Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 ensure that all cases of suspected wildlife crimes against birds are fully investigated, in the context of the prevalence of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra wants to see as many cases as possible of suspected wildlife crimes against birds fully investigated. The department supports the National Wildlife Crime Unit which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime and directly assists law enforcers in their investigations
Highly pathogenic avian influenza findings in wild birds can bring challenges where the carcase tests positive but where the bird has died in suspicious circumstances. In some cases, further post-mortem examination may not be possible due to the need to handle carcases at high containment facilities to protect public health and prevent spread of the virus.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Diseases of Wildlife Scheme (DoWS) works closely with the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) which makes enquiries, where possible, into death or illness of wildlife that may have resulted from pesticide and rodenticide poisoning (including cases with suspected wildlife crime). When dead wild birds are submitted to APHA through the wild bird surveillance scheme and poisoning is suspected, where avian influenza has been negated, the case is subsequently investigated by DoWS in collaboration with WIIS, the police and other agencies as appropriate. In all other instances, further investigation is pursued where it is possible to handle carcases or samples at appropriate biocontainment levels.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to ensure the timely completion of payments for Countryside Stewardship agreements.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) understands the importance of cashflow for farmers and rural businesses. For the 2025 scheme year they have once again paid a higher proportion of Countryside Stewardship payments earlier in the payment window.
The RPA has taken steps to improve the flow of payments for the schemes they deliver, and the Countryside Stewardship scheme continues to be administered with payment frequency and timeliness in mind.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proportion of fertiliser that is imported on food security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The fertiliser market is a global one, and the market price in the UK is strongly influenced by international prices for fertiliser and by the value of the pound.
We are aware of the current price increase for fertiliser due to the conflict in the Gulf. We are in close contact with domestic fertiliser suppliers and are monitoring overall supply to the UK.
Food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Water Restoration Fund will open for new applications in 2026.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water Restoration Fund, funded by water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023, is now delivering on-the-ground improvements for water quality through 51 projects, directly benefitting the communities and the environment which have been harmed by water company rule breaking. The programme runs for 3 years from FY 2025-26 until 2027-28.
At Budget the Government confirmed the next tranche of water company fines money would provide additional funding to support local water improvement projects.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 the fishing industry following recent changes to the EU regulations for UK vessels operating in EU waters.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The changes to the EU Control Regulation apply to all vessels fishing in EU waters including those of EU member states and the UK. All UK vessels licensed to fish in EU waters have been notified of the impending changes and further detail and guidance on their interpretation has been issued, along with contact details should vessel owners and operators have further queries. We continue to engage with the Commission to clarify points of the legislation and will issue further guidance on these points as it becomes available. In the meantime, we have engaged with individual member states to push for a pragmatic approach to enforcement while UK vessels adapt to the new regulations.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 recreational angling operators in the light of recent changes to pollack catch limits.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The pollack stock remains vulnerable and it is important we take steps to support its recovery. The recreational sector has shown leadership through the voluntary Pollack Pact, which we are building on by mandating a three-fish daily bag limit. This means recreational fishers can continue to fish for pollack, while helping reduce pressure on the stock. We will continue working closely with the recreational and commercial sectors through the Fisheries Management Plan process to consider any further fair and proportionate measures.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the threshold is for Natural England to investigate reported burns on deep peat.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra takes any allegations of breaches of The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021 seriously. With support from Natural England, a desk-based assessment is completed for all reports received. Where an offence cannot be ruled out, these cases are then referred to Defra’s Counter Fraud and Investigations team (CFI).
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support innovation in the agricultural sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Farming Innovation Programme is supporting research and innovation in the agricultural sector to help English farmers and growers increase productivity, sustainability and resilience.
The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June, recognises Agri-Tech as a key growth sector and at least £200 million is allocated to the Farming Innovation Programme up to 2030. This will offer targeted funding to drive innovation in agriculture, supporting critical investment into the UK Agri-Tech innovation pipeline helping further the commercialisation of Agri-Tech.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 ensure biosolids used as fertiliser do not contain (a) per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and (b) microplastics.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the need to ensure the safe and sustainable use of sludge in agriculture to help clean up our waterways and promote healthy soil. We will continue to work constructively with stakeholders on our ongoing review of the regulatory framework to ensure it is fit-for-purpose.
The Government has been working with water companies under their Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP), to improve the evidence base on the behaviour and fate of contaminants during treatment processes. CIP phase 4 will include a Groundwater, Soil and Biosolids investigation. This will explore the fate and behaviour of multiple chemical compounds, including PFAS substances and microplastics, to establish whether detected substances may pose a risk to long-term soil health, groundwater quality and the wider environment.
This work will help inform possible and future measures to mitigate contaminants in the environment. We discuss the progress of this work on a frequent basis.
Earlier this year, we published this Option Appraisal for Intentionally Added Microplastics, which provides a welcome addition to our sum of knowledge on the options to protect human health and the UK environment from the risks of microplastics. We are considering the results of this study.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to allocate funding for seafish-related (a) skills and (b) other training for the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Seafish were eligible to apply for skills and training-related funding through the recently closed Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS). The Marine Management Organisation is currently reviewing and testing eligibility of applications submitted under the scheme. Outcomes of all FaSS applications will be communicated once the assessment process is complete.