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 has taken with (a) the United Nations and (b) the Food and Agriculture Organisation to help tackle gaps in fisheries data collection in the South Atlantic.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra continues to seek progress on addressing fisheries data collection in the South Atlantic. This includes raising the matter in UN and FAO fora, such as consultations on the UN General Assembly Resolution on Sustainable Fisheries, and the FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management.  At the first FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management in January 2024, text was agreed urging the FAO to support members to enhance cooperation, strengthen data collection and improve regional fisheries management to tackle data gaps in high seas fisheries.

Achieving sustainably managed fisheries is our focus when highlighting these issues in international fora. Defra will continue to work with all relevant parties with the aim of assessing and improving the sustainability of relevant stocks. Regarding the status of relevant fish stocks, I refer the Hon. Member to the reply previously given on 01 April to PQ 41239.

I also refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills, Wendy Morton, on 25 March, PQ 35284.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the biological sustainability level of fish stocks in the South Atlantic.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra continues to seek progress on addressing fisheries data collection in the South Atlantic. This includes raising the matter in UN and FAO fora, such as consultations on the UN General Assembly Resolution on Sustainable Fisheries, and the FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management.  At the first FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management in January 2024, text was agreed urging the FAO to support members to enhance cooperation, strengthen data collection and improve regional fisheries management to tackle data gaps in high seas fisheries.

Achieving sustainably managed fisheries is our focus when highlighting these issues in international fora. Defra will continue to work with all relevant parties with the aim of assessing and improving the sustainability of relevant stocks. Regarding the status of relevant fish stocks, I refer the Hon. Member to the reply previously given on 01 April to PQ 41239.

I also refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills, Wendy Morton, on 25 March, PQ 35284.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that sugar beet growers receive an adequate price for their product.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers who are vital to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from cereal production.

We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market. There is a well-established process in place to agree the sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties. An Inter Professional Agreement is agreed each year between both parties and sets out the process for negotiating and agreeing price, terms and conditions for the upcoming crop year, as well as any dispute resolution process.

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 his Department's guidance entitled Simpler recycling: workplace recycling in England, published on 29 November 2024, whether offices are now required to rinse or wash empty food containers and bottles to place in recyclable waste.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Yes, as of 31 March 2025 all workplaces with ten or more full-time equivalent employees, including offices, must separate out recycling (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card) and food waste for recycling. Recyclables should be rinsed to remove any food or other contaminants to ensure the materials can be recycled.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of clay pigeon shooting on (a) business growth and (b) job creation in rural communities.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are important to our economy, contributing over £315 billion a year to England alone.

Defra has not made a formal assessment on contribution of clay pigeon shooting to the rural economy; however, we know the rural economy is diverse with 86% of rural businesses unrelated to agriculture, forestry or fishing.

The government recognises the economic benefits that shooting sports such as clay pigeon shooting can bring to rural communities and that it can be an important part of a local economy which provides direct and indirect employment opportunities.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the revised offer for the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We will provide further details about the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive in summer 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Government's net zero policies on food supply from British producers.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to delivering net zero by 2050 while ensuring that the transition to more climate friendly practices goes hand in hand with food security and farm profitability.

Alongside the recently announced Food Strategy, we will deliver a credible plan to decarbonise food and farming. As part of this, we will work with farmers to assess opportunities to drive economic growth and support British farming whilst protecting the environment. This includes accelerating the uptake of innovative technologies to increase productivity and efficiency in the agriculture sector that will support food production as well as reduce emissions.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a phased introduction of extended producer responsibility fees.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have taken a phased approach to implementing Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR). Reporting obligations for this scheme were introduced in 2024, and fee obligations for large producers introduced on 1 April 2025. From April 2026 PackUK will modulate fees to incentivise use of easily recyclable packaging material.

The pEPR policy has been under development since 2019, with extensive engagement and consultation providing businesses with a clear indication of the scheme’s design and implementation. This policy underwent consultations in 2019, 2021, and a final consultation on reforms to the Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) system in 2022. Additionally, in 2023, the four nations of the UK consulted on the operability of the draft Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, and further amendments were made to address stakeholder concerns prior to final regulations being introduced.

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 ensure that the opinions of people on (a) low and (b) middle incomes are adequately heard in the development of the food strategy.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

A key priority for the food strategy is to improve access to healthy food for everyone, including children and those on low and middle incomes, in order to give all children the best start in life and help adults live longer healthier lives.

We are forming a coalition with the food sector, academics and charities and key thinkers to pool our collective ideas, influence and effort, and ensure that a range of voices are heard as we develop the strategy.

We are developing a programme of stakeholder engagement that will include civil society and consumer group representatives. The Food Strategy Advisory Board, announced on 21 March, includes representatives from civil society organisations such as Anna Taylor from the Food Foundation and Ravi Gurumurthy of NESTA. This collaboration will ensure a systems-wide approach and a comprehensive food strategy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to support participation in the Great British Spring Clean initiative.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I was proud to speak at the launch event of the Great British Spring Clean in parliament in February. It is encouraging to see that there are a growing number of public-spirited individuals and community groups tackling litter all over the country. I also joined a litter pick with Defra officials and Keep Britain Tidy on 1 April where we cleaned part of the Regent’s Canal in partnership with the Canal and River trust.

We will continue to use our influence to encourage as many people and business as possible to take part in such events.

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 reduce compliance costs for agricultural subsidies.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

“Compliance costs” are the costs of complying with Government regulation. Our Environmental Land Management Schemes provide farmers and land managers with the support they need to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change. Participation in these schemes is discretionary, and so they do not of themselves carry compliance costs.

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 undertake an impact assessment on the XL Bully ban.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is continuing to engage closely with the Police, local authorities, and rescue and rehoming organisations to monitor the impacts of the XL Bully dog ban. These measures are vital to protect the public and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with the conditions.

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 have discussions with representatives of the horticultural industry on an alternative to the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security remains steadfast. Our proposed approach to future funding for horticulture will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. This includes developing a 25-year Farming Roadmap, which will involve government and the industry working together to identify solutions to challenges to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come.

We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector, and Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers from across the sector, (including a number of Producer Organisation members), to discuss a wide range of issues to help us understand how best to support sector.

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 introduce a mandatory regulated size requirement for gerbil and hamster cages.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the LAIA Regulations) set strict animal welfare standards that commercial sellers of pets, such as gerbils and hamsters, must adhere to.

The accompanying statutory guidance sets out specific minimum enclosure size standards for animals such as gerbils and hamsters in pet shops. Under these regulations, sellers must also ensure that any equipment being sold with an animal, including enclosures, are suitable for its’ needs.

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 also requires owners to meet the welfare needs of their pets, including the need for a suitable environment. Anyone failing to ensure that their animal’s welfare needs are met may face an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to six months, or both.

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 biodiversity net gain on (a) housebuilding costs and (b) levels of development.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Mandatory biodiversity net gain establishes a consistent set of requirements which give developers clarity on how they can meet their net gain obligations and deliver developments which leave biodiversity in a better state.

The biodiversity net gain regulatory impact assessment determined that the additional costs of the policy would have a low impact on development viability.

As is the case with any new policy, we are collecting information and evidence about the implementation of mandatory biodiversity net gain. Government is committed to working closely with the housebuilding sector to make biodiversity net gain work effectively and implement solutions to unlock new homes without weakening environmental protections.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme meets the needs of industry.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Government has assessed the potential merits of ensuring the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme meets industry needs through a range of measures. The scheme was developed with input from an industry-led advisory steering group which continues to guide its development and implementation. The four UK Governments have committed to the appointment of a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO). PackUK engaged with packaging material specialists to inform fee development, while exemption thresholds were introduced to protect smaller businesses from disproportionate impacts.

To ensure cost efficiency, PackUK is responsible for delivering value for money for producers and managing costs effectively. Additionally, the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) was developed collaboratively with stakeholders from across the value chain to support fair and transparent fee modulation. Clear communication channels have also been established to enable businesses to raise concerns and provide feedback. The ongoing collaboration between industry and PackUK demonstrates the continued effort to engage with and meet the needs of businesses, ensuring that the EPR scheme remains both effective and commercially viable.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how he plans to (a) quantify and (b) measure the impact of new developments on biodiversity.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Grants of planning permission for new development, unless exempt, are now subject to biodiversity net gain, requiring developers to achieve a 10% increase in biodiversity compared to the value of the site before the development proposal. Developers must use the statutory biodiversity metric to measure and quantify how they will achieve the 10% net gain.

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 press notice entitled Government announces reforms to boost profits for farmers with a cast iron commitment to food production, published on 9 January 2025, whether his Department plans to monitor food currently bought by (a) all public sector bodies and (b) Government departments.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

At the Oxford Farming Conference in January, I announced that, for the first time ever, the government will review food currently bought in Government Departments and the wider public sector, including where it is bought from. This is in line with the National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February alongside the Procurement Act coming into effect, which sets out the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the efficacy of the grazing densities (Livestock Grazing Unit Per Hectare) on the enhancement of Moorland biodiversity was discussed with Natural England's expert Science Advisory Committees before publication.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The actions were developed in liaison with specialists from Arms Lengths Bodies (Natural England, Forestry Commission, Environment Agency, Historic England and the Rural Payments Agency) and were assured by Arm’s Lengths Bodies to ensure they are effective in contributing to environmental targets and offer value for money.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data analysis took place before Environmental Land Management scheme Low Grazing densities were published, to measure the difference or similarity in biodiversity enhancement achieved when an identical grazing density (grazing livestock unit per hectare) is applied to Moorland areas in different geographical and climatic regions of England.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environmental Land Management scheme actions were designed and appraised using a variety of qualitative and quantitative data. Geomorphology, climate and historic management practices all combine to make each moorland unique. The offer therefore includes a range of actions that can be selected based on the needs of each moorland. This includes an annual moorland assessment to assess the habitats on each moorland and their condition to inform the choice of grazing actions.

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 support sugar beet farmers on the negotiations with British Sugar.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers who are vital to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from cereal production.

We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market. There is a well-established process in place to agree the sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties. An Inter Professional Agreement is agreed each year between both parties and sets out the process for negotiating and agreeing price, terms and conditions for the upcoming crop year, as well as any dispute resolution process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with sugar beet farmers on negotiations with British Sugar.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers who are vital to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from cereal production.

We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market. There is a well-established process in place to agree the sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties. An Inter Professional Agreement is agreed each year between both parties and sets out the process for negotiating and agreeing price, terms and conditions for the upcoming crop year, as well as any dispute resolution process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consultation took place before setting the grazing densities (Livestock Grazing Unit Per Hectare) for all tiers of the Moorland Low Grazing Actions in Environmental Land Management schemes.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The actions were developed in consultation with stakeholder organisations from the agricultural and environmental sectors and through workshops with groups of farmers as well as with Arm’s Length Bodies (Natural England, Forestry Commission, Environment Agency, Historic England and the Rural Payments Agency).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Rural Payment Agency’s ability to handle the change announced to SFIs this week.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As the principal sponsor of the RPA, Defra works closely with RPA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on RPA implementation of policy changes. The RPA’s ability to implement policy changes is well understood and comprehensive planning and discussion is undertaken between the RPA and Farming and Countryside Programme to ensure that changes are implemented smoothly, including external communications and customer handling. There is full confidence and understanding of the RPAs ability to handle the recent announcement on the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

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 he has made of the adequacy of his Department's (a) resources and (b) staff to implement his policies on (i) environment protections and (ii) food security.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Phase 1 of the Spending Review concluded in October last year and set Defra's budget for 2025-26. Phase 2 of the Spending Review is underway and will set our departmental budgets until 2028-29 for RDEL and 2029-30 for CDEL.

All departments are being asked to find savings and efficiencies in their budgets in an effort to ensure all public money is focused on the Government’s priorities. For 2025-26 the department has carried out an intensive exercise to ensure resources and staff have been allocated to priorities, including environmental protection and food security.

Once the department has received its spending review settlement, we will finalise allocations for environmental protection and food security from 2026-27 until 2029-30.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has in place to ensure that urgent biosecurity information reaches farmers quickly.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Biosecurity is a priority for this government. Urgent biosecurity information, such as alerts about animal and plant health disease incidents, any geographic restrictions in place as a result, and signposting to information on what farmers should do to maintain good biosecurity measures – are shared frequently across the sector.

During the current bluetongue virus outbreak, text messages and email alerts are regularly sent to those registered via livestock keeper databases so that they are aware of their responsibilities. We have made bird registration mandatory for those with poultry or other captive birds, so that we can inform them of the biosecurity risks, for example from Avian Influenza.

We maintain continued communications through our industry partners, on gov.uk, social media and, where possible, through the national and trade press, to increase awareness and action to help protect the UK from biosecurity risks.

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 have discussions with international counterparts on changes to the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement) to support (a) zoo animal transfers and (b) commercial farmers; and if he will have discussions with representatives from Shaldon Zoo to discuss the application of the SPS Agreement to the Zoo's work.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures sets the overarching international rules on food safety, animal and plant health. It does not contain specifics on the movement of live animals.

For zoo animal transfers and commercial farm animal movements, Defra works with the officials in the importing country to ensure requirements are practical and achievable. Queries on animal movements can be sent to can be sent to imports@apha.gov.uk or exports@apha.gov.uk, as relevant.

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 take steps to reconvene the Responsible Dog Ownership Working Group.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is continuing to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. We are currently considering the best way to take forward the Responsible Dog Ownership Taskforce.

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 reconvene the Responsible Dog Ownership Working Group.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is continuing to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. We are currently considering the best way to take forward the Responsible Dog Ownership Taskforce.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the Sustainable Farming Initiative was spent on family-owned farms in financial year 2024-2025.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We do not hold information on ownership arrangements.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the median age is of computers issued to officials in their Department.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The median age of devices, since deployment, issued by Defra’s IT team to officials working in Defra, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Climate Change Committee, Environment Agency, Marine Management Organisation, Natural England and Rural Payments Agency is 3.2 years.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish public guidance on the process for withdrawing certificates of exemption for dogs wrongly registered as XL Bullies.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are currently working to develop a withdrawal scheme so that owners who no longer believe that their dog is an XL Bully can apply to have their certificate of exemption for their dog withdrawn. Information about this process will be available soon.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department validates estimates of compliance costs provided by regulated industries.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

“Compliance costs” are the costs of complying with government regulation. These will typically include familiarisation costs, costs relating to monitoring or data reporting, and costs related to inspections where relevant. When analysing impacts on businesses of any new or amended policy, Defra complies with the Better Regulation Framework alongside HMT’s Green Book and Magenta Book principles.

Where required, Defra will conduct post implementation reviews (PIRs) of legislation.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, following their blog post "Update on the farming budget", published on 12 March, what plans they have to meet the National Farmers' Union, the Country Land and Business Association and the Tenant Farmers Association to discuss the reopening of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Secretary of State attended the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference in February. Minister Zeichner has had 1:1 bilateral meetings on the Sustainable Farming Incentive specifically with the NFU, National Beef Association, British Poultry Council, Soil Association, Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, National Pig Association, National Sheep Association, British Egg Industry Council, National Federation of Young Farmers, British Free Range Egg Producers Association, LAA, Tenant Farmers Association and Country, Land and Business Association.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to continue to provide funding for biosecurity checks onsite at the Port of Dover.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra remains committed to agreeing an appropriate funding model with Dover PHA to help tackle illegal imports. Officials are working with Dover Port Health Authority to agree funding for 2025/26.

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 help tackle the impact of Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in the marine environment.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK Government is working closely with domestic regulators and key stakeholders to improve wider understanding and approach to managing the risks from PFAS. This includes working with the Environment Agency (EA) to assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources, and potential risks to inform future policy and regulatory approaches. My department has asked the Health and Safety Executive to consider a UK REACH Restriction on PFAS in firefighting foams, and a proposal is due to be published soon. Internationally, PFAS were added to the OSPAR List of Chemicals for Priority Action in 2023. This list identifies substances considered to be a threat to the marine environment and the actions that OSPAR Contracting Parties (including the UK) should take to minimise those threats.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he ha made of the potential merits of using swift bricks when building new homes.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Natural England has identified that the lack of nest sites is a pressure on certain bird species, including the swift. Therefore, provision of swift bricks may aid recovery alongside other actions, such as to increase food resources.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in December 2024, included several changes designed to enhance and protect the environment. For example, it expects developments to provide net gains for biodiversity, including through incorporating features such as swift bricks which support priority or threatened species. Defra policy officials are also working with MHCLG colleagues to consider what action may be appropriate to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.

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 further restrict the use of Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances where there are clear alternatives.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Following the publication of a Regulatory Management Options Analysis (RMOA) on PFAS in April 2023, my department asked the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate whether to restrict PFAS in firefighting foams under the UK REACH (Restriction, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals) regime. HSE’s restriction dossier is due to be published for consultation in Spring 2025. Alongside this, my department is also considering further measures on PFAS.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to strengthen legislation on tackling hare coursing.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England and Wales only.

This government recognises the importance of tackling rural crimes such as Hare Coursing.

The previous Government made changes to address illegal hare coursing through a package of measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This broadened the circumstances in which police can investigate and bring charges for hare coursing related activity. There are no plans to further change the legislation of Hare Coursing.

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 9 September 2024 to Question 3449 on Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances, when he plans to set out his plans for addressing Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances; and whether he plans to consider this as part of the review of the Environmental Improvement Plan.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The revised Environmental Improvement Plan, which will be introduced in 2025, will set out the Government’s approach to managing PFAS.

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 have discussions with (a) insurance companies and (b) the Association of British Insurers on the sharing of data on surface water flood claims with the Environment Agency.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Floods Resilience Taskforce was formed by this Government to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness and improve policy delivery and implementation. Bringing together key stakeholders in order to ensure that we are comprehensive and inclusive in our approach.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) represent the insurance industry at this forum; my officials also routinely engage with the ABI at working level to enhance everyone’s understanding of prevailing issues. As part of these conversations, we routinely seek various industry data through the ABI to inform policy development.

The Taskforce will also play a key role in speeding up and coordinating national and local flood preparation ahead of the winter flood season. To drive work forward, Action Groups have been created to help focus on specific areas, one group will be leading on insurance, which the ABI is party too. The Action Groups will feed into the main group.

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 ensure that air pollution levels near (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) GP surgeries do not exceed the World Health Organisation's recommended limits.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to continue reducing everyone’s exposure to air pollution. We are developing a series of further interventions to reduce emissions from key sources. We have set a Population Exposure Reduction Target for PM2.5, which will continue to reduce peoples’ average exposure across the country. We will consider WHO guidelines as part of an evidence led process when considering future targets and plan to publish a revised Environmental Improvement Plan later this year, which will set out the action we intend to take on air quality.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding he has allocated to support National Parks in England in 2025-26.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In 25/26 the Government is providing £44.8 million resource funding to the 10 National Park Authorities, alongside £15 million capital investment.

Projects in National Parks will also receive funding through extensions to our Farming in Protected Landscapes and Access to All programmes. We have extended Farming in Protected Landscapes until March 2026, providing £30 million across England’s 10 National Parks and 34 National Landscapes. Access For All has also been extended to March 2026, with an additional £6.8 million for National Parks and National Landscapes to deliver improved access to nature for all users.

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 support local government to help tackle flytipping and littering.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Local councils have wide ranging enforcement powers to help them tackle littering and fly-tipping. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 to fly-tippers and £500 to those who litter, prosecution action and, in the case of fly-tipping, vehicle seizure. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are currently seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to issue statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

Defra also chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of bird flu.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 December 2024 to question UIN 19297.

An updated outbreak assessment for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Great Britain and Europe was published by the Animal and Plant Health Agency on 18 March 2025, and an updated veterinary risk assessment for notifiable avian influenza incursion into poultry in Northern Ireland was published by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in December 2024.

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 21 February 2025 to Question 26635 on Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal, whether (a) his Department and (b) WRAP has undertaken research on restricting residual waste volumes by capping the quantity of bin bags provided to local households for collection.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

No, Defra has not undertaken research on this. WRAP, supported by Defra, and with input from local authorities, has developed good practice guidance on household and commercial waste collections designed to help local authorities deliver quality waste and recycling services to citizens in England. This will include guidance on residual waste collection and is intended to be published shortly.

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 4 March 2025 to Question 32568 on Litter: Fines, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse being non-statutory on levels of compliance with that guidance.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, as it relates to cleaning standards, is statutory guidance. The code was amended in 2019 to include advisory guidance on litter enforcement. We do not intend to make an assessment of levels of compliance with the enforcement guidance. The Government is however currently examining the benefits of making it statutory.

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 he has made of the potential merits of introducing a right to roam for waterways.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors including blue spaces for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors. We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, including onto unregulated inland waterways, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders to reduce barriers preventing people from accessing green and blue spaces.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times his Department has met with the Joint Air Quality Unit and the Department for Transport to discuss the implementation of the NO2 programme in the last eight months.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) is a joint Defra/DfT division. Members of JAQU attend meetings with officials across both Departments regularly.

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 4 March 2025 to Question 32571 on WRAP: Finance, how much funding to WRAP has been budgeted for the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

A WRAP grant provision of £5,952,500 for 2025-26 is planned, this is provisional subject to agreement of the 2025-26 programme proposal from WRAP.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on increasing provision of sanitary bins for men suffering from incontinence.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I have not discussed increasing provision of sanitary bins for men suffering from incontinence with Cabinet colleagues. In 2024, officials met with campaigners and discussed the provision of sanitary bins in public and workplace toilets with other relevant departments.

The Government oversees policy and legislation with respect to the safe management of waste and litter as well as the protection of drains and sewers in England. This however does not extend to compelling local authorities regarding types of waste receptacles or their placement. These decisions are for local authorities to make.

The Building Regulations for England were updated in 2024 with the addition of a new ‘Part T’ which sets out toilet requirements in new non-domestic buildings in England.  Part T is supported by statutory guidance which includes space for disposal bins in the design layouts. However, the Building Regulations are limited to the provision and design of toilet facilities and do not extend to the management and use of disposal bins.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reviewing the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 regarding provision of disposal facilities in workplace toilets. This work is included within the Government’s wider plans under Make Work Pay, and HSE will hold appropriate consultation in due course.

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 help ensure that farmers are not undercut by imports from countries with lower animal welfare standards.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. This Government will uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals. We will promote robust standards nationally and internationally and will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage

All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market. This includes ensuring imported meat products have been slaughtered to animal welfare standards equivalent to our domestic standards

The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to support economic growth and promote the highest standards of food production.

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 4 March 2025 to Question 32568 on Litter: Fines, if he will take steps to issue guidance to local authorities on establishing a mechanism to (a) appeal and (b) review fixed penalty notices.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There is no formal right of appeal against a fixed penalty notice. If an alleged offender does not accept their liability for the offence, there is no requirement on them to pay the fixed penalty. They may have to defend their case in court. We consider it good practice for councils to operate an informal dispute process to minimise the number of cases that reach court.

Advisory enforcement guidance attached to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse provides enforcing authorities with advice on how to operate a process for informally disputing liability. The Government is currently considering the benefits of placing this guidance on a statutory footing.

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 11 February 2025 to Question 26631 on WRAP, if he will publish the contract or memorandum of understanding between his Department and WRAP that provides the basis for his Department funding WRAP.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Details of the WRAP grant agreement are published on the Grants register held on GOV.UK. The WRAP grant agreement details the purpose and objectives of the grant, standard terms and conditions, performance monitoring and financial assurance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has funded any publications produced by WRAP in each of the last three years.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Yes, Defra has funded a number of publications produced by WRAP in each of the last three years including publications on food waste reduction, recycling and textiles.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to appoint an expert in biodiversity and nature conservation to the Food Strategy Advisory Board to support the priority of reducing the impact of farming and food production on nature, biodiversity and climate.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board was published on GOV.UK on 21 March 2025. A range of representatives from the food sector and NGOs were invited to sit on the Food Strategy Advisory Board. We kept it deliberately small, whilst reflecting the scope of the food supply chain.

While the membership of the FSAB has been announced, we are developing a plan for much wider stakeholder engagement over the coming months. That needs to include representatives from the length and breadth of food chain sectors as well as environmental NGOs, civil society organisations, academics and citizen engagement. We’ll be able to say more on this soon.

The food strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives and support the Farming Roadmap to reduce the impact of farming on nature and biodiversity.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce a national monitoring system for wild boars and feral pigs.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra encourages all pig keepers and members of the public to be vigilant and help protect our pig sector and wildlife from the threat of African swine fever and other notifiable diseases. Found dead feral wild boar and feral pigs in England should be reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

Sightings of live feral wild boar and feral pigs can be made through the Mammal Societies Mammal Tracker app or directly through the National Biodiversity Network, the work of which is supported Natural England, Environment Agency and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Defra have no plans at this time to introduce alternative monitoring systems for live feral wild boar and feral pigs. However, Defra work closely with Forestry England to actively monitor and control the population of feral wild boar in the Forest of Dean and work closely with stakeholder organisations share intelligence and monitor the population of feral wild boar and feral pigs nationally.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether inshore fishers are able to use their full fishing quota without being subject to a cap based on size of vessel or other factors; how this situation has changed since the UK left the European Union; and when the quota was last revised.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The 350kg licence cap on some English 10 metre and under vessels was removed in December 2024 enabling them to fully utilise their fishing opportunities. The capping of UK fishing licences is a domestic decision and has not been affected by the UK leaving the EU. The measures used to manage the UK fleet, including quota allocation, are reviewed regularly with the most recent change being the decision to remove the cap in December 2024.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of homes at risk of coastal flooding, broken down by (1) those built, (2) those under construction, and (3) those with planning permission awaiting construction.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency’s (EA) new national assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk in England report estimates that 2.4 million properties are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. The EA also estimates that 4.6 million properties are in areas at risk of surface water flooding.

The number of properties at risk relate to properties that are already built, not properties that are under construction or those awaiting construction. The EA does, however, have a list of planning applications where the EA made an initial objection based on flood risk. This can be found at the gov.uk page ‘Environment Agency objections to planning applications based on flood risk and water quality’.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including areas at risk of coastal flooding.

Where development is necessary, and where there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower risk of flooding, local planning authorities and developers should ensure development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, safe for its users for the development’s lifetime, will not increase flood risk overall and will provide wider sustainability benefits.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 25 March (HL5539), how many people will be employed at ports in Great Britain to facilitate non-commercial pet movements under the Northern Ireland pet travel scheme, and what estimate they have made of the cost.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

UK authorities will be available to support and assist those travelling under the Northern Ireland Pet Travel Scheme. The scheme will enable travel from Great Britain to Northern Ireland with a simple lifelong pet travel document. We expect that the vast majority of people will comply, and the Government will be providing comprehensive support to those travelling with their pets to ensure they can do so. In line with the commitments we have made under the Windsor Framework, the UK authorities will be undertaking checks to ensure that GB pet owners hold a valid pet travel document and that their pet is microchipped to mitigate against abuse of the scheme and disease risks.

In order not to undermine that approach, as is the case across the UK, we do not disclose the specific number of staff undertaking, or the nature of, interventions made by UK authorities. Facilitating these activities, including staffing, equipment and infrastructure, will cost an estimated £3.4 million over financial years 25/26 to 26/27 inclusive.

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 integrate his planned updates to the (a) Environmental Improvement Plan and (b) Carbon Budget Delivery Plan.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Nature and climate action must be taken together and will underpin the delivery of this Government’s missions, from clean energy to economic growth.

Our revised Environmental Improvement Plan will set out the vital role of nature in mitigating and adapting to climate change, such as through tree planting and management and peatland restoration, recognising that tackling climate change in turn supports nature’s recovery.

The Government will publish an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors in due course. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 on the pathway to net zero.

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 4 March 2025 to Question 32569 on Domestic Waste: Recycling and Waste Disposal, whether WRAP provided guidance on the Simpler Recycling reforms to residual waste collection.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

WRAP, supported by Defra, and with input from local authorities, has developed good practice guidance on household and commercial waste collections designed to help local authorities deliver quality waste and recycling services to citizens in England. This will include guidance on residual waste collection and is intended to be published shortly.

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 1 April to 2025 to Question 41338 on Nature Restoration Fund, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a long term plan to help protect irreplaceable (a) peatlands and (b) ancient woodlands.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to protecting our irreplaceable peatlands. That's why we are investing £400 million to protect and restore nature, including our peatlands and trees including ancient woodlands. We have large ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatlands across the country, and we are working to ensure that we have the most effective mechanisms in place to go further than we have before.

Defra recently conducted and published a review into how ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees are protected by the National Planning Policy Framework. This revealed that the policy is not being consistently implemented and we are looking at how this can be improved. Defra is also currently revising the Environmental Improvement Plan, which includes actions to protect ancient woodlands.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for banning animal snares.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of infrastructure developments on agricultural land in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government does not comment on individual projects which have yet to be consented via the independent planning process.

The Government has launched a consultation on land use in England which will inform the publication of the Land Use Framework this year. The framework will set out how the Government will protect land with the greatest long-term potential for food production, while delivering on the need for new infrastructure which will bring forward green growth, good jobs and investment across the country.

The Land Use Framework and the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan are being designed alongside each other to work cohesively together and with other sectoral plans.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of including school milk cartons in the Extended Producer Responsibility obligations on (a) Government and (b) school spending.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I am responding to these PQs as the Minister who is responsible for Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR). In autumn last year my department published an assessment of the impacts of implementing pEPR, including on inflation, when the regulations were laid in parliament, however, this impact assessment does not include an assessment of the impact on specific sectors/products. The governments of the four nations of the United Kingdom will monitor the effectiveness and impact of the regulations and will amend them when and where appropriate.

I will politely decline the meeting as I am aware of the issues around the definition of household packaging and its impact across a number of sectors. However my officials, who have been working with stakeholders on assessing the possibility of amending the household packaging definition, would be happy to meet representative of the milk supply chain.

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 meet with representatives of the school milk supply chain to discuss the classification of school milk as a household waste.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I am responding to these PQs as the Minister who is responsible for Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR). In autumn last year my department published an assessment of the impacts of implementing pEPR, including on inflation, when the regulations were laid in parliament, however, this impact assessment does not include an assessment of the impact on specific sectors/products. The governments of the four nations of the United Kingdom will monitor the effectiveness and impact of the regulations and will amend them when and where appropriate.

I will politely decline the meeting as I am aware of the issues around the definition of household packaging and its impact across a number of sectors. However my officials, who have been working with stakeholders on assessing the possibility of amending the household packaging definition, would be happy to meet representative of the milk supply chain.

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 reduce pollution from plastic cigarette butts.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Cigarette butts are the most littered item according to a survey commissioned by Defra. Littered filters are not just an eyesore, they can also release toxins into the environment. The best way to reduce cigarette litter is to reduce smoking rates and we continue to support all measures that do so. We will however continue to monitor the available evidence on the prevalence of littered cigarette filters.

Dropping litter, including cigarette butts, is a crime and councils can issue fixed penalty notices of up to £500. An effective and proportionate local enforcement strategy can deter people from littering.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish a breakdown of how extended producer responsibility fees will be allocated, in the context of transparency in funding for local authority waste management services.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

PackUK will publish annual reports and financial statements, which will provide transparency on the allocation of funds received through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees. These reports will clarify how the collected fees are distributed and used to support the scheme’s objectives.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of the licensing of grouse shooting in England.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises well-managed grouse shooting can be an important part of a local rural economy, providing direct and indirect employment. We also appreciate that many people hold strong views on the issue of grouse shooting and there is evidence to suggest a link between it and crimes against birds of prey as well as potential risks to biosecurity. Work will continue to ensure a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between grouse shooting, biosecurity and conservation.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the National Farmers Union on 25 February, when the requirements to favour high-welfare products in government catering contracts will come into effect, and what sectors other than hospitals and schools are being targeted.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As announced at the National Farmers Union Conference, the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), which sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for public procurement, came into effect alongside the Procurement Act on 24 February. The NPPS underscores the Government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, including catering contracts. Defra officials are currently exploring the options for any future changes to public sector food and catering policy.

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 increase the number of microchipped horses.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

It is a legal requirement in the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 that all equines resident in England (except certain populations of wild or semi-wild equines on designated areas) are microchipped. The law applies retrospectively, to include older equines born before microchipping legislation was introduced and applies to equines imported to GB for more than 90 days. Enforcement of these requirements is the responsibility of Local Authorities.

The Government recognises the importance of improving equine identification. Defra is engaging with industry to consider improvements to this.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department's objectives on support for sustainable farming have changed, in the context of the closure of the SFI scheme.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have closed Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for new applications because the current SFI budget has been successfully allocated, with large-scale uptake of the scheme and 37,000 live SFI agreements delivering towards our environmental targets. This will allow us to align SFI with our work on the Land Use Framework and the 25-year farming roadmap to protect the most productive land and boost food security, whilst delivering for nature.

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 provide funding to help support low carbon farming.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to our net zero ambitions and boosting nature’s recovery, which are the foundations of a productive and profitable farming sector.

Our Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) pay farmers to take up land management practices that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26, which includes the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for ELMs to boost Britain’s food security and accelerate the transition to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.

The Government has spent £51.8 million through the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), with a further £98 million committed to ongoing projects in support of Agri-technology research and innovation. Many FIP projects support low carbon farming practices. FIP competitions for 2025/26 will include up to £12.5 million for the Net Zero Farming thematic competition.

Since 2021, Defra’s Farming Investment Fund awarded more than 11,000 grants worth over £130 million to farmers, growers and foresters to invest in technology, equipment and infrastructure, much of which supports low carbon farming practices. Of this, £107 million was through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). The next window of FETF will launch in Spring 2025.

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 financially support low carbon farming.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to our net zero ambitions and boosting nature’s recovery, which are the foundations of a productive and profitable farming sector.

Our Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) pay farmers to take up land management practices that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26, which includes the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for ELMs to boost Britain’s food security and accelerate the transition to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.

The Government has spent £51.8 million through the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), with a further £98 million committed to ongoing projects in support of Agri-technology research and innovation. Many FIP projects support low carbon farming practices. FIP competitions for 2025/26 will include up to £12.5 million for the Net Zero Farming thematic competition.

Since 2021, Defra’s Farming Investment Fund awarded more than 11,000 grants worth over £130 million to farmers, growers and foresters to invest in technology, equipment and infrastructure, much of which supports low carbon farming practices. Of this, £107 million was through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). The next window of FETF will launch in Spring 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the emissions reductions required in agriculture to deliver the sixth carbon budge.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is absolutely committed to our net zero targets. We will publish an updated Carbon Budget Delivery Plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors in due course. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 and our Nationally Determined Contribution commitments on a pathway to net zero.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward regulations on the composition of bread marketed as sourdough.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has no current plans to introduce regulations to specifically cover the composition of ‘sourdough bread’. The UK maintains high food standards including on requirements relating to food labelling and information. Existing legislation ensures the labelling and marketing of food, including sourdough products, does not intentionally mislead consumers.

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 enforce the Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations, Tariff Quotas and Wine) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to resetting our EU relationship, including by seeking to negotiate an SPS agreement. We have been clear that an SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. It’s too early to discuss any specific areas in detail and we will not be providing a running commentary on discussions with the EU.

A public consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course

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 12 February 2025 to Question 28295 on Wood-burning Stoves: Health Hazards, what the (a) terms of reference and (b) timetable is of his Department’s review of options for reducing emissions from domestic burning.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to taking action to clean up our air and protecting the public from the harm of pollution. Domestic solid fuel burning accounted for 20% of PM2.5 emissions in 2023, with indoor wood burning accounting for 11% of total PM2.5. The Government concluded a rapid review of the existing Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) and published a statement of the rapid review’s key findings on 30 January 2025. Later in 2025 we will publish a revised Environmental Improvement Plan, to protect and restore our natural environment. It will be a clearer, prioritised plan for achieving environmental outcomes, including improving air quality through action on PM2.5.

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 improve the (a) transparency and (b) public accessibility of water quality data for (i) rivers and (ii) lakes.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency’s Water Hub is a dedicated, easily accessible space bringing together publicly available guidance, data and news relating to water. The Environment Agency processes and publishes vast amounts of data, including bathing water data, storm overflows, catchment data, water quality data, which can be accessed via the Water Data Explorer.

This government believes that it is important that we invest in the most appropriate type of monitors to ensure we gain valuable information on sewage discharges.

Since 1 January 2025, water companies have been required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. The Secretary of State has authorised Ofwat to carry out enforcement action for this duty, in accordance with the powers conferred under sections 18 and 141DA (4) of the Water Industry Act 1991. Ofwat’s enforcement powers provide for a wide range of enforcement activity, including substantial penalties.

Ofwat is monitoring compliance with the duty to report relevant data in real time. Where it detects non-compliance, it will take appropriate enforcement action. In addition to this, the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has introduced an equivalent duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. Once commenced, this duty will be enforced in the same way.

During the bathing water season, 451 designated bathing waters benefit from water quality monitoring by the Environment Agency (EA) – enabling the public to make informed decisions about where to swim. This data is published on the EA’s Swimfo bathing waters website so that the public can make an informed decision before swimming here.

The Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment programme (NCEA) is producing a statistically robust baseline assessment of the health of England’s rivers and lakes. The baseline data and outputs will be made publicly accessible, enabling the private sector, central and local governments, and third sectors to use these products to understand the condition of our ecosystems and put nature at the heart of decision-making.

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.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

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.

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 his Department's Review of affordability and availability of flood insurance to help evaluate the effectiveness of FloodRe, published in October 2022, if he will publish the raw data of the BMG quantitative survey of households.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The department has no plans to publish this data.

Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the 2022 review of affordability and availability of flood insurance can be found here.

Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the Independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster can be found here.

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 his Department's press release entitled Water investment to unlock growth in East of England, published on 13 March 2025, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of a Bedford to Milton Keynes waterway on (a) local and (b) national economic growth.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the wide range of benefits brought by our inland waterways and is supportive in general of projects to restore and develop them, including where they form part of wider growth plans.

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 Independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster led by Amanda Blanc, published on 14 April 2020, if he will publish the raw data of the BMG quantitative survey of consumers and businesses.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The department has no plans to publish this data.

Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the 2022 review of affordability and availability of flood insurance can be found here.

Conclusions, research methodology and materials for the Independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster can be found here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with the Health and Safety Executive on its proposed restriction on the acquisition, storage, and use of lead shot.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In Spring 2021, Defra asked the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA) to prepare a restriction dossier for lead ammunition in all habitats. The HSE and the EA have considered the evidence of risk posed by lead in ammunition to human health and the environment, as well as the socio-economic impacts of their proposed restriction. They also considered the effectiveness, practicality, monitorability and enforceability of their suggested restriction.

HSE have now published a final Opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition (including lead shot), informed by feedback from public consultations as well as independent scientific advice. As part of their Opinion, HSE have considered the socio-economic impacts of their proposed restriction in GB. Defra has received HSE’s final Opinion and are assessing their proposals. A decision will follow, which will be taken with the consent of the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

Since the final Opinion was published, Defra Officials have been in contact with the HSE to discuss and further understand their recommendation in detail.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of exempting elite shooting athletes from the Health and Safety Executive’s proposed restriction on the acquisition, storage, and use of lead shot.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) final Opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition, informed by information from public consultations as well as independent scientific advice, included consideration of the use of lead shot by athletes. In their final Opinion, HSE set out their assessment and this included a proposed exemption for competitive athletes. Now Defra has received HSE’s final Opinion on the proposed restriction, we are assessing their proposals. A decision will follow in due course, which will be taken with consent from the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations his Department has received from shooting organisations on restrictions on the acquisition, storage, and use of lead shot.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has received representations from a variety of stakeholders, including shooting organisations, setting out a diverse range of views on this issue. The main shooting organisations that have made representations have been: The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Aim to Sustain, and the Gun Trade Association.

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 South West Water was required to contribute to infrastructure to meet (a) environmental and (b) water quality standards between 2013 and 2025.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 2015 Ofwat has set total expenditure allowances which allow for companies to meet their obligations under the environment and water quality programmes. Based on data provided by Ofwat, the figures for South West Water are set out below.

Between 2015 and 2024 the environment programme allowance for South West Water was £249.2 million and the water quality allowance was £153.2 million.

Due to figures being unable to be split between two price control periods, figures for 2013-15 cannot be provided.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of restricting the acquisition, storage, and usage of lead shot on elite shooting athletes.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) final Opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition, informed by information from public consultations as well as independent scientific advice, included consideration of the use of lead shot by athletes. In their final Opinion, HSE set out their assessment and this included a proposed exemption for competitive athletes. Now Defra has received HSE’s final Opinion on the proposed restriction, we are assessing their proposals. A decision will follow in due course, which will be taken with consent from the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's timetable is for publishing the Fens 2100+ plan.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency is leading the Fens 2100+ programme, working with farmers, land managers, water companies, internal drainage boards and other partners to develop a long-term plan for managing future flood risk in the Fens.

It aims to publish its Case for Change document in autumn 2025. This is in line its measure in the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England (2020) and will set out a strategic case for continued and enhanced investment in flood risk management to ensure we have a vibrant and sustainable future Fens.

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 1 April 2025 to Question 41232 on Internal Drainage Boards: Cambridgeshire, from where is capital funding sourced to (a) repair and (b) replace pumping infrastructure.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) are Risk Management Authorities. Expenses are primarily funded by local beneficiaries through drainage rates, special levies on authorities, and contributions from the Environment Agency.

Each IDB sets an annual budget for planned work and future investments, governed by Section 36 of the Land Drainage Act 1991. In addition, IDBs are eligible to bid for and receive allocations of FCRM Grant in Aid (GiA) funding for capital projects.

The Environment Agency administer the allocation of Government GiA funding. There are more projects than funding available, therefore schemes are prioritised in accordance with government policy.

IDBs have also been able to bid into the £91 million IDB Fund during 2024/25 for delivery by March 2026, which is funded by Defra.

IDBs can also apply for loans via the Public Works Loan Board operated by the UK Debt Management Office.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of providing additional funding to Internal Drainage Boards.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government fully supports the important work internal drainage boards (IDBs) do in managing water and flood risk, benefiting communities, businesses and the environment.

On 31st March the Government announced an additional £16 million boost to the IDB Fund to support greater flood resilience for farmers and rural communities. The Fund has increased from £75 million to £91 million to provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade assets. More than 400,000 hectares of agricultural land and around 91,000 homes and businesses across England are expected to benefit.

In addition, IDBs, as risk management authorities, are eligible for the government’s flood investment programme. The government is investing a record £2.65 billion over two years in building, maintaining and repairing flood defences, better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ending the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme on businesses in South Suffolk constituency.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security remains steadfast. Our proposed approach to future funding for horticulture will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. This includes developing a 25-year Farming Roadmap, which will involve the Government and the industry working together to identify solutions to challenges to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come.

We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector, and Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers from across the sector, (including a number of Producer Organisation members), to discuss a wide range of issues to help us understand how best to support sector.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to provide future funding to replace the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security remains steadfast. Our proposed approach to future funding for horticulture will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. This includes developing a 25-year Farming Roadmap, which will involve the Government and the industry working together to identify solutions to challenges to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come.

We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector, and Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers from across the sector, (including a number of Producer Organisation members), to discuss a wide range of issues to help us understand how best to support sector.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of homes at risk of surface flooding, broken down by (1) those built, (2) those under construction, and (3) those with planning permission awaiting construction.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has committed £2.65 billion over the next two years to maintain, repair and build flood defences to protect communities across the country.

The Environment Agency’s National Assessment of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk was published in December 2024. The report estimates that 4.6 million properties are in areas at risk of surface water flooding. This report enables 8.4 million people in more than 3.1 million residential properties to access more detailed information on their local surface water flood risk.

The number of properties at risk relate to properties that are already built, not properties that are under construction or those awaiting construction. The Environment Agency does publish a list of initial objections made, on the basis of flood risk, to planning applications. This is available here: Environment Agency objections to planning applications based on flood risk and water quality - GOV.UK.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing water bills on consumers, and what action they will take to limit that impact.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways.

Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 in December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. These bill rises equate to around £3 additional per month on average before inflation.

The Government expects water companies to put robust support measures in place to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported and is working with industry to keep current support schemes under review to ensure that customers are sufficiently supported.

Furthermore, we expect companies to hold themselves accountable for their commitment to end Water Poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to this end.

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 improve the bathing standard in the (a) River Ver and (b) River Lea.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to improving the quality of bathing water at designated sites around the country, as an important contributor to many people’s mental and physical health. However, as these two sites are not designated bathing waters they are not covered by the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. This means that the Environment Agency does not monitor for intestinal enterococci and E. coli, the bacteria used to assess bathing water quality.

They Environment Agency manages rivers and other open water locations that are not designated as bathing waters for the purpose of protecting fish and wildlife, rather than people, so health risks from using these locations may be higher than at designated bathing waters. Anyone can become unwell when swimming in open waters. UK Health Security Agency and the Environment Agency offer advice in the ‘swim healthy’ guidance, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet/swim-healthy.

More information on designated bathing waters can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bathing-waters-list-of-designated-waters-in-england.

The Environment Agency also publishes the water quality data that they hold. This information can be accessed via the following link: Open WIMS data.

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 (a) protect and (b) maintain water supply infrastructure from hostile actors.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is the Lead Government Department (LGD) in England with responsibility for the Water Sector, including as a Critical National Infrastructure sector. The equivalent bodies in the Devolved Governments are responsible for water, including Critical National Infrastructure in their respective nations.

Defra’s work to deter, detect and counter threats from hostile actors includes developing, maintaining and implementing legislation, including the Security and Emergency Measures Direction (SEMD) 2022 and the Network Information Systems (NIS) regulations (2018) (UK). The SEMD sets out legal responsibilities for the Water Sector in England on matters such as security and emergency planning.

Defra also works with other government departments and water companies to understand risks from hostile actors and develop mitigations. Water companies are Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and as such have legal duties to assess, plan and advise on risks. They work with partner organisations through Local Resilience Forums to prepare, respond and recover from emergencies.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve recycling infrastructure and technologies to enable the increased recovery of critical minerals and other materials.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has convened the Circular Economy Taskforce to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England, which will be supported by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. We are considering the evidence for interventions right across the economy, including interventions that would enable the increased recovery of critical minerals and other materials.

Critical minerals in particular are crucial for the Government’s ambition to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. The Department for Business and Trade plans to bring forward a Critical Minerals Strategy, which will support the aims of the forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy by driving ambitious reform to promote recycling and the retention of critical minerals within the UK economy.

Beyond critical minerals, the largest waste management companies in the UK estimates that over the next decade the forthcoming Collection and Packaging Reforms alone will stimulate £10 billion investment in recycling infrastructure and create 21,000 new jobs; whilst also enhancing UK domestic material security by reducing reliance on virgin imports of critical materials.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many lorries have been prevented from entering Northern Ireland and returned to Great Britain as a result of internal UK market checks in the past 12 months.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In line with the commitments we have made, as we move to our new UK internal market system, we will ensure that the only checks when goods move within the UK internal market system are those conducted by UK authorities as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach to tackle criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks. But in order not to undermine that approach, as is the case across the UK we do not disclose the specific number or nature of interventions made by UK authorities.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered placing a statutory duty to maintain an adequate level of bin provision on the Canal and Rivers Trust.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have not made an assessment of the adequacy of bin provision beside waterways in urban areas.

Under section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, The Canal and River Trust has a duty to keep the land they are responsible for clear of litter and refuse. It would be for them to work out how they can best comply with the duty, considering the standards set out in statutory Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse.

An adequate cleansing regime alongside the provision of public litter bins can help to maintain acceptable standards of cleanliness on land managed by a duty body. WRAP have previously provided guidance on the provision of litter bins which is available at https://www.wrap.ngo/resources/guide/binfrastructure-right-bin-right-place

The Canal and River Trust also has a responsibility to remove litter and fly-tipping in canals where it would interfere with navigation.

This Government is committed to reducing waste by transitioning to a circular economy. As part of this we remain focused on delivering the Collection and Packaging Reforms including the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). The DRS will go live in October 2027. It will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers which can be claimed back by customers when the empty container is returned. This will reduce litter alongside canals, increase recycling rates, create high quality recyclate for producers, and promote a circular economy.

Found: Steve Reed OBE MP Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Found: Most unregistered land is big rural estates and Defra would know who owns them because they pay them

Found: conflicting) on the growth agenda and the ambition of building 1.5m homes, including Treasury, DESNZ, DEFRA

Found: Certainly, in dealings with Defra and all sorts of other agencies, it is online or die.

Found: must extend beyond the power sector to include all decarbonising industries and we request that DEFRA

Found: We recommend that Defra should undertake an assessment of climate risk and incorporate its findings

Found: Ofwat, which I know is currently under a DEFRA review by Dan Corry and others, has over 21 duties as

Found: Ofwat, which I know is currently under a DEFRA review by Dan Corry and others, has over 21 duties as

Found: the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Business, the Secretary of State at DEFRA

Found: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Department

Found: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Department

Found: It will always be about having a balance and having that conversation right across DEFRA, which we

Found: With DEFRA, there is a statutory target.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has had discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on steps to maintain the security of domestic wood supply for future house building.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The UK imports c.80% of our timber. Imports will continue to play an important role in future timber supply, but the government wants to reduce them and there is an opportunity for domestic forestry and wood processing sectors to grow and thrive as a result. The proportion of softwood-producing woodland in England has risen to 10% of those planted over the last four years. We want to increase this to at least 30% and bring more hardwoods to market through increased woodland management. The government launched a Timber in Construction Roadmap on 27 February 2025. Increasing domestic timber supply is one of the key themes and the roadmap sets out actions that government and industry has committed to.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40119 on Members: Correspondence, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in access to UK’s National Trails on the work of (a) VisitBritain and (b) VisitEngland.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS has not specifically undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of any potential reduction in access to the UK’s National Trails on the work of VisitBritain or VisitEngland.

However, we recognise that access to National Trails plays a role in supporting rural tourism and promoting the natural and cultural assets of England, which are central to the work of VisitEngland. VisitBritain also promotes outdoor and nature-based tourism as part of its international marketing activity to showcase the UK’s diverse visitor offer.

While responsibility for public access and National Trails policy rests with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), DCMS continues to work closely with Local Visitor Economy Partnerships, including Experience Oxfordshire, to ensure England’s natural landscapes can support the growth of a sustainable and resilient visitor economy.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the economic contribution of (a) zoos and (b) aquariums to the tourism sector.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The government acknowledges the significant impact that zoos and aquariums have on the Visitor Economy. Iconic and cultural attractions like Chester zoo, which was the third most visited paid attraction in England in 2023, draw in visitors from across the country and beyond, play a significant role in attracting families, supporting local tourism, and contributing to conservation efforts.

While policy responsibility for the welfare and management of animals kept by zoos and aquariums, as well as the conservation work zoos and aquariums are required to undertake, sits with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), we remain engaged on cross-cutting matters where relevant to the UK’s visitor economy. Rather than moving things between departments, we believe it is better to get departments to work together.

This includes ensuring the UK’s diverse visitor offer is promoted effectively through national tourism bodies, including VisitEngland and VisitBritain.

Similarly, aquariums such as the 14 Sea Life Centres across the UK, including prominent sites in Blackpool and Scarborough, attract thousands of visitors to rural and coastal areas each year. The Sea Life Center London alone welcomes around 1 million visitors annually and serves as a key attraction for visitors.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) financial and (b) other support her Department provides to (i) zoos and (ii) aquariums.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The government acknowledges the significant impact that zoos and aquariums have on the Visitor Economy. Iconic and cultural attractions like Chester zoo, which was the third most visited paid attraction in England in 2023, draw in visitors from across the country and beyond, play a significant role in attracting families, supporting local tourism, and contributing to conservation efforts.

While policy responsibility for the welfare and management of animals kept by zoos and aquariums, as well as the conservation work zoos and aquariums are required to undertake, sits with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), we remain engaged on cross-cutting matters where relevant to the UK’s visitor economy. Rather than moving things between departments, we believe it is better to get departments to work together.

This includes ensuring the UK’s diverse visitor offer is promoted effectively through national tourism bodies, including VisitEngland and VisitBritain.

Similarly, aquariums such as the 14 Sea Life Centres across the UK, including prominent sites in Blackpool and Scarborough, attract thousands of visitors to rural and coastal areas each year. The Sea Life Center London alone welcomes around 1 million visitors annually and serves as a key attraction for visitors.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of her Department taking responsibility for (a) zoos and (b) aquariums.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The government acknowledges the significant impact that zoos and aquariums have on the Visitor Economy. Iconic and cultural attractions like Chester zoo, which was the third most visited paid attraction in England in 2023, draw in visitors from across the country and beyond, play a significant role in attracting families, supporting local tourism, and contributing to conservation efforts.

While policy responsibility for the welfare and management of animals kept by zoos and aquariums, as well as the conservation work zoos and aquariums are required to undertake, sits with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), we remain engaged on cross-cutting matters where relevant to the UK’s visitor economy. Rather than moving things between departments, we believe it is better to get departments to work together.

This includes ensuring the UK’s diverse visitor offer is promoted effectively through national tourism bodies, including VisitEngland and VisitBritain.

Similarly, aquariums such as the 14 Sea Life Centres across the UK, including prominent sites in Blackpool and Scarborough, attract thousands of visitors to rural and coastal areas each year. The Sea Life Center London alone welcomes around 1 million visitors annually and serves as a key attraction for visitors.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 3 February 2025, HCWS413 on the Local Government Finance Settlement 2025-26, whether she plans to provide additional support to local authorities impacted by increases to Internal Drainage Board special levies.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) play a crucial role in managing water levels and flood risk. MHCLG recognises the continued increases in special levies which local authorities are having to pay over the past few years. This is why the government announced, as part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, that it will provide £5 million in funding for the local authorities most impacted by Internal Drainage Board levies. This follows the £3 million grant awarded in the previous two years. Allocations for the 2025-26 IDB levy support grant will be announced in due course.

MHCLG recognises the need for a long-term solution and is working with Defra to explore potential approaches.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of providing additional funding to Internal Drainage Boards.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) play a crucial role in managing water levels and flood risk. MHCLG recognises the continued increases in special levies which local authorities are having to pay over the past few years. This is why the government announced, as part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, that it will provide £5 million in funding for the local authorities most impacted by Internal Drainage Board levies. This follows the £3 million grant awarded in the previous two years. Allocations for the 2025-26 IDB levy support grant will be announced in due course.

MHCLG recognises the need for a long-term solution and is working with Defra to explore potential approaches.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to explore alternative funding models of Internal Drainage Boards.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) play a crucial role in managing water levels and flood risk. MHCLG recognises the continued increases in special levies which local authorities are having to pay over the past few years. This is why the government announced, as part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, that it will provide £5 million in funding for the local authorities most impacted by Internal Drainage Board levies. This follows the £3 million grant awarded in the previous two years. Allocations for the 2025-26 IDB levy support grant will be announced in due course.

MHCLG recognises the need for a long-term solution and is working with Defra to explore potential approaches.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to reform Internal Drainage Board special levies.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) play a crucial role in managing water levels and flood risk. MHCLG recognises the continued increases in special levies which local authorities are having to pay over the past few years. This is why the government announced, as part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, that it will provide £5 million in funding for the local authorities most impacted by Internal Drainage Board levies. This follows the £3 million grant awarded in the previous two years. Allocations for the 2025-26 IDB levy support grant will be announced in due course.

MHCLG recognises the need for a long-term solution and is working with Defra to explore potential approaches.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people with lung conditions.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In collaboration with a number of partners, the National Health Service has developed a package for local systems containing the information and support required to help increase the number of people receiving an early and accurate diagnosis for respiratory disease.

Following a significant drop in the volume of respiratory specific diagnostic tests, such as spirometry, during the pandemic, NHS England has managed to bring these numbers to above pre-pandemic levels.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to the public’s health and is determined to improve air quality for everyone and address inequalities by working across Government to tackle these issues, including by supporting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to deliver their comprehensive and ambitious Clean Air Strategy, which will include a series of interventions to reduce emissions so that everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.

In alignment with the Neighbourhood Health Service model, NHS England is leading on the development of an approach for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management, to support proactive identification and management of rising risk patients in winter, thereby reducing demand on primary and secondary care by identifying at risk patients, optimizing care, and strengthened support. Core20PLUS5 identifies COPD as one of the five clinical areas of focus requiring accelerated improvement to help tackle healthcare inequalities, and plans to improve this area by increasing vaccination uptake, namely for COVID-19, flu, and pneumovax, in people with COPD, and by avoiding exacerbations that could lead to emergency treatment in hospital and inpatient care.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the budget for (a) UK REACH and (b) GB CLP for 2025-26; and identify (i) income from fees, charges and other sources and (ii) expenditure including staff costs in the (A) Health and Safety Executive, (B) Environment Agency, (C) Office for Product Safety and Standards and (D) UK Health Security Agency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not publish separate budgets for the UK REACH and GB CLP regulatory regimes. For the financial year 2025-26, the full cost of the planned activity is around (a) £6.1m on UK REACH, of which approximately £2.5m are staff costs and (b) £1m on GB CLP, of which approximately £0.44m are staff costs.

These costs will be met by income from several sources, including fees and charges paid by industry and allocations from government which vary each year depending on the activity being carried out. For UK REACH, fees from industry for 2025-26 are forecast to be £1.53m.

The information requested on budgets and expenditures in relation to different agencies are not held by this department. You may wish to contact the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the Environment Agency, the Department for Business and Trade for Office for Product Safety and Standards, and the Department of Health and Social Care for UK Health Security Agency.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to address health inequalities in breast cancer prevention by ensuring that women in disadvantaged areas have (a) safe and (b) affordable access to (i) facilities and (ii) resources to maintain a healthy (A) lifestyle, (B) diet and (C) level of physical activity.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Tackling health inequalities, including in breast cancer prevention, requires a whole-Government effort. That is why there is ongoing work across the Government, from housing and education to employment and welfare, to ensure that health is built into all policies.

NHS England is working with integrated care systems, local authorities, and the directors of public health to embed regional and local solutions to reducing inequalities, ensuring that communities, including in deprived areas, have the power and resources to improve health outcomes, for instance through the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is developing an ambitious new cross-Government Food Strategy that will set the food system up for long-term success and provide wide ranging improvements. The Food Strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives.

By aligning policy efforts across health, social care, local government, and the voluntary sector, the Government is committed to driving real change, so that everyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to live a longer, healthier life.

The Government’s goal is to reduce the time people spend in ill health, support independence, and close the healthy life expectancy gap, ensuring that no one’s health outcomes are determined by their background or where they are born.

Found: Defra (2024). Farming evidence - key statistics. GOV.UK. 2. Du, Y. et al. (2022).

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Found: executive and is intended to apply UK-wide, though the extent of some 32 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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Found: Dan Corry in his landmark review into the regulators and regulation at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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Found: Additionally, a study by Defra showed that 44% of people without access to a car find it difficult to

Found: asked for copies of all correspondence between the Welsh Government and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Question

What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the impact on Welsh farms of the UK Government's Pesticides National Action Plan 2025?

Answered by Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs

The UK Pesticides National Action Plan 2025: working for a more sustainable future has been developed in partnership between the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and Defra.

The Plan sets out how the governments will support farmers, growers, and other land managers to manage pests and pesticide resistance effectively while minimising the impacts of pesticides to people and the environment. 

The new Plan strikes a balance between meeting the needs of farmers, supporting food production and the imperative of halting and reversing biodiversity loss.