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.
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 number of days of supply of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser available based on storage levels and usage rates.
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.
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, how many instances of fly tipping have been recorded on the public forest estate in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Forestry England and Forestry Commission are required to report operational waste volumes by category under the Greening Government Commitments (GGC) to Defra. There is no requirement to record or report the number of fly-tipping incidents.
Due to the size of our estate and available resources, it has historically proven impractical to systematically record all instances of fly tipping. Forestry England does not therefore hold complete historical records for the period requested. The number of instances that have been recorded across the public forest estate are as follows:
2016-17: 18 instances
2017-18: 11 instances
2018-19: 111 instances
2019-20: 88 instances
2020-21: 164 instances
2021-22: 116 instances
2022-23: 76 instances
2023-24: 683 instances
2024-25: 57 instances
2025-26: 53 instances
Since 2023-24 Forestry England has put in place additional mechanisms to record collected waste categorised as fly tip through our national waste contract with Green Zone. This has been recorded in tonnes, rather than as individual instances. Reported data for the past three financial years:
2023-24: 218.98 tonnes
2024-25: 181.01 tonnes
2025-26: 178.62 tonnes
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 her Department's planned timeframe is to (a) consult on and (b) legislate for additional criteria for the exemption of non-household waste from Extended Producer Responsibility disposal fees and obligations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are continuing to work with stakeholders on the treatment of dual-use packaging and packaging that is unlikely to enter the household waste stream. There is no date set for consultation or legislation at this stage for any additional criteria for exemption from packaging Extended Producer Responsibility disposal fee obligations. Any future changes would need to be workable, enforceable, and protect the operational integrity of the scheme across all business models.
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 single use glass containers sold in Wales before October 2027 will be exempt from disposal costs fees under Extended Producer Responsibility.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Glass drinks containers across the UK, including in Wales, are subject to packaging Extended Producer Responsibility data reporting, disposal fees and recycling obligations. The temporary exemption from disposal fees before the Deposit Return Scheme goes live in 2027 applies to steel, aluminium, and PET plastic drinks containers.
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 discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the arrangements for excluding non-household waste from Extended Producer Responsibility disposal fees and obligation on businesses.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including packaging Extended Producer Responsibility’s impact on businesses. We are aware of industry concerns about producers being charged disposal fees for packaging that is disposed of through commercial waste streams, and we continue to work with stakeholders to find an approach that balances those concerns with the operational integrity of the scheme.
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 conditions of appointment were included for the UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd to ensure that small producers were adequately represented on its board.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO)’s board structure includes representation from a small producer.
In addition, as part of the UK DMO’s Conditions of Appointment, the DMO’s Advisory Group must include representation of small scheme producers. The DMO Board must seek the views of the Advisory Group before adopting any decision relating to matters on which the UK DMO is required to consult under the Regulations and must take those views into account in its decision making.
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, if she will hold discussions with the UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd on its definition of a small producer for representation on its board; and what information her Department holds on whether this is the same definition that the Government uses.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO) is an independent body and appoint their own board.
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 asked the Office for the Internal Market for advice on the potential impact of agreeing to the Welsh Government's exclusion from the internal market for single-use glass containers in the Deposit Return Scheme in Wales.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government did not refer the Welsh Government's proposal for a UKIM exclusion for its Deposit Return Scheme to the Office for Internal Market (OIM) for advice. As part of our commitments in the review of the UK Internal Market Act in 2025, the UK Government is working with devolved Governments to implement a system for joint referrals by all Governments to the OIM for advice, earlier in policy development and to inform the decision-making process.