Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to restrict the importation of Brazilian beef and chicken.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working as quickly as possible to assess Brazilian production systems to ensure that beef and chicken from animals treated with certain antimicrobial products are not exported to Great Britain and is keeping trade restrictions under review. The assessment will include an urgent in-country audit. Sanitary and phytosanitary trade measures must be evidence-based and proportionate in line with World Trade Organization rules.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
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 potential impact of devolution in England on equitable grant funding for English farmers in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - 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.
The Barnett formula, which aims to give each country the same pounds-per-person change in funding, will apply to any future changes in UK Government funding from 2025-26 for agriculture and fisheries in the usual way. This is the normal operation of funding arrangements for the devolved governments. It is for devolved governments to allocate funding as they see fit and they are accountable to their devolved legislatures for those decisions.
The 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: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
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 testing capacity for blue tongue.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has taken proactive steps to strengthen the national capacity for the testing of bluetongue in response to increased demand. Testing is now also being undertaken by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at Weybridge alongside the National Reference Laboratory at The Pirbright Institute, helping to manage high sample volumes and support timely results.
A new online reporting form will be launched on Friday 11 September, which makes it easier and quicker for vets to report suspect cases and clinical signs directly to APHA. This will allow private vets to diagnose bluetongue after examining affected animals, with cases formally confirmed by APHA at a premises level.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on implementing the findings of the Farming Profitability Review 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Baroness Batters’ Review offers a clear assessment of the challenges alongside 57 recommendations for strengthening farm businesses. We are carefully considering the findings and recommendations with the sector to support farmers to access the tools and opportunities to succeed.
That is what the 25-year Farming Roadmap, to be published in 2026, will deliver. It will bring together our work on regulation, innovation, skills, investment and environmental recovery into a single, long-term plan for the sector.
The report will inform Defra policy including the development of the Farming Roadmap, the Food Strategy and the recently published Land Use Framework, as well as wider government missions, especially economic growth. This will help ensure our farming sector is more viable, self-sustaining and competitive in the long-term.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her department is taking to support British farming profitability.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Our Environmental Land Management schemes are strengthening the environmental foundations of farm profitability, and the Farming and Food Partnership Board will drive long-term profitability across the farming sector.
Furthermore, our response to Baroness Batters’ profitability review and our Farming Roadmap will outline our long-term plans for ensuring a thriving and profitable farming sector.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy of the performance of Severn Trent Water and (b) potential impact of water pollution on the environment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Severn Trent has delivered a 4-star EPA performance for the past 5 years which is sector-leading. However, 2024 data demonstrated an increase in pollution incidents. The EA demands improved performance by implementing their action plans to improve their Water Resources and Waste License compliance.
The EA assesses compliance against environmental permits and takes enforcement action where failures occur.
Severn Trent’s AMP8 WINEP 2025-2030 will invest £6.4 billion into environmental schemes, which is significantly larger than other water companies. They are investing £566 million in their Green Recovery programme in innovative projects to improve the environment.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish a breakdown of how extended producer responsibility fees will be allocated, in the context of transparency in funding for local authority waste management services.
Answered by Mary Creagh
PackUK will publish annual reports and financial statements, which will provide transparency on the allocation of funds received through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees. These reports will clarify how the collected fees are distributed and used to support the scheme’s objectives.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a phased introduction of extended producer responsibility fees.
Answered by Mary Creagh
We have taken a phased approach to implementing Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR). Reporting obligations for this scheme were introduced in 2024, and fee obligations for large producers introduced on 1 April 2025. From April 2026 PackUK will modulate fees to incentivise use of easily recyclable packaging material.
The pEPR policy has been under development since 2019, with extensive engagement and consultation providing businesses with a clear indication of the scheme’s design and implementation. This policy underwent consultations in 2019, 2021, and a final consultation on reforms to the Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) system in 2022. Additionally, in 2023, the four nations of the UK consulted on the operability of the draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, and further amendments were made to address stakeholder concerns prior to final regulations being introduced.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the opinions of people on (a) low and (b) middle incomes are adequately heard in the development of the food strategy.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
A key priority for the food strategy is to improve access to healthy food for everyone, including children and those on low and middle incomes, in order to give all children the best start in life and help adults live longer healthier lives.
We are forming a coalition with the food sector, academics and charities and key thinkers to pool our collective ideas, influence and effort, and ensure that a range of voices are heard as we develop the strategy.
We are developing a programme of stakeholder engagement that will include civil society and consumer group representatives. The Food Strategy Advisory Board, announced on 21 March, includes representatives from civil society organisations such as Anna Taylor from the Food Foundation and Ravi Gurumurthy of NESTA. This collaboration will ensure a systems-wide approach and a comprehensive food strategy.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Water Restoration Fund on river quality in Staffordshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, including giving environmental regulators powers to impose penalties on the civil standard of proof, in addition to new automatic penalties. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities.
For Price Review 2024, which runs from 2025 – 2030, Water companies will be delivering record levels of investment: £104 billion over the next five years. This gives the sector the opportunity for transformation, delivering better outcomes for customers and the environment
In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, also launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Defra is evaluating how water company fines and penalties can be reinvested in improvements to the water environment. A final decision on this will be made later this year.