Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in light of the Foot and Mouth Outbreak in Cyprus, what additional biosecurity measures are in place for people travelling to the UK from Cyprus.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra banned personal imports of pig and ruminant meat and dairy products from the EU into England in April 2025. The ban remains in place. Equivalent measures are in place in Wales and Scotland.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in light of the Foot and Mouth Outbreak in Cyprus, what restrictions are now in place for the movement of animals, food and agricultural products from Cyprus to the UK.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Following the Government’s announcement on 20 February 2026, commercial import restrictions were applied to high-risk FMD-susceptible commodities, including live animals, germplasm, fresh meat, untreated meat products, untreated milk and dairy, hay and straw, and relevant animal by-products.

Personal imports of cattle, sheep, goat and pig meat, and dairy products from EU countries into Great Britain have been banned since April 2025 to protect livestock health, farmers and UK food security.

These safeguard measures will continue to apply until they are revoked or amended. Further detail is set out on GOV.UK: Official veterinary surgeon (OVS) notes - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what animals, food and agricultural products were moving from Cyprus to the UK a) prior to the UK Government announcement on 20/2/26 of the Foot and Mouth Outbreak and b) after the announcement on 20/2/26.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There have been no imports of live ruminant or porcine animals from Cyprus to Great Britain in the past five years. Recorded trade in this time frame consisted of certain products of animal origin derived from FMD-susceptible species, such as pasteurised cheese and other heat-treated dairy products, which meet the relevant sanitary import requirements.

After the announcement there have continued to be no imports of live ruminant or porcine animals. Imports of products that meet the required heat-treatment standards and are considered safe for trade, such as pasteurised dairy products, remain permitted in line with the applicable import conditions.

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 Foot and Mouth in Cyprus on the UK.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra’s preliminary outbreak assessment for foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Cyprus concludes that the risk of introduction of the disease into Great Britain remains low.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what state of readiness is the UK for a possible incursion of Foot and Mouth Disease in terms of vaccine stocks and outbreak response.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Government is prepared to respond to outbreaks of Foot and Mouth and has contingency arrangements in place, including for the control of infected premises and for animal movement controls in areas around confirmed cases. Vaccination is not the primary control tool. The framework to manage risk can be found on GOV.UK in the Foot and Mouth Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England.

The UK holds a Foot and Mouth vaccine bank, although use of a vaccine requires a match to the field strain. In the absence of a match, we work with pharmaceutical companies and international vaccine banks to seek access to alternative supplies.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the capability of Mauritius to support and protect the marine environment and ecosystems of the Chagos Islands.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 November 2025 in response to Question 90684.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the sustainability of mackerel stocks in UK waters.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government draws on independent scientific assessments from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to understand the status of the North East Atlantic mackerel stock. The latest ICES assessment highlights increased uncertainty and pressure on the stock, underlining the need for sustainable management. Key to this is reaching a comprehensive sharing agreement with coastal States to the stock, and the UK is committed to reaching such an agreement. In its absence, the UK has reached an agreement with Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway that brings down pressure on the stock by around 10 percentage points compared to last year.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of Waitrose's withdrawal of mackerel from sale on the UK fishing industry.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not plan to make an assessment on the impact of Waitrose’s withdrawal of mackerel from sale as this is an individual business decision.

The UK mackerel supply goes to a diverse set of markets both in the UK and abroad and we do not expect this to have a significant impact on the fishing sector.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of VAT liability on further education colleges’ capacity to deliver the skills priorities set out in the Industrial Strategy; and whether her Department plans to extend VAT exemption to further education colleges.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Further Education (FE) funding is vital to ensure people are being trained in the skills they need to thrive in the modern labour market. The 2025 Spending Review provided an additional £1.2 billion per year by 2028-29 for skills and £1.7 billion of capital funding to help colleges maintain the condition of their estate. In addition, the Government is providing £375 million of capital investment to support the FE system to accommodate increasing student numbers.

For their non-business activity, FE colleges are unable to reclaim VAT incurred. We operate several VAT refund schemes for schools and academies which are designed variously to ensure that VAT is not a burden on local taxation, and that academies are not disincentivised to leave LA control. FE colleges do not meet the criteria for either scheme.

In relation to business activity, FE colleges enjoy an exemption from VAT which means that they do not have to charge VAT to students but cannot recover it either.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to embed CPR training in schools in a) Epping Forest constituency and b) England.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Epping Forest to the answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 92868.

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 support criminal prosecution of fly-tipping.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to support councils make full and proper use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers.

Defra has published best practice guidance and case studies on the website of the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), which will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.

The NFTPG chaired by Defra has developed various practical tools including guides on how councils and others can present robust cases to court, set up and run effective local partnerships to tackle fly-tipping and raise awareness of the household and business waste duty of care. These are available at: https://nftpg.com/.

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