Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated to the farming sector in Suffolk Coastal constituency since 2022 by (a) funding type and (b) recipient.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We do not hold details of Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) funding by constituency. Details of FiPL funding for projects in the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape, which partly overlaps with the Suffolk Coastal constituency, can be found here.
The Rural Payment Agency (RPA) has supported the farming and rural sector through payments under a range of schemes.
Since 1 April 2022, the RPA has released through schemes and grants approximately £20,740,643 in the Suffolk Coastal constituency.
A breakdown of these figures provided below relates to payments released within the specified financial years 2022 to 13 May 2024, irrespective of the scheme year to which individual payments are related, and only covers payments that are provided to farmer businesses by the RPA.
Basic Payment Scheme | Countryside Stewardship Scheme | Environmental Stewardship | Sustainable Farm Incentive | Other Grants | Total |
13,056,470 | 3,533,148 | 2,200,580 | 221,924 | 1,728,521 | 20,740,643 |
To meet data protection obligations, it is not possible to break this down further by recipient.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms in Wellingborough constituency are part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of 20 May 2024, there are 24 farm businesses with a current Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement for the Wellingborough constituency.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) farmers and (b) food producers to use sustainable farming methods in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is investing in sustainable farming methods, in the Wellingborough constituency and across England, through our environmental land management schemes, in particular the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). The SFI aims to support the environment and food production, and it rewards farmers for practices that will help to produce food sustainably and protect the environment at the same time, while also providing them a reliable income for doing so. That is because we know that food production and nature preservation go hand in hand. Those practices will help to look after farms in the short and long term by improving soil health or mitigating the impact of extreme weather.
The aim is for the scheme to be flexible for farmers in both the actions that they can take and the land on which they farm. Rather than prescribing what farmers must do, they should have a menu from which to choose what works best for their farm and to their advantage. That is helping those farmers to make their businesses more sustainable.
What is more, Defra is listening to and acting upon farmer feedback about environmental land management schemes. In 2024, we are increasing payment rates for the SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS) by an average of 10, increasing the number of actions on offer in our environmental land management schemes with up to 50 new actions, making schemes more flexible and easier to access, and continuing to prioritise an ‘advise and prevent’ approach across schemes and regulation, which will make things fairer for all farmers participating in schemes. We will begin to offer SFI and new CS Mid Tier and Higher Tier agreements through rolling application windows this summer with the first agreements starting from the autumn. As a result, applicants will get agreements quicker and earlier than the current annual cycle for CS agreements. These, and other changes, will make it easier for our schemes to slot into farm businesses, providing more money for farmers deliver change and ensure we get the scale and ambition we need to positively impact the environment.
We have already seen strong demand for SFI agreements, with 22,209 applications received and 21,243 agreement offers issued across England.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to end the use of cages in farming.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have delivered an ambitious legislative programme since the publication of the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, which will deliver significant improvements for animals in the UK and abroad. We are firmly committed to maintaining our strong track record on animal welfare and to delivering continued improvements, both in the course of this Parliament and beyond.
Mindful of the challenges facing the sector, we are not consulting on cage reforms. The market is already driving the move away from using cages for laying hen production. Egg producers and consumers should rightly have pride in the quality of British eggs, with about 75% coming from free range, barn and organic production systems. The UK also has a significant outdoor pig sector with 40% of the national sow breeding herd farrowing freely on outdoor units with no option for confinement.
We continue to work with the farming industry to maintain and enhance our high standards of animal welfare. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, part of our domestic agricultural policy, supports farmers to produce healthier, higher welfare animals. The Government’s welfare priorities for the Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.
Asked by: Lord Shipley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of oxo-degradable film, which breaks down into microplastics in the soil, in farming, given that the EU only permits biodegradable film, which breaks down into carbon dioxide and water.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Healthy soil underpins a range of ecosystem services including food production, biodiversity, carbon storage and flood risk mitigation. Addressing contaminants in soil, including microplastic pollution, is vital for protecting and improving soil health. We are working to build an understanding of the impact of microplastics to soil and to develop mitigation capabilities.
The plastic problem is one of management not eradication, to reduce, reuse, and recycle the material we have and not let it escape into, and damage, our environment. We have focused our efforts in tackling the most commonly used and littered plastic items, but we are aware of concerns with the use of agri-plastics too, particularly with single-use types such as mulch films.
We are concerned about the potential for oxo-degradable plastic to release microplastics. In 2021, we published our response to a call for evidence which also covered oxo-degradable plastics. Most respondents objected to their use and supported introducing a ban. A review by the Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee (HSAC) showed there is no environmental benefit to oxo-degradable plastic, and they are likely to be harmful when released into the environment. This year, Defra has commissioned a second HSAC review and are minded to introduce a ban on this material pending evidence from the review.
The UK Government continues to take a cautious approach to biodegradable plastics. The UK standard for biodegradable plastics (EN13432) allows for contaminants in the final output: “no more than 10% contaminants to pass through a 2mm sieve”. This means that microplastics less than 2mm could be produced by a biodegradable plastic mulch film that meets the standard and be spread to land. Additionally, while we are not aware of any biodegradable plastic that can reach levels of 100% biodegradation, evidence used to inform the European Union’s legislation around biodegradable plastics in agricultural applications may not apply to the UK. The UK has differing conditions, such as temperatures and humidity levels, which affect biodegradability.
We will continue to review the evidence around both types of plastic to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of unnecessary and harmful single-use plastics.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
DLUHC is a minor tenant in the majority of its offices, and as such does not directly procure food and drink for the canteens and restaurants in our offices. However, all food provided in our catering outlets is produced to UK standards and is local and in season, where possible. Food is sourced from farming systems that minimise harm to the environment, such as produce certified by LEAF, the Soil Association or Marine Stewardship Council. Fairly traded and ethically sourced products are also offered.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support the transition to (a) humane and (b) sustainable livestock farming.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to investing in targeted schemes that support sustainable farming whilst improving the viability of farming businesses, delivering environmental outcomes and supporting sustainable food production.
Through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway we are providing support directly to farmers in England to deliver gradual, continual improvement against a series of livestock health and welfare priorities, including tackling key endemic diseases alongside a range of welfare issues whilst ensuring that farmers can produce good quality food for the nation.
The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill is now awaiting Royal Assent; this will ban the export of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain, stopping unnecessary stress, exhaustion and injury.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the draft Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2024 on the incomes of farmers.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of our transition away from Direct Payments, the draft Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2024 will apply reductions to delinked payments in 2024. However, this money is not being lost to the sector. The overall farming budget in England is being maintained at an average of £2.4 billion per year across this Parliament. The money released from the reductions is being reinvested in our other schemes for farmers and land managers. This means farmers can access funding which will help reduce costs and improve productivity and resilience, as well as benefitting the environment.
Analysis of the impacts of removing Direct Payments was included in the Government’s 2019 farming evidence compendium and 2021 and 2022 Agriculture in the UK Evidence Packs.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to strengthen the resilience of the UK's food supply chain, and (2) to enhance food security, in the face of external disruptions and challenges.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain and is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.
Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years.
UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.
Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was produced in 2021 and the next will be published by December 2024. This report serves as an evidence base for policy work.
Starting this year, the government is also strengthening our food security monitoring by introducing the annual Food Security Index in addition to the three-yearly UKFSR.
Published to coincide with the second UK Farm to Fork Summit on 14 May 2024, the 2024 Food Security Index sets out how Government will track UK-wide food security on an annual basis, monitoring domestic food production, land use, input costs, and farmer productivity.
The Index looks at shorter-term trends that change year on year, complementing the UKFSR’s comprehensive assessment and attention to longer-term trends. The 2024 Index shows that the UK farming sector is at its most productive since records began.
A further package of measures to support farmers and grow the UK’s farming and food sector was announced by the government at the Farm to Fork Summit on 14th May 2024.
This includes a new Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector (see attached), setting out how industry and government can work together to increase domestic production and drive investment into this valuable sector. The plan involves ensuring the sector has access to affordable and sustainable energy and water, cutting planning red tape to make it easier and quicker to build glasshouses, and looking to double to £80 million the amount of funding given to horticulture businesses when compared to the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme which will be replaced from 2026 onwards.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to monitor the value for money of Government-funded biodiversity projects over the next five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has a number of schemes which provide funding to support biodiversity projects. This includes the Landscape Recovery Scheme, The Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme, and Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme.
Each individual scheme has its own monitoring and evaluation framework to evaluate the impact of the projects, and this will include evaluation of the value for money delivered. For example, the Species Recovery Programme is currently commissioning an evaluation for the current Spending Review period which will include evaluating whether the Programme is providing value for money.
Defra is also currently developing an overarching monitoring and evaluation framework to strengthen its understanding of progress towards meeting its statutory biodiversity targets, including its target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. This work will include an overall evaluation of the value for money delivered by the suite of government interventions for biodiversity.