Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle organised crime networks involved in fly-tipping in rural areas.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is making the necessary policy and regulatory reforms to close the loopholes being exploited by waste criminals. Key reforms include carrier, broker, dealer reform, waste permit exemption reform and the introduction of digital waste tracking. Defra believes these reforms are the best way to drive criminality out of the waste sector whether in urban or rural communities.
The Government has increased the Environment Agency’s (EA) budget for waste crime enforcement by over 50% this year to £15.6 million. The EA-hosted Joint Unit for Waste Crime has nearly doubled in size thanks to our extra funding and its UK-wide partnership work with the EA, HM Revenue & Customs, National Crime Agency, the police and others continues to share intelligence, powers and resources to disrupt waste criminals.
However, the Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime. That is why the Government collaborated with the National Police Chiefs’ Councils to deliver their renewal of the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, which was published in November. The strategy, lasting until 2028, will ensure efforts to reduce crime benefit every community no matter where they live, including rural communities.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 formally re-establish the Advisory Committee on Packaging as a forum for (a) industry, (b) government and (c) regulators to oversee the operation of the Packaging Recovery Note system.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no plans to re-establish the Advisory Committee on Packaging in its previous form.
However, as part of the forthcoming consultation on Packaging Waste Recycling Note (PRN) reforms, the department will be seeking views on how best to bring together stakeholders including industry, Government, and regulators to advise on the functioning of the PRN system.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) private investment and (b) Government funding for (i) storm overflows, (ii) wastewater treatment and (iii) other water infrastructure.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat’s final determinations for Price Review 2024 set company expenditure for 2025–2030. This will deliver substantial and enduring improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector. The £104 billion funding package is the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation and is set to be the second largest private sector investment programme in this parliament.
Water companies are investing over £11 billion in PR24, a record amount, to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales over the next five years. Furthermore, £4.795 billion will be spent over the same period to reduce phosphorus pollution from treated wastewater. This represents an increase when compared to the 2022-2023 equivalent prices for Price Review 19, where overall spending was £61bn, storm overflow investment was £3.6 billion, and wastewater treatment improvements were £3.1 billion.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 uncertainty about future rounds of the Landscape Recovery tier of Environmental Land Management schemes on farmers’ willingness to engage in long-term nature recovery projects.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government reconfirmed its commitment to Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in the Autumn 2024 Spending Review. More than £2.7 billion a year will be invested in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026/27 to 2028/29.
Defra wants Landscape Recovery to work for collaborative groups of farmers delivering ambitious nature recovery at the landscape scale. The Department is pleased the projects currently in the scheme involve over 1,000 land managers, many of which are farmers. As the first projects are entering the implementation phase, farmers are benefitting directly from engaging in long-term nature recovery projects.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for publication of the rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government concluded a rapid review of the existing Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) and published a statement of the rapid review’s key findings on 30 January 2025. It is our intention to publish a revised EIP in due course, which will be our long-term plan for improving the natural environment and people’s enjoyment of it.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 ensure that the Environmental Land Management Landscape Recovery tier continues beyond the current funding round to deliver nature recovery at landscape scale.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government reconfirmed its commitment to Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in the Autumn 2024 Spending Review. More than £2.7 billion a year will be invested in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026/27 to 2028/29.
Landscape Recovery projects that were awarded funding in rounds 1 and 2 are continuing, with the first projects moving into the delivery phase earlier this year. Landscape Recovery is integral to the delivery of Defra’s statutory environmental targets.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 ensure that the Environmental Land Management Scheme Landscape Recovery tier continues beyond the current round.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government reconfirmed its commitment to Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in the Autumn 2024 Spending Review. More than £2.7 billion a year will be invested in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026/27 to 2028/29.
Landscape Recovery projects that were awarded funding in rounds 1 and 2 are continuing, with the first projects moving into the delivery phase earlier this year. Landscape Recovery is integral to the delivery of Defra’s statutory environmental targets.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many water bodies are classified as failing to meet good ecological status for which the latest data is available; and what steps she is taking to help improve the quality of water in water bodies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The last full classification update was produced in 2019 when 3893 water bodies of a total of 4651 were failing to meet good ecological status in 2019.
The Independent Water Commission, tasked by the Government to produce recommendations to transform how our water system works, delivered its final report 21 July 2025. This included recommendations intended to restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health for future generations.
The Government will respond to the recommendations in full via a White Paper and will introduce a new water reform bill, bringing forward root and branch reform to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 ensure that water companies are penalised for (a) repeated illegal sewage discharges and (b) other repeated breaches of environmental regulations.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, the Environment Agency will not hesitate to hold companies to account.
The Water (Special Measures) Act provides the most significant increase in enforcement powers to the regulators in a decade, giving regulators the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies. These include new powers to enable the Environment Agency to recover costs associated with their enforcement of the water industry.
A consultation has been launched to expand and strengthen the current range of financial penalties available to the Environment Agency in a bid to clamp down on more offences. Water companies who commit environmental offences could face quicker penalties of up to £500,000, under changes being considered by the government.
The Environment Agency has also increased water company inspections to 10,000 per year from April 2025 as part of the Government’s wider focus to hold companies accountable and improve our water environment.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 falling grain prices on domestic producers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cereals and oilseeds are internationally traded commodities, and their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments. These developments may be influenced by the global market disruption, weather conditions, or currency fluctuations.
Support is being provided through the Environmental Land Management schemes, which reward sustainable farming practices and help improve soil health and long-term productivity. These schemes are designed to enhance the resilience and profitability of arable farmers, including those in the cereals sector.
The Department is also investing in innovation and research to help farmers adopt more efficient and sustainable practices, such as precision agriculture and crop breeding. Officials continue to monitor market conditions closely and engage regularly with industry to ensure that policy and support remain responsive to the needs of grain producers.
In addition, the Government’s food strategy sets out a vision for a more sustainable and competitive food system, including trade that supports British standards and expands export opportunities for UK producers.