Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the will increase funding for mental health services in rural areas.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Mental health is and will remain a priority for the National Health Service across the country, including for those in rural areas. This is backed by the Mental Health Investment Standard, which in 2025/26 will continue to ensure that mental health funding is ring-fenced to support the delivery of our commitments, including those outlined in NHS Planning Guidance.

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 provide mental health support to farmers.

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

This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture.

The Government continue to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This currently funds four charities to deliver projects which support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One consortium of charities, led by the Farmer Network, operates in Lancashire. Their ‘Keep Farming Stronger for Longer’ campaign is delivering workshops, training, events, networking, 1:1 advice and the provision of additional Field Nurse services in the region.

Furthermore, the Government is paying out £60m through the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers affected by this unprecedented extreme wet weather.

Finally, the Government announced in their 2024 manifesto 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes.

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 the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to the hon. Member for Epping Forest during the Oral Question on Flood-prone Communities: Cumbria of 20 March 2025, Official Report, column 481, whether the £500,000 for rural mental health is new funding.

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

farming and agriculture.

Since 2024, Defra has funded the Farmer Welfare Grant, which supports projects that improve the mental health and wellbeing of farming people in England.

The fund was allocated through an open competition process to the following organisations: the Farming Community Network, You Are Not Alone (YANA), Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN), and a consortium of organisations led by the Farmer Network which includes Field Nurse, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services (UTASS) and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS).

The projects are all designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families as well as prevent further cases of poor mental health by helping to build resilience within farming communities and deliver a range of essential services including the development of new online resources, provision of workshops, training events and networking opportunities, and one-to-one support.

To date we have paid out £325,355, and we expect to pay out a further £174,999 in FY25/26. This is in line with the individual funding agreements.

In the Autumn Budget, this Government committed to support the farming sector through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26). Spending on farming in future financial years, including for Mental Health, will be subject to decisions made as part of the Chancellor’s upcoming spending review.

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 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State's oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for Epping Forest of 20 March 2025, Official Report, column 481, what progress his Department has made on investing £500,000 into mental health charities; and if he will list each recipient charity.

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

farming and agriculture.

Since 2024, Defra has funded the Farmer Welfare Grant, which supports projects that improve the mental health and wellbeing of farming people in England.

The fund was allocated through an open competition process to the following organisations: the Farming Community Network, You Are Not Alone (YANA), Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN), and a consortium of organisations led by the Farmer Network which includes Field Nurse, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services (UTASS) and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS).

The projects are all designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families as well as prevent further cases of poor mental health by helping to build resilience within farming communities and deliver a range of essential services including the development of new online resources, provision of workshops, training events and networking opportunities, and one-to-one support.

To date we have paid out £325,355, and we expect to pay out a further £174,999 in FY25/26. This is in line with the individual funding agreements.

In the Autumn Budget, this Government committed to support the farming sector through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26). Spending on farming in future financial years, including for Mental Health, will be subject to decisions made as part of the Chancellor’s upcoming spending review.

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 implications for his Department’s policies of the recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in Hungary.

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

In response to the outbreak of FMD in Germany, this Government took decisive and rapid action to protect the UK by suspending the commercial import of susceptible animals and certain untreated products of animal origin from Germany and restricting personal imports of animal products from across the EU. Following the outbreak in Hungary, these border control measures were immediately extended to cover imports of these products from Hungary and Slovakia (given the close proximity of the Hungarian FMD case to the Hungarian Slovakian border).

Found: Iran: Christianity 19 Dec 2024 | 19075 Asked by: Dr Neil Hudson To ask the Secretary of State