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: 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, if any, to reform agricultural tenancy agreements.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A review of agricultural tenancy legislation which provides the framework for agricultural tenancy agreements will be delivered by the Law Commission as part of their fourteenth law reform programme. The Government will consider and respond to outcome of the Law Commission review and recommendations as part of any plans to reform agricultural tenancy agreements in future. In the meantime, Defra is working with the Farm Tenancy Forum to ensure a thriving and collaborative farm tenancy sector.
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 how many small reservoirs have been built on farmland in the last year.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The number of small reservoirs built on farmland in the last year is not collected centrally. Many small reservoirs are not subject to regulation and there is no requirement for farmers to report on these.
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 the working party on farm tenancy agreements last met.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Farm Tenancy Forum most recently met on 18 June 2026 as part of its regular quarterly meeting schedule.
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 to what extent the differential in farm payments between farmers in England and those in Scotland is affecting the competitive position of the former.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Agriculture is devolved. Defra administers farming policy in England, while the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive determine their own agricultural policies and support schemes. As part of this arrangement, funding for agriculture and fisheries was baselined and un-ringfenced in each devolved governments block grant from 2024-25. It is for devolved governments to allocate funding as they see fit and they are accountable to their devolved legislatures for those decisions. The devolved governments’ settlements for 2025-26 are the largest in real terms of any settlements since devolution.
The UK government is acting in England to support farmers and give them clarity to plan and invest. The recently published Farming Roadmap and Farming Profitability Review response set out a range of short-term and long-term actions. These include investment in ELM funding, support for and investment in innovation and technology, and action to make supply chains fairer. The government has also established the Farming and Food Partnership Board, bringing together senior leaders from farming, food, retail and finance to drive profitability and strengthen food security. Defra continues to cooperate openly and transparently with devolved government colleagues on these frameworks – as well as ongoing policy development across the four nations - via informal and formal structures established under the Common Framework for Agricultural Support.
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 how the Sustainable Farming Initiative will apply to upland farms, and in particular, graziers.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
SFI26 is an improved version of SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive). Upland farms below the moorland line can apply for all conventional SFI actions, provided their land is eligible, so will benefit from these improvements. Farms above the moorland line can additionally benefit from increases to some moorland payment rates.
SFI is just part of a range of support Defra offers the uplands, with other support coming from Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, Landscape Recovery, Farming in Protected Landscapes, and the place-based, community-led uplands project Defra is undertaking with Dr Hilary Cottam.
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 risk to food and animal product exporters of a decline in official veterinarian capacity delaying export health certification ahead of the removal of sanitary and phytosanitary checks.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is currently negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and expected to remove the requirement for Export Health Certificates (EHC). The Agreement will have implications for Official Veterinarians undertaking export certification, including the demand for EHC services. Defra isworking with the veterinary profession and wider industry stakeholders to monitor this capability and ensure an effective and well-managed transition.
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 cost to UK exporters of any disruption to certification capacity during the period before dynamic alignment with the EU-UK sanitary and phytosanitary agreement takes effect.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is currently negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and expected to remove the requirement for Export Health Certificates (EHC). The Agreement will have implications for Official Veterinarians undertaking export certification, including the demand for EHC services. Defra isworking with the veterinary profession and wider industry stakeholders to monitor this capability and ensure an effective and well-managed transition.
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 revise the minimum capacity of large raised reservoirs as set out in the Reservoir Act 1975.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Safety regulation applies to raised reservoirs holding 25,000m3 or more of water. Research over the next two years gathering evidence about reservoirs storing between 10,000m3 and 25,000m3 of water - their number, condition and hazard posed for communities downstream - will inform a decision whether to reduce the threshold to 10,000m3. Regulation, if taken forward, would also be dependent on a new reservoir safety regime being established.
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 resilience of reservoirs during recent heatwaves.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed improving water resilience. With increasing demand and the climate changing, the need for investment in resilient water supply infrastructure is necessary to meet our future needs.
Water companies have the statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water and set out how they plan to continue to do this through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). WRMPs set out how each company will maintain resilient water supplies for at least the next 25 years. Within their WRMPs, companies consider all options, including improved demand management and a mix of new water resources infrastructure, such as reservoirs, large scale water transfers, desalination and water recycling. The EA has published a summary of new water infrastructure planned by the water companies: Appendix C: Revised draft water resources management plans supply options - GOV.UK (see attached).