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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of nitrogen leaching from agriculture on (a) water quality and (b) biodiversity in West Dorset constituency.

The levels of nitrogen losses from agriculture are unacceptable. That is why we are focused on working with farmers across the country to reduce pollution and clean up our waters. Regulations are in place to address nitrogen and wider pollution from agriculture and the Environment Agency (EA) continue to conduct over 4,000 inspections nationally each year to support farmers to comply.

The EA has also worked closely with farmers and land managers to implement a bespoke, target-led approach across the Poole Harbour catchment, support by an innovative voluntary farmer-led scheme, to improve farm practices, reduce nutrient losses and enable ecological recovery.