Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 (a) the replacement value of flood defence and water management assets in the Fens, (b) the proportion of those assets expected to reach the end of their design life by 2040 and by 2075, and (c) the capital investment required to maintain and replace those assets over the coming decades.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This information is publicly available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fens-2100.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 projected water supply and demand balances in the East of England to 2050; what estimate she has made of a projected water deficit under Water Resources East planning assumptions; and whether her Department has plans to address a deficit through new reservoirs, water transfers, demand management and regulatory reform.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The current Water Resources East plan sets out a series of water company measures, including demand management and leakage reduction interventions, new strategic reservoirs in Lincolnshire and the Fens, coastal desalination in Norfolk and Lincolnshire, and water recycling plants, in Suffolk and Essex.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of a unified, real-time water-level monitoring platform for the Fenland basin to support coordination between the Environment Agency, Internal Drainage Boards and water companies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency routinely shares hydrological information with Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) and water companies, with further live and historic data available via the online Hydrology Data Explorer. Regular liaison over periods of dry weather enables proactive data sharing and shared decision making about water level management.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Partnership Funding formula adequately reflects the economic and strategic value of Grade 1 agricultural land in the Fens; and whether he has considered introducing additional weighting factors for flood defence schemes that protect such land.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Last October, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy, including removing the old partnership funding formula.
Our funding rules will support farming and rural communities and improve resilience against flood risk across the country.
The previous rules gave higher payment rates for properties than agricultural or environmental benefits. We are now giving equal weighting to all different types of benefits – a positive change for rural areas.
We will review the new policy in 2028 to assess its effectiveness in managing flood and coastal erosion risk, allowing us to see if policy adjustments are needed.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 misuse of nitrous oxide canisters sold for catering purposes on the environment; and if she will consider introducing a deposit-return scheme for such canisters to reduce littering and deter recreational misuse.
Answered by Mary Creagh
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the misuse of nitrous oxide canisters on the environment and we are not considering a deposit return scheme for such canisters.
It’s an offence to illegally dispose of nitrous oxide cannisters. Local councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught littering nitrous oxide canisters may be prosecuted in a magistrates’ court, which can lead to a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine) of up to £500.
Guidance to councils and others on the use of their fixed penalty powers for littering and related offences is available at: Litter enforcement powers - when and how to use them - GOV.UK
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether statutory consultees are required to assess risks from (a) lithium-ion batteries and (b) gas canisters when reviewing fire prevention plans for energy-from-waste facilities.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Environment Agency is responsible for reviewing fire prevention plans (FPP) for energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities in England under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) 2016. Under the EPR, there are no statutory consultees. However, the Environment Agency consults the local fire and rescue service on every permit application which it receives for a new EfW facility, which will include the proposed FPP.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 rising fertiliser costs on (a) farm profitability and (b) food security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is conscious of the increases to prices of fertiliser, influenced by the continued instability in the Middle East.
Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise, including to farmers. The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group monitors UK agricultural markets throughout the year, including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments.
The UK has a resilient food system, producing around 65% of all the food we eat. We have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, which supplements domestic production and ensures that any disruption from risks do not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
Defra is monitoring risks posed by the Middle East conflict to our critical supply chains. At present, there are no significant impacts to the supply of consumer goods and food, and we do not expect any short-term disruption.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 17 March to 119860, how many and what proportion of Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements had an annual value of over £100,000.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Between January 2025 to December 2025, there were 45,295 Sustainable Farming Incentive Agreements. 863 of these agreements had an annual value of over £100,000, which is 1.91% of the overall agreements.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
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 removal of 31 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions on the projected average value of an SFI agreement.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The purpose of streamlining the offer is not to reduce overall support for the sector, but to ensure funding is focused on actions that deliver the greatest value for food production and the environment.
The SFI26 offer includes 71 actions rather than 102, reflecting the removal of options that had low uptake or delivered limited environmental or productivity benefit. This ensures a simpler, fairer and better-targeted scheme. We have also introduced an annual agreement value cap of £100,000 to help spread funding across more farms and widen participation.
Payment rates remain based on income-foregone-plus‑costs, and many actions continue to offer attractive returns. By improving accessibility and value for money, SFI26 supports long‑term farm profitability while enabling more businesses to benefit from agreements.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the last year for which figures are available, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements had a value of over £100,000.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
From January 2025 to December 2025, there were 45,295 SFI Agreements. 6,439 of these had an agreement value of over £100,000 for the full 3-year lifetime of the agreement, which is 14.22% of the overall agreements.