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, when her Department plans to publish the Farming Profitability Review.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Baroness Batters will present her report to the Defra Secretary of State at the end of October for consideration.
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 reduction in yields of main cereal crops in 2025 on farm profitability.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cereals are internationally traded commodities, and their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments.
The Government has closely monitored the 2025 harvest and continues to engage regularly with industry stakeholders to assess any implications this may have on the cereals sector. In addition, the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) provides early warning of atypical market movements by tracking trends in prices, inputs, and trade.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a list of all the instances between 4 July 2024 and 14 October 2025 when 100 or more migrants have crossed the Channel in a single small boat, including (a) the date of the crossing, (b) the number of migrants on board and (c) the approximate dimensions of the boat.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
There have been 5 occasions over this period where over 100 migrants have crossed the Channel in a single small boat. These are listed below.
Date | Number of persons onboard |
13/08/2025 | 106 |
19/09/2025 | 102 |
19/09/2025 | 106 |
27/09/2025 | 125 |
08/10/2025 | 101 |
Information about the dimensions of boats is operationally sensitive, and its release could prejudice the interests of law enforcement.
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, when she plans to re-open the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will issue guidance on the steps steps a local authority can take to compel a developer to comply with the conditions of their original planning consent relating to highway upgrades and adoption where the developer appears to be avoiding compliance by submitting further planning applications intended to delay or circumvent those obligations.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Guidance on local planning authorities’ enforcement powers can be found in the relevant planning practice guidance on gov.uk here.
Enforcement is at the discretion of local planning authorities and it is for them to decide how and when they use their powers.
The government believes the current powers remain appropriate but will continue to keep the operation of the enforcement system under review.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of enforcement powers available to local authorities in respect of developers who fail to comply with planning conditions on a site, while continuing to submit further planning applications within the same local authority area.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Guidance on local planning authorities’ enforcement powers can be found in the relevant planning practice guidance on gov.uk here.
Enforcement is at the discretion of local planning authorities and it is for them to decide how and when they use their powers.
The government believes the current powers remain appropriate but will continue to keep the operation of the enforcement system under review.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what annual percentage increases in healthcare demand is the 10 Year Heath Plan based.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan is not based on a specific percentage growth rate in demand for health care. Instead, backed by an additional £29 billion, the plan sets out how the health system will seize the opportunities provided by new technology, medicines, and innovation to deliver better care for all patients, no matter where they live or how much they earn, as well as better value for taxpayers.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 33002 on Asylum: Finance, how many top-up payments have been made to Asylum Support Enablement Cards since 4 July 2024, broken down by week.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Hon Member to the Answer he received on 3 March 2025 to UIN 33002.
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, with reference to the Spring Statement 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the funding of the Farming and Countryside Programme on the net number of hectares of farmland farmed in a nature-friendly way.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We are increasing the budget for sustainable farming and are investing more than £2.7 billion a year in farming and nature recovery.
Funding for the Environmental Land Management Schemes paid to farmers will increase by 150% from £800 million in 2023/24 to £2 billion by 2028/29.
As a result of the Government’s determination to get more farmers to participate, there are now 50,000 farm businesses and half of all farmed land now managed under our schemes – with more money being spent through these schemes than at any point.
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 Environment Agency is taking steps to (a) control and (b) report on the potential risk of toxic contamination from the use of (i) recycled Energy Recovery Facilities incineration ash residue and (ii) Air Pollution Control Residue in building materials.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As was the case when he was Secretary of State for Defra, the ash residue from energy recovery facilities is normally processed into incinerator The bottom ash aggregate (IBAA). IBAA can only be used under the terms of a regulatory position statement (RPS) or a permit issued by the Environment Agency (EA).
The EA have risk assessed the use of IBAA. The RPS sets out placement limitations which allows use of IBAA whilst retaining protection of the environment. If the RPS cannot be met, a site-specific permit and risk assessment is required. Where a permit is issued there is a requirement to report.
Air Pollution Control Residue can only be used as a building material when that material has met the criteria for end-of-waste, which is assessed on a case-by-case basis. This requires that the material must be of no significantly greater risk to the environment or human health than the non-waste-derived equivalent.