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.

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for trends in the number of long-term empty homes.

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

There are numerous reasons that homes are left empty, including probate and homes falling into disrepair.

The government wants to see more empty homes brought back into use across the country.

Local authorities have strong powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. They have the discretionary powers to charge additional council tax on properties which have been left unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one or more years. The maximum premium that a council can apply increases, depending on the length of time that the property has been empty for, with a premium of up to 300% on homes left empty for over ten years. They can also access funding through the Affordable Homes Programme and Local Authority Housing Fund.

Local authorities can also use powers to take over the management of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use in the private rented sector. Local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) when a property has been empty for more than two years, subject to the production of evidence that the property has been causing a nuisance to the community and evidence of community support for their proposal. More information can be found on gov.uk here.

The government outlined its intent to strengthen local authorities’ ability to take over the management of vacant residential premises in the English Devolution White Paper published in December 2024. Further details will be set out in due course.

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Found: Darren Paffey; Rebecca Paul; Manuela Perteghella; Mark Sewards; Peter Swallow; Chris Vince; Caroline Voaden