Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
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 an El Niño weather event on (a) food security and (b) critical infrastructure in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Defra-funded Food, Farming and Natural Environment climate service, delivered by the Met Office Hadley Centre, provides climate modelling services to Government. Defra published the Met Office High-Impact Low-Likelihood Outcomes paper last year which highlighted the potential impacts of strong El Niño years on net global crop production and how they may amplify any other global food production shocks.
Defra is monitoring the potential impacts of this year’s predicted El Niño, on both domestically produced food and imports. This includes considering potential impacts on food supply chain dependencies, including transport, ports, storage and other food industry infrastructure.
Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 3739, how many allegations of piglet thumping were investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in each of the last 3 years; and if she will take steps to record data on prosecutions in a way that would enable cases to be identified.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) take all complaints of illegal slaughter, other forms of on-farm killing and serious breaches of animal welfare, seriously. On receipt of a complaint, APHA will triage the details provided to determine the action required. The number of allegations specifically related to piglet thumping is not publicly available.
Local authorities lead on enforcement and prosecutions with support from APHA where needed to provide veterinary expertise and evidence. Any successful prosecution for welfare offences taken by a local authority is published in the annual Section 80 report under the Animal Health Act 1981 which is laid in Parliament. The data for this report is held and provided by the local authorities.
Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take legislative steps to make the Water Restoration Fund a long-term legal entity in the proposed Clean Water Bill.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The recipients of the Water Restoration Fund were announced in October 2025, with projects due to be completed by March 2028.
The most recent tranche of water company fines, as announced alongside the White Paper in January, is being allocated to catchment partnerships, the Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF) and Water and Abandoned Metal Mines (WAMM) Programme. Further details on future tranches of water company announced in due course.
Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his plan for a Poultry Sector Growth Plan, what assessment he has made of the potential health risks of air pollution linked to ammonia emissions from poultry facilities.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ammonia from poultry farms contributes to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution concentrations across the country. The precise contribution is difficult to assess and will vary according to the prevailing weather conditions and other sources of PM2.5. Long term exposure to fine particulate matter is associated with a number of serious health conditions. Intensive poultry farms with a capacity of 40,000 poultry places or more require a permit under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, to control their emissions into the environment.
Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
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 (a) the extent and (b) impact on pig welfare of pig thumping in the pig industry.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Piglet thumping (a manual percussive blow to the head) it is not a permitted method for stunning or killing piglets due to serious concerns about the welfare consequences. The Department is engaging with the industry to encourage use of alternative humane methods.
Allegations of animal welfare abuses are investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The local authority, as the appropriate enforcement agency, may initiate prosecution action for animal welfare offences where there is sufficient evidence.
The Department does not hold centrally recorded information on the number of farms where a manual percussive blow to the head was used for killing piglets, nor is data on prosecutions recorded in a way that would enable cases to be identified.
Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Ninth Report of the Environmental Audit Committee of Session 2024-26 on Addressing the risks from Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), HC 852, published on 23 April 2026, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of banning the use of PFAS.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’, represent one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.
On 3 February 2026, the Government fulfilled its commitment from the revised Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, by publishing the UK’s first-ever PFAS Plan. This sets out how we will work across government, industry, regulators, agencies, the scientific community and the public to understand the sources of these chemicals; tackle how they move around in the environment; and act to reduce public and environmental exposure.
The plan reflects Defra’s commitment to protect public health and the environment while supporting innovation and economic growth. Our long-term vision is to work in partnership, taking a science-based and proportionate approach, to reduce and minimise the impacts of harmful PFAS on public health and the environment, including through the transition to safer alternatives.
Defra also welcomes the recent EAC report HC 852 and its recommendations. Defra will provide a response from Government in line with usual procedures.
Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
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 the UK-EU SPS Agreement on the UK's ability to unilaterally ban the import and sale of fur products.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit on May 19, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area. Negotiations with the EU on the SPS agreement are underway. While those discussions are ongoing, we cannot provide a running commentary, but we have been clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards.