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.
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 is taking steps to support tenant stock-rearing farmers with the costs of (a) rising feed, (b) energy and (c) national insurance costs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s New Deal for Farmers 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.
With regard to these specific issues:
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 his Department is taking to help reduce veterinary workforce shortages.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra is exploring various avenues to improve the short- and long-term capacity issues.
Defra has increased engagement across the veterinary profession and other stakeholders, to find a sustainable solution, ensuring the ongoing provision of high-quality veterinary surgeons both in the private and public sectors.
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, with reference to recommendation 27 of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what steps his Department is taking to improve biosecurity at (a) UK borders and (b) high-volume entry points such as Dover.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Imports of animals and animal products are subject to strict biosecurity controls. These may include pre-notification, veterinary health certification and Border Control Post checks. We apply additional measures in response to specific biosecurity threats. For example, in response to recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in Europe, we imposed immediate restrictions on commercial imports of susceptible animals and their untreated products from specific countries and banned personal imports of certain meat and dairy products from the European Union single market area.
We continue to work closely with officials at both ports and airports to deliver the required checks on goods to minimise the risk of animal diseases entering the UK. This includes providing funding to Dover Port Health Authority to support Border Force in the detection of illegal imports of animal products.
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, with reference to recommendation 26(d) of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, whether his Department plans to publish a (a) comprehensive and (b) time-bound strategy for animal disease resilience.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The UK Government takes animal diseases seriously and works closely with industry partners, international fora and other government departments and local authorities to constantly monitor and react to new disease threats. We have in place robust measures to maintain and improve our ability to understand, detect, prevent, respond, and recover from outbreaks.
Defra and APHA have noted the findings from the NAO report, including recommendation 26(d). A review is currently being undertaken of existing resilience plans and processes to assess where enhancements are required. This includes the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England which sets out the structures, governance, and processes for disease outbreaks. This is reviewed annually, and the next update is due to be laid before parliament in late autumn this year.
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 his Department is taking to ensure continuity of funding for peatland restoration between the closure of the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme and the full implementation of the Landscape Recovery Scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities. We have ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatlands across the country, and we are working to ensure that we have the most effective mechanisms in place to go further than we have before.
Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. We will continue to work with partners, farmers and land managers to enable the delivery of peat restoration, supported by agri-environmental schemes that provide long-term funding to support restoration projects. We are providing advice and guidance to enable partners to transition to new funding arrangements.
Private finance will also be vital to meeting our peatland restoration ambitions. To support peatland restoration, the Government is implementing a range of policies that will mobilise private investment. These include working with the IUCN to attract investment through the Peatland Code.
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 he has made of the potential impact of the projected funding gap for peatland restoration in the Great North Bog region between 2025 and 2028 on (a) rural employment and (b) environmental outcomes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands, and in our manifesto, we committed to expanding nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and peat bogs. This will contribute to ensuring nature’s recovery, one of Defra’s five priorities.
Peatland restoration is currently funded via the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. After this ends, we intend to work with partners, farmers and land managers to enable the delivery of peatland restoration, with continued support through agri-environmental schemes that provide long-term funding for restoration projects throughout the country.