Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the final Land Use Framework.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has launched a 12-week consultation on land use in England, the outcomes of which will inform the publication of the Land Use Framework this year. A timeline for publishing Land Use Framework will be set out in due course, after the consultation has closed and the feedback has been considered.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many payments from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to farming claimants will decrease in 2025–26 compared to 2024–25 as a result of accelerated reduction to delinked payments and the cessation of new applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All recipients are due to receive less in delinked payments for 2025 versus 2024 as more money is moved to our other schemes for farmers and land managers.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) have been open for a number of years so that farmers can plan ahead and receive payments for improving our countryside and farming food sustainably. We will open up initial applications for CS Higher tier and a revised Environmental Land Management capital grants offer later in the summer.

We will release details of the new SFI scheme later in the year.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following cuts to delinked payments and the cessation of new applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive, whether they still expect to distribute the full Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs budget of £2.4 billion in 2025–26.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget this year and next (£2.6 billion for 24/25 and the £2.4 billion for 25/26, as previously announced). We are on track to spend all the funding that is available.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many farming claimants will experience a reduction in payments in 2025–26 compared to 2024–25 as a result of the expiration of Sustainable Farming Incentive contracts without replacements being granted.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All recipients are due to receive less in delinked payments for 2025 versus 2024 as more money is moved to our other schemes for farmers and land managers.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship (CS) have been open for a number of years so that farmers can plan ahead and receive payments for improving our countryside and farming food sustainably. We will open up initial applications for CS Higher tier and a revised Environmental Land Management capital grants offer later in the Summer.

We will release details of the new SFI scheme later in the year.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many qualified and practising vets who are available to support the enforcement of biosecurity regulations there are in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Vets are involved in biosecurity in multiple settings, including in a lab, at the borders, in abattoirs and on farms. The latest figures provided by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons show the total number of vets registered as UK Practising is 31,221. Within this figure, the Animal and Plant Health Agency has a total of approximately 450 veterinary roles, and the Food Standards Agency employ 80 vets directly. The Government employs around 1,000 veterinary surgeons in total, of which 270 are official veterinarians.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the fishing quota in UK territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone is operated by UK registered fishing vessels.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Fishing quotas are determined within total allowable catch (TAC) management areas. These typically align with the distribution of the biological stock rather than the boundaries of exclusive economic zones.

Latest statistics can be found here MMO Sea Fisheries Statistics 2023.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of fish caught in UK territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone was landed at UK ports and harbours in the most recent year for which records exist.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Latest statistics can be found here: MMO Sea Fisheries Statistics 2023. In 2023, 66% of the volume and 78% of the value of landings by UK vessels from the UK territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone were landed at UK ports and harbours. This was 393 thousand tonnes, worth £749 million.

In addition to UK vessels, foreign vessels landed 19 thousand tonnes, worth £27 million into UK ports and harbours in the same year. Most of this fish was caught in UK exclusive economic zone by EU, Norwegian and Faroese flagged vessels who are licensed to fish in UK waters through our international agreements.

Found: Letter [undated] from Director of Corporate Affairs Laura Lotinga to Lord Roborough regarding a parliamentary