Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of safe bathing water across the UK.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To protect our waterways and the health of bathers, the Environment Agency monitors the water quality at over 400 designated beaches and inland waters across England during the bathing season. This is achieved through a robust sampling programme – as set out in law in the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025.
On 25 November, the Environment Agency published the 2025 bathing water classifications for designated bathing sites in England. 93% of sites sampled were deemed “Sufficient” of better, with 87% meeting the standards for ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ classification. This is an improvement on 2024, meaning swimmers can benefit from a higher number of better-quality bathing sites compared to last year.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to promote social inclusion for pensioners in rural areas.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is committed to supporting people to have the social connections they need. This is a key part of achieving wider government priorities across health and community cohesion.
The Government funds the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online forum for people working on loneliness to come together and share insights, research and best practice, with the aim of addressing loneliness and strengthening social connections across our communities.
Defra also funds Action with Communities in Rural England to support local action, which includes actions related to social inclusion activities with older people.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of legislation for animal disease risks.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We have a broad legislative base and associated strategies and contingency plans which enables us to protect animals, including livestock, from disease.
The Animal Health Act 1981, provides the legal framework for controlling and eradicating animal diseases, protecting livestock health, and safeguarding trade. It gives government powers to impose disease control measures, order slaughter of infected animals, regulate movement, and compensate farmers. Secondary legislation is regularly updated as needed.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help tackle rising food costs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
UK consumer food prices depend on a range of factors, including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates.
On 19 November, the Secretary of State announced Defra is working alongside DBT and across Government to introduce a Food Inflation Gateway. This will assess new regulations for their impact on food businesses and food prices. It will help Government coordinate across departments and sequence regulations sensibly, providing clarity that unlocks investment to deliver productivity gains, keep costs down and put a downward pressure on food prices.
Alongside this, Defra’s food strategy is developing policies to ensure that individuals across the country have access to affordable, nutritious food. The strategy supports a whole-of-society approach to managing sudden, short-lived supply chain shocks and disruptions, as well as long-term chronic risks, so that we are ready for future shocks and reduce the risk of food price spikes.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve mental health awareness training for the agricultural sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra funds the Farmer Welfare Grant that includes a recipient consortium led by The Farmer Network that is delivering mental health first aid training to those who interact with farmers. Participants reported an almost 100% increase in their knowledge and confidence in discussing mental health. Another recipient, the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network are also delivering farmer specific mental health awareness and first aid sessions to the sector.
Furthermore, the department is also increasing awareness of mental health training opportunities by signposting resources to our customers and supporting the rollout of training for our staff who directly engage with individuals in the sector.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of global milk demand.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Uk Agricultural Market Monitoring Group which was established by Defra and the Devolved Governments under the Devolution Framework is responsible for the oversight and monitoring of the UK agriculture market. This includes a review of prices, production, inputs and trade covering an assessment of current and future global demand for dairy products. The current position indicates broadly stable demand for dairy across the world alongside continued rising supply and falling prices.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Northern Ireland on Asian hornets.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The British Irish Council (BIC) has an Invasive Species Work Sector which shares expertise and learning across the eight BIC administrations and makes decisions on common policies and approaches with respect to Invasive Species. Members include the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. There is a Work Plan for this Work Sector and Asian hornets are one of the five key areas of focus.