Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many felling licences Forestry Commission England has granted for clearfelling operations within a) ancient semi-natural woodlands and b) plantation on ancient woodland sites in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission regulates tree felling in England. In ancient semi-natural woodland, felling is generally limited to no more than 10% of the woodland area within any five-year period and no more than 20% within any 20-year period, unless there are overriding biodiversity or social benefits. The best available estimates of felling licences granted for clear felling in ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW) and plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) over the last five years are shown below. These figures generally relate to clear felling individual coupes within larger woodlands. Most licences require restocking following felling operations.
Number of felling licences
Financial year | Ancient semi-natural woodlands (ASNW) | Plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) | ASNW and PAWS | ASNW or PAWS |
2021-22 | 336 | 326 | 220 | 442 |
2022-23 | 280 | 282 | 174 | 388 |
2023-24 | 310 | 292 | 199 | 403 |
2024-25 | 337 | 323 | 218 | 442 |
2025-26 | 369 | 350 | 242 | 477 |
Total | 1,632 | 1,573 | 1,053 | 2,152 |
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds from Materials Recovery Facility Code of Practice sampling on the aluminium content of local authority mixed recycling; and if she will publish it.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In November the Environment Agency will publish annual data from regulated Materials Facilities on local authority recycling. This captures the quantities and proportions of materials collected, including aluminium, but covers only recycling at regulated Material Facilities. Information on the aluminium content of all local authority mixed recycling is not available.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department verifies the accuracy of the destination data reported by local authorities to WasteDataFlow for aluminium packaging.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information included in the full dataset is raw data as provided by Local Authorities, published to provide additional detail for users.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a) whether there will be funding available through a Farm Equipment Technology Fund (FETF) in 2027 and b) whether goat dairy producers will be eligible for the FETF.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
FETF 2026 is the final FETF grant round in its current form. From 2027, we intend to bring together the strongest elements of our grant schemes, simplifying applications and making it easier for farmers to access funding. The Government keeps the scope and eligibility of grant offers under review.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
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 value of commercial goat dairy production a) in the UK b) in England.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
While recognising the place of the UK’s longstanding goat milk sector within UK agricultural, no assessment of the value of commercial goat dairy production has been made.
A range of support has been made available in England that businesses including those in the goat milking sector might access including support on farm productivity and slurry and through the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support commercial goat dairy producers.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
While recognising the place of the UK’s longstanding goat milk sector within UK agricultural, no assessment of the value of commercial goat dairy production has been made.
A range of support has been made available in England that businesses including those in the goat milking sector might access including support on farm productivity and slurry and through the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
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 her Department’s monthly market overview of aluminium prices for local authorities referred to in the debate of 1 September 2026, where that overview is published and on what date publication began.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Defra funded WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and MRW (Materials Recycling World) have published a Material Recycling Weekly price report for over fifteen years. This is a weekly publication that users can access free of charge.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
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 her Answer of 9 July 2026 to Question 15640 (a) whether her Department’s call for evidence on the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility fees has been launched.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
PackUK is planning to launch a Call for Evidence to inform future approaches to fee modulation. Further details will be communicated to stakeholders in due course.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) what proportion of aluminium packaging collected by local authorities in England was reported to WasteDataFlow as having been sent to destinations outside the UK in the year from 2024 - 2025 and (b) if she will publish that figure for each local authority.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
WasteDataFlow does not include a total aluminium packaging category, although does collect information on aluminium cans and foil.
Information provided by each Local Authority is published in the full dataset here (Q100 Waste collection data England 2024-25). This includes end destinations of waste when provided (columns L-P), including Outside UK.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
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 merits of adopting an Australian-style shred-only export mandate to i) permanently eliminate non-compliance at foreign receiving ports and ii) drive the development of a re-industrialised circular economy using End of Life Tyres as feedstock.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware of Australia's shred-only policy for exports of waste tyres, and officials have met with stakeholders, including from Australia, to better understand the rationale for the policy, its implementation, and the impacts reported to date.
The Department continues to monitor international approaches to waste tyre management and considers a range of evidence when assessing options for improving the environmental outcomes associated with end-of-life tyres and strengthening the circular economy.