Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For the last financial year, the total cost to Defra of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in pg. 167 of Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made of the impact of reducing inheritance tax relief on agricultural and business property on farmer suicide rates before taking the decision to do so.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government encourages anyone who is concerned about their own mental health, or the mental health of those around them, to seek support. The Government takes mental health support for farmers very seriously. For example, Defra supports farming welfare organisations through funding the Farmer Welfare Grant. The fund supports projects in England designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families, including preventing cases of poor mental health within farming communities, and to deliver a range of essential services, including one-to-one support.
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
As announced at Budget 2025, any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners, including if the first death was before 6 April 2026.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 375 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. This is a reduction from up to 520 estates forecast to pay more at Autumn Budget 2024. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
A report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) published in August 2025, prior to the announcement at Budget 2025, concluded that half of the estates paying more would see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and 86 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made of the impact of reducing inheritance tax relief on agricultural and business property on farmers' mental health before taking the decision to do so.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government encourages anyone who is concerned about their own mental health, or the mental health of those around them, to seek support. The Government takes mental health support for farmers very seriously. For example, Defra supports farming welfare organisations through funding the Farmer Welfare Grant. The fund supports projects in England designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families, including preventing cases of poor mental health within farming communities, and to deliver a range of essential services, including one-to-one support.
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
As announced at Budget 2025, any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners, including if the first death was before 6 April 2026.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 375 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. This is a reduction from up to 520 estates forecast to pay more at Autumn Budget 2024. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
A report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) published in August 2025, prior to the announcement at Budget 2025, concluded that half of the estates paying more would see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and 86 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 45822 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Equality, if she will publish the Freedom of Information Act response with reference FOI2025/24724, disclosed on 2 December 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Freedom of Information Act response has been published and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staff-numbers-in-the-hr-equality-diversity-and-inclusion-edi-team-foi202524724.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many such cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The following table summarises the information held on the total number of performance ratings where these were available, and the number of cases where a rating was unsatisfactory or below. Please note that the policy for performance management has changed over this period. End-year performance ratings were removed for most staff in April 23. From this date performance ratings are only collected for Senior Civil Servants in APHA, RPA, VMD and Core Defra, senior leaders in NE, and all staff in EA.
Additionally, NE ratings for senior leaders are collated by NE directly and are not included in the data below from April 23 onwards.
The reportable data Defra holds does not include the reason for a dismissal and therefore a link to performance rating cannot be made. This limitation means that the requested information on number of staff who left because of a poor performance rating, and the proportion this represents, is not available.
Organisation | Financial Year | Number of performance ratings | Number of cases where performance was unsatisfactory or below |
Core Defra | 2020-2021 | 4720 |
|
2021-2022 | 5873 | 15 | |
2022-2023 | 5856 |
| |
2023-2024** | 182 |
| |
2024-2025** | 184 | 10 | |
Agencies (APHA, EA, NE, RPA, VMD) | 2020-2021* | 14975 | 29 |
2021-2022 | 17768 | 54 | |
2022-2023 | 20438 | 44 | |
2023-2024** | 12925 | 40 | |
2024-2025** | 13154 | 29 |
*No ratings available for RPA.
**SCS only for APHA, RPA, VMD, Core Defra, no ratings available for NE.
c. These numbers are suppressed in accordance with the Defra data protection policy.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in her Department.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are four current Direct Ministerial Appointees.
Andrew Morlet is Chair of the Circular Economy Taskforce. He is remunerated at £15,600 per year with a time commitment of one day per week. His appointment is due to end on 3 February 2026.
Paul Ekins is Deputy Chair of the Circular Economy Taskforce. He receives £15,600 annually with a time commitment of one day per week. His appointment is due to end on 3 February 2026.
Philip Stocker is the Chair of the Dartmoor Land Management Group. He is paid £20,114.88 per annum with a commitment of four days per month. His appointment ends 28 April 2026.
Peter Troughton is appointed as a Chequers Trustee. This is an unremunerated position, the time commitment is not specified, and the appointment is due to conclude on 16 August 2027.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the press release by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 4 February, Record investment to protect thousands of UK homes and businesses, how the pledge that homes will be better protected from flooding is being measured.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 – the largest flood programme in history – a record investment that is projected to benefit nearly 900,000 properties.
We are on track to protect more than 66,000 properties by March 2026 as announced on 4 February (see attached): 52,000 properties better protected through building new defences and an additional 14,500 properties better protected by reprioritising £108 million into maintenance. The metric used is properties better protected, which identifies the total number of properties with a reduced probability of flooding or coastal erosion.
We have developed new outcome and output metrics to drive the best FCERM outcomes and explain the benefits of the FCERM investment to different audiences. These metrics will be used for the new programme starting in April 2026. The outcome metrics are economic benefits and risk to properties. The output metrics are properties benefitting from different levels of risk reduction, and the condition of FCERM assets.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In relation to the average number of working days lost to sickness absence, as of year ending 31 October 2025, Defra can confirm the following:
Department/Agency | Average Working Days Lost |
Core Defra | 4.4 |
APHA | 5.7 |
RPA | 7.6 |
VMD | 2.4 |
Cefas | 3.83 |
The Cabinet Office publishes statistics on Civil Service average working days lost in regular reports, which can be found here: Sickness absence in the Civil Service - GOV.UK. The next update will be for the year ending 31 March 2025. These figures are published for core Defra, but not for the other organisations.
The data requested regarding ‘formal performance warnings’ is not captured centrally for Defra so it is not available for reporting here.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by her Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
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 the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
SR25 CDEL Allocation | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | 2028/29 | 2029/30 |
CDEL | £2,695mn | £2,760mn | £2,781mn | £2,776mn | £2740mn |
Defra’s current capital delegated expenditure limits are displayed above, as set out in the Budget 2025 document (Table C.2). Any future amendments to Defra’s capital budgets will be subject to business planning and set out at the relevant Parliamentary Estimate in the usual way. The Spending Review 2025 document contains more detail on areas that Defra’s capital budget will supporting including the National Biosecurity Centre, Floods programme and the Farming and Countryside Programme. Defra is not holding any unallocated provision within its CDEL budgets.