Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many non-executive directors have had their contract of employment terminated since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster appoints Non-Executive Board Members to the Cabinet Office Board and most Non-Executive Directors to the Boards of its Arm’s Length Bodies in compliance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Non-Executives are not employees and therefore contracts of employment are not issued, Non-Executives receive terms of agreement for their roles instead.

Since 5 July 2024, seven Cabinet Office Non-Executive Board Members have been provided with one month’s written notice for the termination of their appointments before the end of the fixed period as set out in their terms of agreement.

It is normal practice for incoming Ministers to make decisions on their own departmental boards, including the skills and experience that membership brings.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the contract of employment for non-executive directors has been fully complied with since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster appoints Non-Executive Board Members to the Cabinet Office Board and most Non-Executive Directors to the Boards of its Arm’s Length Bodies in compliance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Non-Executives are not employees, therefore contracts of employment are not issued. Non-Executives receive terms of agreement for their roles instead.

The Cabinet Office has been fully compliant with the terms of agreement between its Non-Executive Board Members since 5 July 2024.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase support for farmers to mitigate the impacts of crops (a) lost and (b) not planted due to wet weather.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Farming Recovery Fund is a contribution towards uninsured costs that have likely been incurred in re-establishing productive, farmable land in areas significantly damaged by water, caused by flooding from Storms Babet and Henk or exceptional rainfall during October 2023 to March 2024.

In May Defra introduced a package of temporary adjustments and easements within the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), SFI Pilot, Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship to support farmers and land managers dealing with the impacts of severe wet weather in England.

[Essentially, if bad weather has caused disruptions to farming activities or affected a farmer’s ability to meet the mandatory requirements set out in live agreements, the adjustments allow more time to establish or defer some activity to later in the year.] A full list of these adjustments can be found on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wet-weather-temporary-support-for-farmers-in-2024 .

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce a legally binding food security target.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Food security is national security. A resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British farmers is a key element of our national food security.

That is why this Government will introduce a new deal for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen Britain's food security. We will: cut energy bills by switching on GB Energy; protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals; and use the Government’s own purchasing power to back British produce.

Food security is not a binary issue but consists of complex and dynamic interactions. The Government will publish the triennial UK Food Security Report this year which will measure trends across the five categories of food security.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to continue the annual farm to fork summit.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Confidence among farmers is at an all time low. We need a resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British Farmers. The only way to do this effectively is to listen to farmers and others with a stake in our food system, countryside and nature. This Government will introduce a new deal for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen Britain's food security. We will: cut energy bills by switching on GB Energy; protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals; and use the Government’s own purchasing power to back British produce.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for (a) bringing forward and (b) implementing secondary legislation relating to the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023; and whether he has a target date for full implementation of the Act's provisions.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Innovation is important in strengthening food security, enhancing resilience and improving agricultural sustainability.

We are considering how to take forward the regulatory framework outlined in the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act and will share our plans in due course.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timescale is for making payments under the Farming Recovery Fund to eligible applicants.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

To date all eligible farmers identified in the original Farming Recovery Fund announced in April 2024 have been offered the payment in line with the published criteria. In May, Defra announced a further expansion to the fund and further information on that will be available soon.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to provide a breakdown by (a) department and (b) job title of senior civil service jobs (i) offered and (ii) appointed since 30 May 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information held by the Cabinet Office relating to the Senior Civil Service shows there have been 43 offers made and 41 candidates posted/taken up duty since 30th May 2024. Recruitment data from some departments is collected on a biannual basis by the Cabinet Office.

Please see the full breakdown of the data held centrally on the below table.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what date he expects to have ceased badger culling.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This government will respect the advice of the widest range of expert advisers when considering the end of the badger cull.

There has not been a major bovine TB strategy review in nearly six years. The last was commissioned by the then Secretary of State Michael Gove and was carried out by Professor Sir Charles Godfray. It informs our starting point as we increase the effort to achieve bovine TB free status by 2038.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has commissioned an impact assessment on the proposed ending of the badger cull.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the reply I gave to PQ 1263.

Found: MINISTERIAL ENGAGEMENT BRIEFING: HUMZA YOUSAF [OUT OF SCOPE] Engagement Title Call with Steve

Found: Secretary of State for Business and Trade (DBT - formerly Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and Steve

Found: (24 Jan). 21 Dec 2023: Following a lack of ministerial level engagement, Cab Sec RALRI wrote to Steve