Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the overnight holding of perishable fruit consignments at borders on affected businesses; and what steps his Department plans to take to help minimise delays for just-in-time supply chains in the fresh produce sector.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For Plants and Plant Products, APHA will aim to inspect consignments within four hours of them being presented for a physical inspection.
However, a small minority of fruit and vegetables are subject to 100% inspection due to the level of pest and disease risk and may be held in the event that the goods are not available for inspection.
The time taken to conduct checks is subject to a ‘Service Level Agreement’ (SLA), details of which are available on Gov.uk. Our teams have been working closely with traders to ensure checks are completed effectively and swiftly to avoid delays. We are confident BCP capacity, including staff resource, and opening times are sufficient for the current volume of checks. We continue to work with traders to ensure their documentation is accurately filled out before starting their journey and have published guidance to traders and drivers on the requirements of BCP inspections to help reduce waiting times.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
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 ensure that importers of fresh fruit from outside the UK receive timely advance notification of border inspections.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Businesses must notify the competent authorities in advance of a consignment arriving in GB when it contains High risk or Medium A risk plants and plant products as they are subject to phytosanitary controls. Upon completion of the notification an initial risk assessment is provided detailing whether an inspection is required. Drivers and notifiers are informed in one of two ways.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the Environment Agency responds to requests from the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent on battery safety at Cleve Hill Solar Park.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency works closely with the department at every level to ensure that the Environment Agency maintains high standards of delivery for stakeholders and the public, including when handling correspondence. Members of Parliament are encouraged to deal directly with the Environment Agency on day-to-day operational matters.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to monitor the responsiveness of the Environment Agency to enquiries from hon. Members.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency works closely with the department at every level to ensure that the Environment Agency maintains high standards of delivery for stakeholders and the public, including when handling correspondence.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will instruct the Environment Agency to provide information on their planned inspections of battery storage units at Cleve Hill Solar Park before they are switched on.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) does not directly regulate the batteries associated with solar power schemes; this is the remit of the Local Authority. The EA, under the planning processes, advises on various aspects associated with the building and operation of battery storage facilities to ensure that risks to the environment are appropriately managed. This includes site wide flood risk assessments and pollution prevention plans.
The EA are satisfied that drainage of the site, including the management of fire water, will prevent harm to the environment and that any recommendations have informed the Battery Safety Management Plan, approved by the Planning Inspector.
If a permit is required from the EA to undertake any part of the operation, the operator is expected to submit a permit application. Details of the proposal will be inspected and a permit granted, where it can be shown by the applicant that the proposal will not cause a risk to the environment. The EA inspects permitted sites to ensure compliance with permits.
If a pollution incident occurs, the EA will work with all other emergency services to ensure the environment is fully considered as part of the response.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has recent discussions with the Environment Agency on their inspection plans for the battery storage units at Cleve Hill Solar Park.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) does not directly regulate the batteries associated with solar power schemes; this is the remit of the Local Authority. The EA, under the planning processes, advises on various aspects associated with the building and operation of battery storage facilities to ensure that risks to the environment are appropriately managed. This includes site wide flood risk assessments and pollution prevention plans.
The EA are satisfied that drainage of the site, including the management of fire water, will prevent harm to the environment and that any recommendations have informed the Battery Safety Management Plan, approved by the Planning Inspector.
If a permit is required from the EA to undertake any part of the operation, the operator is expected to submit a permit application. Details of the proposal will be inspected and a permit granted, where it can be shown by the applicant that the proposal will not cause a risk to the environment. The EA inspects permitted sites to ensure compliance with permits.
If a pollution incident occurs, the EA will work with all other emergency services to ensure the environment is fully considered as part of the response.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
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 28 November 2024 to Question 15504 on Agriculture: Subsidies, what issues were discussed with growers.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector. Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers (including a number of Producer Organisation members) from across the sector to discuss a wide range of issues. This allows us to understand if, and where, government intervention is needed.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
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 28 November 2024 to Question 15461 on Agriculture: Subsidies, when officials from his Department met with growers in the last 12 months; and what type of growers have they met.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector. Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers (including a number of Producer Organisation members) from across the sector to discuss a wide range of issues. This allows us to understand if, and where, government intervention is needed.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings (a) he and (b) Minsters from his Department have had with (i) growers and (ii) fruit growers in the last 12 months; and when did those meetings take place.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector. Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers (including a number of Producer Organisation members) from across the sector to discuss a wide range of issues. This allows us to understand if, and where, government intervention is needed.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the changes to inheritance tax on the financial viability of small family farms in (a) Kent and (b) Faversham and Mid Kent constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Assessing the impact of the new Inheritance Tax policy, which comes into force from 6 April 2026, relies on a number of factors such as ownership structure and debt levels. Without such information, which the Government does not hold at that level, area level assessments cannot be made.
This Government is aware that each farm is different, and so we encourage farmers to speak to their tax advisors and agents to understand how these changes may impact their specific situation and how to plan for the future.
As an outcome of the recent Spending Review, we have also committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years – the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in this country’s history. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.