Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms have applied for grants under the Environmental Land Management Scheme in the last 12 months.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Rural Payments Agency published their Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-25 on 17 July 2025, which includes the most recent verifiable summary of Environmental Land Management scheme uptake.
Following the success of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 23 scheme, the SFI 24 Expanded Offer was launched in June 2024 where customers were invited to apply via an Expressions of Interest exercise similar to its predecessor. Once the scheme was opened to the wider public, 18,080 applications were submitted by 11 March 2025 when the scheme was closed to further applications.
12,081 livestock farmers applied for agreements worth £4.6 million for a vet to visit their farm for an Animal Health and Welfare review.
As of January 2025, there were approximately 45,000 live Countryside Stewardship agreements. This total includes over 13,500 Capital only agreements and around 31,500 Revenue agreements, of which just over 20,000 also include Capital options. This figure includes approximately 7,948 new Capital agreements received for the 2024 scheme year.
** Farm Businesses can apply for multiple Grants under the Environmental Land Management Scheme. The RPA ARA includes information up to 31 March 2025.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 flood defences in high-risk areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We inherited flood defences in their worst state on record – the condition of key flood defences in England was at the lowest it had been since the Financial Year 2009/10. Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, we’re investing a record £2.65 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26) to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences.
At the Spending Review on 11 June, the Government announced a further record £4.2 billion investment over three years (2026/27 to 2028/29). This is a 5% increase on the current average. The Government’s Infrastructure Strategy announced £7.9 billion capital commitment into flood defences for the next 10 years, to March 2036.
We launched a consultation on 3 June on proposals to reform the way we fund flood and coastal defences. This will ensure funding for flood defences is distributed more effectively across the country – protecting properties across all communities, including high-risk areas.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 support farmers transitioning to sustainable land management.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are providing farmers and land managers with the support needed to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security and build resilience to climate change. There are currently record numbers of farmers taking part in farming schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive. As of April 2025, these schemes supported 885,000 hectares of arable land being farmed without insecticides; 330,000 hectares of low input grassland being managed sustainably; and 85,000 kilometres of hedgerows being protected and restored.
In the recent spending review, we allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history.
This means:
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 (a) support and (b) increase domestic food production.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s commitment to farming and food security remains steadfast, which is why the Government is investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature’s recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%.
Towards a Good Food Cycle, the UK Government food strategy for England, published on 15 July, sets out the Government's plans to transform the food system. A UK government food strategy for England - GOV.UK
The food strategy will deliver wide ranging improvements to ensure it is able to feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals. The strategy will build the resilience of national food supply to shocks and chronic risks and will be considering levels of domestic food production as part of this.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 improve water quality in (a) rivers and (b) coastal areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The levels of water pollution are unacceptable. That is why cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a priority for the Government. We are taking action to address agricultural pollution and support farm businesses. We are, as a priority, working with farmers and environmental groups to improve farm pollution regulations to ensure they are simple and effective. We are also doubling funding for Environment Agency farm inspections to work with farmers to raise standards and have issued amended Statutory Guidance on the Farming Rules for Water to set clearer expectations on enforcing the rules. We continue to invest in our farmers through Environmental Land Management schemes.
Additionally, water companies are investing over £11 billion in PR24 (2025-2030), to improve nearly 3000 storm overflows across England and Wales.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 tackle agricultural pollution in protected areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is firmly committed to safeguarding every aspect of our natural environment, including through reducing agricultural pollution. This approach aims to protect all areas, including our most protected areas.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 introducing mandatory food waste reporting on food prices.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no plans to assess the potential impact of introducing mandatory food waste reporting on food prices.
This Government has announced plans to publish a Circular Economy Strategy for England and is committed to transitioning to a circular economy – one that stimulates growth, reduces waste, and alleviates pressure on household bills. As this work is developed, evidence from across the economy will be considered as the interventions that may be needed are evaluated. This includes for the potential introduction of a mandatory food waste reporting requirement for large food businesses. As with all policies, if the policy were to be taken forward, a detailed assessment of costs and benefits would be published as part of the legislative process.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's policy is on genetic editing to prevent diseases in (a) plants and (b) livestock.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The secondary legislation necessary to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 for plants in England has successfully passed through Parliament and was passed into law on 13 May 2025. Through this enabling regulatory framework, crops with a range of beneficial traits including increased disease resistance can be developed more quickly. The Government is considering the requirements for a regulatory framework for precision bred animals as outlined in the Act.
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to encourage people to buy UK produce.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working in partnership across the food system, the Government and four nations to develop an ambitious new food strategy which delivers a food system we can be even more proud of. It will help protect our British traditions, unlock the food sector’s economic potential, strengthen food security, tackle obesity and protect our planet for future generations.
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 will conduct the first ever review of food currently bought in the public sector, including where it is bought from.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent changes he has made to the Capital Grants scheme.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra announced on 24 February 2025 that the standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open in summer 2025. We will introduce maximum grant thresholds for 4 groups of capital items in the standalone capital offer, from summer 2025. The thresholds will be £25,000 for water quality, air quality and natural flood management and £35,000 for boundaries, trees, and orchards. We will confirm the date that the standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open and announce any further changes to the scheme in due course.