.UK which provides a picture of current and future flood and coastal erosion risk across England.

On 28 January 2025 they will publish the new NaFRA data on check your long term flood risk and on data.gov.uk​ which will cover all of England, including Runcorn and Helsby constituency. This will include the latest UK Climate Projections and the potential impact of climate change on flood risk in areas across England.

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 regular dredging of rivers on flooding.

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

The Environment Agency has no record of dredging the rivers Rother and Hipper during the last 10 years. The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes dredging to manage flood risk where it is technically effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream and is environmentally acceptable.

In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue.

Since 2009, the EA has spent the following amounts on dredging rivers.

Note that more funding was used on dredging in 2016/17 mainly due the winter floods of 2015/16 and an additional £40 million resource funding that was announced in March 2016. This allowed teams to undertake more maintenance activities, including dredging.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Environment Agency has spent on dredging rivers in each year since 2009.

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

The Environment Agency has no record of dredging the rivers Rother and Hipper during the last 10 years. The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes dredging to manage flood risk where it is technically effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream and is environmentally acceptable.

In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue.

Since 2009, the EA has spent the following amounts on dredging rivers.

Note that more funding was used on dredging in 2016/17 mainly due the winter floods of 2015/16 and an additional £40 million resource funding that was announced in March 2016. This allowed teams to undertake more maintenance activities, including dredging.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's policy is on the regular dredging of rivers.

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

The Environment Agency has no record of dredging the rivers Rother and Hipper during the last 10 years. The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes dredging to manage flood risk where it is technically effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream and is environmentally acceptable.

In most places there are much more effective and efficient ways to better protect communities and increase their resilience to flooding, as part of a catchment-based approach. Whilst dredging is part of the solution in some locations, it is not a universal solution to what is a complex issue.

Since 2009, the EA has spent the following amounts on dredging rivers.

Note that more funding was used on dredging in 2016/17 mainly due the winter floods of 2015/16 and an additional £40 million resource funding that was announced in March 2016. This allowed teams to undertake more maintenance activities, including dredging.

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 19 November 2024 to Question 14034 on Flood Control: Gosport, when her Department plans to confirm the list of projects to receive Government flood resilience funding through the Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.

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

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided to Dame Caroline Dinenage on 19 November 2024. The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be consented in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation – in order that allocations are confirmed before the start of the financial year.

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 the conservation of red squirrels.

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

This Government is committed to taking action to recover our threatened native species and delivering our legally binding biodiversity targets on species abundance, species extinction and habitat creation and restoration, which will benefit many of our priority native species including red squirrels.

The leading causes of red squirrel decline in England include the squirrel pox virus, habitat availability and competition from non-native grey squirrels. We are considering how to go further to reduce the impacts of grey squirrels on our woodlands and red squirrel populations and shall have an update 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 his Department will continue to support the Rural Housing Enablers Scheme.

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

The Government is committed to funding the Rural Housing Enabler programme until 31 March 2025.

It is also providing over £5 billion total housing investment in 2025-26 to boost the supply of new housing, including in rural areas. This includes a £500 million top up to the Affordable Homes Programme.

Funding allocations for individual programmes for the next financial year will be determined in upcoming months through the department’s business planning exercise and announced 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 has met representatives of farming businesses in South Suffolk constituency to discuss recent trends in farm incomes.

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

Ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of farming stakeholders, including the National Farmers Union, the Country Land and Business Association, and the Tenant Farmers Association. We will continue to meet with stakeholders to ensure their views are heard.

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 effectiveness of the Hunting Act 2004.

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

Defra holds no data on the adequacy of the effectiveness of the Hunting Act 2004 as the enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on compensation, disinfection of premises and other costs associated with avian flu outbreaks at poultry and game farms, in each of the last five years.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Figures include (i) compensation claims related to the avian influenza compensation scheme; and (ii) operational costs, which includes culling, disposal, and cleaning and disinfection at infected premises.

2023/24 Total costs of £13.1 million, made up of £2.9 million compensation claims and £10.2million of operational costs

2022/23 Total costs of £84.5 million, made up of £38.3 million compensation claims and £46.2 million of operational costs

2021/22 Total costs of £24.8 million, made up of £6.5 million compensation claims and £18.3 million of operational costs

2020/21 Total costs of £4.5 million, made up of £1.5 million compensation claims and £3.0 million of operational costs

2019/20 Total costs of £0.1 million, made up of £0.1 million in operational costs, there were no compensation claims.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of existing measures in place to both respond to, and reduce the risk of, outbreaks of avian flu at poultry and game farms.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra’s approach to avian influenza is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. 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.

All avian influenza disease control and prevention measures are kept under regular review as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza, and all decisions regarding these measures are based on risk assessments containing the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice.

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 financial viability of National Landscapes.

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

This Government is committed to empowering Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder, and more accessible to all. We understand the uncertainty around resourcing remains a challenge for Protected Landscapes bodies like National Landscapes. Defra business planning is ongoing and we will communicate the outcomes of this 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, if the Environment Agency plans to run an internship programme which is open to people from white British backgrounds in 2025.

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

The Environment Agency offers several career entry opportunities open to people from all ethnic backgrounds (including White British backgrounds) who meet the criteria of the specific programme. In 2025 these programmes include:

• Industry Placements (temporary position) – paid 12-month placement in environmental science, engineering and business and communications disciplines)

• Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Quest Scholarship programme (temporary position) - paid 8-week summer placement for engineering students

• Entry level apprenticeships (permanent position) – various entry level apprenticeships usually attached to a permanent role lasting between 12 and 24 months
• Doctoral Training Partnerships (work placement) – University PhD funded short term (4 weeks to 3 months) placements working on collaborative science projects

Further information about career entry opportunities is publicly available on the Environment Agency’s careers website: Early careers - Environment Agency.

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 respond to Question 20371 on Sewers: Private Sector, tabled on 16 December 2024.

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

A response to Question 20371 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible. I apologise for the delay in responding to the Honourable Member.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood that food prices will rise, and of the effect this will have on consumers, particularly those impacted by the increased cost of living.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government cares deeply about the cost of living and food security; therefore, it closely monitors food prices and the factors impacting them. After a period of high inflation experienced during 2022 and 2023, year-on-year food price inflation (based on ONS CPI data) has been at or below 2% since May 2024. In 2025 food price inflation is expected to remain positive, with current industry forecasts indicating an average rate of 3.4% for 2025.

Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers about a number of issues, including to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures. However, it is not for HM Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies. It is for each individual food retailer to take the commercial decision around which products they sell in their stores. This government is committed to ensuring that everyone in Great Britain and Northern Ireland can access nutritious and fairly priced food.

To further support struggling families, £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, on top of the six months already announced, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales.

To support people with the cost of living we are tripling investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increasing the National Living Wage, boosting the pay of 3 million workers.

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 28 October 2024 to Question 10798 on African Swine Fever, what uncertainty is there around the human mediated pathways for African swine fever.

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

Defra and its agencies regularly review the spread of ASF when new outbreaks occur internationally and publishes risk assessments on GOV.UK at: African swine fever in pigs and wild boars in Europe - GOV.UK.

Since the latest risk assessment of July 2024, the risk of ASF entering Great Britain through a human-mediated pathway is considered to be high, though there is considerable uncertainty around this, particularly around the illegal movement of pig products from regions of the EU affected by ASF. Defra and its agencies keep this under regular review and will reassess the risk level and corresponding controls as further information becomes available.

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 implications for his policies of the publication entitled Farmed fur animals harbour viruses with zoonotic spillover potential, published by Nature on 4 September 2024.

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

This paper has been discussed at the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance group, the cross-Government risk assessment group, where it was recognised that there are several novel viruses detected in fur farmed animals as well as other species farmed for other uses (rabbits and nutria). Further work is now taking place to analyse the risk these viruses may pose to public health as well as animal health, bearing in mind that fur farming is not permitted in the UK but that such “exotic” animals (raccoon dogs, mink, squirrels) may be kept as pets.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what additional (a) funding and (b) support his Department has provided to (i) communities and (ii) local authorities in Leicestershire to help tackle the impact of recent flooding.

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

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities.

To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, the Government will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences.

In addition, the Government’s new Floods Resilience Taskforce sets out a new approach to preparing for flooding by working cross-government and with external stakeholders. It plans to meet again in January 2025 and will discuss the recent flooding.

During the flooding incident, the Environment Agency (EA) has informed the public about flood risk; operated flood risk assets to prevent or reduce the severity of flooding; supported authorities to pump flood water away from properties and infrastructure; and worked with partners to coordinate the emergency response.

Going forward, the EA will contribute to the Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland Recovery Cell; continue to deploy officers to affected communities to assess the impacts of flooding to properties and businesses; and continue to work with others to identify further opportunities to reduce flood risk in Leicestershire and support the resilience of communities to flooding.

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 wastewater licence at Portswood Wastewater Treatment Works in Southampton.

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

The adequacy of the Environmental Permit at Portswood Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) in Southampton has been assessed through various modelling investigations and regulatory reviews. These have resulted in several improvements at Portswood including the most recent permit variation issued on 28 June 2023, when a modern consolidated Environmental Permit was issued which included statutory driver improvements to be delivered by 2025. The Environment Agency (EA) is currently assessing an application by Southern Water, who operate the site, to vary operations to help further improve odour control at the site. As with all bespoke permit applications for water discharge the EA consults with the public and relevant organisations,

Additionally, the EA’s comprehensive assessments to monitor and manage nutrient levels in the region help ensure the Environmental Permit for the Portswood WwTW remains adequate and compliant with environmental standards, while future improvements planned for the 2025-30 period will further enhance its environmental performance through meeting nitrogen neutrality requirements

The Government is committed to taking action to give regulators the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies who fail to meet their obligations. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will provide the most significant increase in enforcement powers to the regulators in a decade. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.

On 23 October 2024 the UK and Welsh governments launched an independent commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, to recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system. The Commission will publish a report in Q2 2025, with recommendations for actionable solutions to the sector’s problems.

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 attend the UN Oceans Conference in June 2025.

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

The third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), co-hosted by France and Costa Rica in June, will be at a critical time for the ocean and a stocktake of progress towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.

The UK is supportive of an action-orientated UNOC and looks forward to the event. Defra are leading on the planning for UK attendance at the Conference and formal invitations from the co-hosts are expected to be shared soon after which Defra will confirm Ministerial attendance.

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 trends in the number of developments on flood risks in Leicestershire.

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

The Government has committed to ensure we are building more high-quality, well-designed and sustainable homes, and creating places that increase climate resilience and promote nature recovery. Flood risk is an important consideration in the planning system.

The Environment Agency (EA) is a statutory consultee in the planning process on flood risk matters, in particular flooding from rivers.

On a strategic level, the EA actively engages with Local Planning Authorities’ (LPAs) Local Plan making process to ensure that new developments will be in line with the National Planning Policy Framework’s requirements on flood risk.

The EA ensures the LPA has the most up-to-date flooding information and data to make informed decisions regarding which locations they choose for significantly sized new development, using the principle that those areas at least risk of flooding should be chosen first.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of flooding have been reported in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in the last five years.

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

Lead Local Flood Authorities are required to conduct formal Section 19 investigations when flood incidents meet specific criteria, such as the number of properties internally flooded, the nature and frequency of flooding, and the impact on critical infrastructure. However, not every flooding incident qualifies for this investigation threshold. The Environment Agency collaborates closely with Lincolnshire County Council to gather evidence that supports their recommendations.

Over the past five years, communities in Lincolnshire, particularly in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency, have faced some significant flooding, affecting residential and commercial properties, as well as essential infrastructure. Since early 2019, there have been 1,860 properties flooded across Lincolnshire, with 135 of those in South Holland and the Deepings. In response, the Environment Agency partners with the Local Resilience Forum and engages with affected communities to build resilience against future flooding events. Notable areas experiencing severe impacts include Surfleet Sluice, where residential properties lie within a flood storage area, complicating the Environment Agency’s ability to manage floodwaters. Additionally, the Crowland and Cowbit Flood Storage Reservoir has suffered from high River Welland flows, which damaged embankments and led to flooding. Fortunately, repairs to this damage have now been completed.

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 making it compulsory for developers to form agreements with water companies for the adoption of new-build drainage systems.

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

Section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act has not yet been implemented in England. Should it be implemented, all new sewerage will be built to an agreed standard and automatically adopted. The powers to adopt existing sewerage have now expired. Therefore, new legislation will be required to enable mandatory adoption of this sewerage. Water companies can currently adopt sewerage voluntarily.

The Government has included private sewerage in the terms of reference for the forthcoming review of the water sector and will examine how best to address the problems caused by unadopted sewerage. The Government is committed to using legislation to reform the water sector and will continue to do so where necessary.

As set out in the written ministerial statement by the Housing Minister, this Government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ estates. We will consult on the best way to achieve this in 2025 and we will include options to reduce the prevalence of private management of these estates - which are the root cause of the problems faced by homeowners.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect Atlantic salmon from extinction, following recent research from the International Union for Conservation of Nature that shows the species is at high risk.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates primarily to England.

Defra is working internationally to protect salmon populations through participation in the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO). A full list of actions related to salmon conservation can be found in the England and Wales NASCO “Implementation Plan”, along with annual progress updates, which can be found at https://nasco.int/conservation/third-reporting-cycle-2/.

The Environment Agency, responsible for managing salmon fisheries in England, ensured that 95% of salmon catches in 2023 were released alive through a combination of voluntary and mandatory measures. Between 2019 and 2023, they mitigated 58 barriers to fish passage on England’s salmon rivers. The Environment Agency is re-assessing the key pressures on salmon, in England, ahead of producing a new salmon Action Plan.

Cleaning up the water environment is a key priority for Defra. In October, the Government launched an Independent Commission of the water sector regulatory system. The Commission will report back this year with recommendations.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in the UK, or working with international partners, to address animal management practices known to be higher risk for the emergence or transmission of avian flu.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Stringent biosecurity is key to protecting the health and welfare of poultry and other captive birds and is critical to preventing disease spread during an avian influenza outbreak. Defra has published guidance and together with the Animal and Plant Health Agency provides support to bird keepers on how to implement strong biosecurity measures. Government will continue to work closely with industry to ensure good flock management and husbandry practices are implemented on all farms regardless of their size or type. The need to mandate enhanced biosecurity or other controls on bird keepers are kept under regular review as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza.

At an international level, collaboration and knowledge exchange with international partners takes place regularly through the networks of international reference laboratories, the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Quadripartite Organisations and allied projects, including through the joint World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Scientific Network on animal influenza OFFLU.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports of cases of avian flu in pheasants, what assessment they have made of the risks that ‘catching up’ pheasants this shooting season may pose to people, captive birds, and wild birds; and what plans they have, if any, to publish guidance and a risk assessment on this activity.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has published on GOV.UK their assessment of the risk of catching up gamebirds and the transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. The need to update this risk assessment in response to new scientific evidence, veterinary advice or significant changes in the epidemiological situation is kept under review as part of the Government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza.

Defra has also published guidance on GOV.UK specifically covering the avian influenza rules and best practice in disease prevention for gamebirds. Defra, together with APHA and Natural England, work closely with industry groups to ensure this vital information is distributed and utilised by the gamebird sector.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government why a regional avian influenza prevention zone for the East Riding of Yorkshire, the City of Kingston upon Hull, and Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk was not put in place before 23 December 2024.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The prevention measures mandated through an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) are introduced in a phased and escalating manner proportionate to the escalating risk to an area. An AIPZ mandating enhanced biosecurity was declared across the East Riding of Yorkshire, the City of Kingston upon Hull, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk on the 13 November 2024 in response to cases in the area and an increase in both the wild bird and poultry avian influenza risk levels. The AIPZ was extended to include mandatory housing from the 23 December 2024 following a further increase in both the wild bird and poultry risk levels and an escalating number of cases in the area indicating further controls were required to stop the spread of disease. Decisions on when to introduce or vary controls are based on risk assessments of the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider a single budget for the maintenance and dredging of watercourses, rather than two separate ones as at present for capital and operational maintenance.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Currently, dredging is part of the Environment Agency’s routine maintenance programme on its watercourses.

To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. Longer term funding decisions will be made at the next Spending Review.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many miles of maintenance and dredging of minor watercourses will be achieved this year.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency plan to carry out dredging on 147 miles (236km) of watercourses for which they are responsible in 2024/25. Figures can be subject to change based on in-year inspections and the potential to have a requirement to redistribute resources to incident response and recovery.

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 take steps to ensure that local communities are consulted on statutory nuisances.

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

The Statutory Nuisance Regime under Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) is designed to provide protection from nuisances including noise, odour, smoke, fumes, artificial light, infestations and accumulations. Local authorities are responsible for investigating nuisance problems brought to their attention under the EPA.

If they agree that a statutory nuisance is happening, has happened or will happen in the future, councils must serve an abatement notice (usually on the person responsible). This could result in an unlimited fine if the recipient does not follow the rules of the abatement notice. It could also result in prosecution and an additional fine if found guilty in a Magistrates Court.

Local Authority Environmental Health Officers are qualified to make decisions on what can be considered a statutory nuisance within the local context and issue an abatement notice immediately. At this present time, there are no current plans to change the regime to include local consultation.

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 15 October 2024 to Question 7788 on Air Pollution, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the (a) legal threshold for future levels of NOx and (b) planning time required for councils with Clean Air Zones.

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

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential. The Government remains committed to meeting legal targets for air quality and continues to review the policy measures needed to achieve them. The NO₂ programme is working closely with local authorities to deliver air quality measures, including Clean Air Zones, to meet legal limits for NO₂ and improve the health of their residents.

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 recommendations of the review entitled The review for implementation of Schedule 3 to The Flood and Water Management Act 2010, published in January 2023, what steps his Department is taking to implement Schedule 3 to The Flood and Water Management Act 2010, published by Defra in January 2023; and what his Department's timetable is for the full implementation of that Schedule.

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

The Government is strongly 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.

We believe that these outcomes can be achieved through either improving the current planning led approach using powers now available or commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on the way forward will be made in the coming months.

We have made some immediate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to support increasing SuDS. The NPPF now requires all development to utilize SuDS where they could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development.

We will review the planning system holistically and consider whether further changes are required to address SuDS when we consult on further planning reform, including national policy related to decision making, in 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of financial support for people paying increased water bills in the South West.

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

For too long, sewage systems were allowed to deteriorate. The previous Government allowed water companies to divert customers' money to unjustified bonuses and shareholder payouts rather than fixing our water and sewage systems. Now, to fix this mess we need to invest in our aging infrastructure and deliver clean water. That has meant that bills have had to rise across the country.

Ofwat, as the independent regulator, is responsible for ensuring the prices water companies charge their customers are fair. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government's commitment to deliver for customers by driving meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.

We will always protect the most vulnerable and this Government expects water companies to put robust support in place for customers that are struggling to pay their bills to address water poverty. All companies have measures in place for people who struggle to pay their bills, including WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks, and debt management support. We are also continuing to explore what more can be done to support families at risk of being unable to pay future water bills.

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 Affinity Water's recent price changes on the financial security of residents in Hertfordshire.

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

As the independent economic regulator, Ofwat independently scrutinises water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030.

The Government is committed to taking action to address water poverty and help vulnerable customers with their water bills. All water companies, including Affinity Water, have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, including measures such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support.

Furthermore, we expect companies to hold themselves accountable for their public commitment to end water poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure appropriate measures are taken to this end.

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 (a) bring forward legislative proposals to (i) formally recognise, (ii) protect and (iii) otherwise support the management of Cornish hedges and (b) provide funding for such hedges in the form of (A)Sustainable Farming Incentives and (B) capital grants.

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

Certain hedgerows are protected from removal under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 if they meet specific criteria. The Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 introduced management rules into domestic legislation to protect hedgerows on land used for agriculture in England.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive was developed to recognise the large variety of locally and nationally important hedges and hedgerows we see across England. In 2023, the hedgerow offer was launched and expanded in 2024. This includes an offer to maintain earth banks or stone-faced hedge banks (BND2). Those with Cornish hedges will be eligible to apply for both offers to ensure their hedgerow is maintained. We will continue to review what additional policies may be required to protect and enhance the ecological and cultural value of hedges and hedgerows in England.

Grants have been made available to support Cornish hedges under the Capital Grants offer. In 2024 the scheme supported agreements to plant over 4,000 miles of new hedgerows across England, creating essential habitats for at-risk species of birds and mammals. In November, the Capital Grants scheme was closed to new agreements following unprecedented demand this Autumn. We are forecast to spend more on capital grants this year than ever before. We currently are reviewing the Capital Grants offer to ensure funding goes further to improve outcomes for food security and nature conservation and will provide an update in early 2025. We have allocated the largest ever budget for sustainable food production through the farming budget.

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 impact of the UK's exit from the EU on the movement of animals between the UK and the EU for breeding programmes; and what steps his Department is taking to mitigate any post-Brexit regulatory barriers between the UK and the EU affecting these movements.

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

The UK’s departure introduced new rules and procedures for GB exporters, including compliance with EU import controls. Since being granted third country listed status by the EU on 28 December 2020, the UK has continued to export live animals for breeding purposes under these rules.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides a framework to manage sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls proportionate to biosecurity risks. Defra keeps the movement of animals for breeding programmes under review and works with stakeholders and EU Member States to identify and mitigate challenges in SPS requirements and reduce unnecessary trade barriers. This includes efforts to streamline SPS checks, ensuring efficient and safe animal movements.

EU import controls require livestock to enter via designated Border Control Posts (BCPs), which can limit capacity for live animal exports. To address this, Defra regularly engages in technical discussions with EU Member States to resolve practical issues, advocate for increased BCP capacity, and improve routes for live animal exports. These efforts aim to safeguard biosecurity while supporting GB exporters and maintaining trade flows.

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 hold discussions with Ofwat on the potential impact of the levels of Thames Water's (a) debt and (b) dividend payments on its customers.

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

Water companies are commercial entities, and it would be inappropriate to comment further on the specific situation of any individual company.

We understand the financial pressures hardworking families are currently facing and we are pushing the sector to ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills.

We have also been clear that the payment of dividends that do not take into account performance and service delivery for customers and the environment is disgraceful, and we share the public’s anger on this.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made in building an evidence base on the fur sector.

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

Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector in Great Britain. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) to produce a report on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The AWC report will add to our understanding of the fur industry and help inform our next steps.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress has been made on Project Groundwater in Lambourn Valley.

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

Project Groundwater is funded by the £150 million Flood & Coastal Resilience Innovation programme, managed by the Environment Agency (EA). The programme includes 25 local projects around the country that are testing practical ways of bolstering resilience to flooding and coastal change.

Project Groundwater has produced a new community-level, automated groundwater flood warning system, www.projectgroundwater.co.uk/floodwarning. This went live as a trial in the Lambourn Valley on 4 December and the EA are currently collating feedback for the next phase of improvements. The next key output will be new improved groundwater flood risk maps which are expected to be published in February. The project has also been gathering data via a Flood Experience Questionnaire, to target invitations for property flood resilience surveys in the new year, helping us to develop trials of community flood resilience measures. The project is also seeking to identify locations for nature-based solutions to help with groundwater flooding.

Collectively all aspects of Project Groundwater will have longer term benefits to the Lambourn Valley. These include ensuring groundwater is robustly addressed in planning applications whilst better understanding the mental health impacts of groundwater flooding.

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 water poverty among older people.

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

The Government is committed to taking action to address water poverty and help vulnerable customers including older people.

All water companies have measures in place for people who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, including measures such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. We expect all companies to make sure households are aware of the measures available to them and do everything they can to support all customers who are vulnerable, including having regard to the interests of individuals of pensionable age.

Government is also improving protections for customers, including introducing new compensations payments for failing to provide additional support for vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register.

As the independent economic regulator, Ofwat independently scrutinises water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. We support the action Ofwat is taking to clamp down on poor performance in the water sector to ensure they are delivering for customers.

Furthermore, we expect companies to hold themselves accountable for their public commitment to end water poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure appropriate measures are taken to deliver this.

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 take steps to (a) incorporate marine ecosystems into the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and (b) ensure that (i) land and (ii) sea are integrated into the carbon capture strategy.

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

Defra is working in partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Devolved Administrations – through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership – to address evidence gaps that currently prevent the inclusion of coastal and marine habitats in the Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

Defra Group have funded five flux towers to provide important carbon emissions data for saltmarsh habitats. Alongside investment to deliver a roadmap setting out the steps needed for potential inclusion of saltmarsh in the Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Other marine habitats will be kept in consideration as the evidence base around them develops.

Defra is committed to developing nature-based solutions to climate change on both land and sea. As demonstrated by the inclusion of both saltmarsh and seagrass as habitats in our net zero pathway, alongside a commitment of over £400 million of support for tree planting and peatland restoration in the Autumn Budget.

Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) will be essential to meeting our climate commitments. CCUS is used for the deep decarbonisation of certain industries – such as cement and chemicals – which have no alternative to decarbonise. In developing its thinking the Government will consider options and implications for delivering CCUS on both land and sea.

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 active restoration of coastal ecosystems; and if he will take steps to amend the licensing framework for that restoration.

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

The Government recognises that protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing coastal and marine habitats – such as saltmarsh, seagrass and native oyster reefs – can provide biodiversity, climate adaptation and climate mitigation benefits.

Defra has funded restoration of coastal ecosystems through schemes such as the Water Environment Improvement Fund and the Environmental Land Management Countryside Stewardship scheme. Defra is also funding the development of a Saltmarsh Code to enable saltmarsh carbon to be traded as a carbon offset and help drive private finance towards nature restoration.

The Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef initiative is working to restore seagrass meadows, saltmarsh and native oyster reefs. It is working in partnership with environmental non-government organisations, industry, community groups, and academia to identify innovative funding opportunities, streamline regulatory processes, build capacity and share knowledge with partners to facilitate a larger programme of restoration.

Defra officials are working with arms-length bodies to understand whether improvements could be made to the marine licensing regime to ensure that it appropriately enables habitat restoration.

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 take steps to provide top-up payments to farmers to compensate for the loss of direct payments.

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

The Government announced the reductions it intends to apply to delinked payments for 2025. The Government is accelerating the end of the era of payouts to large and wealthy landowners simply for owning land. The fastest reductions in subsidies will be to those who historically received the largest payments. Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast, with £5 billion committed to the farming budget over two years – the most ever for sustainable food production and nature’s recovery. This keeps momentum to a more sustainable farming sector, with the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery all continuing.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to mitigate against the impact of material switching as a result of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Once the Scheme Administrator has been established it will look at what measures may be needed to mitigate against material switching, where switching may produce perverse environmental outcomes. As pEPR places the cost of disposing of packaging back on those who place packaging on the market, the system contains intrinsic incentives against producers switching to materials which are more expensive to reprocess in the waste stream.

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 take steps to ensure that the Summer Development Internship Programme 2025 is open to all applicants.

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

As a public body, the Environment Agency (EA) is committed to meeting the obligations set out in the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty. These require public bodies to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people with different protected characteristics. The EA recruits using a fair and open process and appoints on merit, and will only limit a campaign to a specific group as a form of positive action as a proportionate response to achieve a legitimate aim as defined in section 159 of the Equality Act 2010.

The EA is focused on addressing known gaps in its workforce, and its Summer Development Internship Programme aims to widen access to careers and attract talented individuals from underrepresented ethnic groups. The latest data (Q2 2024-2025) from the EA shows that 6.4% of Agency staff are from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background, against a representation goal of 7.6% this year and a 2021 Census representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic respondents in England and Wales of 18.3%. The EA also offers various different career entry programmes which are open to all and is committed to supporting other underrepresented communities, including those from poorer socio-economic backgrounds.

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 implications for his policies of the risks to companion animals in England posed by the use of snare traps.

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

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits the setting of snares in England where they are likely to catch non-target species such as companion animals. Anyone using snares also has a responsibility under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to ensure that their activities do not cause any unnecessary suffering. Defra is aware however that snares can capture a wide range of non-target species including companion animals such as pet cats and pet dogs. Many instances have been reported by the RSPCA for example.

The Government is to introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation and as outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps 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, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department were hired via positive action schemes in the last financial year.

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

The core department complies with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, as regulated by the Civil Service Commission, to recruit using a fair and open process and appoint on merit.

The Government and Civil Service is committed to a diverse workforce and culture of openness and inclusivity as a way of reflecting the experiences of the citizens we serve and delivering better outcomes for them in turn.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper 30by30 on land in England: confirmed criteria and next steps, published on 29 October, what role they intend Local Nature Recovery Strategies to have in achieving their '30 by 30’ targets.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Delivering the UK’s 30by30 target on land in England will require a strategic approach, to address the scale of action needed, and ensure a diverse and well-connected network of 30by30 areas. Over the coming months, we will be developing a delivery strategy for 30by30, to ensure we make good on this important commitment. This will confirm the key levers that will help us to achieve this target and set out the pathway to 2030. We hope to finalise and publish this strategy this year.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are currently being prepared across England. Each LNRS will agree priorities and propose practical actions in the best locations for nature recovery and wider environmental benefits, such as water quality, flood risk management and climate mitigation. Where appropriate action is then taken, some of these areas could go on to contribute towards 30by30 where landowners/land managers are willing.

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 impact of the changes to inheritance tax on the financial viability of small family farms in (a) Kent and (b) Faversham and Mid Kent constituency.

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

Assessing the impact of the new Inheritance Tax policy, which comes into force from 6 April 2026, relies on a number of factors such as ownership structure and debt levels. Without such information, which the Government does not hold at that level, area level assessments cannot be made.

This Government is aware that each farm is different, and so we encourage farmers to speak to their tax advisors and agents to understand how these changes may impact their specific situation and how to plan for the future.

As an outcome of the recent Spending Review, we have also committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years – the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in this country’s history. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.

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 effectiveness of biodiversity net gain in delivering for biodiversity as intended.

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

Mandatory biodiversity net gain is an important means of ensuring development makes a net positive contribution to nature. It is in the early stages of implementation. The policy has been designed to achieve long-term benefits for biodiversity, with major biodiversity gains secured by legal contract for a minimum of 30 years. Because biodiversity net gain applies as a ‘post-permission requirement’, we are only now seeing the first permissions granted with the mandatory biodiversity gain condition.

Defra officials are monitoring the implementation of mandatory biodiversity net gain closely and regularly meet with local planning authorities, developers, and the land management sector, to ensure biodiversity net gain works effectively and proportionally.

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 25 November 2024 to Question 9618 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Ministers' Private Offices, how much was spent on (a) new furniture and fittings and (b) other refurbishment of Ministerial offices in his Department between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and on what items this was spent.

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

Between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024 approximately £5,700 (inclusive of VAT) was spent on renovation and improvements to Ministerial Offices.

Incurred costs were:

• Reupholstery of 14 leather-seated meeting chairs - @ £3,450.00
• 2x Floor standing lamps - @ £2,194.20 for two.
• 2 x mounted mirrors - @ £59.90 for two.

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 adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Biggar (margin- summer): how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail), published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Biggar (trail- summer), published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at North Scale (trail), published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to engage with industry in relation to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 as part of the development of illustrative base fees; and what plans they have to publish the methodology used to develop the most recent illustrative fees.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Under the new Government, Defra has engaged with industry to ensure that the calculation of local authority costs to manage household packaging waste is as accurate as possible. This engagement continues and underpins further development of illustrative Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) base fees to ensure robust quality assurance of the modelling.

We included a summary of the methodology to calculate pEPR fees as part of the two publications of pEPR illustrative base fees, in August and September 2024. As part of our current engagement with industry we are sharing further details on our methodology and will continue ensuring that the information is shared more widely.

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 adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Open access restriction at Walney airfield: how to comment, published on 11 December 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 December 2024 to Questions 16894 and 16902.

These are the pages for the consultations referred to:

Open access restriction at Christy Pool to North Point: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Rape Haw to Creephaw Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at South Walney nature reserve: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - winter): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North Scale (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (trail - summer): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at North End Marsh: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Hare Hill (trail): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Walney airfield (margin): how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar to Tummer Hill: how to comment - GOV.UK

Open access restriction at Biggar (margin - winter): how to comment - 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 his Department is taking to facilitate the recycling of blister packs.

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

Waste is a devolved policy, and the devolved administrations have their own arrangements for household and business recycling and waste collections. There are currently no plans for blister packs to be included in the list of materials to be collected at kerbside through Simpler Recycling reforms.

Modulation of pEPR fees, which will be introduced in from year 2 of the scheme, will be used to disincentivise packaging formats that are not readily recyclable.

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 adequacy of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Environmental permitting: standard rules consultation number 29, published on 9 December 2024.

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

The Environment Agency (EA) uses existing Government websites to publish permit consultations, posting a notification on GOV.UK that points to a consultation on the EA’s Citizen Space website. The EA ensures its consultation information meets the accessibility requirements for these websites. The accessibility statement for the website is available here. This sets out what steps have been taken to make the website as accessible as possible, including for people who rely on assistive technology. The accessibility statement for GOV.UK is found here .

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 hold discussions with the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme on taking steps to protect the residents of Mallard Close, Madeley, from the effects of repeated flooding incidents.

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

To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences.

The issues in the Mallards Close, Madeley, are related to surface water flooding. The responsible flood authority for surface water flooding is Staffordshire County Council. The Environment Agency is aware they are already responding to this issue and will be happy to support the council where they are able to.

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 develop recycling technologies for end-of-life wind turbine blades and solar panels.

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

This Government is committed to transition to a circular economy. We are developing a Circular Economy Strategy for England including a series of road maps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis, supporting Government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.

In our manifesto we also committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviours to ensure we can all take pride in our communities.

With regard to solar panels, they are electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). This is regulated to reduce the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) incinerated or sent to landfill sites. The WEEE Regulations 2013 require the producers of electrical equipment, including solar panels, to take financial responsibility for products they place on the market when they become waste.

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 September 2024 to Question 2947 on Water Companies: Accountability, when he expects the consumer water panels to be established.

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

For too long customers have not been at the heart of the objectives of water companies. This Government believes the interests of customers should be clearly represented and they should play a key role in holding water companies to account on their performance, which is why we have announced powerful new customer panels will be established.

Through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, for the first time in history, customers will get new powers to hold water company executives to account and companies will be required to include customers in decision making. Ofwat will monitor how companies implement this, and customer panels will be vital in delivering accountability and better customer outcomes.

An Ofwat statutory consultation in 2025 will finalise proposals, and further detail on when panels will be established will be set out 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, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2024 to Question 5227 on Wood-burning Stoves, what recent estimate he has made of when his Department will complete its assessment of options to (a) reduce the impact of wood burning stoves on people’s health and (b) meet statutory targets for this pollutant.

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

Officials are currently evaluating a number of options to reduce emissions of air pollutants, in particular fine particulate matter, from domestic burning, which I anticipate will be completed in spring this year. The Government launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to revise our plan for significantly improving the environment and deliver legally binding targets including for Air Quality and PM2.5. The Government concluded the review of the EIP at the end of last year and will publish a summary of findings in early 2025. This will be followed by publication of a revised EIP.

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 or water companies will appoint members to consumer water panels.

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

For too long customers have not been at the heart of the objectives of water companies. This Government believes the interests of customers should be clearly represented and they should play a key role in holding water companies to account on their performance, which is why we have announced powerful new customer panels will be established.

Through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, for the first time in history, customers will get new powers to hold water company executives to account and companies will be required to include customers in decision making. Ofwat will monitor how companies implement this, and customer panels will be vital in delivering accountability and better customer outcomes.

An Ofwat statutory consultation in 2025 will finalise proposals, and further detail on when panels will be established will be set out 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, how many prosecutions there have been for slaughterhouses in England not having CCTV in the last five years.

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

All approved slaughterhouses in England must have CCTV systems installed as required by the Mandatory Use of Closed-Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (England) Regulations 2018. There have been no prosecutions for slaughterhouses in England for not having CCTV in the last five years.

Where non-compliances with the legislation are identified the Food Standards Agency will apply their enforcement hierarchy, from verbal and written warnings to enforcement notices and referral to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what animal welfare protections exist for farmed animals at slaughterhouses.

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

The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 and assimilated Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing set out extensive requirements to protect the welfare of animals at slaughterhouses. Official Veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are present in all approved slaughterhouses to monitor and enforce these animal welfare requirements. The FSA has a zero-tolerance policy to animal welfare breaches and will take appropriate action where these occur.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the RSPCA on animal cruelty at RSPCA-approved abattoirs.

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

The Department engages regularly with the RSPCA on a range of animal welfare topics.

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 entitled Ensuring good waste collection services for households, published on 29 November 2024, and the consultation outcome on exemptions and statutory guidance for simpler recycling in England entitled Government response, published on 9 May 2024, for what reason that guidance does not specify minimum levels of service frequency for residual waste collections.

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

This Government is simplifying the rules to make recycling easier for people in England, while stimulating growth and maximising environmental benefits.

Local authorities are already legally required to deliver waste collection services to all households in their area. Simpler Recycling in England will go further by mandating weekly food waste collections ensuring that the most unpleasant waste is dealt with quickly and reliably.

Local authorities are best placed to determine the effective delivery of local services. As is currently the case, authorities will continue to decide collection frequency of waste collections in a way that suits the needs of their local community. There has never been a statutory requirement regarding the frequency of bin collections for local authorities, under any Government.

We recognise that as recycling services are expanded and improved under Simpler Recycling in England, local authorities may choose to review residual waste services to ensure they are providing best value for money in line with local need. The government’s priority is ensuring that households’ needs are met, and we expect local authorities to continue to provide services to a reasonable standard, as they do now.

Defra recently published guidance to ensure that local authorities consider certain factors when they review services, to ensure that reasonable standards are maintained. These include ensuring that there are no disamenity impacts, such as the build-up of odorous waste at the kerbside or an increase in fly-tipping of residual waste. We expect local authorities to monitor any changes to collection frequencies to ensure there are no unintended adverse consequences.

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 mark World Wetlands Day in 2025.

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

The theme for World Wetlands Day 2025 is ‘Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future’ and Defra plans to mark World Wetlands Day. In 2021 the UK co-sponsored the United Nations Resolution to designate 2 February as World Wetlands Day and we have since undertaken activities or supported other organisations in their activities to celebrate wetlands where appropriate. World Wetlands Day is an important opportunity to reflect on the value of wetlands in supporting biodiversity and delivering other public benefits.

This Government is committed to delivering our legally binding biodiversity targets, including to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042. Wetlands will be vital in achieving these.

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 trends in levels of costs for statutory external audit fees levied on National Park authorities on those authorities; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) levels of those fees and (b) breadth of those statutory requirements.

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

Defra acknowledges that rising costs, including to fees required to fulfil statutory obligations, increase the funding pressures on National Park authorities.

Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited (PSAA) independently sets fees for eligible bodies defined in the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, including National Park authorities. PSAA is responsible for setting the scales of fees for the audit of accounts of authorities who have opted into its services. PSAA consults on and publishes its fee scales - 99% of eligible local bodies opted into its national scheme for the appointing period 2023/24 to 2027/28, including all National Park authorities in England.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched a strategy in December to overhaul the local audit system in England. The strategy commits to a series of measures to fix the broken system and consults on several specific proposals.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-audit-reform-a-strategy-for-overhauling-the-local-audit-system-in-england

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated to support areas at risk of flooding; and when he plans to announce these.

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

To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences.

The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be agreed by the Environment Agency over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to update the Feral Wild Boar Action Plan published in 2008.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

While we have never had an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in the UK, the overall risk of an incursion of ASF is currently assessed to be medium (the event occurs regularly) and we continue to prepare for a possible outbreak. Defra’s approach to ASF is set out in the Disease control strategy for African and Classical Swine Fever in Great Britain (copy attached) and considers the latest scientific evidence and veterinary advice, including the role of feral pigs and wild boar.

Preventing an outbreak of ASF in the UK is one of Defra’s key biosecurity priorities. 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. To ensure this approach is reflected in our control and mitigation strategies, Defra are undertaking a review of both the England Wildlife Health Strategy, which provides a policy framework within which Defra is able to develop and make policy decisions in relation to wildlife disease management supported by the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England, and the feral wild boar action plan in relation to exotic disease control.

Defra works closely with Forestry England to actively monitor and control the population of feral wild boar in the Forest of Dean and prevent the establishment of populations in other areas managed by Forestry England. Annual assessments of the size and structure of the Forest of Dean wild boar population and progress to control the population are available on the Forestry England website. Outside of these areas primary responsibility for wild boar management lies with local communities and individual landowners. Defra work closely with stakeholder organisations to ensure communities, local authorities and landowners have access to guidance and information where needed to control populations and mitigate the impact of feral wild boar in their areas. Advice and further information on licensing and legislation relating wildlife management is available on GOV.UK (copy attached).

Defra encourages all pig keepers and members of the public to be vigilant and help protect our pig sector and wildlife from the threat of ASF. Found dead feral wild boar in England should be reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (see attachment), and sightings of live wild boar can be made through the Mammal Societies Mammal Tracker app or directly through the National Biodiversity Network.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, for each of the most recent five years for which data are available, what was the total amount of public expenditure that has been allocated to companies or charities for the purposes of (1) anaerobic digestion and (2) redistributing surplus food for human consumption.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Over the last 7 years, the department has spent approximately £13 million of funding on supported redistribution organisations across the country.

This year, under the new Government, Defra announced £15 million to ensure that farm produce that would often go to waste or be eaten by animals is provided to a network of food banks. This helps the department reach its zero waste targets and ensures that the country's most vulnerable people have a ready supply of healthy food that is grown by British farmers.

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 the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of her policies on (a) agricultural and (b) business property relief on ancient woodlands.

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

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a national monitoring system for wild boars and feral pigs to support environmental goals, manage social conflicts, and increase preparedness in the event of an outbreak of African swine fever.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

While we have never had an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in the UK, the overall risk of an incursion of ASF is currently assessed to be medium (the event occurs regularly) and we continue to prepare for a possible outbreak. Defra’s approach to ASF is set out in the Disease control strategy for African and Classical Swine Fever in Great Britain (copy attached) and considers the latest scientific evidence and veterinary advice, including the role of feral pigs and wild boar.

Preventing an outbreak of ASF in the UK is one of Defra’s key biosecurity priorities. 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. To ensure this approach is reflected in our control and mitigation strategies, Defra are undertaking a review of both the England Wildlife Health Strategy, which provides a policy framework within which Defra is able to develop and make policy decisions in relation to wildlife disease management supported by the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England, and the feral wild boar action plan in relation to exotic disease control.

Defra works closely with Forestry England to actively monitor and control the population of feral wild boar in the Forest of Dean and prevent the establishment of populations in other areas managed by Forestry England. Annual assessments of the size and structure of the Forest of Dean wild boar population and progress to control the population are available on the Forestry England website. Outside of these areas primary responsibility for wild boar management lies with local communities and individual landowners. Defra work closely with stakeholder organisations to ensure communities, local authorities and landowners have access to guidance and information where needed to control populations and mitigate the impact of feral wild boar in their areas. Advice and further information on licensing and legislation relating wildlife management is available on GOV.UK (copy attached).

Defra encourages all pig keepers and members of the public to be vigilant and help protect our pig sector and wildlife from the threat of ASF. Found dead feral wild boar in England should be reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (see attachment), and sightings of live wild boar can be made through the Mammal Societies Mammal Tracker app or directly through the National Biodiversity Network.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research led by Dr Mary Abed Al Ahad of the University of St Andrews showing that people exposed to high levels of pollution are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and psychosis; and whether they plan to reduce pollution in cities as a result.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Poor air quality is one of the largest environmental risks to public health in the UK. Epidemiological studies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution (over years or lifetimes) reduces life expectancy, mainly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer. Short-term exposure (over hours or days) to elevated levels of air pollution can also cause a range of health impacts.

Defra has not yet reviewed the research led by Dr Mary Abed Al Ahad. The Government continues to consider and evaluate the evidence of links between exposure to air pollution and a wide range of health effects including, adverse birth outcomes, diabetes, and increased dementia risk, as well as mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and psychosis.

The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants provides independent advice to the Government on how air pollution impacts on health, including on emerging research.

The Government is committed to protecting the public from the harm of pollution and will introduce a Clean Air Strategy to deliver our existing legally binding air quality targets, including a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of aligning subsidies paid out of public expenditure with the food waste hierarchy statutory guidance.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has not made any assessment of aligning subsidies with the food waste hierarchy guidance.

Our priority is to prevent food waste occurring in the first instance, this is in line with the food waste hierarchy. Where waste cannot be prevented, edible surplus food should be redistributed. For unavoidable food waste, the government’s Simpler Recycling reforms will require all local authorities, businesses and relevant non-domestic premises in England to arrange for the separate collection of food waste for recycling. The Government's preference is that food waste is treated via anaerobic digestion (AD), the main route for producing biomethane, which is a low-carbon replacement for fossil fuel natural gas.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have estimated what proportion of food being sent to anaerobic digestion plants that is edible and fit for human consumption.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government does not collect data on the proportion of edible food waste sent to anaerobic digestion plants.

This Government will work with business to drive down food waste and make sure food is put on the plates of those in greatest need.

We continue to support the Waste and Resources Action Programme and its work to drive down food surplus and waste in homes and businesses. This includes work to ensure surplus food is redistributed to charities and other organisations who can use it and on programmes to help citizens reduce their food waste.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the (a) governance and (b) performance of the water industry in England meets the UK's obligations under the Aarhus Convention.

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

The Government is committed to the effective implementation of our international obligations under the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters.

The United Kingdom is not currently subject to any water industry related compliance recommendations concerning its obligations under the Convention.

We urge the UK Government to require farmers to use fencing, barriers, or safe diversions to separate cattle from public paths, especially in high-traffic areas. We think this would ensure public safety while respecting farming practices and promoting awareness about responsible cattle management.

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

Found: across the 2022–23 Session Performance average across the 2023–24 Session Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, which is an Executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: across Government and that they are going to use the Cabinet Office and bring together Treasury, DEFRA

Found: Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, which is an Executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Reply from the Secretary of State for DEFRA to the Chair relating to Written Parliamentary Question’s

Found: The Department for Business and Trade, along with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: We have been liaising really intensively with our DEFRA colleagues on this.

Found: We have been liaising really intensively with our DEFRA colleagues on this.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking (a) legislative and (b) regulatory steps to help improve lithium-ion battery safety; including in the planning application process for new battery energy storage systems.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive within a robust framework which requires battery designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures to ensure health and safety through all stages of the system’s deployment.

Government has updated planning practice guidance to encourage BESS developers to engage with local fire services and for local planning authorities to refer to guidance published by the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Government has considered the merits of taking further steps, and in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan committed that Defra will consult by June 2025 on including BESS within the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 December 2024 to Question 20641 on Local Government Services: Rural Area, what the (a) cash (b) real terms and (c) proportional change in core spending power will be in each individual type of (i) rural and (ii) urban area according to the classification methodology used by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the (A) 2024-25 and (B) 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The provisional Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The final Settlement will increase further, to incorporate the £515 million of funding announced for National Insurance Contributions.

This government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population (encompassing both authorities classed as predominantly Rural, and Urban with Significant Rural) will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, which is a real terms increase. No council will see a reduction – and new funding will be available to rural areas in 2025-26 through guaranteed EPR payments.

The cash, percentage, and real terms changes in Core Spending Power for rural and urban authorities, according to the classification methodology used by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and published by the Office for National Statistics, are found in the table below (please see below the table for further explanatory information).

Table 1. Provisional local government finance settlement 2025-26,core spending power by Rural/Urban classification

Explanatory information and sources

• Core Spending Power has been grouped using DEFRA’s Rural/Urban Classification (RUC) 2011 dataset, further information can be found here: 2011 Rural Urban Classification - GOV.UK. There are 43 unclassified authorities which are not included in the RUC dataset. Of these, 32 are fire authorities or the GLA and 11 are authorities which have undergone restructuring since the latest available RUC publication.
• Core Spending Power data: Provisional local government finance settlement: England, 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK.
• For the financial year 2025-26 real-terms calculation we use the GDP deflator: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - Office for National Statistics.

Further information on the provisional local government finance settlement, including the increases in grant for rural and urban areas can be found in the provisional local government finance settlement core spending power publications. These have now been updated to include local authority Rural/Urban classifications and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-table-provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-2025-to-2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the change in grant is in (a) cash and (b) real terms in areas with a significant rural population between 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The provisional Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The final Settlement will increase further, to incorporate the £515 million of funding announced for National Insurance Contributions.

This government is absolutely committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities. Places with a significant rural population (encompassing both authorities classed as predominantly Rural, and Urban with Significant Rural) will on average receive around a 5% increase in their Core Spending Power next year, which is a real terms increase. No council will see a reduction – and new funding will be available to rural areas in 2025-26 through guaranteed EPR payments.

The cash, percentage, and real terms changes in Core Spending Power for rural and urban authorities, according to the classification methodology used by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and published by the Office for National Statistics, are found in the table below (please see below the table for further explanatory information).

Table 1. Provisional local government finance settlement 2025-26,core spending power by Rural/Urban classification

Explanatory information and sources

• Core Spending Power has been grouped using DEFRA’s Rural/Urban Classification (RUC) 2011 dataset, further information can be found here: 2011 Rural Urban Classification - GOV.UK. There are 43 unclassified authorities which are not included in the RUC dataset. Of these, 32 are fire authorities or the GLA and 11 are authorities which have undergone restructuring since the latest available RUC publication.
• Core Spending Power data: Provisional local government finance settlement: England, 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK.
• For the financial year 2025-26 real-terms calculation we use the GDP deflator: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - Office for National Statistics.

Further information on the provisional local government finance settlement, including the increases in grant for rural and urban areas can be found in the provisional local government finance settlement core spending power publications. These have now been updated to include local authority Rural/Urban classifications and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-spending-power-table-provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-2025-to-2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to reform funding arrangements for Internal Drainage Board levies.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

MHCLG recognises the need for a long-term solution and are working with Defra to explore potential approaches.

In line with the previous two years, at the 2025-26 provisional Local Government Finance Settlement the government announced that it will provide £3 million in funding for authorities most impacted by Internal Drainage Board Levies.

MHCLG and Defra will ensure that all potential long-term solutions are given careful consideration.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of (a) 6 January 2025 to Question 21057 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Unpaid Work and (b) 20 November 2024 to Question 14502 on Gender: Equality, whether guidance is provided to Government departments on the potential situations in which it would be permissible for access to internship schemes to be restricted to people from non-white backgrounds.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Individual departments are responsible for recruitment decisions and they are required to meet all obligations of relevant legislation, including the Equality Act 2010. If a department wants to restrict an internship programme to a specific group or groups, it would be expected to ensure on a case by case basis that it complies with the relevant legislation. As a result, as was the case under the previous administration, no central guidance is provided on this matter.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the ability of the carbon intensity calculations used by his Department to take into account the recent increase in the volume of liquified natural gas imported from the USA.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK follows the agreed international approach for setting targets, and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, which is for countries to report the emissions produced within their territories.

However, consumption-based emissions, which factor in overseas emissions associated with imports, are reported by Defra (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uks-carbon-footprint ) and considered in policy making where relevant and material.

DESNZ also publish conversion factors for company reporting which include well-to-tank emissions factors for LNG (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting). The latest published factors are based on 2022 data but the values are updated annually, allowing for changes in the sources of imported gas, particularly LNG, to be reflected.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether het has made a recent assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the difficulties that rural businesses face.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Rural businesses offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. DBT works with other departments such as Defra, helping people living and working in rural areas to realise the full potential of rural businesses and communities placing them at the heart of our policymaking.

The Government will publish a Small Business Strategy Paper later this year, setting out the Government’s vision for all small businesses, and has committed to funding for two key growth-driving programmes in 2025-26: Growth Hubs in England and Help to Grow: Management across the UK, which help businesses and entrepreneurs unlock their potential through bespoke support and resources

The Rural England Prosperity Fund is intended to support new and existing rural businesses, including farm businesses, to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy and to support new and improved community infrastructure that will provide essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief on net carbon emissions.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is extending the existing scope of agricultural property relief from 6 April 2025 to land managed under certain environmental agreements. The expectation is that some individuals will now choose to enter into agreements who would not otherwise have done so and this will have a positive environmental impact.

The government has also announced it will reform agricultural property relief and business property relief further from 6 April 2026 as it is not fair or sustainable for a very small number of claimants each year to claim such a significant amount of relief. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Defra has a farm support budget of £2.4 billion for the next financial year and support for Environmental Land Management schemes will rise to the highest funding levels ever by 2025-26. Through this investment, the government is helping to secure a healthy and resilient future for English farming and restore our natural landscapes for generations to come whilst continuing to support farmers and landowners in their low-carbon, nature friendly practices.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of food poverty on (a) malnutrition, (b) obesity and (c) other health conditions in (i) Basingstoke, (ii) Hampshire and (iii) England in the past 10 years.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The relationship between food poverty, or food insecurity, nutritional intake, and physical and mental health in the United Kingdom is currently unclear. However, international evidence suggests that in the long-term, food insecurity may be associated with poorer diets and poorer mental and physical health, including a higher risk of overweight and obesity. the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs' UK Food Security Report 2024, which pulls together data from a range of sources, including the Department of Work and Pensions’ Family Resources Survey, found that 90% of UK households were food secure in the financial year ending 2023. Further information on the international evidence relating to food insecurity, poorer diets, and mental and physical health, and the UK Food Security Report 2024 is available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6426124/#:~:text=In%20a%20longitudinal%20study%2C%20the,admissions%2C%20and%20length%20of%20stay.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-4-food-security-at-household-level#healthy-diet

Data is not available specifically for Basingstoke and Hampshire. However, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ report notes that geographical differences remain across the UK, with food security highest in the East, South East, and South West of England, where 92% of households were food secure in all three regions. 10-year trend data is not available as the Family Resources Survey first measured household food security in 2019/20, when the percentage of households classified as food secure was 93%, compared with 90% in 2022/23.

Direct data on the relationship between food insecurity and obesity in the UK is not available. Household level food insecurity is associated with broader deprivation, which is in turn associated with an increased likelihood of overweight and obesity. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/update-to-the-obesity-profile-on-fingertips/obesity-profile-short-statistical-commentary-may-2024

Most cases of malnutrition will be secondary to another health condition which may impact on nutritional needs or impact on a person’s ability to eat and drink, rather than it solely being caused by poor or inadequate dietary intake.

The term malnutrition is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a poor diet, although this may put someone at increased risk of malnutrition, this would not necessarily meet the criteria for malnutrition. Malnutrition is a clinical condition that is assessed using specific tools.

The Child Poverty Taskforce, made up of ministers from across Government, will be publishing its strategy to reduce child poverty in Spring 2025.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide a list of all Civil Service committees that exercise management functions in relation to the Civil Service, including the membership of each committee; and what changes, if any, have been made to the Civil Service Governance Framework since the publication in November 2023 of the Independent Review of Governance and Accountability in the Civil Service by Lord Maude of Horsham.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

A review was carried out in April 2024 that resulted in the streamlining of civil service governance structures and fora.

Current Civil Service committees that exercise management functions in relation to the Civil Service include the:

• Civil Service Board

• People Board

• Civil Service Operations Board

• Location and Property Board

• Data and Digital Board

• Senior Leadership Committee

Membership of these committees are as follows:

Civil Service Board:

• Cat Little CB (Chair - CS Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Sir Chris Wormald (Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Office)

• Tamara Finkelstein CB (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)

• Dame Bernadette Kelly (Department for Transport)

• Sir Matthew Rycroft (Home Office)

• Sir Peter Schofield (Department for Work and Pensions)

• Dame Antonia Romeo (Ministry of Justice)

• Sarah Healey CB CVO (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)

• James Bowler CB (HM Treasury)

• Sir Philip Barton (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

• John Paul Marks (Scottish Government)

• David Williams CB (Ministry of Defence)

• Jeremy Pocklington CB (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

People Board:

• Sarah Healey (Chair - Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)

• Fiona Ryland (Government Chief People Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Sir Philip Barton (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

• Sir Jim Harra ( HM Revenue & Customs)

• Gareth Davies (Department for Business and Trade)

• Dr Andrew Goodall (Welsh Government)

• Susan Acland-Hood (Department for Education)

• Sarah Munby (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• Beth Russell (HM Treasury)

• Phil Swallow (Home Office, Non Executive Board Member)

• Professor Dame Angela McLean (Government Office for Science)

• Susannah Storey (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Civil Service Operations Board:

• Cat Little (Chair - CS Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Joanne Davidson (Digital and Data)

• Marco Salzedo / Clare Gibbs (Commercial)

• Conrad Smewing / James McEwen (Finance)

• Fiona Ryland (People)

• Nick Smallwood (Project Delivery)

• Tara Smith (Department for Business and Trade)

• Nina Cope (Ministry of Defence)

• Justin Holliday (HM Revenue and Customs)

• Debbie Alder (Department for Work and Pensions)

• Jane Cunliffe (Department for Education)

Location and Property Board:

• Jeremy Pocklington CB (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero - Chair)

• Angela MacDonald (HM Revenue and Customs)

• Susan Acland-Hood (Department for Education)

• Peter Schofield (Department for Work and Pensions)

• Sarah Munby (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• Antonia Romeo (Department of Justice)

• John-Paul Marks (Scotland Office)

• Nick Joyce (Department For Transport)

• David Kuenssberg (Home Office)

• Catherine Webb (HM Treasury)

• Damian Paterson (Government Legal Department)

• Sarah Harrison (Cabinet Office)

• Nina Cope (Ministry of Defence)

• Sarah Homer (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs)

• Catherine Vaughan (Department for Business and Trade)

• Juliet Chua (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

Data and Digital Board:

• Sarah Munby (Chair - Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

• Joanna Davinson (Government Chief Digital Officer)

• Sir Ian Diamond (Office of National Statistics)

• Jim Harra (HM Revenue and Customs)

• Susan Acland-Hood (Department for Education)

• Peter Schofield (Department for Work and Pensions)

• Matthew Rycroft (Home Office)

• Paul Lincoln (Ministry of Defence)

• Megan Lee Devlin (Ministry of Justice)

• Conrad Smewing (HM Treasury)

• Bella Powell (Government Security Group)

• Doug Gurr (Non-Executive Board Member, Department for Health and Social Care)

• Paul Willmott (Non-Executive Board Member, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Senior Leadership Committee:

• Dame Antonia Romeo (Chair - Ministry of Justice)

• Sir Chris Wormald (Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Office)

• Cat Little - (CS Chief Operating Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Sarah Healey (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)

• James Bowler (HM Treasury)

• Sir Philip Barton (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

• Fiona Ryland (Government Chief People Officer, Cabinet Office)

• Baroness Gisela Stuart (First Civil Service Commissioner)

• Tamara Finkelstein (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs)

• Dame Bernadette Kelly (Department for Transport)

• Brian McBride (Lead Non Executive Board Member, MoD)

• Sir Matthew Rycroft (Home Office)

• Sir Peter Schofield (Department for Work and Pensions)

• David Williams (Ministry of Defence)

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Found: (DEFRA), Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office (HO) and Ministry of

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

Found: ) acts as the landlord and in addition the Commission’s York office is located in premises where DEFRA

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: 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: A: yes, can report to AMDO and they can escalate to DEFRA.

Found: Anne Toms highlighted a meeting she had attended with Heineken, BBPA, BSDA and British Water, with DEFRA

Found: Document 004 From: SM-Defra-NuclearJustification (Defra)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact on the livestock industry in Scotland, whether it has considered the joint final report from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Welsh Government on bovine electronic identification pilot projects, which reportedly found that, overall, there are fewer challenges, especially in the short term, with mandating the use of low frequency tags, compared with ultra high frequency tags.

Answered by Fairlie, Jim - Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity

Scottish Ministers are considering all the available information on bovine EID and technology use across the UK. This includes the DEFRA and Welsh Government pilot report, the ScotEID pilot findings into UHF, the results and analysis of the consultation held on Cattle ID and Traceability earlier this year, and ongoing close discussions with industry and the livestock sector. All potential impacts and challenges, over the long and short term, will be fully considered before a final decision is made.