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 on farmers of the higher cost of red diesel following the closure of the Straits of Hormuz; and what steps they will take to alleviate any difficulties of increased costs and lack of supply.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is aware there have been increases in the price of red diesel as a result of volatility in international markets, influenced by the continued instability in the Middle East. This Government is taking decisive action to support fishers and farmers by cutting the duty on red diesel to its lowest rate in over 20 years, reducing the rate on red diesel by a third.
This Government speaks regularly with the fuel industry, and the UK remains well stocked for all fuel types.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the role of the Grocery Code Adjudicator to permit the adjudicator to review unfair practices in supermarkets on their own initiative.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government's Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) 2022-2025 was published on 14 April 2026. The role of GCA is to regulate the relationship between the largest grocery retailers and their direct suppliers by enforcing compliance with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
On 7 April 2026 the Government announced that responsibility for the GCA would move from the Department for Business and Trade to the Department for Food and Rural Affairs from 01 July 2026. This will reinforce fairness across the UK's grocery supply chain, streamline oversight of the supply chain and strengthen links to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they continue to plan to ban onshore fracking in the UK.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Independence Bill was included in the Kings’ Speech on 13 May.
The Bill will contain measures which will deliver our manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields, including new licences that could be used for fracking for shale gas in England.
There is an effective moratorium on fracking for shale gas (“associated hydraulic fracturing” as defined by the Petroleum Act 1998) in England, which will continue to apply to existing licences. Similar restrictions are in place across other parts of the UK.
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 steps they plan to take to increase the general public’s daily intake of fruit and vegetables, and to increase the proportion of those foods that are grown in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government promotes eating plenty of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy, balanced diet. The Eatwell Guide illustrates this supported by the long-running 5 A DAY campaign. Defra is also working to deliver the 10 key outcomes of the Government’s Good Food Cycle, one of which is healthier and more affordable food.
Alongside this, Defra, food chain stakeholders and primary producers are co-designing a horticulture growth plan. This plan aims to collaboratively grow sector profit, productivity and contribute to national food security. This is likely to include growing the market share for our homegrown produce – whether through exports, retail, out of home market or public procurement.
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 representations they have received regarding the costs and regulatory burdens of environmental permitting regulations for farm practices; and how they intend to address these concerns.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra engages a range of representations relating to the costs and regulatory burdens of different aspects of the environmental permitting regulations on farming. The Environment Agency designs permit charges to be fair and proportionate, consulting widely on proposed changes and mitigating impacts where possible.
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 on-farm reservoirs have been built in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Approximately 34 newly built Large Raised Reservoirs (reservoirs with an above ground capacity of more than 25,000 cubic metres of water) have been built on farms in England in the last five years.
Year of final certificate | Count of reservoirs |
2021 | 4 |
2022 | 0 |
2023 | 4 |
2024 | 5 |
2025 | 12 |
2026 | 9 |
Note: the final certificate is the document that marks the end of the ‘under construction’ phase for a reservoir under the Reservoirs Act 1975.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the Joint Expeditionary Force to secure the safe operation of undersea cables and pipelines in the Atlantic and North Sea.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) remains a key element of His Majesty’s Government’s approach to enhancing security and resilience across the North Atlantic and North Sea regions. The JEF, comprising the United Kingdom and nine like-minded Northern European nations, is designed to respond rapidly to a range of contingencies, including the protection of critical infrastructure such as undersea cables and pipelines, complementary to NATO.
Securing the safe operation of undersea cables and pipelines is a priority given their vital role in national security, economic stability, and communications. The Ministry of Defence, in close coordination with the JEF partner nations, is developing and refining operational concepts that include maritime domain awareness, intelligence sharing, and rapid deployment capabilities to deter and respond to threats against these assets.
In January 2025, following reported damage to a major undersea cable in the Baltic Sea, the JEF activated an advanced UK-led reaction system, known as Nordic Warden, to track potential threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor the Russian shadow fleet. This was subsequently handed over to NATO under their Baltic Sentry initiative.
The Government remains committed to enhancing the JEF’s capabilities to meet emerging challenges in its area of interest, including the protection of undersea infrastructure in the Atlantic and North Sea.
In summary, while the JEF is not solely dedicated to undersea cable and pipeline security, it forms a component of the UK’s broader strategy to safeguard these essential assets through multinational cooperation, rapid response, and integrated maritime security operations in support of NATO.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what level of support is available for energy costs under the cost of living provisions and additional support under the warm homes discount; whether that support totals £300; and if not, whether they will correct the figure on the Gov.uk website.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We announced in the Autumn Budget that we would cut the cost of living, and as a result, the price cap fell by 7% / £117 to £1,641 per year for an average dual fuel customer paying by Direct Debit.
This action follows the decision to expand the Warm Home Discount this winter, which will see around six million households receive an additional £150 off their energy bills.
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 plan to implement the recommendations of the Independent Reservoir Safety Report, published on 13 May 2021.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Many of the recommendations from the Independent Reservoir Safety Report have already been implemented – detail can be found here [see attached]. A public consultation on legislative reforms to take forward further recommendations from this report is planned in due course.
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 bring forward the regulations to introduce the waste carriage, broker and dealer reforms as committed to in October 2023.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The commitment made in 2023 was under the previous Government. This Government published its policy paper on gov.uk in August 2025, setting out its plans for reform of the waste carrier broker dealer regime in England [see attached].
Work has begun to draft the necessary legislative amendments and will be progressed when parliamentary time allows.