Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to distribute the fishing quota in a way that incentivises (a) lower impact and (b) selective fishing.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in response to PQ 83899, there are a number of mechanisms in place to incentivise lower impact and selective fishing. In terms of quota distribution, in England we have been running a trial since 2024 called the Quota Application Mechanism (QAM), which allocates quota based on environmental, social and economic criteria. The mechanism uses a gear ranking system developed by scientists to support the allocation of quota to those that have the least impact on the seabed and the highest selectivity. Details on the QAM application process for 2026, including the application form and gear ranking system, can be found online here.
As set out in Annex D of the UK Quota Management Rules we also allocate quota specifically to certain groups. In England we target western mackerel for the South West handline fishery.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to safeguard the welfare of (a) pigs and (b) piglets on farms in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All pigs are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation, and potential breaches of the law are taken very seriously. Any allegations of poor animal welfare are investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action is taken. The local authority, as an appropriate enforcement agency, may initiate prosecution action for animal welfare offences where there is sufficient evidence.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing an employer pays principle to help tackle (a) debt bondage and (b) labour exploitation of workers on the Seasonal Worker visa.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Together with the Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce, Defra jointly funded an independent investigation into the feasibility of applying the ‘employer pays principle’ to the horticulture sector, to understand how financial risks faced by workers can be mitigated.
The Government has considered the findings of the report but has no plans to mandate implementation of the employer pays principle in the horticulture sector. Welfare protections are already in place through the licensing and inspection processes provided by the Home Office and its agencies: the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and UK Visas and Immigration.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reduction in the sheep population over the last three years on wildfire risk.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has made no assessment of the potential impact of the reduction in the sheep population over the last three years on wildfire risk. The sheep sector is an important component of our rural landscape. The size of the flock changes year to year and sheep graze over a wide geographic area across the country, making any assessment difficult to undertake.
Each fire and rescue authority is, however, required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan.
Since 2024 the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff left her Department in each of the last five years by grade.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Information on the number of civil servants leaving each Government department and organisation by responsibility level for the years 2021 to 2025 is published annually through the ‘Civil Service data browser’ as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. Information can be accessed through the Civil Service data browser for 2021 through 2025 at the following web address:
https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 reduce the risk of fish escaping from aquaculture sites due to (a) infrastructure failures, (b) human error and (c) severe weather events.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of escapes from salmon farms and their impact on wild salmon populations. This reporting will include information about the monitoring of genetic introgression from farmed salmon. NASCO also provides best practice guidance on salmon aquaculture practices. This guidance is due to be reviewed during 2026/2027, and the UK government intends to put forward a representative to contribute to this review work.
Aquaculture policy and regulation is a devolved matter and there is no marine salmon farming in England. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorises all aquaculture production businesses in England, under the Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2009. This includes setting conditions to ensure fish do not escape. The FHI assesses each farm for compliance annually and investigates farmed fish escapes.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is supporting research into potential methods for reducing the environmental impact of fish farm escapes on wild fish populations.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of escapes from salmon farms and their impact on wild salmon populations. This reporting will include information about the monitoring of genetic introgression from farmed salmon. NASCO also provides best practice guidance on salmon aquaculture practices. This guidance is due to be reviewed during 2026/2027, and the UK government intends to put forward a representative to contribute to this review work.
Aquaculture policy and regulation is a devolved matter and there is no marine salmon farming in England. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorises all aquaculture production businesses in England, under the Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2009. This includes setting conditions to ensure fish do not escape. The FHI assesses each farm for compliance annually and investigates farmed fish escapes.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 interbreeding between escaped farmed fish and wild fish on the genetic integrity of wild populations.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of escapes from salmon farms and their impact on wild salmon populations. This reporting will include information about the monitoring of genetic introgression from farmed salmon. NASCO also provides best practice guidance on salmon aquaculture practices. This guidance is due to be reviewed during 2026/2027, and the UK government intends to put forward a representative to contribute to this review work.
Aquaculture policy and regulation is a devolved matter and there is no marine salmon farming in England. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorises all aquaculture production businesses in England, under the Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2009. This includes setting conditions to ensure fish do not escape. The FHI assesses each farm for compliance annually and investigates farmed fish escapes.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 (a) prevalence of fish farm escapes and (b) potential impact of fish farm escapes on wild fish populations.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of escapes from salmon farms and their impact on wild salmon populations. This reporting will include information about the monitoring of genetic introgression from farmed salmon. NASCO also provides best practice guidance on salmon aquaculture practices. This guidance is due to be reviewed during 2026/2027, and the UK government intends to put forward a representative to contribute to this review work.
Aquaculture policy and regulation is a devolved matter and there is no marine salmon farming in England. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorises all aquaculture production businesses in England, under the Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2009. This includes setting conditions to ensure fish do not escape. The FHI assesses each farm for compliance annually and investigates farmed fish escapes.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the suspension of the Sustainable Farming Incentive on farmers in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We do not produce constituency level assessments. We publish regular statistics on Farm Business Income broken down in various ways. The latest data currently available are for 2023/24, 2024/25 data will be published on the 20 November 2025.
Farming evidence packs have been recently updated including key statistics and farm performance. These set out an extensive range of data to provide an overview of agriculture in the UK. We will continue to carry out appropriate and timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.
Across England, 50,000 farm businesses are already in agri-environmental schemes.