Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funding for the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given on 28 July 2026 to Question HL2766.
Asked by: Lord Reay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any funding provided to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance will be provided in the form of loans rather than grants; and, if so, what the terms of the loans will be.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has contributed £15.3 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance since November 2022. This year, this Government announced an additional £2.2 million. All contributions are made in the form of grants.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to deliver on their manifesto commitment to reform the Government Buying Standard for food and catering services to include a requirement for 50 per cent local and sustainable food; and what the proposed timeline and process for these reforms is.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is open to considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.
A new national procurement policy statement has been published which sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that British producers are well-placed to meet.
Data collection on the extent to which public sector settings are serving food from local sustainable sources is currently underway. The department expect the work to be completed by Summer 2027.
Defra is considering the policy options available to deliver further on its ambitions for public sector food, including potentially updating the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - 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 large-scale AI data centres on the availability of agricultural land for food production.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The expansion of AI infrastructure is critical to the UK's long-term economic growth, resilience, and global competitiveness. This Government is working with industry to improve understanding of the demand for agricultural land.
National planning policy gives clear preference for development sited on brownfield, industrial, contaminated, or previously developed land. Where development of agricultural land is necessary, lower-quality land should be preferred to higher-quality land.
The Land Use Framework included a clear, long-term commitment to maintain overall food production in England while increasing resilience to climate change and safeguarding our best and most versatile agricultural land.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - 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 potential cost savings to caterers, schools, and the NHS of serving a higher proportion of pulses and other plant-based protein in schools and NHS institutions; and the potential of these cost savings to help public institutions afford more organic, local or higher-environmental standard foods.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No such assessment has been made.
A new national procurement policy statement has been published which sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that British producers are well-placed to meet.
The NHS Eatwell Guide recognises the valuable contribution of plant-based foods and drinks, illustrating that both plant-based products and animal-based products can be part of a healthy balanced diet.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition regarding food resilience and soil health.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra liaised with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition regarding nutrition and emergency planning in 2024, resulting in an item at the committee’s 20 June 2024 meeting. Defra has continued to be in contact with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Subgroup on Maternal and Child Nutrition in following years to enable consideration of infant feeding and nutrition to support planning for food supply disruptions.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with devolved administrations and local government regarding food security in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers from all four nations discuss food system issues through the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In addition, officials have regular engagement on a wide range of food security and resilience issues.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Fidra's estimate that disposing of sofas containing chemical flame retardants costs local authorities £135 million per year.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are long-lasting chemicals that can harm human health and the environment. Waste containing POPs above legal limits must be managed so that the POPs are destroyed or irreversibly transformed. Some chemical flame retardants previously used on sofas and similar upholstered seating are classified as POPs and therefore must be disposed of in this way.
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 additional steps they plan to take following the spillage of an estimated 1 billion nurdles into the River Tyne on 19 July, in particular the steps they plan to take to protect environmentally sensitive areas such as Marsden Bay.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through a multi-agency effort, this Government is working closely with a range of partners to monitor and respond to the nurdle spill in the River Tyne. Clean-up operations are underway, with particular attention being given to environmentally sensitive locations, including Marsden Bay.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the average number of kilograms of tris(chloropropyl) phosphate and melamine present in sitting rooms across the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is a growing concern about the health and environmental impacts of some chemical flame retardants, including tris(chloropropyl) phosphate. In June 2025, the Environment Agency published a scoping review of flame retardants relevant to the GB market. This year the Health and Safety Executive added several flame retardants to the UK REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern, signalling their potential for further regulatory control.