Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 potential impact on increasing domestic production of fertilisers on energy security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Supply of nitrogen fertiliser to the UK is competitive and the proportion that is met by domestic production varies from year to year. As well as domestic production, the UK typically imports fertiliser products from a wide range of countries which means the supply chain has remained dynamic in sourcing product, while maintaining a good diversity of nutrient supply.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on UK CBAM for fertilisers and ammonia.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains committed to implementing the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from 1 January 2027. CBAM will apply to imported goods from the fertiliser sector, and the rate charged will reflect the final carbon price paid by domestic industries after support mechanisms (such as free allowances within the UK ETS) have been taken into account.
Therefore, it is expected that initial liabilities arising from the CBAM will be modest, and the Government does not expect CBAM to put UK farmers at a significant competitive disadvantage.
CBAM, like all taxes, will be kept under review by the Chancellor.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made towards establishing a national fertiliser recording system.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware of the merits of having a national fertiliser recording system and will consider if it is appropriate to have one for Great Britain.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans her Department has made for red diesel availability and costs if the conflict in Iran becomes a long-term issue.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food security is a priority for the Government, and Defra is taking the impacts from the Middle East conflict seriously.
The Government has increased the frequency of official fertiliser price reporting, now published by the AHDB on a weekly basis. This will give farmers more timely and transparent information to support decision-making.
The Government asked the Competition and Markets Authority to consider industry concerns about red diesel, including transparency, and has taken further decisive action to support farmers by cutting it to its lowest rate in over 20 years, reducing the rates on red diesel by a third.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 to reduce the impact of changes to red diesel prices during peak harvest season.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To support farmers with fuel cost pressures during peak harvest, this Government is taking decisive action to support farmers by cutting red diesel to its lowest rate in over 20 years, reducing the rates on red diesel by a third. We're committed to protecting the farming sector from global pressures including the war in Iran.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the availability of fertiliser, including in response to sudden increases in demand.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is assessing the impact on farmers and fertiliser suppliers of high prices, and impacts in the wider supply chain. Defra is working closely with industry and farmers to understand risks and issues, and options for action where needed.
Current fertiliser regulations are outdated and do not support the marketing of new and innovative products. The department is consulting on new regulations to strengthen future fertiliser supply, protect the environment, and diversify supply for farmers.
Through the Belém Declaration on Fertilisers, launched at COP30 last year, the Government is working internationally to reduce long‑term supply chain vulnerabilities.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 to help support farmer cash flow and access to credit.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (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 targeted to a range of grants and schemes which farmers can use to support cashflow.
Defra grants include the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), with application window 1 due to open in June 2026. This reformed SFI offer will ensure more farmers can support their cash flow by accessing SFI funding.
Defra officials regularly engage with financial institutions providing farm lending and will continue to work to ensure farmers have access to finance.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, to support the agri-food sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The development and adoption of innovative UK agri-technologies is key to supporting the UK agri-food sector to boost farm productivity and economic growth. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Defra work closely together to support the sector.
This includes the Defra-funded Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) which is delivered by UKRI and provides grants to support innovative technologies and practices which increase farming productivity, sustainability and resilience. This Government will allocate at least £200m to FIP by 2030.
This Government is also supporting the development of robotics, automation and AI which have the potential to increase productivity and reduce labour needs in agriculture and horticulture. The Regulatory Innovation Office, part of DSIT announced Robotics as one of its priorities this year and will be working with Defra on issues for the Agri-tech sector.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria her Department plans to use to differentiate between small and large farms in assessing eligibility for future SFI applications.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department will publish a precise definition before the first application window opens in June. This is one of the details we’ll be testing with key stakeholders.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 April 2025 to Question 47160 on Food: Import Controls, what additional funding has been provided to ports and airports relating to the ban on personal imports of meats and diary products from EU countries.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is currently funding Dover Port Health Authority to help identify illegal meat and dairy imports. We have not provided additional funding to ports and airports relating to the ban on personal imports of certain meat and dairy products from EU countries.