Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to item 105 of the letter sent from Lord Strathclyde, Chair of the Constitution Committee to Stephen Doughty MP, Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories regarding the UK-Overseas Joint Declaration, published 17 April 2026, which Ministers have (a) designated responsibility for Overseas Territories matters and (b) attend the cross-governmental Ministerial group on the Territories by Department.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers who currently hold designated responsibility for Overseas Territories matters are: the Cabinet Office Minister of State; Economic Secretary to the Treasury; Ministry of Justice Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sentencing, Youth Justice and International; Home Office Minister of State (House of Lords); Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Climate); Ministry of Defence Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for the Armed Forces); Department of Business and Trade Minister of State (Minister for Trade); Department for Culture Media and Sport Minister of State (Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts); Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Minister of State (Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear); Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Nature); Department of Health and Social Care Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health Innovation and Safety; Department for Transport Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation); Solicitor General; Department for Education Minister of State (Minister for Skills); Secretary of State for Scotland and one of the Wales Office Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State.
All these Ministers are invited to attend the cross-governmental Ministerial Group on the Overseas Territories.
Asked by: Earl Russell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what changes have been made to the Defra Futures Unit since 2025; whether the unit has been abolished, renamed, merged or transferred; what arrangements are now in place within Defra for horizon scanning, futures analysis and climate-related risk assessment; and which teams or senior responsible owners are now accountable for those functions.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s Futures Team closed as a central function in March 2025. It was not renamed or transferred.
Since then, horizon scanning and futures analysis have been undertaken by evidence and analytical teams across the Department, supported by work within Defra’s arm’s length bodies.
Accountability for climate related risk assessment sits with Defra’s climate adaptation teams, which lead the Climate Change Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Programme.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to answer Written Parliamentary Question UIN 124051.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Written Parliamentary Question UIN 124051 was answered on 28 April 2026.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a list of training programmes used by civil servants in her Department since 2020.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A list of training undertaken via the Civil-Service Learning Frameworks from January 2023 to March 2026, and course descriptors, are available via the Prospectus Online. Training data relating to the period prior to January 2023 is not accessible to the department.
Training delivered internally or procured by the department outside of the Central Government Learning Frameworks over the last five years is not centrally available, and to obtain this information would result in disproportionate cost to the department; therefore this will not be published.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken any joint work with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to assess the a) societal and b) economic impact of companion animal ownership.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer my Hon. friend to the answer I gave on 13th April to PQ 122869.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 122287 on Motor Vehicles: Hire Services, how many category M1 and N1 vehicles are exempt from the Government Fleet Commitment by default; and if she will provide a breakdown of that number by vehicle type.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data for the Greening Government Commitments framework for 2021-25, including the Government Fleet Commitment (GFC), was collected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and published on GOV.UK, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-april-2021-to-march-2024-report.
Reporting for the GFC was required for in-scope vehicles only. Neither DEFRA nor the Department for Transport holds further data on vehicles that are exempted by default across Government fleets.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the exemption from stunning for religious slaughter on the Food Standards Agency's inspection and enforcement costs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Food Standards Agency apply animal welfare controls within approved slaughterhouses in England and Wales under a Service Level Agreement with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Welsh Government.
We assess the impact of inspection and enforcement requirements on costs as part of the annual process of reviewing the Service Level Agreement. The Agreement applies to all of FSA’s monitoring and enforcement of the relevant animal welfare requirements, and does not consider slaughter without stunning separately.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring free school meals provide (a) sustainable, (b) nutritious and (c) locally sourced food.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The action we are taking to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will ensure that over 500,000 additional children will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
We are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including at breakfast and lunch, better reflects current nutritional guidance and support children’s health, wellbeing and learning. Details of this consultation are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework We will consider guidance for the new standards in due course.
The government remains committed to our ambition that half of all food served in public settings is either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards and we are open to considering all lawful means of achieving this. We are working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as they develop the Good Food Cycle vision.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure new school meals guidance encourages use of local suppliers.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is committed to half of all food served in public settings being either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards.
The School Food Standards allow school chefs and cooks creative freedom to adapt to the preferences of the children at their school, source seasonal or local food, and take advantage of price fluctuations.
We are consulting on proposed changes to the School Food Standards in England until 12 June 2026. We will consider guidance for the new standards in due course. Presently, schools can voluntarily follow the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering, which includes advice around sourcing their school food.
The department is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as they develop the Good Food Cycle vision.