First elected: 4th July 2024
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Planning (Flooding) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Blake Stephenson (Con)
Food Products (Market Regulation and Public Procurement) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Alistair Carmichael (LD)
The Industrial Strategy is a 10-year plan to back our strengths and realise Britain’s potential, targeting government investment towards eight-growth driving sectors (IS-8). The Strategy’s place-based approach focuses efforts on the city regions and clusters where the IS-8 concentrate, to identify and accelerate the highest-potential opportunities in these places. There are clusters of the growth driving sectors across the whole country, including in rural areas, and the policy package addresses the biggest constraints to growth highlighted by these businesses.
The Strategic Sites Accelerator will prepare and accelerate strategic sites for development. The Office for Investment and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are working closely together to identify sites for development which align closely with the Industrial Strategy’s strategic focus and the Government’s Plan for Change.
The Cluster Champions programme is designed to provide up to £100 million of additional targeted investment to businesses in the eight Industrial Strategy sectors in ten clusters located in city regions across the whole of the UK. While not part of the clusters, high-growth SMEs in South Northamptonshire benefit from access to the £400 million Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, which provides debt and equity finance to businesses across the Midlands.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is committed to supporting UK businesses, including in South Northamptonshire, including those in the manufacturing industry, to grow and export. UK businesses can access DBT's wealth of export support via great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.
As part of our work on a new trade strategy and a small business strategy, we are looking at further proposals to help UK businesses to export more.
Hairdressing salons and barbers, like other employers, are subject to normal business regulations such as health and safety requirements, employer and public liability insurance. The Hairdressers Registration Act of 1964 already provides for a UK register of qualified hairdressers and HMRC will investigate evidence suggesting businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes and Government collaborates closely with law enforcement to monitor criminal behaviour.
The Government has no immediate plans to introduce further regulation of the hair industry, but we will always remain open to evidence
Clean energy projects in South Northamptonshire and other local authorities will benefit from ongoing reforms to the grid connection process which will release up to 500GW of capacity from the queue, enabling accelerated connections for schemes that are ready to progress and aligned with our strategic needs, as set out in the Clean Power Action Plan.
As set out in the Industrial Strategy, the Connections Accelerator Service will support demand projects to connect to the grid, including prioritising those that create high-quality jobs and bring the greatest economic value.
The Government considers that the safety risks posed by BESS are small and well managed under the robust regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This framework requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a battery system’s deployment.
The safety standards framework for BESS is kept under review to respond to changing circumstances. Government, working alongside the industry-led Electricity Storage Health and Safety Governance Group, will continue to monitor events in the sector to ensure that a robust framework is sustained.
The Government considers that the safety risks posed by BESS are small and well managed under the robust regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This framework requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a battery system’s deployment.
The safety standards framework for BESS is kept under review to respond to changing circumstances. Government, working alongside the industry-led Electricity Storage Health and Safety Governance Group, will continue to monitor events in the sector to ensure that a robust framework is sustained.
The Department does not plan to publish a national register of safety incidents and near-misses involving battery energy storage systems (BESS). However, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has developed a publicly available database of global BESS failure incidents. The EPRI database can be accessed here: https://storagewiki.epri.com/index.php/BESS_Failure_Incident_Database
As part of our Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency measures, including those in rural communities.
This includes supporting property owners in England and Wales through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, offering grants up to £7,500 for heat pumps and £5,000 for biomass boilers. This also includes £1.8 billion to support low-income households through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
Additional support is also provided through the Energy Company Obligation which offers insulation and low-carbon heating to GB households.
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 99% of homes and businesses in the South Northamptonshire constituency can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 93% have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection (>1000 Mbps).
To improve this coverage further, CityFibre is delivering a Project Gigabit contract across Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes, targeted at bringing gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas that are unlikely to be otherwise reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout. Approximately 1,700 premises in the South Northamptonshire constituency are currently expected to benefit from this contract. The vast majority of these premises are in rural parts of the constituency.
The Secretary of State has not carried out an assessment of the funding allocated for arts and heritage in the South Northamptonshire constituency specifically, however, the Department has carried out an initial review of publicly funded arts, culture and heritage sectors, including looking at national and local government funding. This work ensures any future policy development is evidence driven.
Ministers have also launched a review of Arts Council England, our arms-length body who are responsible for the distribution of arts funding across England. The review will examine everything from funding mechanisms to community engagement. Baroness Hodge of Barking is leading the review and will provide government with her report and recommendations in the autumn of 2025. The government will then publish the conclusions of the review along with the government’s response in 2026.
Details of Arts Council England funding since 2021 can be found on the Arts Council England website here https://culture.localinsight.org/#/map
The Secretary of State has a range of discussions with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund across the whole of her portfolio, and DCMS officials regularly discuss support for arts, culture and heritage with their counterparts at our arms-length bodies.
The Secretary of State has not carried out an assessment of the funding allocated for arts and heritage in the South Northamptonshire constituency specifically, however, the Department has carried out an initial review of publicly funded arts, culture and heritage sectors, including looking at national and local government funding. This work ensures any future policy development is evidence driven.
Ministers have also launched a review of Arts Council England, our arms-length body who are responsible for the distribution of arts funding across England. The review will examine everything from funding mechanisms to community engagement. Baroness Hodge of Barking is leading the review and will provide government with her report and recommendations in the autumn of 2025. The government will then publish the conclusions of the review along with the government’s response in 2026.
Details of Arts Council England funding since 2021 can be found on the Arts Council England website here https://culture.localinsight.org/#/map
The Secretary of State has a range of discussions with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund across the whole of her portfolio, and DCMS officials regularly discuss support for arts, culture and heritage with their counterparts at our arms-length bodies.
The Government is committed to ensuring that communities across the UK benefit from high-quality sports facilities, removing barriers to participation and enabling as many people as possible to be active.
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.
In March, DCMS confirmed an additional £100 million investment in new and upgraded facilities across the UK as part of our Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. Our delivery partner for the programme in England is the Football Foundation, who plan their investment pipeline using Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs), which are developed in partnership with local authorities so as to understand the needs of each community. These plans are being updated to better reflect current demand.
Future funding is subject to the ongoing Spending Review process, with further details to follow in due course.
In the South Northamptonshire constituency, Arts Council England has provided over £600,000 of funding between 2021-2025.
This includes 11 awards across combined arts, music and theatre, totalling more than £290,000. “The Play’s The Thing” Theatre Company received £39,366 for their biennial ‘Taking the Stage’ symposium, celebrating the role of women in the performing arts.
Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice has also supported four individual artists with a total of £47,113 across theatre and visual arts. ItsCreative People and Places funding stream has awarded £321,703 per annum to ‘Made with Many’ for 2022-25 – to produce events and activities that put the community at the heart of commissioning artists and producing new and exciting events, through conversations with local people and community decision-making panels.
Since 1994, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded more than £18.2m to 95 projects in South Northamptonshire. Examples of organisations and projects they have supported include £11.6m in support of Silverstone Heritage and a grant of £233,800 supporting much needed repairs to the roof of the Grade I listed All Saints' Church, Middleton Cheney.
Since 2020, Historic England provided £56,000 towards re-roofing the Brewhouse at Sulgrave Manor. They also provided financial support for the Peterborough Diocese Places of Worship Support Officer for 10 years up to 2024 and £4,000 for Weedon Lois Castle site.
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme provide grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. Since August 2022, a total of £228,640.15 has been awarded to 33 Listed Places of Worship in the South Northamptonshire constituency area.
This year, the Secretary of State also announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund. This will include support to museums, heritage, arts and music venues across the country and is a critical step that this Government is taking to help create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts, heritage and culture for communities.
Our Industrial Strategy puts skills at the heart of economic growth. This means ensuring training opportunities match growth areas like artificial intelligence (AI).
We are introducing Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) to specialise in training skilled workforces for priority sectors, starting with Construction TECs. The number and design of TECs will reflect sectors’ needs, and further information will be published in due course. The government will introduce short courses in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy, in areas such as digital, AI and engineering.
The Technology Adoption Review (June 2025) considered barriers to adoption of transformative technologies across the Industrial Strategy’s priority sectors. The AI Opportunities Action Plan (January 2025) considered barriers for AI take-up across the economy aligned with the Industrial Strategy. The government will take forward all 50 recommendations, including recommendations on AI Skills and Talent.
The Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan (June 2025) set out government’s approach to supporting AI, including via one-stop-shops to offer expert advice for businesses around technology adoption.
The Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan (June 2025) establishes actions the government is taking to integrate AI into clean energy sectors, including accepting the findings of the Technology Adoption Review.
The department recognises the essential role that small, rural schools play in their communities. The national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges, including those of providing for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. The NFF lump sum for the 2025/26 financial year is set at £145,100 and provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. In addition, eligible (small, rural) primary schools attract up to £57,400, and eligible secondary or all-through schools attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26 through the NFF.
Where the additional support for a pupil with SEN exceeds £6,000 per annum, the local authority provides the school with extra funding from its high needs budget. The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion, to help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting their pupils with complex needs. Of that total, West Northamptonshire Council is being allocated over £79 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £5.5 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs NFF.
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s educational outcome. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s opportunity mission and boosting the life chances for every child. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new teachers across secondary and special schools and in our colleges over the course of this Parliament.
We have announced a 4% pay award to school teachers and leaders, accepting in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s pay recommendation and two months ahead of last year.
This comes on top of the 5.5% pay award that we announced last July. We are seeing early improvements in recruitment and retention with over 2,000 more people training to become secondary school teachers this year. Recruitment is also on track to improve further for 2025/26, with 1,070 more acceptances to postgraduate and teacher degree apprenticeship initial teacher training courses in secondary subjects by the end of April 2025, compared to the same time last year. Additionally, over 2,500 more teachers are expected to stay in the profession over the next three years.
We are doing more to continue to improve recruitment and retention, including in rural secondary schools. We have increased funding for training bursaries to £233 million in 2025/26, worth up to £29,000 tax-free. We are also offering scholarships worth up to £31,000 tax free. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department is also offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including rural and coastal areas.
As part of our recruitment and retention strategy, it is vital that we improve the day-to-day experience of teachers and ensure that teaching is once again a respected and attractive profession that teachers remain and thrive in. We are supporting teachers to reduce their workload and improve their wellbeing and enabling greater opportunities for greater flexible working.
I refer the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire to the answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 34828.
The Department for Business and Trade is responsible for the overall policy on shared parental leave, but how it applies in schools specifically is covered by the Burgundy Book, a national agreement negotiated with employers by the six teachers’ organisations. Further information can be found on the Local Government Association website.
The department has no authority or responsibility for the Burgundy Book and, therefore, we are unable to provide any further information on this matter.
The Land Use Framework will provide a long-term view of land use change. Over the next 25 years, England’s landscapes will need to change to support climate change mitigation and adaptation, economic growth, housing delivery, food production, clean energy and meeting statutory targets for nature recovery
The Land Use Consultation published this year was underpinned by analysis of land use change for nature restoration and other objectives. This included analysis produced by Defra’s Land Use Analysis and Research Programme of potential spatial distributions of change through to 2050.
The evidence base for this consultation also underpins wider Government reform, including a Farming Roadmap, the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and review of the Environmental Improvement Plan.
This Government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production and has committed to empower Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder and more accessible.
There are established routes in the planning system to consider the impacts of renewable and low carbon energy projects, as well as processes to enable communities to engage in the consultation of applications.
Where a proposal involves agricultural land, the National Planning Policy Framework sets out how the best and most versatile agricultural land should be reflected in planning policies and decisions, making clear that where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. This will, where relevant, be a material consideration in planning decisions, including those made by the Secretary of State. Guidance on assessing development proposals on agricultural land is available from Natural England to ensure decisions are informed by up-to-date assessments of agricultural land.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 June 2025 to Question 56079.
Defra does not collect information on the potential impacts of constructing green energy infrastructure on agricultural land use or landscape character.
However, Defra does produce statistical estimates of agricultural land areas each year from the annual June Survey of Agriculture:
There are already robust measures in place to protect landscape, biodiversity and agricultural land, including comprehensive environmental assessments where relevant.
The Government agrees that prime agricultural land should be safeguarded, and where a proposal involves agricultural land, the National Planning Policy Framework sets out how the best and most versatile agricultural land should be reflected in planning policies and decisions, making clear that where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. This will, where relevant, be a material consideration in planning decisions, including those made by the Secretary of State.
Solar and farming can be complementary, supporting each other financially, environmentally and through the shared use of land – whilst maintaining UK food production.
The Government has also committed to empower Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder and more accessible. As set out in the NPPF, great weight should be given to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty in National Parks, the Broads and National Landscapes which have the highest status of protection in relation to these issues.
Defra’s approach to bluetongue is based on the latest scientific evidence and veterinary advice. Disease control measures aim to limit the spread of infection through proportionate and evidence-based control measures. This is reflected in the Great Britain (GB) Bluetongue Virus Disease Control Strategy, which was produced jointly between Scottish and Welsh governments and Defra, and in consultation with experts and industry stakeholders. The GB disease control strategy covers actions that would be considered and implemented in the event any bluetongue serotype was detected, including BTV-12.
The Government also conducts annual targeted surveillance for BTV. This is designed to detect new serotypes of bluetongue virus, including BTV-12 that may be circulating. The annual surveillance uses diagnostic testing protocols at the bluetongue national reference laboratory, The Pirbright Institute, that can detect and differentiate between different serotypes of bluetongue virus including BTV-12. It was through this annual surveillance that the single case of BTV-12 in a single animal was detected on 7 February 2025 on a farm in England and no further cases of BTV-12 have been detected since.
Whilst there are currently no authorised vaccines for BTV-12 in the UK or Europe, Defra regularly engages with manufacturers on bluetongue vaccine availability and supply. The Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMD) has responsibility for assessing applications submitted by manufacturers for veterinary medicinal products, including vaccines. Following assessment of the supporting data, if the benefits of use outweigh the risks when used in accordance with the approved labelling, a Marketing Authorisation will be issued permitting the sale of the product. The VMD also regulates the distribution and supply of veterinary medicines.
Defra’s approach to bluetongue is based on the latest scientific evidence and veterinary advice. Disease control measures aim to limit the spread of infection through proportionate and evidence-based control measures. This is reflected in the Great Britain (GB) Bluetongue Virus Disease Control Strategy, which was produced jointly between Scottish and Welsh governments and Defra, and in consultation with experts and industry stakeholders. The GB disease control strategy covers actions that would be considered and implemented in the event any bluetongue serotype was detected, including BTV-12.
The Government also conducts annual targeted surveillance for BTV. This is designed to detect new serotypes of bluetongue virus, including BTV-12 that may be circulating. The annual surveillance uses diagnostic testing protocols at the bluetongue national reference laboratory, The Pirbright Institute, that can detect and differentiate between different serotypes of bluetongue virus including BTV-12. It was through this annual surveillance that the single case of BTV-12 in a single animal was detected on 7 February 2025 on a farm in England and no further cases of BTV-12 have been detected since.
Whilst there are currently no authorised vaccines for BTV-12 in the UK or Europe, Defra regularly engages with manufacturers on bluetongue vaccine availability and supply. The Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMD) has responsibility for assessing applications submitted by manufacturers for veterinary medicinal products, including vaccines. Following assessment of the supporting data, if the benefits of use outweigh the risks when used in accordance with the approved labelling, a Marketing Authorisation will be issued permitting the sale of the product. The VMD also regulates the distribution and supply of veterinary medicines.
Delivery of mental health interventions sits with the Department for Health and Social Care, who are investing in mental health to ensure it receives the same attention as physical health. This includes the hiring of 8,500 new mental health support workers, which will reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes – including in rural communities.
Defra is supporting farming welfare charities through funding the Farmer Welfare Grant. This aids organisations to deliver projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One recipient, the Farming Community Network, is using the funding to expand their FarmWell platform. This online resource provides business and personal resilience advice on topics including mental health, isolation, depression and suicide.
Currently, grant recipients operate in Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and online via the FCN’s FarmWell platform.
The RPA also runs a Welfare Forum, which brings together England’s largest farming and welfare organisations that provide mental health support to discuss issues farmers are facing.
We listen to what farmers are telling us, reporting in our statistical series the strength of sentiment through both numbers and from the open response questions. Findings, alongside our engagement with farmers at shows and events and with representative bodies, including farming welfare charities, all contribute to a better understanding of the issues farmers are facing and how the delivery of schemes and other interventions can impact not just on businesses but also on farmers’ own personal resilience and mental health.
In the Farmer Opinion Tracker, we hear views from farmers across a range of issues relating to farming and we recognise that confidence remains low. Findings can be found on GOV.YK by searching ‘Farming Opinion Tracker’.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has worked closely with Defra throughout the development of the Precision Breeding legislation and will continue to do so.
Following stakeholder engagement on the draft technical guidance for Precision Bred organisms for food and feed use, the FSA is currently revising its draft technical guidance to be clearer about what information the Precision Breeding Regulations require.
The Government is committed to supporting research to unlock the potential of precision breeding. The latest programme of Defra’s Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs), which is supported by up to £15 million in funding over 5 years, includes funding for research into precision breeding.
Earlier this year under the Farming Innovation Programme we announced a £12.5 million competition focused specifically on precision breeding. We also welcome the announcement within the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy to allocate at least £200 million to the Programme up to 2030. This will offer targeted funding to drive innovation in agriculture. Precision breeding has also been recognised within the Industrial Strategy and will continue to be in scope within the industry led FIP competitions.
There are significant opportunities for innovation in the fertiliser sector, particularly development of newer types of fertilising products and production processes that improve nutrient use efficiency, which are made from clean energy or recycled nutrients from other materials.
Novel fertilisers have been in scope of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, including within the Programme’s £15 million nutrient management competition, and successful applicants to this competition started their projects earlier this year. We welcome the announcement within the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy to allocate at least £200 million to the Programme up to 2030 which will offer targeted funding to drive innovation in agriculture.
Recently Defra has launched the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund (ADOPT) as part of the above Farming Innovation Programme, committing up to £20.6 million of funding in 25/26 to support the introduction of innovative technologies aimed at improving productivity, resilience and sustainability.
Fertiliser product regulation does not fall within the scope of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.
The secondary legislation needed to implement The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 for plants in England was passed on 13 May 2025 and the new regulatory framework will commence on 14 November 2025.
The Department has engaged with the Welsh Government at Ministerial and official level to discuss the implementation of these regulations. The Department recognises the importance of working closely with Welsh Government on this and will continue to do so in the run up to the commencement of the new regulations.
We are 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%.
We have more farmers than ever in nature friendly farming schemes and are reforming the Sustainable Farming Incentive to target funds fairly and effectively towards food, farming and nature priorities. We will announce further details later this year.
Additionally, up to £110 million is available in new grant competitions starting in 2025/26. These grants will support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers to boost farm businesses, food production, and the natural environment
Furthermore, our farming roadmap ‘Farming 2050: Growing England’s Future’ will involve government working with farmers and farming and environmental organisation representatives to set the course of farming over the next 25 years. It will provide a vision for our farming sector and set the direction for how we get there, with a focus on delivering our food security and environmental objectives and supporting farms to be resilient and profitable. Publication is planned later this year.
Defra is aware of Syngenta’s recent decision to consolidate its hybrid wheat breeding operations in mainland Europe. While this represents a shift in the location of certain research and development activities, it is notable that Syngenta has reaffirmed its commitment to testing and commercialising hybrid wheat varieties tailored to UK agronomic conditions. This continued engagement can help ensure that UK farmers retain access to competitive seed technologies.
Defra recognises the importance of resilient domestic crop breeding programmes in supporting long-term food security. While Syngenta’s decision may reduce the UK’s direct role in early-stage wheat breeding, the continued availability of high-performing varieties through UK trials and commercialisation mitigates immediate risks to food supply. Furthermore, the Government is actively supporting innovation in crop development through the implementation of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 and its associated regulations, which are designed to accelerate the development and deployment of climate-resilient and high-yielding crops.
Precision breeding offers huge potential to transform the plant breeding sector in England. By reducing the regulatory requirements on the use of these plant breeding technologies, it will enable innovative products to be commercialised in years instead of decades.
The secondary legislation needed to implement The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 for plants in England was passed into law on 13 May 2025. Following a six-month implementation period, the new regulatory framework is due to commence on 14 November 2025.
This will unlock the potential benefits for British farmers and consumers, enabling the development of crops that are more nutritious, resistant to pests and disease, resilient to climate change and more beneficial to the environment.
Furthermore, through consultation across the relevant industries, the development of the first UK Plant Varieties and Seeds Strategy will look to support the UK plant breeding sector in meeting the challenges and opportunities of a changing world, and to maintain and enhance the UK’s global reputation in plant breeding.
In October 2024, the Secretary of State for The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), along with Scottish and Welsh governments, jointly commissioned the National Energy System Operator to develop a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan: the first ever spatial energy plan for Great Britain, to support a more actively planned approach to energy infrastructure across both land and sea.
The analysis underpinning the Land Use Consultation for England has fed into the development of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan’s methodology. DESNZ and Defra will continue to work closely to ensure that the SSEP and the Land Use Framework work together cohesively alongside other sector plans.
Although the term “regenerative agriculture” does not have a legal or universally accepted definition, and is used variably, it is based on an understanding that the health of the food system is intrinsically linked to soil health.
Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will support farmers and land managers to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change.
Fertiliser product regulation does not fall within the scope of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.
Fertiliser is a global market. Ensuring a resilient supply chain involves maintaining diverse sources, domestically and through international imports. The UK sources fertiliser from a wide range of countries including the EU. The UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement has not changed this situation.
Work is ongoing in South Northamptonshire to protect biodiversity. The constituency has a number of protected areas that provide for a host of notable habitats and species, from the ancient woodlands of the Whittlewood Forest Site of Special Scientific Interest to the rich wetland systems of the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area.
Farmers are helping to recover nature through Countryside Stewardship schemes, protecting these special sites and creating wildlife corridors, so species can move and colonise new areas.
Defra is buffering and expanding wildlife rich woodlands through grant support for woodland creation and tree cover expansion. And Natural England provides advice to developers and local authorities, to ensure that nature is firstly protected and all opportunities are taken to create new wildlife rich spaces through the planning system.
The Technical Barriers to Trade chapter of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides the structures to address non-tariff barriers for businesses. Annex 14 to the TCA recognises the equivalence of organic regulations between EU and UK, facilitating trade in organic products. The TCA does not otherwise make binding provision for mutual recognition of technical regulations in relation to agri-food standards, pesticides and fertilisers.
On 19 May, the UK and the EU agreed the principles for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. The agreement will cover SPS standards and controls and also wider agrifood rules related to food labelling, organics, and key marketing standards and compositional standards – as well as pesticides. This will further bring down costs for UK businesses by removing the majority of regulatory trade barriers to agrifood trade.
At February’s National Farming Union Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies to put money in the pockets of farmers in South Northamptonshire and across the country.
We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget over two years and are on track to do so. This is the highest budget for sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our history.
We will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the re-formed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.
We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome; and we are making £110 million available for new grant competitions to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.
The Government recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs, and the accompanying infrastructure play in supporting local livestock producers, sustaining rare and native breeds, providing skilled employment opportunities and maintaining a resilient, competitive food supply chain.
Defra is aware of the potential impacts local abattoir closures can have on small-scale livestock farmers, including reduced access to slaughter facilities and increased costs. While the wider meat processing sector remains resilient, we understand the unique pressures faced by some smaller operators.
To support the viability of smaller abattoirs, Defra continues to work closely with sector stakeholders including through the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These groups help identify challenges faced by the sector and support the development of practical solutions to improve sustainability.
It is recognised that there are many different and varied reasons why abattoirs close, and that closures can impact the access livestock producers have to local slaughter facilities. While the Government does not intervene in individual business decisions, it is committed to working with the sector to help, where possible, mitigate pressures abattoirs face.
The Government consulted on land use in England earlier this year. While it did not specifically ask about wildfires, the consultation included questions on how we could better support landowners and land managers to adapt to climate change impacts. The consultation responses are being analysed and will inform the Land Use Framework that will be published in due course.
In 2024 and 2025, the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional national wildfire capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to wildfire risk, and to ensure coordination of approaches across sectors.
Defra regularly engages with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and other Government departments in addition to bodies such as the National Fire Chiefs Council and the England and Wales Wildfire Forum, to monitor and review sector-led improvements and mitigations. Defra also encourages landowners and land managers to undertake wildfire risk assessments and consider mitigating actions as part of good quality wildfire management plans.
The Government believes that it is important that rural communities have the opportunity to help shape decisions that affect them. As rural affairs lead, Defra continues to encourage all Government Departments to rural proof their policies, including engaging rural stakeholders in their public consultations and engagement processes. Defra also facilitates engagement with rural people and businesses via its Rural Insights Forum - a group of stakeholders that represent rural communities. Rural representatives and sector specific experts are also engaged with Defra’s Rural Taskforce, which will consider the value and contribution of rural communities and businesses in achieving the Government’s priorities.
Defra does not collect information on the potential impacts of constructing green energy infrastructure. However, Defra does produce statistical estimates of agricultural land areas each year from the annual June Survey of Agriculture:
We use existing channels to listen to, and monitor, impacts of our policy changes on farmers. This includes regular meetings with farming welfare charities, listening to feedback from farming organisations, speaking to farmers directly at events, and through our Farmer Opinion Tracker.
Defra are working in consultation with communities, farming support organisations and experts across government with the aim of improving mental and physical health outcomes for the agricultural community.
Delivery of mental health interventions sits with the Department for Health and Social Care, who are investing in mental health to ensure it receives the same attention as physical health. This includes the hiring of 8,500 new mental health support workers, which will reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes – including in rural communities.
The Government is also building a national network of Young Futures hubs, which will be present in every community and will deliver support for young people facing mental health challenges.
The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards. We have been clear that the trading relationship can be improved, hence why we are seeking to negotiate an SPS agreement to help boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. It’s too early to discuss specific areas in detail and we will not be providing a running commentary on discussions with the EU.
The Government has been engaging with airports, ports and travel operators to communicate the ban on personal imports of meats and dairy products from EU countries, introduced on 12 April 2025.
The funding for Dover Port Health Authority for 2025-26 has been allocated. Discussions with Dover Port Health Authority on the detailed use of funding are ongoing.