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 classifying large pig and poultry units as industrial installations rather than agriculture.

Large pig and poultry farms above certain thresholds require an environmental permit under legislation derived from the Industrial Emissions Directive. Regulators set and enforce conditions to limit emissions from these sites to protect the environment and human health in the same way as industrial installations. These farms remain part of the agricultural sector.