Neil Hudson Portrait

Neil Hudson

Conservative - Epping Forest

5,682 (13.6%) majority - 2024 General Election

First elected: 12th December 2019

Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

(since November 2024)

Select Committees
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill (since May 2025)
2 APPG Officer Positions (as of 9 Sep 2025)
Animal Welfare, Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention
3 APPG Memberships
Antimicrobial Resistance, British Hindus, Environment
2 Former APPG Officer Positions
Horse, Outdoor Learning
Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill
13th May 2025 - 14th May 2025
Water (Special Measures) Bill [HL]
18th Dec 2024 - 16th Jan 2025
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 30th May 2024
Zoological Society of London (Leases) Bill
21st Feb 2024 - 28th Feb 2024
Trade (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) Bill [HL]
7th Feb 2024 - 20th Feb 2024
Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill [HL]
1st Dec 2021 - 9th Dec 2021
Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill
3rd Nov 2021 - 18th Nov 2021


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Neil Hudson has voted in 219 divisions, and 1 time against the majority of their Party.

26 Mar 2025 - Tobacco and Vapes Bill - View Vote Context
Neil Hudson voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 24 Conservative Aye votes vs 31 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 366 Noes - 41
View All Neil Hudson Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Emma Hardy (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(35 debate interactions)
Daniel Zeichner (Labour)
(20 debate interactions)
Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat)
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(20 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Cabinet Office
(8 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(7 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Neil Hudson's debates

Epping Forest Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petitions with most Epping Forest signatures
Petition Debates Contributed

We think the UK Government must ban all cages for laying hens as soon as possible.

We think it should also ban the use of all cage and crates for all farmed animals including:
• farrowing crates for sows
• individual calf pens
• cages for other birds, including partridges, pheasants and quail


Latest EDMs signed by Neil Hudson

16th June 2025
Neil Hudson signed this EDM on Wednesday 18th June 2025

Three Dads Walking

Tabled by: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)
That this House applauds the outstanding efforts of the Three Dads Walking as they embark on an eight-day walking challenge to raise money for services dedicated to the prevention of young suicide; notes that on the eve of Father’s Day, Andy Airey from Cumbria, Mike Palmer from Ynys Môn, and …
26 signatures
(Most recent: 30 Jun 2025)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 8
Plaid Cymru: 4
Independent: 4
Liberal Democrat: 4
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Conservative: 2
Green Party: 1
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 1
Scottish National Party: 1
4th June 2025
Neil Hudson signed this EDM on Wednesday 4th June 2025

Mauritius Treaty

Tabled by: Kemi Badenoch (Conservative - North West Essex)
That the Agreement, done at London and Port Louis on 22 May 2025, between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia, should not be ratified.
107 signatures
(Most recent: 1 Jul 2025)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 92
Reform UK: 5
Independent: 4
Democratic Unionist Party: 3
Traditional Unionist Voice: 1
Ulster Unionist Party: 1
Labour: 1
View All Neil Hudson's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Neil Hudson, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


1 Urgent Question tabled by Neil Hudson

Wednesday 15th January 2025

Neil Hudson has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

Neil Hudson has not introduced any legislation before Parliament


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
10th Dec 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support people affected by Storm Darragh.

As I said to the House on 10 December, Storm Darragh brought strong winds to the UK late last week, and saw a RED weather warning issued for wind covering parts of England and Wales. The Government immediately took action to prepare for the arrival of Storm Darragh. Ahead of the storm, we issued an emergency alert to over 3 million people in affected regions under a red weather warning, urging them to stay indoors. That was the largest use of the early warning system outside of a test scenario.

The Storm resulted in impacts affecting a number key services and infrastructure including power supply, transport, and telecoms. Power outages caused over two million customers to lose their electricity supply. Although the majority of customers had their power restored very quickly, our priority continues to be on ensuring that every household without power is reconnected as quickly as possible. Engineers for the National Grid and other network operators are working to ensure all possible steps are being taken to re-connect the small number of remaining customers off supply. The latest information they have provided is that remaining customers will be reconnected by the end of this week.

Over 10,000 properties were protected from flooding, however, support is being provided by the Environment Agency and local authorities to the small number of households impacted by flooding.

Although the Storm has passed, the Government will continue to follow the recovery efforts and the work of local responders who are supporting communities affected by the Storm and will ensure that lessons identified are used to further improve our resilience to severe weather.

I am grateful for the response from local resilience forums around the country. I praise our emergency responders and utility workers, who have worked so hard in difficult conditions to help the public manage the impacts of the storm.

5th Nov 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including the potential risks associated with not fully rebuilding the Animal Plant and Health Agency Headquarters in Weybridge in the National Risk Register.

All risks in the National Risk Register, including those related to animal and plant health, are kept under review to ensure that they are the most appropriate scenarios to inform emergency preparedness and resilience activity and to reflect the risk landscape.

The risks that meet the threshold for inclusion in the NRR would have a substantial impact on the UK’s safety, security and/or critical systems at a national level.

Lead government departments develop generic capabilities that can be used to respond to impacts, regardless of the risk that caused them. This means the government can respond flexibly to the widest range of risks.



12th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Oral Statement of 8 May 2025 on Trade Negotiations, Official Report, columns 897-899, whether food imports under the UK-US Free Trade Agreement of (a) ractopamine-treated pork (b) Bovine Somatotropin-treated dairy and (c) products where antibiotics have been used as growth promoters will be prohibited.

On 8 May, the UK government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to get an agreement with President Trump.

We have agreed new reciprocal market access on beef - with UK farmers given a guaranteed quota for 13,000 metric tonnes of beef exports at a very low tariff rate. Imports of hormone treated beef will remain illegal. Our approach to this trade deal has ensured that any agricultural imports coming into the UK will meet the highest food standards.

Douglas Alexander
Secretary of State for Scotland
12th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to prohibit the import of Bovine Somatotropin-treated dairy products in trade deals.

Our approach to trade deals ensures all agri-food products must comply with our sanitary and phytosanitary standards and wider import requirements to be placed on the UK market. There is no import ban in the UK on dairy products from cows treated with bovine somatotropin, however consignments must be accompanied by animal and public health certification and come from approved countries and establishments. We will not change this in any trade deal.

The UK prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones, beta-agonists such as ractopamine and anything other than potable water to decontaminate poultry carcasses in both domestic production and imported meat products.

We will continue to maintain our existing high standards for animal health and food hygiene, ensuring that imported products comply with our import requirements.

Douglas Alexander
Secretary of State for Scotland
12th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to prohibit the import of ractopamine-treated pork in trade deals.

Our approach to trade deals ensures all agri-food products must comply with our sanitary and phytosanitary standards and wider import requirements to be placed on the UK market. There is no import ban in the UK on dairy products from cows treated with bovine somatotropin, however consignments must be accompanied by animal and public health certification and come from approved countries and establishments. We will not change this in any trade deal.

The UK prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones, beta-agonists such as ractopamine and anything other than potable water to decontaminate poultry carcasses in both domestic production and imported meat products.

We will continue to maintain our existing high standards for animal health and food hygiene, ensuring that imported products comply with our import requirements.

Douglas Alexander
Secretary of State for Scotland
12th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to prohibit the import of hormone-treated beef in trade deals.

Our approach to trade deals ensures all agri-food products must comply with our sanitary and phytosanitary standards and wider import requirements to be placed on the UK market. There is no import ban in the UK on dairy products from cows treated with bovine somatotropin, however consignments must be accompanied by animal and public health certification and come from approved countries and establishments. We will not change this in any trade deal.

The UK prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones, beta-agonists such as ractopamine and anything other than potable water to decontaminate poultry carcasses in both domestic production and imported meat products.

We will continue to maintain our existing high standards for animal health and food hygiene, ensuring that imported products comply with our import requirements.

Douglas Alexander
Secretary of State for Scotland
12th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to prohibit the import of chlorine-washed poultry in trade deals.

Our approach to trade deals ensures all agri-food products must comply with our sanitary and phytosanitary standards and wider import requirements to be placed on the UK market. There is no import ban in the UK on dairy products from cows treated with bovine somatotropin, however consignments must be accompanied by animal and public health certification and come from approved countries and establishments. We will not change this in any trade deal.

The UK prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones, beta-agonists such as ractopamine and anything other than potable water to decontaminate poultry carcasses in both domestic production and imported meat products.

We will continue to maintain our existing high standards for animal health and food hygiene, ensuring that imported products comply with our import requirements.

Douglas Alexander
Secretary of State for Scotland
29th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help support high street businesses in Epping Forest.

At Budget the Chancellor announced a number of measures to support high street businesses, ideally in Epping Forest’s regeneration including permanently lowering tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties from 2026/27, extending RHL relief and the Small Business Multiplier for another year and additional funding to tackle retail crime through additional training for police and retailers and programmes cracking down on organised gangs.

The Government also announced its intention to bring forward a Small Business Strategy Command Paper in 2025. This will set out the Government’s vision for supporting high street businesses including measures that will address access to finance, investment opportunities from overseas and domestic markets and building business capabilities.

This will complement the Government’s work to give local leaders and communities greater powers over empty properties and powers to revitalise their high streets.

7th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has plans to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond the current deadline of 31 March 2025.

We will announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme soon.

Chris Bryant
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
7th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to protect Listed Places of Worship in Epping Forest.

There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports places of worship. These include Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who have committed to investing around £100m between 2023 and 2026 to support places of worship; the Churches Conservation Trust, which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.

Since 2022, 5 Listed Places of Worship Grants have been awarded in the constituency of Epping Forrest, with 4 grants totalling £3,041 to the Church of the Holy Cross and St Lawrence, and 1 grant of £1,847 awarded to the Church of Holy Innocents High Beach. Granular data is not available before 2022 due to a change in grant administrator.

DCMS Arms-Length Body the National Lottery Heritage Fund has also supported two listed places of worship in Epping Forest; awarding £29,000 to Grade II* St Mary’s, Chigwell in 2003, and £17,000 to Grade II listed St Mary the Virgin, Theydon Bois in 1997.

Chris Bryant
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
29th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to maintain the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme.

The Government is investing £123 million UK-wide in grassroots facilities via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25. At the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, the Government confirmed our continued support for elite and grassroots sport by investing in multi-use facilities. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
7th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support grassroots sports clubs in Epping Forest.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

Epping Forest has benefitted from £424,995 of investment under the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, the Park Tennis Court Renovation Programme, and the Swimming Pool Support Fund to date.

The Government is acting to support more people to get onto the pitch wherever they live through the delivery of £123 million UK-wide through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
10th Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to promote access to sports for (a) young people and (b) people with disabilities in Epping Forest.

The Inclusion 2024 programme is available to all schools in the country, including Epping Forest. It provides both expert support and free resources, and can help schools enhance opportunities for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to engage in P.E. and school sports.

The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone, including children, young people, and those with disabilities, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.

The Culture Secretary recently attended the launch of ParalympicGB’s Equal Play Campaign where she expressed her determination to put sport at the heart of the school curriculum. This includes opening up opportunities for all young people, including those with disabilities, to be able to access sport and physical activity at school.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sport sectors together at community level and to champion physical activity with local leaders to develop interventions tailored to communities. Since 2019, Sport England has invested over £195,000 in Epping Forest for grassroots sport & physical activity.

Sport England also works to ensure that each of their programmes impact directly on disabled people and those with a long-term health condition, with initiatives like the 'We are Undefeatable' campaign and partnerships with disability organisations.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
27th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has provided an increase in funding to schools for the 2025-26 teachers’ pay award in Essex.

​​The department is providing schools with £615 million in additional funding in financial year 2025/26 to support them with overall costs, including the costs of the 4% schools teacher pay award and the 3.2% local government pay offer in respect of school support staff. This is on top of the funding increases which the government has already provided to support schools and means that the overall Core Schools Budget will total £65.3 billion in 2025/26, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

Through the Dedicated Schools Grant, Essex is receiving £1.25 billion for mainstream schools in 2025/26. This represents an increase of 2.3% per pupil compared to 2024/25. These figures do not include growth funding, falling rolls funding or the additional funding for schools announced alongside the teacher pay award this year. Allocations of that additional funding, at local authority level, will be announced in October 2025.

27th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools are adequately funded to meet the full cost of the 2025-26 teachers’ and support staff pay awards in Essex.

​​The department is providing schools with £615 million in additional funding in financial year 2025/26 to support them with overall costs, including the costs of the 4% schools teacher pay award and the 3.2% local government pay offer in respect of school support staff. This is on top of the funding increases which the government has already provided to support schools and means that the overall Core Schools Budget will total £65.3 billion in 2025/26, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

Through the Dedicated Schools Grant, Essex is receiving £1.25 billion for mainstream schools in 2025/26. This represents an increase of 2.3% per pupil compared to 2024/25. These figures do not include growth funding, falling rolls funding or the additional funding for schools announced alongside the teacher pay award this year. Allocations of that additional funding, at local authority level, will be announced in October 2025.

3rd Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the Review of the RSHE statutory guidance published in 2024.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools. As such, the department is looking carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and discussing with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence.

The results of the consultation and the department’s response will be published in due course.

3rd Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support mental health provision in schools.

This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.

That is why the department has committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school. We will also be putting in place new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.

Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are continuing to roll out in schools and colleges across the country. As of April 2024, MHSTs covered 44% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. MHSTs are expected to cover at least 50% of pupils by the end of March 2025.

The department has also provided a resource hub for mental health leads, signposting practical resources and tools to embed effective whole-school approaches. To further help schools identify and embed the most effective targeted support options for their setting, the department also launched a targeted mental wellbeing toolkit. This practical guide and tool covers a range of evidence-based interventions.

On top of this, schools are also able to arrange their own mental health interventions that are best suited to their pupils. The Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed an additional £2.3 billion for the core schools budget for the 2025/26 financial year compared to 2024/25. This means that core schools funding will reach over £63.9 billion in 2025/26.

Schools are also able to spend pupil premium funding on providing mental health support. Schools must use pupil premium in line with the department’s menu of approaches, which can be found on page 13 of the department’s publication ‘Using pupil premium: guidance for school leaders’. The guidance can be found here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65cf69384239310011b7b91f/Using_Pupil_Premium_-_Guidance_for_School_Leaders.pdf.

Stephen Morgan
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
12th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the financial resilience of the (a) university and (b) colleges sectors.

The department recognises that the financial position of the higher education (HE) sector is under pressure and this government has acted quickly to address this.

The department accepted, in full, the recommendations of the independent review of the Office for Students (OfS) undertaken by Sir David Behan. Sir David has been appointed as interim OfS Chair to oversee the important work of refocusing their role to concentrate on key priorities, including the HE sector’s financial stability. On 2 December, the OfS announced temporary changes to its operations to allow greater focus on financial sustainability. The OfS will work more closely with providers under significant financial pressure in order to protect the interests of students. The department continues to work closely with the OfS to monitor any risks and ensure there are robust plans in place to mitigate them.

Moreover, the government has made the difficult decision to increase tuition fee limits in line with forecast inflation (3.1%). The department also recognises the impact that the cost-of-living crisis has had on students. Maximum loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year will also increase by 3.1%. Longer-term funding plans for the HE sector will be set out in due course.

As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education set out in her oral statement on 4 November, this government will secure the future of HE so that students can benefit from a world-class education for generations to come.

The department also recognises the financial position of the further education (FE) sector is very important. As announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, the government is providing an additional £300 million for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills they need to succeed. We will set out in due course how that is distributed.

22nd Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to publish a response to her Department's review of RSHE statutory guidance launched by the previous Administration in May 2024.

The public consultation on the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education statutory guidance was open for eight weeks and received over 14,300 responses.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools. Therefore, the government will look carefully at the consultation responses, discuss with stakeholders and consider the relevant evidence, including the Cass Review which has since been published, before setting out next steps.

4th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's guidance for local authorities entitled Travel to school for children of compulsory school age, published in January 2024, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Part 1: Local authorities, statutory duty in relation to eligible school children.

The department’s home to school transport policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education due to a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free travel to school for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so.

The department formally consulted on the statutory guidance for local authorities in 2019, and continued to engage with key partners until the updated guidance was published in June 2023. We continue to engage with local authorities on a regular basis on this issue.

10th Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help local councils reduce waiting times for education, health and care plans.

The department knows that parents often struggle to get the right support for their children, including having to go through long and difficult education, health and care (EHC) plan processes.

We want to ensure that EHC plan applications are processed promptly and, where required, plans are issued so that children and young people can access the support they need. The department has listened to parents, schools and local authorities and is reflecting on what practice could be made consistent nationally.

Where local authorities are failing to deliver consistent outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), we work with them using a range of support, and challenge, improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisors, to address identified weaknesses.

10th Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help local councils support children with special educational needs.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), or in alternative provision, receive the right support to achieve and thrive including as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships to improving support for all children and young people with SEND.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introduced a strengthened area SEND inspection framework in January 2023, leading to a greater emphasis on the outcomes being achieved for children and young people. It is the primary tool to maintain a focus on high standards in the SEND system across all partners.

The department works to monitor, support and challenge local authorities as needed, working closely with NHS England to tackle weaknesses that sit with health partners.

Where a council does not meet its duties, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. We offer a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through department-managed programmes, such as our Sector Led Improvement Partners, which provide peer-to-peer tailored support.

We will continue to work closely with Ofsted and CQC as they review the local area SEND inspection framework in response to feedback from the Big Listen exercise.

3rd Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on future funding for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme.

The future of the Holiday Activities and Food programme, beyond 31 March 2025, is subject to the next government Spending Review taking place this autumn. The department will communicate the outcome of that process in due course.

Stephen Morgan
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
30th Aug 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of VAT on school fees on state school capacity in (a) Epping Forest constituency and (b) England.

HM Treasury is considering the potential impact of VAT on school fees on state schools as part of its development of an economic case. It is anticipated this impact will be minimal. Projections by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggest that the number of pupils who may switch schools would represent only a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector, less than 0.5%. Any pupil transfers from the private to state sector would also be expected to take place over several years, as many pupils transfer at normal transition points. The department will work with local authorities in England to help them manage any local pressures through normal processes where required.

Stephen Morgan
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
9th Sep 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to hold discussions with the Animal and Plant Health Agency on their ability to respond to category five animal disease outbreaks.

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency regularly discuss capacity and capability to manage disease outbreaks at a variety of governance boards including the Outbreak Readiness Board and the Disease Emergency Response Committee.

APHA has dealt with multiple disease incidents in 7 of the last 10 years, including concurrent outbreaks of bluetongue and avian influenza since 2023.

In the Public Accounts Committee hearing on 4 September, Defra acknowledged that a category 5 outbreak would pose challenges and explained that there are contracts and agreements in place that would enable draw down of additional veterinary and administrative capacity.

Outbreak structures and governance are set out in the ‘Contingency Plan for Exotic Notifiable Diseases of Animals in England’ published on GOV.UK. This is reviewed annually.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
9th Sep 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department are taking to help increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of vets in the public sector.

Defra is aware of the numerous challenges facing recruitment and retention of qualified veterinary surgeons into Government roles. The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Food Standards Agency have been looking at ways to increase recruitment into Government and Defra has been working with the vet sector at blockers and options to support recruitment and retention.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
4th Sep 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times the Floods Resilience Taskforce has met since September 2024; and on what dates.

The Flood Resilience Taskforce meets quarterly to coordinate and drive forward work on national flood resilience by national and local government and partners including the emergency services, environment and farming sectors and community groups.

Since its launch, it has met four times: on 12 September 2024, 5 February 2025, 21 May 2025, and 8 September 2025 and discussed matters including preparations for autumn and winter flooding, flood insurance and reform of the floods funding formula. The fourth meeting is scheduled for 8 September 2025.

Taskforce members also meet frequently on specific issues. Examples include events on flood forecasting and warning, held on 19 December 2024, a briefing on the National Flood and Erosion Risk Assessment on 17 January 2025, and a roundtable on 20 January 2025 on delivering natural flood management.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
4th Sep 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding is remaining in the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

The total funding remaining for the Smaller Abattoir Fund is £704,928.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
4th Sep 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding has been issued from the Smaller Abattoir Fund since July 2024.

Since July 2024, the Rural Payment Agency has paid £406,545 to customers of the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the welfare of farm animals transported within the UK.

All farm animals transported in the UK are protected by comprehensive legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare. These include the provision of sufficient space, feed and water, ensuring that vehicles used are fit for purpose and secure and that all drivers/attendants are appropriately trained to maintain the welfare of animals in their care. Animals must be fit for transport, and all transporters are required to ensure that, when transporting animals, they do so in a way that avoids causing pain, suffering or distress. The legislation is supplemented by guidance on GOV.UK, including specific advice on transporting animals in extreme weather.

29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will confirm whether it plans to maintain the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

Defra recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs play in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient and competitive food supply chain.

The Government will continue to work to simplify and rationalise our grant funding from 2026 onwards following the Spending Review and subsequent business planning to ensure our grants are targeted towards those who need them most and where they can deliver the most benefit for food security and nature.

29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle the designer breeding of (a) brachycephalic cats, (b) bully cats, (c) hybrid cats and (d) other cats.

Defra commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) to examine the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. The report can be found here. The Government is carefully considering its recommendations.

29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting the 5 per cent rule for smaller abattoirs on the abattoir sector.

Working with Devolved Governments, Competent Authorities, and industry stakeholders, Defra has considered the potential merits of adopting the livestock unit regulatory flexibility (5% Rule) for smaller abattoirs, as part of its commitment to identifying opportunities to ease regulatory and administrative burdens on the sector.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the number of cats being microchipped.

From 10 June 2024, all owned cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database. The legislation is intended to improve pet welfare by increasing the likelihood of reuniting lost or stray pets with their keepers.

Defra works closely with stakeholders to communicate pet microchipping requirements to the public.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
21st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 in reducing the number of dangerous wild animals being kept in private homes.

The main purpose of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (the DWAA) is to ensure that where private individuals keep such animals, including on a farm, they do so in circumstances which create no risk to the public.

21st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the monitoring of marine mammal strandings.

The UK Government funds the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), operating since 1990, it annually reports upon threats facing marine mammals through carrying out post-mortems on stranded animals: CSIP.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
21st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department have made of the effectiveness of local authorities in enforcing the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

Defra has completed a post-implementation review (PIR) of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, including consideration of enforcement, which can be found here.

The Government is considering the findings of the PIR and will be outlining more detail on next steps in due course.

21st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve soil health.

We are actively working to improve soil health across England by measuring and monitoring the national condition of soil, encouraging the uptake of sustainable soil management practices and protecting soil to be resilient to climate change impacts.

Monitoring soil health is essential for evaluating changes to soil and identifying improvements to soil health. Through the Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment Programme we are gathering data to build a robust national baseline of soil health in England and to develop a Healthy Soil Indicator under the Outcome Indicator Framework – this indicator will assess and monitor soil health.

Through our agri-environment schemes we are paying farmers for actions that protect and improve soil health and promote sustainable soil management, for example the use of herbal leys, planting cover crops, and no-till farming.

Mary Creagh
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
21st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the monitoring of marine mammal bycatch incidents.

The UK Government funds a comprehensive bycatch monitoring programme which provides essential observer data on incidents of sensitive species bycatch, including marine mammals. This programme reports annually on estimated rates of sensitive species bycatch in fisheries around the UK and will continue to collect and report this data.

The Government also funds Clean Catch which is a collaborative research programme dedicated to better monitoring, reducing, and, where possible, eliminating bycatch of sensitive species in UK fisheries. Clean Catch run several projects to improve monitoring of marine mammal bycatch. These include a self-reporting app for fishermen to record bycatch, trials of Remote Electronic Monitoring, and a recent report on fishermen’s views on barriers to, and opportunities for, improved engagement in addressing sensitive species bycatch.

Links:

Bycatch Monitoring Programme

Clean Catch REM

Clean Catch app

Clean Catch report

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
18th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to conduct a consultation on the potential impacts of the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 coming into force.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn, Ruth Jones, on 10 July, PQ UIN 65379.

18th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether zoo animals being transferred between the UK and EU countries will be covered by the new sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.

Our priority is to secure a long-term UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement aimed at reducing trade barriers to enable the safe and efficient movement of goods, including zoo animals. As announced at the UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area. With the principles and framework of a deal agreed, we will now negotiate the detail of an agreement that reduces administrative burden by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.

18th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to produce updated public guidance on the ban on primates from April 2026.

Accompanying guidance to the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2024 was published on 10 July 2025.

The guidance can be found at:

18th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of primates being kept as pets in the UK.

The Department does not collect or hold data on the number of primates being kept in the UK.

18th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of local authorities to enforce regulations on zoo licensing.

The Government published new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on 24 May 2025, which will come into force from May 2027.

One of the objectives of updating the Standards has been to make requirements clearer to aid local authority enforcement of the zoo licensing system. The Department will continue to work with the UK Zoos Expert Committee (ZEC), the Animal and Plant Health Agency and local authorities to ensure the Standards are effectively implemented.

15th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Veterinary Surgeons Act.

Defra acknowledges the calls from industry, stakeholders and the general public to update the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA) and its many potential benefits.

Currently, Defra officials are actively engaging with key stakeholders, including the BVA (British Veterinary Association), the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons), BVNA (British Veterinary Nursing Association), and the Vet Schools Council to review opportunities for reform of the sector.

8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduced ring-fenced Water Restoration Fund on local water improvement projects.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April 2024, was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties back into projects to improve the water environment. Successful applicants have been notified, with a total of £11 million due to be invested into local projects to improve our waterways. A detailed evaluation will be produced following completion of the Fund, assessing the impact of the projects.

The Water Restoration Fund will continue as originally planned, with the £11 million of funding based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023. Going forwards, this Government has announced that over £100 million in fines and penalties levied against water companies since October 2023, as well as future fines and penalties, will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters. Further details on the projects and programmes that this funding will go towards will be set out later in the year.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Water Restoration Fund will be continued after the first round of payments have been awarded.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April 2024, was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties back into projects to improve the water environment. Successful applicants have been notified, with a total of £11 million due to be invested into local projects to improve our waterways. A detailed evaluation will be produced following completion of the Fund, assessing the impact of the projects.

The Water Restoration Fund will continue as originally planned, with the £11 million of funding based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023. Going forwards, this Government has announced that over £100 million in fines and penalties levied against water companies since October 2023, as well as future fines and penalties, will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters. Further details on the projects and programmes that this funding will go towards will be set out later in the year.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)