Barry Gardiner

We work closely with Ofgem on monitoring environmental regulations and forestry practices in areas where biomass is sourced to ensure the sustainability of the feedstock coming to the UK.

In October 2023 Drax adopted a policy of not sourcing material directly from old growth areas in British Columbia for Drax Power Station in Selby. As a result of Ofgem’s investigation, Drax are currently conducting a global review of their supply chain through an independent auditor. We will carefully consider the results of this audit.

From 2027 onwards, the new Low Carbon Dispatchable Contract for Difference strengthens sustainability requirements by ensuring no subsidy is paid for electricity generated from primary material harvested from primary forest or old growth areas.

In March, the Government consulted on its commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields.

The Marine Policy Statement was published in 2011 under a previous government. It includes support for oil and gas exploration.

Subject to the outcome of the consultation, this aspect of the Statement is unlikely to carry any practical effect in future.

Updating the Statement would be resource intensive for all governments involved. Instead, the Government is taking a more strategic approach to marine spatial planning, developing colocation solutions and working with the Marine Management Organisation on the replacement of the East Marine Plan.

The Government has committed to not issue new licences to explore new fields while managing existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan.

On 1 October, the Secretary of State announced legislation to end new onshore oil and gas licensing in England.

Our ‘Building the North Sea’s energy future’ consultation, which closed earlier this year, sought views on how we should implement these commitments. We will respond in due course.

All UK greenhouse gas emissions are compiled and reported consistent with international guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories provide a methodology for the reporting of emissions from bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) that the UK will follow when the technology is operating at sufficient scale. In line with all IPCC reports, the 2006 Guidelines were written by world-leading experts, underwent multiple rounds of review from other experts and Governments and were formally accepted by Governments including the UK.

The data for the Check Air Quality Alerts Service is shown below:

The Government recognises the importance of clear and consistent public health communications. Recent evaluation of the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) concluded the DAQI was well understood by the majority of surveyed users, this has been validated by user testing undertaken as part of the development of the new GOV.UK air quality webservices. The evaluation recommended some improvements to the DAQI, including updates to the associated health advice and clearer contextual information which have been incorporated into the ongoing webservice improvements.

Any future consideration of changes to the DAQI including band names, colours or warning terminology would need to be supported by appropriate scientific and medical evidence and informed by user research, including testing how different approaches affect public understanding and action.

The table setting out health advice for each band of the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) was removed from the UK-AIR DAQI webpage in December 2025 as part of the ongoing migration of air quality information from UK-AIR to newer digital services.

The change was made to improve the accessibility, usability and maintenance of air quality information, it occurred in parallel with updates to the DAQI health advice based on advice made by Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) to the Air Quality Information System (AQIS) review, ensuring that the information provided to the public reflects the latest clinical evidence.

The Government keeps its air quality framework under review, including air quality targets and standards, and will review the Air Quality Strategy by 2028. Our focus is on delivering effective policies across the main sources of emissions to improve air quality and protect public health.

The latest projections of future compliance for the reporting zones in exceedance of the nitrogen dioxide annual mean limit value can be found here: 2020 NO₂ and PM projections data (2018 reference year) - DEFRA UK Air - GOV.UK.

New projections from a 2025 reference year are being developed. These will incorporate Defra’s national modelling and monitoring networks and additional local monitoring data gathered by cities and towns in the UK.

Please see the information requested in the table below. Defra rolled out a new air quality alert service on 30 July 2026 which can be accessed here: https://check-air-quality.service.gov.uk/

We work closely with the Met Office, UKHSA and the third sector during pollution episodes, and are exploring greater engagement with the media and broadcast meteorologists to incorporate air quality information into weather reporting.

The Government Commercial Agency provides UK public sector organisations with a recommended list of suppliers with the capabilities to support restructuring and insolvency which are listed under Lot 10 of the Management Consultancy Framework Four.

The Government publishes a wide range of data relevant to ecosystem condition and restoration across terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. In the marine environment, assessments of progress towards Good Environmental Status are publicly available through the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science's Marine Online Assessment Tool.

Defra’s Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment Programme will deliver a baseline assessment of the environment at a national and regional scale, including datasets across England's terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. It will conclude in 2028 having completed its five-year strategic sample.

The Government will continue to build the evidence base and monitoring approaches needed to support a robust assessment of ecosystem restoration across the UK.

The UK’s 7th National Report, published in February 2026, reaffirms the UK’s commitment to achieving all 23 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework at home, and shows that the UK has solid foundations in place and meaningful progress being made across almost all targets.

A range of actions have been undertaken across the UK to restore degraded ecosystems. For instance, England has set legally binding targets under the Environment Act 2021, including on habitat creation or restoration, marine protected area (MPA) condition, and tree planting, supported by significant investments in nature and legislative and regulatory measures. There have been major investments made in nature recovery, for example, woodland creation in England is accelerating with 5,765 ha of new woodland planted in 2024/2025, reflecting a 27% increase on the previous year.

Defra ministers meet with a range of stakeholders on a regular basis, including the NFFO to discuss matters relevant to commercial fisheries. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) consulted last year on fisheries byelaws to restrict bottom trawling in a further 41 MPAs. These proposals covered 30,000 square kilometres or 13% of English waters. The MMO is carefully considering the very large number of responses received to the consultation, and decisions will be made in due course.

Our White Paper commits to taking forward Recommendation 46 of the IWC. We will make it easier for a company’s owners to change their ownership model, by ensuring the new regulator has a transparent process to assess whether an ownership change should go ahead.

Our White Paper commits to taking forward Recommendation 46 of the IWC. We will make it easier for a company’s owners to change their ownership model, by ensuring the new regulator has a transparent process to assess whether an ownership change should go ahead.

The UK Government and the National Audit Office regularly engage in discussions on economic issues as part of ongoing stakeholder relations.

The Government designates bathing waters following a public application and consultation process. This means the process is driven by individuals and groups with direct ties to sites highly popular with bathers, who best understand how they are used and valued by the local community. More information on the application and designation process is available on Gov.UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bathing-waters-apply-to-designate-or-de-designate

The UK Statistics Authority (which includes the ONS) is a Non Ministerial Department sponsored by the Cabinet Office. At present, DEFRA has not had discussions with the ONS regarding the use of SAR in the water sector.

We are putting an end to Operator Self-Monitoring and ensuring the public have confidence in the data that is produced from water company assets.

We will implement an Open Monitoring approach so everyone can see what is happening, with clear, accessible data that allows regulators and the public to hold water companies properly to account.

Under section 37 of the Water Industry Act 1991 a water company has the duty to ensure the supply of water within its area of appointment and to develop and maintain an efficient and economical supply system for that purpose, as well as to ensure arrangements have been made for maintaining, improving and extending its water mains and other pipes.

In addition, under section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991, a water company that also holds a sewerage appointment has the duty to effectually deal with the contents of sewers and provide the necessary infrastructure for that purpose.

All water and sewerage companies have the same statutory duties.

Of the 37 prosecutions since 27 March 2020, 32 prosecutions were for offences that took place before 27 March 2020, and 5 prosecutions were for offences that took place after 27 March 2020.

Since 27 March 2020, there have been 37 completed prosecutions against Water and Sewerage Companies. A water quality prosecution is any criminal proceedings relating to a failure to properly manage water or sewage treatment.

Written Parliamentary Question UIN 123113 was answered on 16 April 2026.

Written Parliamentary Question UIN 124051 was answered on 28 April 2026.

Since 27 March 2020, there have been 37 completed prosecutions against Water and Sewerage Companies. A water quality prosecution is any criminal proceedings relating to a failure to properly manage water or sewage treatment.

The Government has committed to ending Operator Self Monitoring. The Environment Agency has provided early, high‑level indicative cost estimates to support the Department’s initial exploration of options for future monitoring arrangements. These figures were produced to give a broad sense of potential scale only. Further work is now underway to develop and refine the policy options and to produce more detailed and robust costings.

Officials from Defra continue to meet with FTI Consulting to ensure that this Government is fully prepared for all eventualities, whist working with Ofwat to help support a market-led solution to the company’s issues of financial resilience and operational delivery.

It is a longstanding principle that Government does not comment on or publish legal advice.