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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) costs, and (2) benefits, to local authorities of reuse and repair practices.

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

There have been no formal assessments made on the costs and benefits for local authorities on reuse and repair practises.

Defra recognises that repair and reuse are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for 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 UK imports of commodities on the financial value of deforested land.

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

From our modelling we know that the UK consumption of agricultural commodities was associated with 35,600 hectares of deforestation worldwide in 2022 and 12.7 million tonnes of associated carbon emissions. The UK is estimated to have been the 15^th largest driver of deforestation that year. The UK Government places an economic cost of £260 per tonne of carbon emitted, and the value of ecosystem services that forests provide are estimated to range from £9,000-£22,000 per hectare depending on whether they are tropical, which would include the Amazon, or temperate.

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 deforestation in the Amazon rainforest on the UK economy.

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

From our modelling we know that the UK consumption of agricultural commodities was associated with 35,600 hectares of deforestation worldwide in 2022 and 12.7 million tonnes of associated carbon emissions. The UK is estimated to have been the 15^th largest driver of deforestation that year. The UK Government places an economic cost of £260 per tonne of carbon emitted, and the value of ecosystem services that forests provide are estimated to range from £9,000-£22,000 per hectare depending on whether they are tropical, which would include the Amazon, or temperate.

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 January 2025 to Question 22902 on Flood Control: Finance, when he plans to announce the flood and coastal erosion risk management projects that will receive funding through regional flood and coastal committees in the 2025-26 financial year.

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

We are investing £2.65 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining and repairing flood defences. We published a full list of over 700 schemes that will receive funding in 2025/26 on Monday 31^st March.

This includes an additional £140 million to fill funding gaps for 29 flood schemes, to allow them to proceed to construction. As part of this, schemes in Alverstoke and Hill Head to Portsmouth have been allocated £3,588,150 and £778,185 respectively. Further information is available on GOV.UK, at the link below. Programme of flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) schemes - 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 proportion of invoices from UK suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt between September 2024 and February 2025.

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

The department’s prompt payment performance is published quarterly at the following website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-prompt-payment-data-april-2015-to-march-2024

In the most recent published period, covering October, November and December 2024, 99.4% of the payments were to UK suppliers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish guidance on how businesses should report extended producer responsibility-related costs in their financial accounts.

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

It is not for the Government to provide guidance on how, or when to account for pEPR fees and we would encourage producers to engage with their respective audit firms where required. Further context on intended application of Regulation 60 Liability of producers to pay annual disposal and administration fees was issued in January, which is sufficient for respective audit firms to advise where required.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings of the Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy (CE-SMG) have taken place.

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

The Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy has met twice so far:

• The first meeting of the CE-SMG was held on 15 October where the terms of reference for a Circular Economy taskforce and the CE-SMG itself were agreed.
• The second meeting on 10 February 2025 focused on the progress of the Circular Economy Taskforce to date and the Circular Economy programme across Government.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the terms of reference of the Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy (CE-SMG).

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

The terms of reference for the Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy focus on:

• Steering the Circular Economy agenda across Government, noting that responsibility for this agenda sits across a wide range of departments.
• Ensuring that the Government is maximising the opportunities to be had from properly joining up and integrating circular economy activity.

Ensuring the Government’s circular economy agenda is always driving forward the Government’s five missions, with a particular focus on kickstarting economic growth and making Britain a clean energy superpower.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that more products are designed to be reused and repaired to generate economic, environmental and social value for communities and businesses.

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

This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. To support the Government in achieving this goal, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has convened the Circular Economy Taskforce to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England, which will be supported by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. Through this work we are considering the evidence for interventions right across the economy, with an aim to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency.

We are exploring the circularity impacts of a wide range of levers, including encouraging reuse and repair, as we develop our strategy. The outputs of the strategy aim to support economic growth, deliver green jobs, promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and accelerate to Net Zero.

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 implement the measures announced in the press release entitled Changes announced to better protect England’s chalk streams, published on 21 September 2023.

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

On 21 September 2023, the Government brought forward an amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, now Act, to add chalk streams to the definitions of 'environmental protection' and 'natural environment', so that they can be considered when setting the outcomes for a future system of environmental assessment.

The Government is committed to securing better environmental outcomes alongside securing the development we need and is considering how best to reform environmental assessment processes with this objective in mind. This includes whether to take forward the powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act to introduce Environmental Outcomes Reports

We continue to direct investments to projects that will improve chalk streams. In 2024/2025, there are over 45 chalk stream projects receiving funding from the government's Water Environment Improvement Fund, each leveraging private investment, alongside that we are investing in catchment level initiatives through the Water Environment Improvement Fund where the Government is funding 45 projects (worth £2.5m of government investment) this financial year (2024/25) that improve chalk streams, each with the injection of private investment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what eligibility criteria his Department is using to appoint members to the Industry Expert Panel for the National Food Strategy.

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

Membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board has been selected through identifying senior leaders who represent important elements within the food system and reflect the diversity of the sector. The Government has sought to keep it a small group while reflecting the scope of the food supply chain and the interests of consumers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the Sustainable Farming Incentive has been spent on (a) arable farms and (b) livestock farms in 2024-25.

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

We do not require farmers to tell us their farm type (arable, livestock, mixed, etc) so we do not hold information on spend by farm type.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to support local authorities to focus on reuse and repair practices as part of a circular economy.

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

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

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 publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what Natural England purchased from Sumup Event Bar Spar in January 2025.

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

The expenditure detailed relates to a Christmas meal hospitality event held to recognise the contributions of volunteers at Fenn’s, Whixall, and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve. The total cost of £1,462.50 was processed for payment in January 2025, and it was attended by 65 volunteers invited to a celebratory event to thank them for their volunteering over the previous year. This is a total spend of approximately £22 per attendant.

This National Nature Reserve has the most volunteers (over 100 registered volunteers) for any Natural England National Nature Reserve in the West Midlands . The volunteers contribute to many aspects of the running of the National Nature Reserve. These include:

• Outreach / Engagement /Education - Leading guided walks, Giving talks, assisting with School/College groups, helping with public events, and ensuring that those with disabilities can still enjoy nature
• Assisting with practical works including habitat management, maintenance & access works
• Research / surveys / monitoring – carrying out & assisting with research projects, carrying out surveys / monitoring (inc. species & hydrology)

The volunteers in 2024/25 contributed over 6,000 hours to the National Nature Reserve.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here:

Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - 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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Birmingham bin strikes on neighbouring constituencies.

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

The Government is aware of the disruption caused by the bin strikes and the associated public health risks to the residents of Birmingham. While Birmingham City Council continues to lead the response, cross-Government mechanisms have been activated to ensure a coordinated response, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the lead and Defra supporting.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year.

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

The amount of expenditure recorded for translation services in the 2023/24 financial year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March, is £1,699.13.

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 publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what Natural England purchased from Amazon Marketplace on 30 January 2025.

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

The expenditure detailed relates to the purchase of equipment for public use (binoculars and a spotting scope) for a project at Goss Moor. The connecting people with nature project enables the public a closer view and experience of wildlife on the National Nature Reserves, it is funded through the national health and environment budget. The scope was necessary to be inclusive for people who would struggle to hold the binoculars for health reasons. The total amount of £625.42, including VAT, was processed for payment in February 2025.

This transaction is in line with our standard financial procedures, and the expenditure was reviewed and approved accordingly.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here:

Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - 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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for local record centres.

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

Biodiversity data is essential for informed planning decisions, with Local Environmental Records Centres (LERCs) and national platforms like the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) providing key species data. However, access to, and use of, Biodiversity data is inconsistent across planning applications. LERCs vary greatly by region in terms of resources, systems, and data sharing models. In 2015, Natural England ended its Service Level Agreement with LERCs and moved to a case-by-case payment model, which has a renewed focus making sure LERC data supports HMG priorities.

LERCS are one of many sources that can provide Biodiversity data for informed planning decisions. Through the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme, Natural England is collaborating with UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Biological Records Centre, NBN, as well the overarching Association of LERCs, to improve data flow, simplify submissions, and enhance national access. Recent system updates return more control to data providers, strengthening transparency and stewardship.

This work supports the Geospatial Commission’s Review on Mapping the Species Data Pathway (link), which calls for modernising data systems, enabling open data use, and securing long-term sustainability Mapping the Species Data Pathway - NE commissioned

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affair, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, published 17 March 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing environmental compliance guidance to Local Planning Authorities on bats.

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

As announced by the Chancellor, Defra is fast-tracking the recommendation from the Corry review (published on 2 April) to rapidly review the existing catalogue of environmental compliance guidance, including on protecting bats. This will look to identify opportunities to remove duplication, ambiguity or inconsistency. Natural England has already agreed to review and update their advice to Local Planning Authorities on bats to ensure there is clear, proportionate and accessible advice available.

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 collaborate with (a) local communities and (b) environmental organisations to restore chalk stream (i) habitats and (ii) biodiversity.

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

This Government is committed to building stronger ties and working collaboratively on shared priorities to restore chalk streams, these unique water bodies are not just vital ecosystems, but a symbol of our national heritage.

In the financial year (2024/25), through the Water Environment Improvement Fund, the Government’s aim was to fund 45 projects (worth £2.5 million of government investment) that improve chalk streams, each with the injection of private investment, and through the Water Resources Chalk Partnership Fund, in the same financial year, the Environment Agency was aiming to deliver 21 Chalk Partnership projects, aimed at safeguarding these rare and irreplaceable habitats.

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 14 November 2024 to Question 13418 on Countryside: Access, by when he plans to make further announcements on his policy on access to nature.

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

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure that this access is safe and appropriate. We are committed to increasing access to nature and have already set out several ambitious manifesto commitments to expand opportunities for the public to enjoy the outdoors, including the creation of nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England.

We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders. In addition, we are already delivering key initiatives aimed at increasing access to green spaces and the countryside, including:

• Completing the King Charles III England Coast Path, which will become the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world. With over 2,400 miles of the route now approved and 1,430 miles already open, this will also create 250,000 hectares of new open access land within the coastal margin.
• Designating Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route as a National Trail across the north of England.
• Delivering the £16 million ‘Access for All’ programme, which is designed to make our protected landscapes, national trails, forests, and the wider countryside more inclusive and accessible to all.

In addition, the Government has made the decision to repeal the cut-off date for the registration of historic rights of way, preventing the loss of hundreds of miles of unregistered paths. This will ensure that these paths remain available to the public for future generations. This change will be formally enacted when parliamentary time allows.

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 Consortium for Labelling for the Environment, Animal Welfare and Regenerative Farming on tackling carbon emissions.

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

Defra officials working on carbon emissions data policy regularly meet with CLEAR and we welcome their contributions, including the recent methodological review of UK eco-labels.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department is providing (a) Huddersfield and (b) other towns to create (i) cleaner and (ii) more attractive public areas.

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

Local councils have a range of enforcement powers to tackle issues such as fly-tipping and littering. These include fixed penalty notices, prosecution and vehicle seizure. We are seeking powers to issue statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their fly-tipping powers.

Councils are also responsible for keeping public land clear of litter. We are targeting some of the most commonly littered items to reduce the presence of these on our streets. The sale of single-use vapes will be banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers.

Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage at: National Fly-tipping Prevention Group | Keep Britain Tidy.

National design guidance supports local authorities to bring forward well-designed new development, including attractive, inclusive, and safe public spaces.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 17 May 2024 (HL4375), what progress they have made on the collection of soil monitoring data from the Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment programme; and whether 2027–28 remains the target for 100 percent completion.

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

Defra’s Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme remains on track (subject to spending reviews) to complete its 5-year baseline soil sample within Financial Year 2027/28.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Douglas-Miller on 12 April 2024 (HL3653), what progress they have made on the regulation or other oversight of the sale of plant biostimulants, including consideration of their efficacy, safety and ecological impacts.

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 to England only.

There are no specific requirements for plant biostimulants in domestic fertiliser legislation. Fertilisers are a devolved matter, and we will continue to work with the devolved governments through the Fertilisers Common Framework on fertiliser regulation.

Defra has funded a review of the evidence for the safe and effective use of plant biostimulants and methods for verifying the efficacy of plant biostimulants. This review is due to conclude November 2026. However, due to the wide variety of compounds used in biostimulants and innovation in the sector, further research and support from industry may be needed.

As part of our mission-driven Government, we are now considering how we can achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for all our farming sectors, which includes fertilisers as a key input.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help improve data in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment system.

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

The Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment regulations make producers responsible for the electrical products they place on the market when they become waste. Data is collected on the tonnage of electrical products every producer sells within the UK and the tonnage of waste that they recycle appropriately to ensure they are meeting the requirements of the regulations. Defra is also updating the WEEE Regs to create a separate reporting category for vapes, so vape manufacturers pick up their fair share of recycling costs.

We have convened a Circular Economy Taskforce to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy will be supported by a series of roadmaps 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. We are considering the evidence for sector-specific interventions right across the economy, including in electronic waste, as we develop our Strategy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has assessed the potential merits when sewage is released by water companies that poses a risk to human health of requiring (a) a physical warning system and (b) the flying of warning flags for a minimum time duration at (i) beaches and (ii) waterways.

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

Under the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, local authorities with a designated bathing water must actively disseminate and promptly make available to the public, in the near vicinity of the bathing water, a warning whenever short-term pollution is predicted or present.

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 adding penalty points to the driver’s licences of people convicted of (a) fly-tipping and (b) littering from a vehicle.

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

Local authorities already have powers to stop, search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. We will consider the benefits of allowing penalty points to be added to the driving licence of people convicted of fly-tipping in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of exempting businesses in the hospitality sector from charges under Extended Producer Responsibility.

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

Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging obligates brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste. Therefore, no assessment has been made of the merits of exempting all businesses in the hospitality sector.

This is because a wide range of hospitality businesses operate take away business models, where food, and primarily non-alcoholic drinks, are taken away by consumers and disposed of off premises. There is also packaging used in the hospitality sector which can be evidenced as not ending up in household bins. Under the current regulations producers can exempt this packaging from being classed as household packaging.

Since autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders to make an assessment of whether amendments to the regulations or the guidance can be made to further help producers in exempting packaging.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of impact of growth in the reuse and repair sector on opportunities for green skilled jobs.

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

No formal assessment has been made of the impact of growth in the reuse and repair sector on opportunities for green skilled jobs.

Defra recognises that repair and reuse are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful circular transition will deliver increased supply chain resilience, economic productivity, and economic growth. Furthermore, capitalising on the opportunity to effect a circular transition will attract investment into new product manufacturing and processing infrastructure; create new highly skilled green jobs in circular product design and development; and help our economy retain more of the critical resources on which it depends. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for England.

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 March 2025 to Question 35439 on Forests and Rivers: Access, what plans he has considered for other national forests.

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

Defra launched the Western Forest on 21 March 2025 and is considering its approach to the creation of further national forests.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a holistic approach to tackling carbon emissions.

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

While DESNZ leads across Government on net zero, Defra is responsible for reducing emissions from agriculture, land use (including peat), F-gases and waste (including wastewater), whilst simultaneously increasing England's carbon saving potential through our forestry policies.

Defra already takes a holistic approach to tackling carbon emissions, aligning emissions reduction with nature recovery and economic growth.

Without nature’s recovery we can’t achieve our ambitions to drive down emissions, and that is why we are charting a new course to save nature, achieve net zero and grow our economy.

We are working at pace to help farmers transition to greener practices, establish a taskforce to plant millions of trees to help remove carbon from the air and move towards a circular economy to reduce our demand for raw materials that destroy 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 his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) polluted and (b) unsafe (i) beaches and (ii) bathing areas have signage to alert the public.

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

At designated bathing water sites in their area, local authorities have a statutory duty to display information on a static sign about water quality and pollution sources, and to display advisory notices during pollution incidents. The information on the signage required by the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, consists of: the current classification symbol, with the “advice against bathing” symbol if the bathing water quality classification is Poor; a general description of the bathing water, based on the Environment Agency profile; and the address of a website where more detailed information can be found.

If the bathing water is subject to short-term pollution, the notice includes this information, and the number of pollution risk forecasts made during the preceding bathing season.

Other signage regarding safety and pollution is a matter for the relevant local authority.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring the person responsible for fly-tipping, rather than the landowner, to bear the costs of clean-up.

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

Where fly-tippers are prosecuted, upon conviction a cost order can already be made by the court so that a landowner’s costs can be recovered from the perpetrator. Local councils can also issue fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 to those who fly-tip, the income from which they must spend on clean up or enforcement. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to issue statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their powers.

We have 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 behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) expedite payments and (b) improve the payment structure of the Rural Payments Agency.

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

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) understands the importance of cashflow for farmers and rural businesses and has in recent years made more payments for the schemes they administer, earlier in the payment window. The agency has also taken steps to improve the flow of payments. This includes making Delinked payments from August in 2024, compared to historically Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments from December, earlier partial payments on Countryside Stewardship, and moving to a quarterly payments structure for the Sustainable Farming Incentive. Schemes will continue to be administered with payment frequency in mind.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to protect the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing.

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

Current legislation already provides protection for farmed fish kept for the production of meat or other products whilst on farm and during transport. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, including fish, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of a protected animal, for which that person is responsible. Legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing also requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.

The Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing was finalised in 2023. A copy is attached to this answer. As a result of this a GB-wide joint government and industry working group on farmed trout has been examining the issues raised in the report to explore potential options for more detailed welfare at killing requirements. This co-design work is making good progress. The Scottish Government is also working closely with the salmon industry regarding more detailed welfare at killing requirements. We are awaiting the completion of this group’s work and we will then explore all the potential next steps, including options for creating detailed guidance and new legislation.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the vaccination of hens against bird flu.

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

The vaccination of poultry and captive birds, excluding those in licensed zoos in England, against avian influenza is not currently permitted. While vaccination is not a viable option at present, Defra continues to explore the potential for use of vaccination as a preventative measure for avian influenza through the work of the cross-Government and industry avian influenza vaccination task force. The task force published an interim statement on 7 March 2025 (copy attached), and will publish a more detailed report in summer 2025.

As part of this work, Defra and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate will continue to monitor the development and availability of vaccines for their utility in preventing and responding to avian influenza outbreaks as they are put forward for market authorisation by vaccine manufacturers.

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 20 March 2025 to Question 38205 on Tree Planting: Bedfordshire, what the range of sensitives are.

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

The Forestry Commission provides guidance on the common constraints and designations that might be relevant to tree planning – this is available at Forestry project checks: constraints - 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 recent steps he has taken to reduce the number of deaths of dogs in greyhound racing.

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

Defra works with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) to ensure greyhound racing is a safe as possible. Each year since 2018 GBGB has published data for the deaths of greyhounds from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/injury-and-retirement-data/

Defra monitors the figures published by GBGB for any identifiable trends.

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 20 March 2025 to Question 38205 on Tree Planting: Bedfordshire, if he will publish county level statistics.

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

The Government has no plans to publish county level statistics.

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 publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what the Environment Agency purchased in the 95 transactions to Calders in January 2025.

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

In January 2025 the 95 transactions to Calders by the Environment Agency relate to its corporate contract for the provision of external meeting rooms and conference facilities. The dates in January relate to payment date and the provision of meeting rooms in these cases covered dates in October, November and December 2024.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here: Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support homegrown produce following the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

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

The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of home-grown fresh produce remains steadfast.

Underlining this commitment to our growers is our farming roadmap which will set out a 25-year vision and blueprint to make our farming and food production more sustainable and profitable.

Furthermore, we have now confirmed a 5-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route which will provide the sector the certainty they need to plan-ahead, having the labour needed to bring their high-quality homegrown produce to market.

We are also continuing support for crop Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) investing in R&D for breeding to improve crop varieties supporting crop resilience and efficiency.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of product liable for extended producer responsibility that will be sold to the on trade.

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

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. We are planning next steps as a priority and will share more information soon.

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 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fee structure accurately reflects the environmental performance of (a) the brewing sector, (b) the hospitality sector and (c) other sectors which operate closed-loop recycling systems.

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

The Government has worked closely with industry, including the brewing and hospitality sectors, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR). This is a major reform that will be iterated over several years to incentivise packaging producers to reduce their material footprint and use more sustainable packaging.

We are considering further improvements to the scheme, including how to treat businesses which run closed loop recycling systems for packaging that is commonly collected by Local Authorities, and my officials are reviewing options to bring forward an offset for closed loop recycling systems at the earliest opportunity.

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 have discussions with the Circular Economy Taskforce on supporting a green economy.

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

The Circular Economy Taskforce was convened to help the government develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England, including a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The outputs will aim to support economic growth, deliver green jobs, promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and accelerate to Net Zero.

As outlined in the Secretary of State’s recent speech, transitioning to a Circular Economy is our chance to improve lives up and down the country, to grow our economy, and to protect our environment for generations to come. To support this transition, the Circular Economy Taskforce will start with five sectors: agrifood, built environment, chemicals and plastics; textiles and transport.

The Taskforce has already begun extensive engagement with industry leaders, trade associations, and other key stakeholders to ensure that the Strategy reflects the needs and insights of all involved.

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 meet climate change adaptation commitments.

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

Defra is the lead department for domestic adaptation to climate change, and as such it is responsible for coordinating requirements set out in the UK Climate Change Act 2008. Defra is the owning department for about half of the 61 risks and opportunities identified in the third Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3) and works closely with the eleven other departments which own the remaining risks.

We are in the process of delivering the third National Adaptation Programme which was published in 2023 and covers how Government will meet the challenges posed by climate change to key sectors including infrastructure, natural environment, health, communities the built environment, business and industry.

We are committed to strengthening the nation’s resilience including by taking steps which:

• Improves governance and monitoring processes
• Translates evidence into action, and
• Assess and strengthen the framework of objectives.

The department is also exploring how to set out stronger objectives to drive action to increase our preparedness for the impacts of climate change up to and beyond the next National Adaptation Programme in 2028.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans to introduce representation of independent (a) environmental experts and (b) clinicians on the Food Strategy Advisory Board.

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

A range of representatives from the food sector and NGOs were invited to sit on the Food Strategy Advisory Board. We kept it deliberately small, whilst reflecting the scope of the food supply chain.

The Board represents the first step in a wider stakeholder engagement strategy which will continue to ensure and demonstrate the joined-up and systems-wide approach for the food strategy. There is huge expertise, energy and commitment to work towards better food system outcomes, and all stakeholders need to be part of the solution. There will be multiple routes to share ideas as part of the co-design process in 2025 – we say more on this soon.

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 it her policy to (a) exempt and (b) reduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees to packaging waste managed through private waste contracts in the hospitality sector.

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

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and we are planning next steps as a priority.

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 people affected by fly-tipping required to clear waste on private land at their own expense.

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

We recognise the burden that clearing fly-tipped waste places on landowners. We want to reduce incidents in the first place so that fewer landowners are affected.

Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping and we want to see these at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem. These include issuing fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 and prosecution. Upon conviction, compensation for the landowner’s clearance costs can be secured. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their powers.

We have also committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course.

We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support (a) local authorities and (b) enforcement agencies to tackle fly-tipping in rural areas.

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

We recognise the burden that clearing fly-tipped waste places on landowners. We want to reduce incidents in the first place so that fewer landowners are affected.

Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping and we want to see these at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem. These include issuing fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 and prosecution. Upon conviction, compensation for the landowner’s clearance costs can be secured. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their powers.

We have also committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course.

We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

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 support to people affected by environmental crimes.

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

We recognise the burden that clearing fly-tipped waste places on landowners. We want to reduce incidents in the first place so that fewer landowners are affected.

Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping and we want to see these at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem. These include issuing fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 and prosecution. Upon conviction, compensation for the landowner’s clearance costs can be secured. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their powers.

We have also committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course.

We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

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 March 2025 to Question 38457 on Electricity Generation: Infrastructure, what steps he has taken to identify suitable locations since July 2024.

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

Forestry England have not undertaken a detailed assessment of the potential suitable locations of renewable energy projects across the Public Forest Estate since July 2024. Forestry England will commence detailed assessments following Royal Assent of the Bill, with an aim to integrate proposals into the natural landscape with no net loss of woodland area.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to provide bespoke protections for (a) the River Itchen and (b) other chalk streams; whether he plans to use planning reforms to support the protection of chalk streams; whether he plans to designate chalk streams and their surrounding habitats as irreplaceable; and what funding his Department plans to provide (i) for sustainable drainage systems in chalk catchments and (ii) to support higher water efficiency standards.

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

The River Itchen is already designated as a Special Area of Conservation and many of our chalk streams benefit from some form of designation.

Chalk streams can be considered when setting the outcomes for a future system of environmental assessment.

This Government is committed to securing better environmental outcomes alongside securing the development we need and is considering how best to reform environmental assessment processes with this objective in mind. This includes whether to take forward the powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act to introduce Environmental Outcomes Reports

Lastly, the National Planning Policy Framework recognises the role that well-designed SuDS schemes have in managing surface water while the National Framework for Water Resources sets out expectations for water efficiency including reducing leakage and long-term water usage.

Found: Q6 Chair: I assume that DEFRA would be the answering Department. Is that correct?

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

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

Found: Most unregistered land is big rural estates and Defra would know who owns them because they pay them

Found: conflicting) on the growth agenda and the ambition of building 1.5m homes, including Treasury, DESNZ, DEFRA

Found: the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Business, the Secretary of State at DEFRA

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on support for the farming industry.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

We have been working hard to positively reset relations. Earlier this month, I joined the Scottish Government’s Employment and Investment Minister, at the opening of a dairy innovation centre. This was the first project to be delivered through the joint Borderlands Growth Deal, providing new collaboration opportunities to progress the dairy sector towards a more sustainable and profitable future.

The Secretary of State meets with the Deputy First Minister on a regular basis, and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs convenes regularly to discuss important issues, including agriculture.

I look forward to meeting with Scottish farming stakeholders alongside Scottish Government and Defra Ministers at the Scotland Office’s upcoming Food and Farming roundtable.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has had discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on steps to maintain the security of domestic wood supply for future house building.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The UK imports c.80% of our timber. Imports will continue to play an important role in future timber supply, but the government wants to reduce them and there is an opportunity for domestic forestry and wood processing sectors to grow and thrive as a result. The proportion of softwood-producing woodland in England has risen to 10% of those planted over the last four years. We want to increase this to at least 30% and bring more hardwoods to market through increased woodland management. The government launched a Timber in Construction Roadmap on 27 February 2025. Increasing domestic timber supply is one of the key themes and the roadmap sets out actions that government and industry has committed to.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40119 on Members: Correspondence, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in access to UK’s National Trails on the work of (a) VisitBritain and (b) VisitEngland.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS has not specifically undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of any potential reduction in access to the UK’s National Trails on the work of VisitBritain or VisitEngland.

However, we recognise that access to National Trails plays a role in supporting rural tourism and promoting the natural and cultural assets of England, which are central to the work of VisitEngland. VisitBritain also promotes outdoor and nature-based tourism as part of its international marketing activity to showcase the UK’s diverse visitor offer.

While responsibility for public access and National Trails policy rests with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), DCMS continues to work closely with Local Visitor Economy Partnerships, including Experience Oxfordshire, to ensure England’s natural landscapes can support the growth of a sustainable and resilient visitor economy.

Found: Trust for Ornithology has reported an increase in recent years, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Ideally to repeal Genetic Technology Act. To properly review the draft secondary legislation, to reflect the concerns of the public from DEFRA & FSA consultations & whether it is appropriate for Government to make such sweeping changes without full Parliamentary scrutiny through primary legislation

Found: No requirement for detailed safety/risk assessments from developers under DEFRA release/confirmation

Found: Direct.gov.uk; more recently he has delivered and/or designed digital services for organisations including Defra

Found: Defra and DESNZ co-funded a project delivered by 3Keel to develop a set of principles to help organisations

Found: Customs, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs should lead efforts to improve the accessibility

Found: Jennie is a qualified lawyer and has previously been the CEO of WRAP, a Defra-supported environmental

Found: Direct.gov.uk; more recently he has delivered and/or designed digital services for organisations including Defra

Found: Secretary of State for Health [2003] 2 AC 687 and Bloomsbury International Ltd v Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Framework (CDF) partners, the refurbishment began in 2022 and was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: From: SM-Defra-RESP-noreply (DEFRA) To: Lynn Wright Cc: Karen Myers; Tracey Heath Subject: EPR/AP3832LE

Found: - RPC opinion (green-rated) Regulatory Policy Committee opinion on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: RPC-DEFRA-5367(1) 1 09/04/2025 Amendments to the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations Lead

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

Found: Yours sincerely LORD LEONG CBE FROM THE LORD LEONG GOVERNMENT WHIP DBT, DEFRA, DSIT, FCDO 020-

Found: Additionally, a study by Defra showed that 44% of people without access to a car find it difficult to

Found: asked for copies of all correspondence between the Welsh Government and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Additionally, a study by Defra showed that 44% of people without access to a car find it difficult to

Found: asked for copies of all correspondence between the Welsh Government and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs