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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) biodiversity and (b) nature recovery within (i) National Landscapes and (ii) nature reserves in Surrey.

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

Natural England (NE) is committed to supporting biodiversity and nature recovery across England, including within National Landscapes and nature reserves in Surrey. The Surrey Hills National Landscape is guided by a Management Plan (2024–2029) with clear policies to enhance biodiversity and restore habitats. Defra previously supported the Heathland Connections Nature Recovery Project, which helped pave the way for the declaration of the Wealden Heaths National Nature Reserve (NNR) earlier this year.

The Wealden Heaths NNR is the largest partnership-led reserve in England, spanning 2,700 hectares across Surrey, Hampshire, and West Sussex. It is managed by nine organisations, including NE, the National Trust, and Surrey Wildlife Trust, and plays a vital role in protecting rare heathland habitats and species such as Nightjars, Sand Lizards, and Natterjack Toads.

Surrey also benefits from Defra’s Species Recovery Programme, which targets threatened species including those found in the Wealden Heaths.

NE continues to work closely with reserve managers to ensure sites are well-managed and contribute to the Government’s ambition to halt nature decline and protect 30% of land for nature by 2030.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to implement provisions in the Environment Act 2021 to impose due diligence regulations for forest risk commodities.

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

The Government recognises the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is actively considering the best regulatory approach to address deforestation in UK supply chains; we will set out this approach in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the availability of permitted landfill capacity for industrial waste in the North East.

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

The Environment Agency publishes data of landfill capacity on an annual basis which can be accessed here: Remaining Landfill Capacity - data.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 progress her Department has made on establishing a new integrated water industry regulator.

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

Alongside the recommendations which the Government responded to on 21 July, the Commission examined many other areas within its remit, to ensure that water sector regulation delivers for environmental, public health, customer and economic outcomes. This is reflected in the recommendations in Sir Jon’s final report, including recommendations intended to create a single powerful regulator to help provide the clarity and stability investors need to bring forward billions of pounds of funding, driving jobs, skills and growth 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, what progress her Department has made on abolishing Ofwat.

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

Alongside the recommendations which the Government responded to on 21 July, the Commission examined many other areas within its remit, to ensure that water sector regulation delivers for environmental, public health, customer and economic outcomes. This is reflected in the recommendations in Sir Jon’s final report, including recommendations intended to create a single powerful regulator to help provide the clarity and stability investors need to bring forward billions of pounds of funding, driving jobs, skills and growth 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, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of developer-led wastewater misconnections on sewage treatment works capacity; and what plans she has to strengthen enforcement powers for (a) water companies and (b) local authorities on developer wastewater misconnections.

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

Most modern homes will have sewerage systems that separate wastewater from surface water, and discharge each into separate drains. Property owners are legally responsible for resolving misconnected pipework on their property; public misconnections are the responsibility of water companies.

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 report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, whether she plans to revise the legal framework for the Strategic Policy Statement and replace this with a new Ministerial Statement of Water Industry Priorities.

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

The Government will respond to the recommendations published in the final report of the Independent Water Commission through a White Paper and a new water reform bill, including reforms to the Strategic Policy Statement. We will bring forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment and restore trust and accountability. Together with the building blocks the Government has already put in place, this will mark the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation.

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 report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, whether she plans to consult on the introduction of a national social tariff.

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

The Government is considering the Independent Water Commission’s recommendation to consult on a National Social Tariff and will respond later this year. Through the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, it has expanded powers to create improved affordability support schemes, helping water companies better identify and assist eligible customers. However, due to the complexities involved and the need for consultation and Parliamentary approval, no specific policies or timelines can yet be confirmed. In the meantime, the Government expects the water industry to continue reviewing existing support schemes to protect vulnerable customers.

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 report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, whether she plans to ensure future water monitoring programmes are (a) reviewed and (b) resourced to reflect the state of the environment.

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

The Government will respond to the recommendations in full via a White Paper, published later this year. The White Paper will outline the Government’s vision for the future of the water sector, marking the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation. Following this, we plan to introduce a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors, and the environment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on publishing a national water strategy.

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

The Independent Water Commission, tasked by the Government to produce recommendations to transform how our water system works, delivered its final report on 21 July 2025.

The Government will respond to the recommendations in full, including on the recommendation to publish a national water strategy, via a White Paper. The White Paper will outline the Government’s vision for the future of the water sector, marking the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation.

Following this, we plan to introduce a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors, and the environment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to provide Port Health Authorities with statutory powers to (a) stop, (b) search and (c) seize illegal meat imports.

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

The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 already give port health authorities in England, search and seize powers in relation to animal products. Defra is considering the recommendations in this area in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling and will respond shortly.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve public awareness of the rules on importing products of animal origin; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the models used in New Zealand.

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

Defra is mindful of international examples, such as models used in New Zealand, when considering approaches for improving public awareness of rules for importing products of animal origin. Defra has worked in partnership with other Government departments, ports, airports and international travel operators to improve public awareness of the rules. Defra has issued public communications about the rules via press release, social media and GOV.UK, and published posters for operational partners to display.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of requiring water companies to demonstrate efficient land asset management before price increases are approved on customers.

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

Water bills are set by Ofwat who consider all aspects of company business planning through their price review process. The Government is preparing to respond to the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission, including on asset management. Reforms outlined in the government's forthcoming white paper will form the basis of a new water reform bill to be introduced early in this Parliament.

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 report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, what progress her Department has made on responding to the recommendations in that report.

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

The Government has already responded to a number of Sir Jon’s recommendations, as set out in the statement made by the previous Secretary of State on 21 July.  This set out the Government’s intention to establish a single regulator for water, to include a regional element within the new regulator, to establish a new statutory water ombudsman, to end operator self-monitoring and transition to Open Monitoring, and to issue an interim Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat and give Ministerial directions to the Environment Agency, setting out our expectations and requirements.

The Government will respond to the recommendations in full via a White Paper, published later this year. The White Paper will outline the Government’s vision for the future of the water sector, marking the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation. Following this, we plan to introduce a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors, and the environment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing national taskforce to tackle illegal imports of (a) meat and (b) animal products.

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

Defra is considering this recommendation in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase public awareness of the steps people whose homes are at risk of flooding should take to help mitigate that risk.

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

We welcome the publication of the Environmental Audit Committee's ‘Flood resilience in England’ report on 13 October. The department is considering its recommendations, including a national audit of flood resilience assets and on increasing public awareness of both flood risk and public bodies’ statutory duties.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning a national audit of flood resilience assets.

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

We welcome the publication of the Environmental Audit Committee's ‘Flood resilience in England’ report on 13 October. The department is considering its recommendations, including a national audit of flood resilience assets and on increasing public awareness of both flood risk and public bodies’ statutory duties.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase public awareness of the statutory duties of public bodies with relation to flooding.

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

We welcome the publication of the Environmental Audit Committee's ‘Flood resilience in England’ report on 13 October. The department is considering its recommendations, including a national audit of flood resilience assets and on increasing public awareness of both flood risk and public bodies’ statutory duties.

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 1 July 2025 to Question 63264 on Reforms to Bathing Water Regulations 2013 and with reference to the Written Statement Reform of 28 October 2025 on The Bathing Water Regulations 2013, what her planned timetable is for the implementation of the wider reforms.

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

In November and December 2024, the Government, jointly with Welsh Government, consulted on Reforms to The Bathing Water Regulations 2013, in the first shake-up to the Bathing Water Regulations since they were introduced. On 28 October 2025 the Department laid before Parliament a statutory instrument which incorporated the three core reforms and several technical amendments consulted on.

The consultation also sought views on two wider possible reforms. We have begun policy development and research, including immersion studies to determine how best to implement these reforms in future and take into account any potential environmental, societal and access impacts. We will share information regarding timetables for potential implementation of these wider reforms following the conclusion of the studies and after further policy development.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the (a) Property Flood Resilience Scheme and (b) Flood Re in supporting people affected by flooding.

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

From April 2024 to March 2025, around 350 properties were better protected by Property Flood Resilience measures under the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Investment Programme.

Flood Re supported over 346,000 household policies in 2024/25, with 650,000 properties benefitting since launch. Flood Re’s second Quinquennial Review, published July 2024, recommends measures to improve efficiency and support transition to a risk-reflective insurance market by 2039. These will be considered by the Secretary of State.

Last month, I met senior insurance leaders to explore industry support for customers, ensuring access to affordable coverage and fair claims, especially for households at high flood risk.

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 report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, whether she plans to make an assessment of how effectively public health can be incorporated into a new water framework.

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

Public Health outcomes are a key gap in the current legislative framework. The Independent Water Commission recommended the Chief Medical Officers of England and Wales establish taskforces to review the incorporation of public health better into the water legislative framework.

The Government will work closely with the Chief Medical Officers and the Department of Health and Social Care to consider how to best create a legal framework that reflects latest research around public health outcomes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a statutory duty for fire and rescue services to respond to flooding.

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

The Government is currently assessing the basis for a statutory duty for Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) in England to respond to flooding. This includes consideration of dedicated funding for training, equipment, and operational planning.

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 report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, whether she plans to strengthen the requirements on companies to (a) map and (b) assess the health of their assets.

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

The Government is preparing to respond to the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission, including on the extent and enforcement of current water industry mapping requirements and condition assessments. Reforms outlined in this response will form the basis of a new water reform bill to be introduced early in this Parliament.

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 report entitled Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector, updated on 29 July 2025, whether she plans to provide a regulatory framework to drive the adoption of water re-use infrastructure in the (a) household and (b) non-household markets.

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

The Secretary of State will respond to recommendations in the Independent Water Commission in the upcoming White Paper publication.

A consultation launched on 23 September 2025 proposes tightening Building Regulations that could see new homes fitted with Water Saving features, such as aerated taps and showerheads, and dual flush toilets. Strengthened Water Efficiency Standards through updated Building Regulations will boost housebuilding and keep more money in families’ pockets. Updated standards will bolster drought resilience and unblock developments in water scarce areas. Future innovations such as using harvested rainwater to flush toilets are also being considered in a call for evidence running alongside the consultation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase regenerative farming.

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

Regenerative agriculture is based on an understanding that the health of the entire food system is intrinsically linked to soil health.

Healthy soils, rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water, are essential for sustainable food production. We will support farmers and land managers to help restore nature, to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change.

We are investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature's recovery. Overall, farmers and land managers will benefit from an average of £2.3 billion a year through the Farming and Countryside Programme and up to £400 million from additional nature schemes, including those for tree planting and peatland restorations. Funding for the Environmental Land Management schemes paid to farmers will increase by 150% from £800 million in 2023/24 to £2 billion by 2028/29.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to (a) contain, (b) clean up and (c) remediate radioactivity in the (i) air and (ii) sea as a result of (A) potential incidents and (B) accidents involving vessels transporting radioactive cargos through the English Channel.

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

Defra is the lead Government department for remediating releases of radiological and nuclear materials in England.

Containment of the source may be possible but would depend on a wide range of factors.

If radioactive contamination from the air or sea was transferred to the built environment, for example deposited on a building, or was deposited on land, for example beaches, then Defra would consider recovery options. This would involve a risk-based approach using existing contingency plans to consider environmental risks.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage privatised water companies to increase their financial transparency.

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

All companies need to submit a single, annual performance report to demonstrate compliance with their separate price controls. Annual performance reports should be accessible to all stakeholders so that they show how the sector is delivering for its customers, environment and wider society. This has been a requirement since 2015-16 and replaced the previous ‘regulatory accounts’.

Ofwat plans to consult early next year on requiring companies to publish full details of remuneration received by directors from the regulated, group and parent companies, including explanations of what the remuneration relates to.

More broadly, the Government will set out its response to the recommendations proposed by the Independent Water Commission, alongside the Government’s wider vision for the future of the water sector, via a White Paper. Following this, we plan to introduce a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors, and the environment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to fund flooding defence systems in winter 2025-26.

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

This Government is investing £2.65 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26) into our flood resilience.

Since July last year, the Environment Agency has delivered 151 flood defence schemes, better protecting over 24,000 homes and businesses. It is poised to deliver more, across all of England, benefiting thousands of homes, supporting economic growth and unlocking new land for development.

Following years of under-investment, we inherited flood defences in their worst state on record – the condition of key defences in England was at the lowest it had been since 2009/10. By redirecting £108 million into urgent flood and coastal defence maintenance we have halted the decline.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered streamlining adoption processes for (a) sewers and (b) drainage systems where (i) easements and (ii) multiple landownerships delay adoption by water companies.

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

Almost all private sewers, lateral drains, and pumping stations built before 2011 should have been adopted by water companies. In cases where adoption has not occurred, householders are advised to contact Ofwat.

The Government is committed to using legislation to reform the water sector and will continue to do so where necessary. Following the Independent Water Commission’s final report, government will examine its recommendations and how best to address the problems caused by unadopted sewerage.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures are in place to enable those parts of the country with a surplus of water to redistribute it to those areas in need.

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

Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically and set out how they plan to continue to supply water to their customers through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). These plans set out how each company will continue to meet this duty and manage water supply and demand sustainably for at least the next 25 years.

Transferring water from areas of surplus, or from new water supply infrastructure, may contribute to a more optimal overall solution, delivering best value for society. Water company Water Resources Management Plans published in 2024/25, propose a number of larger inter-company transfers and many internal and external transfers. The Environment Agency has published a summary of the water company plans: A review of England’s revised draft regional and water resources management plans - 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 her Department is taking to (a) improve water efficiency and (b) reduce leaks in the public water supply network.

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

The Government is delivering on improvements in water efficiency and leakage reductions via a series of water demand targets, which will reduce water usage by 20% per person by 2038 and cut leakage in halve by 2050. To meet these targets, the Government is rolling out a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label for products and consulting to revise the minimum Water Efficiency Standard for new houses in the 2010 Building Regulations.

We are working with regulators to assure the roll out of 10.4 million smart meters over the next five years. This will be delivered alongside a £100 million Water Efficiency Fund (WEF) over the next 5 years.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect kelp forests in UK waters.

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

The UK recognises the important role that habitats such as kelp can play in preventing biodiversity loss, supporting healthy ecosystems and adaptation to climate change.

In England, we have a comprehensive network of 181 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and kelp can be found in some of these making up part of our key reef biotopes. Our focus is on ensuring these MPAs are effectively managed to allow the designated features, including those covering kelp, to achieve favourable condition.

Natural England are actively involved in the study and conservation of kelp forests in England. This work includes conducting dive surveys to monitor the condition of kelp forests, which can inform conservation action and help safeguard the long-term health of these ecosystems.

Defra set up the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership in partnership with DESNZ and the Devolved Governments to address evidence gaps around blue carbon habitats, including kelp. Defra is providing over £600,000 this financial year towards research into blue carbon, £36,000 of which is specifically directed towards macroalgae, including kelp. Defra also worked with a number of partners to produce regulatory guidance for seaweed aquaculture in England for those considering kelp aquaculture.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of sewage discharges in the North West on (a) social and (b) economic well-being.

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

Our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act will introduce independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows. Discharges will have to be reported within an hour of the initial spill.

We have begun rebuilding the water network to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. In one of the largest infrastructure projects in this country’s history, £104 billion is being invested to upgrade crumbling pipes and sewage treatment works 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, whether her Department holds data on the estimated cost of flood losses for (a) insured properties and (b) uninsured properties in each year since 2015.

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

The Evidence on the Costs of Floods in England and Wales, covers the 2016 to 2019 period and the Estimating the Economic Costs of the 2015 to 2016 Winter Floods covers 2015 through to 2016.

Flood Re has enabled over 660,000 households to access affordable flood insurance since its launch, with 346,200 policies ceded in 2024/25 alone. Prior to Flood Re, average premiums for flood-affected homes were around £4,400, compared to £1,100 in 2024.

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 she has made on the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.

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

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers will launch in October 2027 across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Earlier this year we appointed UK DMO as the deposit management organisation for the schemes in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and they are continuing to progress at pace with delivery of the scheme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) fines and (b) prosecutions have resulted from the illegal importation of products of animal origin in each of the last three years.

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

Defra does not hold this information.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of rhododendron sales on woodland (a) management and (b) restoration.

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

Defra has not conducted a formal assessment specifically regarding the impact of rhododendron sales on woodland management or restoration. However, the Department recognises that Rhododendron ponticum is a highly invasive non-native species that poses a serious threat to woodland ecosystems. Its dense growth suppresses native vegetation, inhibits natural regeneration, and acts as a host for Phytophthora ramorum, a tree disease that affects a wide range of species. These ecological impacts significantly complicate woodland management and restoration efforts.

To support woodland owners in controlling and removing rhododendron, Defra provides funding through the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme, specifically the SB6: Rhododendron Control capital item. This offers payments of up to £5,500 per hectare, depending on site conditions, to cover the cost of cutting, treating, and disposing of rhododendron. Applicants must submit a management plan and follow strict protocols to prevent regrowth and disease spread.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department holds data on the average insurance premiums for properties in each flood risk zone in each of last five years.

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

Flood Re is a joint Government and industry scheme enabling households at high flood risk to access affordable insurance. Since launch, over 650,000 properties have benefitted, with 346,000 policies supported in 2024/25.

Before Flood Re, average premiums for flood-affected homes were around £4,400; now they are approximately £1,100.

Defra continues working with Flood Re and insurers to monitor affordability, support resilience, and improve outcomes through schemes like Build Back Better and the PFR Grant, alongside engagement with industry leaders at an insurance roundtable to ensure access to affordable coverage and fair claims for flood-prone homes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department holds data on the number of properties in each flood risk zones that does not have insurance.

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

Flood Re is a joint Government and industry scheme enabling households at high flood risk to access affordable insurance. Since launch, over 650,000 properties have benefitted, with 346,000 policies supported in 2024/25.

Before Flood Re, average premiums for flood-affected homes were around £4,400; now they are approximately £1,100.

Defra continues working with Flood Re and insurers to monitor affordability, support resilience, and improve outcomes through schemes like Build Back Better and the PFR Grant, alongside engagement with industry leaders at an insurance roundtable to ensure access to affordable coverage and fair claims for flood-prone homes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what changes have been made in the past twelve months to the monitoring of animal health disease under the Animal Health and Welfare Framework.

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

The Animal and Plant Health Agency leads the Government’s monitoring of animal disease control and carries out routine surveillance of disease risks in the UK and globally, to help the Government anticipate future threats to animal health.

We remain vigilant to changes in risk and continue to use our established systems to monitor for new and emerging threats to our biosecurity through our Veterinary Risk Group and the Human and Animal Infections Risk Surveillance Group.

The Animal Health and Welfare Common Framework (Provisional Framework Outline Agreement and Concordat), published as a Command Paper in 2022, has been produced to explain how the UK Government and devolved Governments propose to work together in key areas of animal health and welfare law and policy. It explains how the principles of devolution continue to apply to animal health and welfare policy after the UK’s exit from the EU.

The separate Animal Health and Welfare Framework published in 2018 has been produced to help county councils, unitary authorities and metropolitan boroughs in England deliver their statutory duties in relation to the health and welfare of farmed animals.

Neither Framework in its own right establishes nor introduces any changes to the monitoring of animal health.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the implementation of Windsor Framework rules governing the distribution of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland from 1 January 2026 will impact (a) GB online retailers selling consumers in Northern Ireland veterinary diet foods for animals experiencing specific conditions and (b) the sale of veterinary medicines that must be prescribed.

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

a) Veterinary diet foods are not classified as veterinary medicines; therefore, they can continue to be supplied in the same way as they are now.

b) Authorised veterinary medicines sold in Northern Ireland, prescribed or otherwise, will need to be manufactured in the EU or Northern Ireland in order to comply with the changes that will take effect from 1 January 2026. If those medicines move from GB or through GB, then the batch testing and release activities will need to be repeated before they are placed on the market in Northern Ireland.

The Government has introduced two schemes to complement the prescribing cascade to help ensure vets are able to prescribe the medicines needed to protect animal health and welfare.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's policy is on the sale of goods bearing Not for EU labels in Northern Ireland to visitors who reside in the Republic of Ireland.

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

The ‘Not for EU’ labelling requirements are a necessary means of ensuring goods moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland through the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS) are only sold to consumers in Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework does not stipulate a place of residence for those consumers.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a difference between the responsibilities of a local authority for clearing, or paying to clear, waste illegally placed by third parties (1) within 10 metres of a public highway for which the local authority is responsible, and (2) more than 10 metres from such a highway; what is the legal basis; and what assessment they have made of whether there is sufficient legal certainty of those responsibilities.

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

Section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 imposes duties on local authorities to ensure that certain land is, so far as is practicable, kept clear of litter and refuse. The Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse provides guidance on discharging these duties. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-on-litter-and-refuse (attached).

Landowners are responsible for clearing waste from land that they own.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has considered reforming the Habitat Regulations in as far as they relate to planning.

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

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is nearing its final stages in Parliament. The Bill establishes a strategic alternative to the Habitats Regulations Assessment in certain circumstances, although the Regulations remain in place. These provisions will accelerate housing and infrastructure development while supporting the recovery of protected sites and species.

The Government is working to improve the functioning of the Habitats Regulations,

including acting on the recommendations of the Corry Review and the recent Post-Implementation Review. We will also publish updated guidance on the Habitats Regulations Assessment process.

We want to ensure that the Habitats Regulations deliver certainty and efficiency for developers, while protecting our most valuable habitats and species.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 29 October (HL11074), whether they will make an assessment of the responsibilities of local authorities in relation to clearing up fly-tipping that takes place on a private land more than 10 metres from the highway.

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

There is no plan to make an assessment of the responsibilities of local authorities in relation to clearing up fly-tipping that takes place on a private land more than 10 metres from the highway.

Landowners are responsible for clearing waste from land that they own.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the relationship between access to core utilities and population retention in remote rural areas.

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

Rural policy is a devolved matter. Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics including rural population trends, and rural service provision in The Statistical Digest for Rural England.

Net internal migration within England tends to be towards rural authorities, and in 2023 the rate of this migration was higher than in 2013; the exception to this is 15- to- 19- year-olds for which there is net migration from rural authorities, reflecting the movement of students.

Despite this we know that people living in rural areas often have greater distances to travel to access essential services and can struggle to access other core utilities.

This Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities. We have made a commitment that all policy decision-making including the provision of utility infrastructure should be rural proofed to ensure that rural areas are not overlooked and that the intended outcomes are deliverable in rural areas.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support essential infrastructure in rural communities at risk of depopulation.

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

Rural policy is a devolved matter. Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics including rural population trends, and rural service provision in The Statistical Digest for Rural England.

Net internal migration within England tends to be towards rural authorities, and in 2023 the rate of this migration was higher than in 2013; the exception to this is 15- to- 19- year-olds for which there is net migration from rural authorities, reflecting the movement of students.

Despite this we know that people living in rural areas often have greater distances to travel to access essential services and can struggle to access other core utilities.

This Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities. We have made a commitment that all policy decision-making including the provision of utility infrastructure should be rural proofed to ensure that rural areas are not overlooked and that the intended outcomes are deliverable in rural areas.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how she plans to assess progress towards establishing the proposed UK–EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary zone under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

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

This autumn we expect to start the detailed negotiations on the SPS agreement, as well as the other commitments from our summit in May

Defra has established a programme to deliver the work required to implement a UK-EU SPS agreement. This is already part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio, with regular progress reporting into the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many at-sea boarding inspections of (a) UK and (b) EU flagged fishing vessels took place outside of six nautical miles in each year between 2015 and 2025.

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

As fisheries control and enforcement is a devolved matter, each Devolved Administration is responsible for conducting inspections on vessels in their respective waters. Although the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) does not routinely publish specifics on inspections, the MMO annual reports which are published on gov.uk provide certain figures, for example during 2023/24 financial year, 37% of inspections at sea were conducted on non-UK vessels and 63% conducted within the UK domestic fleet. Information on the number of inspections carried out by Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish authorities in waters they are responsible for can be requested from the relevant devolved Government.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of grants for farmers to support (a) sustainable and (b) regenerative agricultural practices in Lincolnshire.

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

The Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production across the country, including Lincolnshire, over this Parliament. All our Environmental Land Management schemes will continue, and we will continue to evolve and improve them in an orderly way.

We have committed nearly £250 million in funding up to 2030 to improve productivity, trial new technologies and drive innovation in the agricultural sector.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of whether the membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board includes adequate expertise in (a) public health, (b) nutrition, (c) environmental science, (d) climate policy and (e) sustainable farming.

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

The Food Strategy Advisory Board is a deliberately small group of senior leaders who represent a wealth of experience and important elements within the food system and reflect the diversity of the sector. The Board’s role is to provide independent advice to support the development of the food strategy. Appointments are considered in terms of the collective insight they bring to national food policy. We keep membership under review to ensure representation from throughout the food sector and the necessary expertise.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the Small Abattoir Fund was spent by her Department prior to it's closure in 2024.

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

The Rural Payments Agency have offered agreements for the Smaller Abattoir Fund worth a total of £1,119,347.59.

Smaller Abattoir Fund grants are claimed in arrears and as of 04 November 2025, £593,018.55 has been paid out under the scheme.

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 4th November 2025 to question 84180 on Alpacas: Bluetongue Disease, what restrictions there are on the export of alpacas to (a) Ireland and (b) mainland Europe as a result of the Bluetongue virus.

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

As Great Britain is currently not recognised as bluetongue disease-free, the export of all susceptible live animals, including alpacas, to EU and EFTA countries is suspended.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a certification system to help prevent the (a) selling and (b) purchasing of pets that have not been neutered.

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

Owners of cats and dogs are supported by the Government’s welfare codes of practice, which can be found here: Code of practice for the welfare of dogs and Code of practice for the welfare of cats. The codes signpost owners to advice on neutering.

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, commercial sellers of pets are required to give purchasers advice on the care of the animals bought. For cats, dogs, rabbits and ferrets, this specifically includes reproductive health matters such as neutering.

The Government is not currently considering changes to its advice or regulations on the neutering of cats, dogs or other pets.

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 Farming Profitability Review, which stakeholders in Northern Ireland gave evidence to the Review.

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

Under the Terms of Reference, Baroness Batters’s Farming Profitability Review is an England-only review. Baroness Batters wrote an open letter to stakeholders and received responses from organisations that represent farmers in Northern Ireland. This included Northern Ireland-specific organisations, and organisations covering the whole of the UK. The department is considering her recommendations carefully.

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 4 November 2025 to Question 85623 on Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination, for what reason Northern Ireland was not included in the marketing authorisation.

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

To maintain Northern Ireland’s full access to the EU’s single market, from 1 January 2026, the movement of veterinary medicines into Northern Ireland must comply with relevant EU rules under the Windsor Framework. This includes the current EU-wide prohibition on the use of the bovine tuberculosis vaccine in cattle.

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 paragraph 27 of her Department's policy paper entitled Protecting Animal Health: The The Government’s Approach to Veterinary Medicines in Northern Ireland, updated on 19 June 2025, how the proposed Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme will allow vets to use specific individual medicines not authorised or available in Northern Ireland when needed; and what steps she is taking to ensure relevant obligations under (a) the IE/NI Protocol and (b) the pharmaceutical acquis of the Union are met.

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

The Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme (VMIMS) builds on the existing cascade system that is well known to vets. It removes the requirement for a Special Import Certificate for products sourced from Great Britain under the cascade that are not vaccines. The additional guidance clarifies how vets can source medicines under the VMIMS scheme in response to industry feedback. The VMIMS aims to reduce administrative burden on vets when seeking alternative products from GB that are not vaccines. In accordance with the Windsor Framework, EU legislation in relation to veterinary medicines applies in Northern Ireland. The schemes we have introduced are compliant with EU law.

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 para 23 of her Department's policy paper entitled Protecting Animal Health: The Government’s Approach to Veterinary Medicines in Northern Ireland, updated on 19 June 2025, how the proposed Veterinary Medicines Health Situation Scheme will permit the use of suitable alternative products from outside Northern Ireland if required; and what steps she plans to take to ensure relevant obligations under (a) the IE/NI Protocol and (b) the pharmaceutical acquis of the Union are met.

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

The Veterinary Medicines Health Situation Scheme allows the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) to provide temporary authorisation for EU veterinary medicines where the animal or public health or welfare situation requires. The new guidance sets out the criteria VMD will use to judge whether a temporary authorisation is necessary. In accordance with the Windsor Framework, EU legislation in relation to veterinary medicines applies in Northern Ireland. The schemes we have introduced are compliant with EU law.

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 10 July 2025 to Question 83716 on Food Labelling, will vegan sausages made in Great Britain and sold in Northern Ireland require packing that describes the product without the word 'sausages'.

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

The Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS) allows products which meet GB consumer protection and marketing standards to move to Northern Ireland for sale. Therefore, vegan sausages entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain using NIRMS would continue to be able to be packaged and sold as sausages, like in the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Government will continue to monitor changes to EU regulations, noting that the European Parliament’s position on this matter would require approval from the other EU institutions to become law. Furthermore, any new EU rules are subject to the democratic scrutiny arrangements under the Windsor Framework.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish in full the (a) modelling and (b) assumptions underpinning her Department's £100 billion estimate of nationalising the water sector.

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

Defra has estimated the cost of nationalising the water sector to be around £100 billion. We have published in full the assumptions and methodology informing our estimate here: Nationalising the water sector: how we assessed the cost - GOV.UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Natural England’s Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security strategy.

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

Natural England worked closely with Defra and other stakeholders in development of their new strategy entitled ‘Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security’, which has been shared and discussed with Ministers. The strategic outcomes and approaches described in the strategy align with Defra and Government priorities.

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 4 October 2024 to Question 6887 on Plastics: Pollution, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the plastic waste export regime in promoting domestic recycling.

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

Defra is reviewing the role of plastic waste exports as part of the Government’s wider efforts to improve management of this waste. Our focus is on ensuring a level playing field for domestic recyclers whilst realising our environmental objectives, and any future action will aim to help drive investment in UK reprocessing infrastructure and promote domestic recycling.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the plastic waste export regime to help increase levels of domestic recycling.

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

Defra is reviewing the role of plastic waste exports as part of the Government’s wider efforts to improve management of this waste. Our focus is on ensuring a level playing field for domestic recyclers whilst realising our environmental objectives, and any future action will aim to help drive investment in UK reprocessing infrastructure and promote domestic recycling.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the permitted means and locations for the disposal of lithium-ion batteries after they have expired in motor vehicles.

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

The lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles are classified as “waste industrial batteries” once they can no longer be used in a vehicle. Sometimes they are repurposed for something else, for example, energy storage. Otherwise, they must be sent to an appropriate battery recycling facility — they cannot be disposed of, for example, incinerated or landfilled.

The battery recycling centres in England must be approved and have the right environmental permits from the Environment Agency. You can find a list of these approved facilities online in the Environment Agency’s Public Register Public Registers Online.

Some batteries may be sent to another country for recycling. If so, they must go through an approved exporter. These exporters are also listed in the same Public Register.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's finding that 26 percent of the 1,720 native plants it studied are threatened with extinction; and what plans they have to protect such species.

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

In England, we have four legally binding targets for biodiversity: to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030; to reverse declines by at least 10% by 2042, when compared with 2030; to reduce the risk of national species extinction by 2042; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat, also by 2042.

To meet these targets and deliver positive outcomes for species, including threatened plants, we are taking actions to: create and restore, wildlife-rich habitats; reduce pressures on biodiversity; and deliver targeted action for threatened species. For example, Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme provides funding for targeted action for threatened species, including a range of plant species such as the Fen orchid and the Lady Slipper orchid.

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 3 November 2025 to Question 85053 on the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023, if she will set out a timeline including milestones for the introduction of the regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

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

The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.

We continue to engage with stakeholders including the tourism industry and animal welfare groups to explore both legislative and non-legislative options to stop the advertising of low-welfare animal activities abroad.

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 3 November 2025 to Question 86440 on Deposit Return Schemes, if she will take steps to ensure the deposit return scheme allows (a) bottles and (b) other deposit items (i) purchased in the UK to be returned in other European countries and (ii) vice versa.

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

Thank you for your interest in the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). The objectives of DRS include boosting recycling levels, reducing littering, and offering greater opportunities to collect higher quality, uncontaminated materials in greater quantities.

In practical terms, DRS regulations allow UK Deposit Management Organisation (Ltd), who has been appointed to operate the scheme in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, to work jointly and in cooperation with other scheme administrators, including those operating an overseas scheme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of regenerative agriculture.

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

We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. We are targeting public money where it delivers most value – supporting nature, because all farms need healthy soils, abundant pollinators, and clean water to produce good food.

This includes the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). Many SFI actions follow the regenerative farming approach. This includes actions on soil health, integrated pest management, farmland wildlife, hedgerows, buffer strips, agroforestry, precision farming, grassland, and moorland. We will publish information on the next iteration of the scheme in due course.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of sites of special scientific interest in each county in England are in a favourable condition.

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

On 1 April 2023 Natural England changed from a unit (or area)-based assessment and reporting process to one based on the features within each site, called Whole Feature Assessment. A feature is a habitat, species, or geological characteristic for which the site is important.

The table below shows the percentage of Sites of Special Scientific Interest features in each county that are assessed as being in favourable condition as of 31st October 2025:

.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential impact of uncertainty about future rounds of the Landscape Recovery tier of Environmental Land Management schemes on farmers’ willingness to engage in long-term nature recovery projects.

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

The Government reconfirmed its commitment to Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in the Autumn 2024 Spending Review. More than £2.7 billion a year will be invested in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026/27 to 2028/29.

Defra wants Landscape Recovery to work for collaborative groups of farmers delivering ambitious nature recovery at the landscape scale. The Department is pleased the projects currently in the scheme involve over 1,000 land managers, many of which are farmers. As the first projects are entering the implementation phase, farmers are benefitting directly from engaging in long-term nature recovery projects.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help increase skills in the agriculture, food and farming sectors.

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

The Government’s skills white paper sets out our ambition for an employer focussed skills employment system. This means equipping individuals with life and work skills, while ensuring businesses also invest in developing the current future workforce. The Farming Roadmap will set out how farming can evolve in response to changing markets, technologies, and environmental pressures, and how the Government will support this transition.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) illegal waste dumping and (b) fly-tipping on rural communities.

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

While no recent assessment has been made, we appreciate the difficulty that illegal waste dumping and fly-tipping poses to rural communities. We work with a wide range of parties through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, which involves the Environment Agency (EA) and National Farmers Union, to promote and disseminate good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land.

We are making policy and regulatory reforms to close loopholes exploited by criminals - fundamentally reforming the waste carriers, brokers and dealers system, tightening waste permit exemptions and introducing digital waste tracking. We have increased EA’s budget for waste crime enforcement by over 50% this year to £15.6m enabling the EA to increase its frontline criminal enforcement resource in the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and area environmental crime teams by the equivalent of 43 full-time staff.

We encourage local authorities to make good use of their enforcement powers which include prosecution. On conviction, a cost order can be made by the court so that a landowner’s costs can be recovered from the perpetrator. We are also reviewing local authority powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on its manifesto commitment to extend the ban on trail hunting.

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

This Government is committed to enacting a ban on trail hunting in line with our manifesto commitment. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and we will consult on how to deliver a ban in the new year. Stakeholder engagement will form an important element of the consultation process, and we will ensure everyone has the opportunity to give their views and present their evidence.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on the proposed ban on trail hunting.

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

This Government is committed to enacting a ban on trail hunting in line with our manifesto commitment. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and we will consult on how to deliver a ban in the new year. Stakeholder engagement will form an important element of the consultation process, and we will ensure everyone has the opportunity to give their views and present their evidence.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking both domestically and internationally to protect and support sunfish populations.

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

While not a permanent resident in UK waters, sunfish are known to visit our seas during the summer months to feed. Sunfish are not commercially caught in the UK, and the sale of products derived from them is prohibited under UK legislation. We are taking action to protect and improve the marine environment and are committed to the global target to protect at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for publication of the rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan.

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

The Government concluded a rapid review of the existing Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) and published a statement of the rapid review’s key findings on 30 January 2025. It is our intention to publish a revised EIP in due course, which will be our long-term plan for improving the natural environment and people’s enjoyment of it.

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 27 June 2025 to Question 61182 on Litter: Codes of Practice, and with reference to paragraphs 78 and 79 of the Pride in Place strategy, published on 25 September 2025, whether her Department intends to respond to the consultation; and whether the proposed measures in the previous consultation to stop the abuse of litter fines for profit will now be implemented.

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

The consultation on statutory littering enforcement guidance was carried out under the previous Government.

In the Pride in Place strategy, we have committed to publishing such guidance and intend do so early next year. Councils will remain responsible for their enforcement activity but will have a duty to have regard to the guidance once it comes into force.

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 4 November 2025 to Question 85516 on Marine Protected Areas: Bottom Trawling, when she plans to publish (a) the summary of that consultation and (b) her Department's response.

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

A consultation on the latest round of proposed fisheries byelaws, which proposes further restrictions on bottom trawling, closed on 29 September. The Marine Management Organisation is now carefully considering all responses received, and decisions will be made in due course.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of rivers in each county in England are in a good overall condition.

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

The most recent comprehensive assessment in 2019 shows that 16% of rivers in England are achieving good ecological status. This information is available on the Environment Agency’s Catchment Data Explorer, where it is presented for individual water bodies, river catchments and river basin districts. The next comprehensive assessment of the condition of the water environment is underway and will be published next 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 her Department is taking to ensure that the Environmental Land Management Landscape Recovery tier continues beyond the current funding round to deliver nature recovery at landscape scale.

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

The Government reconfirmed its commitment to Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in the Autumn 2024 Spending Review. More than £2.7 billion a year will be invested in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026/27 to 2028/29.

Landscape Recovery projects that were awarded funding in rounds 1 and 2 are continuing, with the first projects moving into the delivery phase earlier this year. Landscape Recovery is integral to the delivery of Defra’s statutory environmental targets.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Environmental Land Management Scheme Landscape Recovery tier continues beyond the current round.

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

The Government reconfirmed its commitment to Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in the Autumn 2024 Spending Review. More than £2.7 billion a year will be invested in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026/27 to 2028/29.

Landscape Recovery projects that were awarded funding in rounds 1 and 2 are continuing, with the first projects moving into the delivery phase earlier this year. Landscape Recovery is integral to the delivery of Defra’s statutory environmental targets.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure farmers receive support for instances of flooding in winter 2025-26.

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

To support rural communities and farmers, we:

• are funding actions to improve the environment, mitigate flood risk, and boost resilience such as natural flood management, through the Environmental Land Management schemes.
• are investing over £300 million in natural flood management under the Government’s new flood investment programme, the highest figure to date for the floods programme.
• have provided £91 million in funding to internal drainage boards , supporting greater flood resilience for farmers and rural communities already benefiting over 400,000 hectares of farmland and over 200,000 properties, and will avoid around £10 billion of economic damage.
• have established the Rural Flood Resilience Partnership, a collaboration with the Environment Agency and rural stakeholders to support agricultural businesses in adapting to increase their resilience to flood risks.
• have introduced the Flood Resilience Taskforce, where the NFU has a seat at the table, which will enhance coordination between central Government local authorities, local communities and emergency services to better protect communities across the UK.

Found: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the government department responsible

Found: (DEFRA).

Found: mechanisms, such as with HMRC on the quality of service provision of customs intermediaries and with Defra

Found: Again, for example, if you look at the DEFRA part of the climate plan, it is very strong on methane

Found: That is co-ordination between DESNZ, DEFRA and the Department for Transport, when you think about electrification

Found: We welcome the work of the Veterinary Medicine Working Group, led by Baroness Hayman, and Defra and

Found: Richard Millar: It is an area where adaptation has sometimes been siloed within Defra, which has the

Found: Indpendent Brewers & Associates (SIBA) (SBS0070) small breweries and appears to be at odds with what the DEFRA

Found: Business and Trade (DBT) and the strategies on which it leads, we are too often sign-posted back to Defra

Found:  Create an industry roundtable which feeds into Defra, MHCLG, Treasury, and other government departments

Found: With government centrally, the Met Office works very closely with Defra 17 on issues of adaptation and

Found: (DEFRA) figures show that in 2024, 11% of the total agricultural workforce

Found: I invited Dan Corry to come into DEFRA and look at environmental regulation and environmental regulators

Found: go round and round in circles, just because—to pick some at random—the DFT does not agree with DEFRA

Found: According to Defra statistics, 69% of farm businesses in England had some diversified activity in 2022

Found: perhaps some of the most extraordinary idiocy every seen on TV, ministers including PM Starmer and Defra

Found: Consider that DEFRA and the Sustainable Farming Incentive deems £594/ha (£240.38 per acre) gross income

Found: Consider that DEFRA and the Sustainable Farming Incentive deems £594/ha (£240.38 per acre) gross income

Found: perhaps some of the most extraordinary idiocy every seen on TV, ministers including PM Starmer and Defra

Found: Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, and currently the Government’s food policy committee, the DEFRA

Found: you referred and one of the things that is really striking is that you have the Environment Agency, Defra

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to decarbonise refrigerated transport.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to develop an Off-Road Machinery Decarbonisation Strategy, the scope of which includes transport refrigeration units (TRUs). This strategy will set out how off-road machinery can further decarbonise while maintaining competitiveness, attracting investment and supporting growth. To support this, we are currently reviewing the findings of a multi-year research project commissioned to ZEMO Partnership into the emissions from diesel-powered auxiliary engines, including from TRUs used on heavy goods vehicles.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential merits of reversing recent changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury Ministers discuss a range of subjects with Ministers from other departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.

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 merits of requiring vape liquid and vapes to be sold separately.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is currently exploring a range of topics related to vaping and nicotine products.

On 8 October, we launched a call for evidence which examines the size and shape of vapes, vape-like devices and tanks, the components of vaping products, as well as the role of technology in these devices. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/tobacco-and-vapes-evidence-to-support-legislation/tobacco-and-vapes-evidence-to-support-legislation.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs banned the sale and supply of single use vapes due to the harm that they cause to the environment on 1 June 2025. They will continue to monitor the impact of these changes to ensure that they have the desired positive environmental impact.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating zero-emission transport refrigeration units for refrigerated transport to replace diesel units.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to develop an Off-Road Machinery Decarbonisation Strategy, the scope of which includes transport refrigeration units (TRUs). This strategy will set out how off-road machinery can further decarbonise while maintaining competitiveness, attracting investment, and supporting growth. Decisions on the long-term approach towards refrigerated units will be taken in the context of this strategy.

Found: temperate.92 Exchange of letters between Environmental Audit Committee and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the lead government department for

Found: Application of materiality Links to accounts The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra

Found: 40 DEFRA (2023) The air quality strategy for England https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-air-quality

Found: Office’s register of licensed sponsors; and (b) has an endorsement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Management Organisation, Natural Resources Wales, Natural England, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: ’ (Defra) research and innovation within the natural resources and waste sectors

Found: (Defra), and the NC3Rs are actively engaged in supporting the development,

Found: (Defra), and the NC3Rs are actively engaged in supporting the development,

Found: In January 2025 Defra launched a consultation on land use.5 This acknowledged growing demands on a fixed

Found: Detailed letters are being sent to water companies jointly from the EA, Ofwat and Defra setting out the

Found: VMD is the Defra policy lead for AMR, coordinating the delivery of the AMR NAP and UK-wide surveillance

Found: Latest GOV.UK news stories Risk levels and outbreak assessments Wild birds Mammals Bird flu webinars Defra

Found: Pow, Rebecca - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Assurance as modelling is developed In 2023 and 2024 GAD provided a full time secondee, Tom Boardman, to Defra

Found: This letter is jointly signed by Defra, the Environment Agency and Ofwat.

Found: (Defra) 171 AST Antibiotic susceptibility testing: testing used to determine

Found: RPC-DEFRA-25075-PIR (1) 1 18 September 2025 The Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England

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

Found: Defra (2023).

Found: stillage for the transport and disposal of 500 litre drum waste packages, WPS/605/01, July 2015. 43 Defra

Found: Office’s register of licensed sponsors; and (b) has an endorsement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

Found: APHA is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Found: Animal and Plant Health Agency Telephone (Defra rural services helpline): 03000 200 301 Monday to Friday

Found: referred to by condition 4.2.3 - Table S4.3 Chapter III Performance parameters for reporting to DEFRA

Found: non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra

Found: Similar meeƟngs are being organised between the review commissioners and Ministers at Defra and the other

Found: The research, which spans England, Wales, and Scotland, is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: www.gov.scot/publications/water-wastewater-drainage-consultation- analysis-report/ ◼ P.38 - JNCC and DEFRA