Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of restrictions on the production of lead ammunition on the supply of ammunition for a) UK defence, b) law enforcement agencies and c) land management bodies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK REACH Restriction on lead in ammunition does not cover the use, including storage, of lead ammunition by the military, police, Government security services, private maritime security companies and for border force purposes.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of excluding bullets from restrictions on the production of lead ammunition.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK REACH Restriction on lead in ammunition is based on extensive scientific evidence and analysis by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency. In developing their proposal, the HSE assessed the risks posed by lead ammunition – including bullets – to the environment and human health, as well as the socio-economic impacts of their proposal and the availability of alternatives. Minister Hardy’s Decision Report, published on 10 July 2025, sets out the rationale for the final UK REACH Restriction, including in relation to lead bullets.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support she provides to farmers when changes are made to pesticide regulations; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring the availability of approved alternative substances.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
If changes are made to regulations including pesticides we aim to do so transparently, for example through consultation, with those impacted including the farming sector. When a decision is made about an active substance or plant protection product by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) this is done in line with the legislation which ensures that affected individual farmers and businesses are made aware in sufficient time to make changes.
As set out in the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP), we want to ensure that farmers and growers have sufficient access to safe and sustainable tools to deal with pests and diseases. This includes improving access to biopesticides.
The HSE runs the biopesticides scheme to support companies who want to apply for approval of a biopesticide. The scheme includes dedicated HSE biopesticide champions, free pre-submission advice, and capped fees for biopesticide active substance approval.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 that approved pesticides do not pose a risk to public health.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A pesticide may only be placed on the market in Great Britain (GB) if the product has been authorised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), GB’s pesticide regulator. This only happens following a thorough scientific risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met.
The GB pesticide Maximum Residue Level (MRL) regime sets high standards of consumer protection to ensure that residues in food do not harm human health. An MRL is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue in or on food that is legally tolerated. MRLs are always set below the level considered safe for people eating the food.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 encourage businesses and individuals to buy local farming produce.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the key role that regional and local food systems can play in supporting delivery of the growth, health, sustainability, and food security/ resilience outcomes. Defra wants to create an environment that champions UK food cultures and celebrates British food. Connecting local communities can be a key vehicle for achieving this outcome and for harnessing a stronger food culture. The strategy helps strengthen pride in our unique food heritage and cultures and inspire a good food movement around the country.
Alongside, Defra is considering the policy options available to deliver on the Government's ambition for at least half of all food procured by the public sector to be, where possible, locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards, and to make it easier for British suppliers to bid for a share of the £5 billion spent annually on public sector catering contracts. To that end, the Government is conducting the first ever review of food currently bought in the public sector, including where it is bought from.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 13210, what update she can provide on the progress of the Environment Agency's State of Contaminated Land Report, specifically with regard to contaminated land risks downstream of historical lead mines.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency sent the State of Contaminated Land survey to all local authorities with Part 2A duties in England on 14th November 2025.
The survey includes specific questions relating to a number of sites prioritised for inspection or determined as contaminated land due to contamination risks from abandoned metal mines including metal/ore processing areas and/or abandoned metal mine impacted flood plain areas downstream of abandoned metal mines.
The deadline for Local Authorities to respond is the 9th of January 2026. It is expected that the State of Contaminated Land report will be published in Summer 2026.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 implications for her policies of reductions in the prices paid to British dairy farmers by suppliers; and whether she plans to review the adequacy of the regulatory framework governing the dairy supply chain.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Prices in the dairy sector are influenced by a wide range of factors, including global market trends, input costs and consumer demand.
The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, which came fully into force earlier this year, are designed to bring greater transparency and fairness to contractual relationships between farmers and milk purchasers. The regulations require clear and objective pricing terms, helping farmers to understand how the price they receive is determined and to plan their business decisions with greater confidence.
These regulations are subject to a statutory review to assess their effectiveness and ensure that the framework continues to operate as intended.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 help expedite grant clearance under the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund.
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. The Agency used an Online Application system to streamline data collection and is using automation to simplify due diligence checks. Agreement Holders should claim their payment by the deadline of midday on 31 March 2026 and provide all of the necessary evidence. The RPA aims to process and pay complete claims within 60 working days and continues to look at opportunities to expedite grant clearance for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund as promptly as possible.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken for (a) Sustainable Farming Incentive and (b) productivity grant payments on (i) rural supply chains and (ii) farm investment decisions.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) understand the importance of cashflow for farmers and rural businesses in their investment decisions and any impacts on the wider supply chain. The RPA has in recent years made more payments for the schemes they administer, earlier in the payment window. The RPA has also taken steps to improve the flow of payments. With a quarterly payments structure for the Sustainable Farming Incentive, schemes continue to be administered with payment frequency in mind, and the RPA continues to look at opportunities to issue payments and expedite grant clearance as promptly as possible.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
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 effectiveness of agricultural funding schemes and (b) how they can support food production.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food security is national security. We need a resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British farmers, fishers and food producers.
As part of the Government’s Plan for Change we are delivering on the Government’s New Deal for Farmers which includes a raft of new policies and major investment to boost profits for farmers.
We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. We are working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced later this year.
The Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, provides grants to support industry-led R&D to develop technologies and innovative practices to drive innovation in agriculture and increase productivity, sustainability and resilience in our farming sectors.
We have also protected farmers in trade deals and provided a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker route, giving farms certainty to grow their businesses.
We are using our own purchasing power to back British produce, with an ambition, where possible, for half of food supplied into the public sector to be produced locally or certified to high environmental standards.
We are reforming the planning system to support clean energy projects that align with our Clean Power 2030 ambitions, helping farm businesses to become more profitable and resilient.