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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) meetings and (b) communications via electronic messaging (i) he and (ii) his special advisers have had with representatives of Arden Strategies.

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Special Advisers are required to comply with the Special Adviser Code of Conduct at all times and are required to make declarations on meetings with senior media figures in line with published transparency guidance.

Where a Special Adviser accompanies their Minister to an official meeting with a senior media figure, the Special Adviser’s attendance does not need to be separately recorded as the Minister will be the main attendee.

Where an ‘informal’ lobbying approach is granted time or resource by Government, it should result in a diarised engagement and therefore be recorded.