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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which sectors in the farming industry apply Best Available Techniques developed by the Environment Agency.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

An Environmental Permit requires operators to farm using Best Available Techniques (BAT). The Environment Agency is responsible for regulating Environmental Permits in England.

Environmental Permitting applies to many industrial sectors, including large intensive pigs and poultry farms. The Clean Air Strategy sets out the Government's commitment to extend the environmental permitting regime in England to dairy and intensive beef farms by 2025.