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 disclosure EIR2026/13473, what assessment her Department has made of the potential environmental impacts of the planned closure of poultry litter biomass facilities in April 2027, including on (a) alternative treatment and storage capacity for displaced agricultural waste and (b) Environment Agency inspection and permitting resources.

Poultry litter is an animal by-product. If it cannot be used as fertiliser without impacting on the environment or human health then it becomes waste. The producer or holder of waste has a legal duty to ensure that it is managed and treated in accordance with the appropriate waste legislation. Defra is working closely with the farming industry and the poultry sector on litter management.

The Environment Agency is aware of this potential closure. Its farm inspection regime covers nutrient applications to land, with inspection targets increasing annually.