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 plans they have to ensure that internal drainage boards are fully funded for their role in preventing flooding and water management.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports and values the vital work internal drainage boards (IDBs) undertake in managing water levels and reducing flood risk, benefitting communities, businesses and farmers.
IDBs are mainly locally funded by the beneficiaries of their work, farmers paying drainage rates and local authorities paying special levies.
The Government’s £91m IDB Fund is supporting greater flood resilience for farmers and rural communities. IDBs are delivering projects that are already benefiting over 400,000 hectares of farmland and over 200,000 properties.
However, we recognise the need to ensure IDBs are set up in the longer term. In response to rising financial pressures on IDBs, and the farmers and local authorities who fund their work, Defra and MHCLG have commissioned a research project into IDB funding and costs. This is focussed on financial efficiency, value for money, and the broader benefits which IDBs deliver for local communities.
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 when they will publish the White Paper for water, and when they plan to introduce legislation giving effect to the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - 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 there will be a new water reform bill, which we will introduce during this Parliament, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, and the environment.
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 by which date they expect to implement Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in England.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is strongly committed to improving the implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and we are looking at what additional steps might be taken to support this.
Better delivery of SuDS may be achieved by continuing to improve the current planning policy-based approach and looking at ways of improving the approach to adoption and maintenance, rather than commencing schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
We intend to consult on national planning policy related to decision making, including policies on flood risk and SuDS. The Government also recognises the importance of long-term maintenance of SuDS. We will be consulting on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of unadopted estates, and the injustices associated with them, including for SuDS.
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 opportunities there are for fishing and increased quotas for under-10-metre fishing vessels under the determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following the annual UK-EU and Coastal State negotiations, the UK secured approximately 747,000 tonnes of quota for 2025, valued at around £956 million. Targeted initiatives have expanded the quota pool available to the under 10 metre (U10) fleet, particularly for stocks that were previously underutilised.
The 350kg annual cap on finfish quota species for English U10 vessels has been removed. The Secretary of State’s Determination sets total UK catch limits for quota stocks, after which allocations, being a devolved matter, are made available. In England, quota for the U10 pool is managed by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). Licence variations have increased catch limits for certain species, enabling more effective use of quota throughout the year.
By removing restrictive caps and adjusting monthly limits, these measures create significant new opportunities for U10 vessels.
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 progress they have made on procuring more locally produced foods for schools, prisons, and hospitals.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently assessing the food that the public sector currently buys, specifically its provenance and the standards it conforms to. In due course, this will enable us to determine the extent to which public sector settings are serving food from local producers and what more can be done.
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 plans they have to encourage farmers and growers to produce fast-growing willow coppice and miscanthus to be used as an energy source for power stations such as Drax.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
While we anticipate that demand for SRC and miscanthus will grow in the coming decades, it is not Government policy to prescribe which crops farmers should prioritise. British farmers know their own land best - carefully planning their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy. We will continue to support farmers, so they can make the right decisions for them and the productivity of their land. Government only provides support for electricity generation from sustainable biomass. The detailed sourcing of sustainable biomass by power stations is a commercial decision for the companies concerned.
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 threat to (1) farms, (2) livestock, and (3) biodiversity, posed by the Langdale Moor wildfire.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No such assessment has been made.
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 when negotiations will commence with the EU on the proposed sanitary and phytosanitary agreement particularly with a view to permitting the export of bull semen from the UK to the EU.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are expecting to start negotiations in the autumn, once the EU has confirmed their mandate. We are aiming to conclude negotiations and have legislative arrangements in place no later than 2027, subject to discussion with the EU.
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 recommendations in the report of the Independent Water Commission published on 21 July; what plans they have to introduce legislation to implement the recommendations; and by when.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - 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 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 Sir Jon’s recommendations in full via a White Paper, published for consultation this autumn, and a new Water Reform Bill to be introduced early this Parliament.
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 plans they have to implement the recommendations contained in the Dimbleby Report on the National Food Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Towards a Good Food Cycle, the UK Government food strategy for England, published on 15 July, sets out the Government's plans to transform the food system. A UK government food strategy for England - GOV.UK
The food strategy will work to make good, healthy food more accessible and affordable, as part of the Government's Plan for Change. Our strategy builds on existing evidence and analysis, such as The National Food Strategy. We have an opportunity to convert the “junk food cycle”, identified by Henry Dimbleby, into a “good food cycle” that delivers growth, while improving health, climate and environment and food security outcomes from the food system.