Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what modelling her Department has undertaken on the contribution of badger vaccination to achieving Officially Tuberculosis Free status in England by 2038.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Several modelling studies published by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) predict that badger vaccination will significantly reduce TB in badger populations, reducing onward risks to cattle. Further modelling work is ongoing to investigate this further.
The co-design steering group, in its recently published recommended bovine TB strategy, concludes that with most of the High-Risk Area having received at least four years of culling, a transition to vaccination should be beneficial to TB control, particularly when targeted to areas where it can have the greatest impact.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to expand circumstances in which private veterinary surgeons are permitted to use more sensitive bovine tuberculosis testing technologies in commercial settings.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Statutory tuberculin skin testing (SICCT) and interferon-gamma blood testing (IFNy) of cattle herds will remain the foundation of bovine tuberculosis (TB) control and will continue to be required. The recently published co-designed bovine TB Control Strategy for England also proposes facilitating greater access to privately-funded ancillary bovine TB testing alongside this, to support earlier detection of infected cattle and disease management.
Government will now consider the recommendations in the new bovine TB strategy, including on testing.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
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 of the badger vaccination programme on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle herds.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Multiple published studies indicate that badger vaccination is safe and can reduce TB infection and transmission in badgers. Vaccination is now being deployed across a number of large areas, including through a newly contracted Badger Vaccination Field Force. This expanded programme will provide further opportunities to assess and add to the body of evidence about the impact of vaccination on reducing TB incidence in cattle, where important evidence gaps remain.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to issue any further badger control licences under the current or any successor cull policy; and if she will make a statement on the timetable for the cessation of badger culling in England.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are currently no plans to issue further badger control licences. The government has committed to ending the badger cull by the end of this Parliament, and the 2025 culling season marked the final year of industry-led culling in England’s High Risk and Edge Areas.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many flooded homes there were in the last year by region.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The table below represents properties flooded in Environment Agency (EA) Operational Areas from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. This information has been collated by EA Area teams and is based on information received from the public, flood partners and EA staff during national flood events. All figures are estimates and are subject to change as information is collated and updated, and records may differ from previously reported totals. Further impacts can sometimes be reported through recovery work with communities.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government may hold further detail about properties flooded during this time from Lead Local Flood Authorities.
EA Operational Area | Properties Flooded 1 April 2025– 31 March 2026 |
Cumbria and Lancashire | 24 |
Devon, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly | 122 |
East Anglia (Cambridgeshire & Bedfordshire) | 2 |
East Anglia (Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk) | 5 |
East Midlands | 3 |
Greater Manchester Merseyside | 1 |
Hertfordshire & North London | 1 |
Kent & South London | 23 |
Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire |
|
North East |
|
Solent and South Downs | 17 |
Thames | 9 |
West Midlands (Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire) | 22 |
West Midlands (Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mids) | 10 |
Wessex | 279 |
Yorkshire (YOR) | 22 |
Total | 540 |
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes in interpretation by local authorities of requirements for farmed reindeer licensing on farm business viability.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Licences for reindeer in England may be required where they are exhibited to the public. The type of licence needed will depend on the nature of the display (permanent or temporary) and whether the reindeer are being exhibited as part of a business. There are also licensing requirements for keeping certain species of reindeer regarded as dangerous, where they are kept outside of a licensed zoo or pet shop.
Licensing decisions are a matter for each local authority, who can decide on the most appropriate type of licence or licences depending on the circumstances of each individual collection.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration they have made to adding exemption guidance to farmed reindeer in the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice 2027.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain, published in May 2025, apply to all zoos in Great Britain licensed under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 (the 1981 Act).
The 1981 Act provides for exemptions or dispensations for small collections depending on the number and types of animals kept. A collection consisting of just a small number of reindeer (no more than 50) can already apply for a dispensation which can help reduce zoo licensing inspection costs.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
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 supply of British grown cauliflower and other brassicas in spring 2026.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK’s food security is built on supply from diverse sources including strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes.
The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group monitors and assess UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments. This includes consideration of the adequacy of the supply of both domestically grown cauliflower and brassicas, and where necessary, imports.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
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 Iran conflict on the supply of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Some of the UK’s trade partners import fertilisers from the Middle East, either for onward shipment to the UK or for production inputs, creating indirect dependencies. Defra is in close contact with domestic fertiliser suppliers and is monitoring overall supply to the UK.
There is no immediate risk to UK supply. However, the fertiliser market is a global market, and the market price in the UK is strongly influenced by international prices for fertiliser and by the value of the pound. The Government is aware of the current price increase for fertiliser and remains ready to support businesses as effectively as possible in these challenging times.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the volume of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser held in storage in the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is not facing an immediate fertiliser supply issue, but price rises have been felt immediately. The UK imported below 1% of its fertilisers directly from the Gulf region in 2025 and so direct imports from the region are negligible.
Fertiliser delivery by suppliers is based on orders placed by farmers according to the crops planned to be grown, with typically no long-term storage of fertiliser. Defra is in contact with domestic fertiliser suppliers and is monitoring overall supply to the UK. Through its close relationships with industry, the Government remains ready to support businesses as effectively as possible in these challenging times.