Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
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 implications for her policies of Greenpeace's report entitled Our Poisoned Land and its calls for the Government to help farmers to (a) reduce agricultural chemical use by 50% by 2030 and (b) reduce agricultural chemical use by 80% by 2040.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Last year the Government published the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP). It sets out how all four UK Governments will support farmers, growers and other land managers to increase their use of sustainable farming practices to reduce the potential harm from pesticides. The NAP introduces a UK domestic target to reduce the potential pressures from pesticides on the environment by 10% by 2030.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) also pays farmers and land managers to carry out actions that support the sustainable production of food and boost farm productivity and resilience, while protecting and enhancing the environment.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
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 commit to ending the use of the neonicotinoid acetamiprid.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains committed to ending the use in England of the three neonicotinoid pesticides (thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid) that threaten vital pollinators, including through emergency authorisations.
Acetamiprid does not pose the same risk to pollinators and is authorised for use on sugar beet and other crops both in Great Britain and the European Union. The Health and Safety Executive recently approved an emergency authorisation for a second spray - only when specific conditions are met - due to the exceptionally high pressure from aphids being faced by sugar beet farmers this year.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to publish a consultation on phasing out the use of farrowing crates for sows.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare Strategy sets out that ending the use of cages and crates is a key priority for this Government. We will be consulting on the transition away from the use of farrowing crates to alternative systems, in due course.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce food waste in schools.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra funds the UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste. Through the Pact, we support delivery of the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which offers guidance for businesses on reducing food waste in their operations. Catering businesses who supply schools and school kitchen staff can use this guidance to reduce their food waste.
Simpler Recycling reforms ensure that across England, people can recycle the same materials, including food waste, whether at home, work or school. As of 31 March 2025, schools are required to make arrangements for the collection of food waste.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animal welfare inspections of game bird farms were undertaken in (a) England and (b) Wales in 2025; how many and what proportion of those visits identified the use of barren cages for breeding birds; and whether follow up inspections were carried out in those circumstances.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In 2025, there were 14 inspections of game bird farms in England and 3 in Wales. There were no non-compliances noted in relation to the birds’ housing or environment.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle littering.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Local councils are responsible for keeping streets clear of litter with the role of central Government to support local action. The Pride in Place Strategy sets out how Government will support local action by bringing forward statutory enforcement guidance on both littering and fly-tipping, modernising the code of practice that outlines the cleaning standards expected of local authorities, and refreshing best practice guidance on the powers available to local authorities to force land and building owners to clean up their premises.
We are introducing a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers due to go live in October 2027. Single-use drinks containers are some of the UK’s most commonly littered items, typically making up half of litter by volume. The Deposit Return Scheme is expected to drastically reduce litter.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 on the (a) stress and (b) injury chances of farmed chickens and turkeys.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government is firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare.
The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 introduces new requirements prohibiting one-leg catching of laying hens, meat chickens and turkeys weighing 5kg or less in Great Britain. These birds must now be caught, lifted and carried by two legs to directly minimise welfare harm. An impact assessment (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2025/149/pdfs/ukia_20250149_en.pdf) was published alongside this legislation, which also covers the welfare impacts of different catching and handling methods.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animal welfare inspections of game bird farms were undertaken in (a) England and (b) Wales in (i) 2022, (ii) 2023 and (iii) 2024; how many and what proportion of those visits identified the use of barren cages for breeding birds; and whether follow up inspections were carried out in those circumstances.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The total number of inspections carried out in gamebirds premises are included in the table below; of those, a total of 5 inspections disclosed non-compliances with welfare legislation however none of the non-compliances identified were due to the use of barren cages for breeding birds. There have been no gamebird inspections in Wales according to the data extrapolated for the years 2023 and 2024.
Country | Year | Total | Compliant with AW legislation |
England | 2022 | 9 | 8 |
2023 | 12 | 10 | |
2024 | 17 | 15 | |
Wales | 2022 | 3 | 3 |
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the use of cages for (a) pheasants and (b) partridges for breeding.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals, including for gamebirds, is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.
Defra’s Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their gamebirds as required by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. It recommends that barren cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used, and that any system should be appropriately enriched.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
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 publish a timetable for a public consultation on the use of (a) cages for laying hens and (b) farrowing crates for pigs.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
The use of cages and other closed confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.