Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve cross-border cooperation on farming pollution regulations between England and Wales.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to building stronger ties and working collaboratively with the Welsh Gov-ernment on shared priorities that deliver for all our citizens including tackling pollution, restoring nature and supporting our farmers.
Effective regulations play an important part of in reducing diffuse agricultural pollution and cleaning up our waters, as well as supporting improvements to farm businesses. Both Governments are working closely with regulators, local farmers and other key partners in England and Wales on these issues, for example by working with local farmers and environmental NGOs, alongside the Wye Nutrient Management Board and the Wye Catchment Partnership who are leading efforts to tackle pollution in the Wye.
Please also see the announcement below for more detail regarding what is being done to tackle pollution in the Wye: UK and Welsh Government unite in £1m fund to transform River Wye - GOV.UK.
In a joint initiative worth up to £1 million, Defra and Welsh Government will fund comprehensive cross-border research on the River Wye, to understand pollution and other pressures (such as wildlife decline, flood risk, high and low flows), and develop plans to tackle these issues in the catchment.
This funding, supported by UK and Welsh Governments, will ensure farmers, environmental campaigners, citizen scientists and other local experts, can help us gather essential evidence about what is causing this iconic river to be so polluted, and chart a course towards improving water quality and restoring nature.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to renew the Farm Facilitation Fund beyond March 2025.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the importance of farmer and land manager collaboration. In future years we want to make it easier for farmers to build partnerships and secure the advice and support they need to deliver on a range of priorities in their local area.
That’s why the Agricultural Transition Plan Update, published in January 2024, committed to the development of an expanded and improved facilitation fund.
To support this change, we are not opening further rounds of the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund. We are still funding existing agreements.
Ahead of the Spending Review, we are testing how we develop a more flexible approach to supporting farmer networks and partnerships. We will learn from the evaluation of the Facilitation Fund, which proves the benefits of collaboration but also shows that we need to improve the design, so it is less burdensome for participants, and we can increase uptake.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
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 Executive Summary of his Department's policy paper entitled Flood and coastal erosion risk management: An investment plan for 2021 to 2027, published on 29 July 2021, what steps his Department is taking to support the implementation of flood defence projects; and whether he expects all projects to be delivered on time.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have inherited a floods investment programme which is behind schedule due to the impacts of inflation, the covid pandemic and skills and labour shortages.
To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences. We will also launch a consultation of the existing floods funding formula to ensure that we get the greatest impact from our funding, with the new approach expected to be brought in from April 2026.
The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be agreed by the Environment Agency over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding he has allocated to flood resilience projects this financial year; and how much of that funding is dedicated to flood risk mitigation for communities in high-risk flood zones.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Investment in flood risk management schemes takes place where the risk is highest, wherever it is across the country. Each scheme is carefully considered to where it will benefit the most people and property.
To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
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 merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require imported eggs to meet the UK's animal welfare standards.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare.
The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to promote the highest food production standards.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
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 plans to take to help family-run farms with any increased costs associated with the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Overall, the Government expects any impact on UK farmers to be modest. The level of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and impact on fertiliser prices is a function of the effective carbon price under the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) for fertiliser producers, after accounting for Free Allowances.
Currently, fertiliser producers have high coverage by Free Allowances. What happens to Free Allowance allocations in the coming years is a matter for the UK ETS Authority.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
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 press notice entitled Record number of new bathing sites get the go ahead, published on 13 May 2024, whether he plans to publish a consultation on bathing water regulations.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bathing waters are one of the most visible ways in which the public interacts with the water environment. The Government recognises that there have been increasing changes to how and where people use bathing waters. Ministers are currently working through priorities and options for future reform of the bathing water system.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to increase the flood resilience of the river Severn in the Shrewsbury area.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Protecting communities around the country from flooding and coastal erosion is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities.
This Government will improve resilience and preparation across central government, local authorities, local communities and emergency services to better protect communities across the UK. We will launch a new Flood Resilience Taskforce to turbocharge the delivery of new flood defences, drainage systems and natural flood management schemes, which will ensure we’re prepared for the future and help grow our economy.
We will review the current 6-year capital programme (2021-2027) to ensure flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.
The programme is currently forecast to invest over £150 million across the English Severn and Wye Catchment, with almost £30 million of this to be invested in Shropshire, better protecting almost 450 homes and businesses there.
The Environment Agency also maintains existing flood risk management assets in Shrewsbury which better protect 154 properties from flooding, and provides a free Flood Warning Service to residents in the constituency.