Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department were on permanent home working contracts in 2025.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of December 2025, there were 814 civil servants on home working contracts, equating to 13% of the total number of civil servants in Defra.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what was the total cost of facility time to the department in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26; and what was the headcount number of facility time staff in each; how many were 100% facility time; and whether funding was provided for trade union activities in each of those years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information on trade union facility time for 2023/24 and 2024/25 is publicly available through the Defra Annual Report and Accounts, on GOV.UK.
For the Defra bargaining unit in 2025/26, the total cost of trade union facility time was £119,469 and the headcount of staff claiming facility time was 23 people. Nobody was allocated 100% trade union facility time and no funding was provided for trade union activities.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
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 whether the size and distribution of released gamebird hunting bags in England and Wales align with the numbers of non-native gamebirds registered in relevant locations, allowing for the proportion of birds that were released but not shot.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department does not hold information relating to gamebird hunting bags.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the size, destination and distribution of non-native gamebird imports to the UK align with the size and distribution of released gamebird hunting bags in England and Wales, allowing for the proportion of birds that were released but not shot.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department does not hold information relating to gamebird hunting bags.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department (1) uses and (2) is taking steps to install rooftop solar panels on its premises.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is engaging with the Government Property Agency (GPA) through its Net Zero Programme to track progress in this area and understands GPA intends to undertake feasibility studies and energy audits at a number of sites during this financial year to assess opportunities for rooftop solar panel installation.
Funding support for public bodies to install solar panels has been available through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme with a total of over £3 billion made available up 2028. Great British Energy (GBE) also supports public sector decarbonisation and the GBE Solar programme is investing £255 million to fund around 250 schools, around 260 NHS sites, and around 15 military sites to install solar panels across the country.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Land Use Framework for England and Wales and the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, particularly the use of agricultural land for renewable energy, on tenant farmers.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Whilst the impact of the Land Use Framework and Clean Power 2030 Action Plan on tenant farmers has not been directly assessed, this Government is committed to ensuring tenant farmers are included and treated fairly in land use decisions including the use of agricultural land for renewable energy.
The Land Use Framework provides data and principles to help safeguard our best agricultural land, and commits to giving tenant farmers a greater role in land use decision making through reforming the Farm Tenancy Forum, supporting farmers to stay on their land and improving access to business opportunities.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
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 9 July 2026, to Question 14616, on DEFRA: Secondment, if she will name the (a) 45 organisations that were seconded from DEFRA and (b) 22 organisations which were seconded to DEFRA.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our response to PQ 14616 contained an error. The numbers were transposed. The correct position is: “Since July 2024 a total of 22 organisations had Civil Servants seconded to them from Defra whilst in the same period, Defra received secondees from a total of 45 organisations.”
The list below shows the a) 22 organisations that had Civil Servants seconded to them from Defra and b) 45 organisations Defra received secondees from.
a) Outward Secondments from Defra to: |
Climate Change Committee |
Commonwealth Secretariat |
Environment Agency |
Future Homes Hub |
Global Fishing Watch |
Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands |
Historic England |
Independent Office for Police Conduct |
Institute for Government |
International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits Limited |
Joint Nature Conservation Committee |
Livestock Information Ltd |
Metropolitan Police Service |
Mole Valley District Council |
Natural England |
NEG |
Office for Environmental Protection |
Office for Students |
Oxford University |
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) |
Wigan Council |
World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) |
b) Inward Secondments to Defra from: |
ALUPRO |
Cambridge University |
City St Georges |
Climate Sense |
Cranfield Environment Centre |
Cumbria County Council |
DAERA |
Drinking Water Inspectorate |
Environment Agency |
Eunomia Research & Consulting |
Forest Research |
Imperial College London |
Joint Nature Conservation Committee |
Kent Wildlife Trust |
Lancaster University |
Loughborough University |
Natural England |
OPRL Ltd |
Oxford University |
Plymouth Marine Laboratory |
Re London |
Ricardo Energy and Environment |
School of Civil Engineering |
School of Earth and Environment |
School of Geography and the Environment |
Scottish Government |
SeaFish |
SOAS University London |
Surrey County Council |
UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology |
UK National Nuclear Laboratory |
Ulster University |
University College London |
University of Exeter |
University of Lancaster |
University of Leeds |
University of London |
University of Oxford |
University of Southampton |
University of Stirling |
University of Wolverhampton |
University of York |
Veolia |
Waste and Resources Action Programme |
Welsh Water |
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
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 page 70 of the Environment Agency's Annual Report and Accounts 2015/6, if she will provide a breakdown of the £50.2m spent by the Environment Agency in Hired and Contracted Services in 2015/6.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Breakdown of the £50.2 million spent by the Environment Agency in Hired and Contracted Services in 2015/6:
Category | Amount (£m) |
Contracted services (including flood maintenance activities and maintenance of Flood, Hydrometry & Telemetry, and Waterways assets) | 30.8 |
Information Communications Technology (ICT) Contracted services (i.e. building, servicing and maintaining digital and communication technology systems and data) | 19.4 |
Total | 50.2 |
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that there is adequate capacity for the recycling of fridges and freezers and that local authorities are not having to meet costs as a result of inadequate recycling capacity; and what steps they are taking to ensure an improved lifespan for the appliances.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with manufacturers, compliance schemes and local authorities to monitor and manage reduced fridge recycling capacity. The department is clear that producers, via their compliance schemes, remain responsible for clearing local authority sites.
Additional recycling capacity is expected in 2027. In the meantime, temporary storage is permitted under an Environment Agency Regulatory Position Statement.
This Government is also exploring opportunities to increase electrical product lifespan, including the benefits of increased reuse and repair.
Asked by: Lord Docherty of Milngavie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have a contingency plan for actions to take in the event of an interruption to or cessation of food imports, particularly from Europe; and if so, (1) which department leads on that plan, (2) which departments and organisations are involved in its (a) design, and (b) delivery, and (3) how often it is reviewed.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a resilient food supply chain built on strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes. Defra continuously monitors and prepares for emerging risks, working with the Cabinet Office and other Government departments to ensure food supply is fully incorporated into emergency preparedness.