Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 adequacy of the abstraction licensing regime in providing protection for water resources during periods of prolonged drought in water-stressed areas such as Suffolk.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency protects rivers and groundwater through abstraction licence conditions and restrictions. The Government is improving resilience.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Essex and Suffolk Water about the resilience of water supplies in Suffolk following the introduction of a temporary use ban in August 2026.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is the responsibility of water companies to determine when and how Temporary Use Bans (TUBs) are implemented. The Environment Agency meets with the water company weekly to discuss water resources and drought actions. It provides monthly drought prospects assessing risks in future months.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2026 to Question 13402 on Flood Control: Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, what is the Department's definition of benefit-to-cost ratios and what are the metrics or key indicators used to make decisions.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For FCERM projects, the use of benefit-cost ratio calculation is outlined in the Government's Flood and coastal erosion risk management funding policy. Further explanation to ensure consistent application is then provided to practitioners in the Environment Agency's Flood and coastal erosion risk management funding policy guidance.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what Natural Flood Management projects are currently funded by the Environment Agency within Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency; what their total value is; and what evidence has been gathered on their effectiveness in reducing flood risk for downstream properties.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Anglian Eastern Regional Flood Coastal Committee has a Local Levy funding stream for Risk Management Authorities to support delivery of Natural Flood Management (NFM) projects. Successfully funded projects within the constituency include:
Further bids within the constituency are under review. Evidence on the effectiveness of NFM measures has been compiled through national research programmes, into the Natural Flood Management Evidence. This provides an evidence base to help assess the likely flood risk reduction benefits that NFM can deliver.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the new flood funding policy will change the Government Outcome Rate threshold that schemes in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency must meet to qualify for Environment Agency capital funding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In October 2025, following consultation, the government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. The reforms will make it quicker and easier to deliver the right flood defences in the right places by simplifying our funding rules.
Under the new rules, which came into effect on 1 April 2026, flood and coastal erosion risk management projects are eligible for 100% for the first £3 million of their costs, and 90% above £3 million. Projects will be prioritised by their benefit-to-cost ratios to drive value for money, with partnership contributions boosting a project’s prioritisation.
To support our new floods funding policy, on the 3 March 2026 the Environment Agency published a suite of guidance to support the development of projects. The information is available on GOV.UK here.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which flood defence schemes are included in the capital programme for flood and coastal erosion risk management in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency for 2026-2036; and what the (a) expected completion date and (b) number of properties protected is for each scheme.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, protecting communities from the devastating impacts of climate change. Through the largest flood programme in history, this record investment will benefit nearly 900,000 properties.
The list of schemes receiving funding for 2026/27 was published in March and can be found here.
Projects to receive future government funding will be agreed in the usual way, on an annual basis, through the Environment Agency’s annual refresh process, which includes local representation from Regional Flood and Coastal Committees.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 the closure of applications for SFI agreements on farm businesses that had not entered one; and what bridging support is available ahead of the SFI 2026 application window.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has allocated a record £11.8bn to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. This is being invested in a range of grants and schemes to support farmers, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, Landscape Recovery, and ELM capital grants. There are now over 44,500 multi-year live SFI agreements.
Defra expects to open the first SFI26 application window from 30 June. This window will be for small farms and farms without environmental land management revenue agreements, so as many farmers as possible can benefit from agreements.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farm businesses in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency held a live Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement as of 11 March 2025; and what the average annual payment value per agreement was in that constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of 11 March 2025, there were 147 farm businesses in the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency holding a live Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement.
The average annual payment value per agreement in that constituency was £27,431.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
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 imported agricultural produce on farm-gate prices for British farmers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, Defra will uphold high food and animal welfare standards. The Government recognises concerns about methods of production not permitted in the UK.
While production methods vary in line with different climates, diseases and other contextual reasons, Defra will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage and any impact this might have. Where necessary, Defra is prepared to use the full range of powers at its disposal to protect the most sensitive sectors.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of farms that have become (a) insolvent and (b) ceased trading in the last three years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The numbers of companies with Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007 code 011, 012, 013, 014, 015 and 016 that entered insolvency in the UK in the last three years (2023 to 2025) are presented in the table below. This information has been provided by the Department for Business and Trade.
Calendar Year | Companies Entering Insolvency |
2023 | 63 |
2024 | 80 |
2025 | 67 |
The Insolvency Service’s Monthly Company Insolvencies Official Statistics Publication provides more information and a breakdown of SIC codes.
Information on business closures for farms is best obtained from the Office for National Statistics’ quarterly business demography publication. This release is regarded as ‘official statistics in development’. However, it is not possible to separately identify farm closures from within the published group which contains them, which is ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’.
Business closures in the UK for Agriculture, forestry and fishing from the first quarter of 2023 until the fourth quarter of 2025 are shown in the table below.
UK Agriculture, forestry and fishing business closures
Period | Business Closures |
Q1 | 1310 |
Q2 | 1260 |
Q3 | 1975 |
Q4 | 990 |
2023 total | 5535 |
Q1 | 1090 |
Q2 | 1525 |
Q3 | 1200 |
Q4 | 1055 |
2024 total | 4870 |
Q1 | 1885 |
Q2 | 1645 |
Q3 | 1355 |
Q4 | 1505 |
2025 total | 6390 |