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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of fisheries patrol operations in English waters in each year since 2020.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Fisheries patrol operations in English waters are undertaken by the Marine Management Organisation utilising two leased patrol vessels. The cost of these vessels is detailed in MMO's annual reports as follows:

• * is the half year to 30 September 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many investigations were commenced by her Department of English-registered fishing vessels over ten metres in length for fishing outside six nautical miles of UK waters in each year since 2020; and how many and what proportion of those investigations resulted in (a) charges being brought and (b) successful prosecutions.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Marine Management Organisation (MMO) does not publish investigations, only prosecutions. The table below lists all cases where charges were brought resulting in successful MMO prosecutions in court of UK 10m and over vessels which resulted from inspections at sea outside of 6 nautical miles from baselines (there were no unsuccessful prosecutions).

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 tropical forest protection on the stability of UK food supply chains.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Tropical forests provide a range of ecosystem services which affect agricultural production. Their protection and restoration can therefore play a vital role in supporting global food supply stability.

The Government is taking robust action to boost UK food security, turn the tide of nature’s decline, and prepare for the impacts of climate change and nature loss. This includes investing in nature protection and restoration both domestically and internationally, and delivering £11.6 billion in International Climate Finance by the end of 25/26 as part of our Plan for Change. The Government is also considering its approach to addressing global deforestation linked to UK supply chains and will set out its approach in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department takes to encourage developers to build (a) in partnership with nature and (b) using swift bricks.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 62367 on 2 July 2025.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of providing additional funding for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility on economic growth.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of protecting tropical forests and welcomes Brazil’s leadership in developing the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) ahead of COP30. The UK has supported the development of the TFFF through technical assistance but has not provided a direct financial contribution to the Facility.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many tonnes of fish were caught in English waters by EU-registered fishing vessels in each year since 2020.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Table 1. Annual live weight (tonnes) landed from English waters by EU-registered fishing vessels from 2020 to 2023.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total value of landings was from fly-seine fishing operations in English waters by (a) EU-registered and (b) English-registered fly-seine vessels for each year since 2015.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Table 2. Annual value (GBP) landed from fly-seine fishing operations in English waters by EU-registered and English-registered fly-seine vessels from 2015 to 2023.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has (a) direct and (b) real time access to systems that monitor EU-registered fishing vessels that are fishing in English waters.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Fishing activity in English waters is monitored by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). MMO receives positional data and electronic logbook (elog) catch data for all foreign fishing vessels of 12 metres or more in length. Data from these vessels is received with the same frequency as for UK vessels. Live positional data is required to be transmitted at least once every two hours and electronic logbook data is required to be submitted at least once per day whilst at sea. Once transmitted, data is automatically forwarded to the UK by the relevant fisheries authority and is received by MMO in close to real-time.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many investigations of EU-registered fishing vessels were commenced by her Department in each year since 2020; and how many and what proportion of those investigations resulted in (a) charges being brought and (b) successful prosecutions.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Marine Management Organisation (MMO) does not publish investigations, only prosecutions. The table below lists all cases where charges were brought resulting in successful MMO prosecutions in court of EU vessels in each year since 2020 (there were no unsuccessful prosecutions).

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility on drivers of migration linked to (a) deforestation and (b) environmental collapse.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Tropical forests play a crucial role in mitigating against climate change, preserving biodiversity and supporting the livelihoods of over one billion people worldwide. Deforestation, forest degradation and wildfires in forest biomes such as the Amazon risk pushing these ecosystems towards potentially catastrophic 'tipping points' from which they would be unable to recover. This in turn would trigger wider environmental impacts, food insecurity and geopolitical shocks which are key drivers of migration.

Forests remain chronically undervalued for the essential climate and environmental services they provide. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) is an exciting and ambitious initiative, designed to provide an innovative source of finance to reward countries for the protection of their standing forests. The UK has been proud to work with Brazil and other partners on the design of the TFFF ahead of COP30 in Brazil in November.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations on the delivery of post.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Universal Service Obligation requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week to every address in the UK at a uniform price.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and ensuring that Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations. It sets Royal Mail enforceable targets to deliver a certain proportion of items on time each year. Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and this involves conducting thorough investigations where failures have been identified.

In October, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21 million for failing to meet its quality-of-service targets and has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and deliver a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to distribute the fishing quota in a way that incentivises (a) lower impact and (b) selective fishing.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As set out in response to PQ 83899, there are a number of mechanisms in place to incentivise lower impact and selective fishing. In terms of quota distribution, in England we have been running a trial since 2024 called the Quota Application Mechanism (QAM), which allocates quota based on environmental, social and economic criteria. The mechanism uses a gear ranking system developed by scientists to support the allocation of quota to those that have the least impact on the seabed and the highest selectivity. Details on the QAM application process for 2026, including the application form and gear ranking system, can be found online here.

As set out in Annex D of the UK Quota Management Rules we also allocate quota specifically to certain groups. In England we target western mackerel for the South West handline fishery.

Found: Shrewsbury) Dr Ellie Chowns (Green Party; North Herefordshire) Barry Gardiner (Labour; Brent West) Anna Gelderd