Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Government recognises the need to take action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation and we will set out our approach to addressing this in due course.

We recognise the need to take action to prevent UK consumption of forest risk commodities driving deforestation and to consult industry stakeholders.

We will set out our approach to addressing deforestation in the UK’s supply chains in due course.

Wildlife crime is unacceptable. Defra is providing £424,000 for the National Wildlife Crime (NWCU) in 2025-2026. The NWCU helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats and assisting law enforcers with investigations.

This government recognises the importance of tackling rural crimes such as hare coursing. A package of measures introduced in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 broadened the circumstances in which police can investigate and bring charges for hare coursing-related activity. This legislation, as well as improved police tactics, intelligence and information sharing and the use of community protection notices and criminal behaviour orders appears to be having an impact on reducing hare coursing offences.

Badger persecution is one of the seven UK wildlife crime priorities. A police-led Badger Persecution Priority Delivery Group works to tackle horrific criminal offences like badger baiting. Anyone found guilty of these activities should be subject to the full force of the law. The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provide protection against certain methods of killing, injuring, or taking of badgers, or interference with their setts.

The cross-Government food strategy will restore pride in British food by ensuring a food system that backs British food, grows the economy, feeds the nation, nourishes individuals, and protects the planet, now and in the future.

The farming blog published on Wednesday 12 March set out Defra’s spend for 24/25 and 25/26 split across the Farming and Countryside Programme schemes.

Defra manages the farming budget flexibly to respond to demand, and achieve our intended outcomes for farm productivity, environment, climate and animal health and welfare.

In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report, setting out commitments in the previous financial year.

There are no current plans to expand statutory powers in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to include RSPCA inspectors. The RSPCA has strong working relationships with the Police and Local Authorities who support them in protecting animals where needed.

The Government recognises the valuable work the RSPCA does to improve the welfare of animals and remains committed to working with the RSPCA, and other organisations involved in enforcement activities, so that our high animal welfare standards are maintained and offenders are subject to appropriate penalties.

Defra does not hold data on farming business types for the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Defra regularly engages with industry and across Government to monitor risks to food supply. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

This Government is proud to have secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a 2-year period. SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package - across England, 50,000 farm businesses and over half of farmed land are already in agri-environmental schemes.

The department publish regular statistics on Farm Business Income. 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. On the 11th of March 2025 we published forecasts which suggest that average Farm Business Income has risen in 2024/25 across all farm types with the exception of cereal farms.

Currently there are over 39, 000 live SFI agreements.

The government will work with the farming and environmental sectors to prioritise funding for future years so we can target SFI actions fairly and effectively, focusing on helping less productive land contribute to our priorities for food, farming and nature.

We will provide further details about the reformed SFI in summer 2025.

Although I was not an addressee of the letter mentioned and therefore cannot reference it directly, this Government will be decisive and take the necessary action to ensure the UK’s biosecurity measures protect our farms from the risk posed by Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). We’ve stepped up measures to prevent the incursion of FMD following the spread of cases in Hungary and Slovakia, including a case close to Slovakia’s border with Austria. The Government immediately implemented restrictions on broad categories of products ranging from fresh milk, dairy products, meat from susceptible animals to hay and straw from Hungary, Slovakia and Austria to Great Britain to protect the UK’s freedom from FMD, in addition to restrictions already in place for equivalent exports from Germany to Great Britain following a separate outbreak of FMD in Germany in January.

In line with the requirement to recognise regionalisation, these imports are also prohibited into Northern Ireland from the disease control zones in force surrounding each of the infected premises in the EU. We continue to review the situation, working with our disease experts and EU counterparts. Livestock keepers are urged to be extra vigilant and report any suspicion of FMD or other notifiable disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency in Great Britain and to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland.

The Government has been engaging with airports, ports and travel operators to communicate the ban on personal imports of meats and dairy products from EU countries, introduced on 12 April 2025.

The Government is supporting farmers to implement nature-friendly farming practices through a range of measures. These include habitat restoration and creation, and changes to limit emissions while maintaining agricultural profitability and increasing productivity.

These measures will be delivered through the Government’s environmental land management schemes. In the Budget announced in October 2024, the Government committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years, including £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes in 2025/26.

This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances in a fair way. With the reforms, those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992.

The Government continues to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This currently funds three charities to deliver projects which support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities.

The Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme (FVAS) runs from 01 January – 31 December. In relation to the 2023 scheme year, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) received 32 successful applications by recognised Producer Organisations (POs). There were no unsuccessful applications during the same period.

The scheme was first introduced in 1996 and the number of UK-recognised Producer Organisations (POs) has varied overtime, but now there are 32 F&V POs across the UK. Each recognized PO will submit an application for an operational programme (OP) or amendment to that OP each year.

The government is currently reviewing the Greening Government Commitments to ensure they remain aligned with government priorities.

Defra works closely with other Government Departments on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. Defra will continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.

The water requirements of data centres vary, largely depending on the type of cooling systems used. Air cooled systems do not require very much water but are much more energy intensive. Closed loop systems reuse water, so have much lower water requirements than open loop systems.

As part of meeting the national statutory target to reduce the use of public water supply in England per head of population by 20% by 2038, Defra have set out an interim target to reduce non-household water use by 9% by 2030. We are currently working with TechUK, the trade association for data centres, to increase Defra and the Environment Agency's understanding of current water usage and cooling technologies being used.

When data centres are planned and designed, consideration should be given to the types of cooling technology being selected and the corresponding water needs. The water for cooling systems does not need to be drinking water quality. Consideration must also be given to where the data centre is going to be located to ensure that any water needs can be met.

The Environment Agency’s upcoming National Framework for Water Resources (2025) highlights the need for joined-up planning between different water-using sectors to identify collaborative solutions for water resources.

The Environment Agency has been allocated £1.8 million from Defra in 2025/26 to deliver its statutory duties under UK REACH.

The previous Government consulted on the principles, objectives, and proposals for extended producer responsibility in 2019 and 2021, and these received high levels of support. We continue to work closely with the devolved governments, environmental regulators, and industry to review the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging with a view to introducing amendments to the scheme.

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging.

Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority.

In October 2024 the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging recycling rates. This impact assessment did not split recycling rates on a local authority basis. The impact assessment also did not look at the specific impacts of the pEPR scheme on individual sectors, such as hospitality.

The government committed to a ban on the import of hunting trophies of endangered animals in its manifesto and will deliver on this. Defra is currently engaging with a range of stakeholders in order to decide on the most effective approach.

The government has worked closely with industry, including the brewing and hospitality sectors, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR). This is a major reform that will be iterated over several years to incentivise packaging producers to reduce their material footprint and use more sustainable packaging.

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the brewing and hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority and will share more information soon.

In October 2024 the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) scheme on packaging recycling rates. The impact assessment did not look at the specific impacts of the pEPR scheme on individual sectors, such as hospitality.

We are considering further improvements to the scheme, including how to treat businesses which run closed loop recycling systems that support the environmental outcomes of the scheme. My officials are reviewing options to bring forward an offset where obligated producers are operating closed loop recycling systems for food-grade plastic at the earliest opportunity.

Particulate matter emissions from quarries are regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2016, including through emission limits and monitoring requirements on total particulate matter. We will keep standards for PM10 emissions from quarries under review to ensure emissions controls and monitoring requirements are up-to-date.

Monitoring stations measure PM10 levels in various locations across the UK. Information and data are available through the webpage UKAIR. All locations are currently assessed as being below the PM10 limit value set out in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010, based on monitoring and modelling.

Particulate matter emissions from quarries are regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2016, including through emission limits and monitoring requirements on total particulate matter. We will keep standards for PM10 emissions from quarries under review to ensure emissions controls and monitoring requirements are up-to-date.

Monitoring stations measure PM10 levels in various locations across the UK. Information and data are available through the webpage UKAIR. All locations are currently assessed as being below the PM10 limit value set out in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010, based on monitoring and modelling.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April last year, is reinvesting funding based on water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. The Water Restoration Fund funding is based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023.

Up to £11 million of funding was made available on a competitive basis to support a range of water restoration projects.

Following a rigorous assessment process, I am pleased to say that current applicants to the Water Restoration Fund have been contacted regarding the outcome of their application. Further details regarding which projects have been successful and project publication procedures will be shared in due course.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofwat on a range of issues, including ensuring companies properly carry out and finance their statutory functions.

The price controls set as part of Price Review 2024 came into effect on 1st April 2025. In their Final Determinations, Ofwat set expenditure allowances which fund companies to meet their statutory and regulatory requirements and deliver their performance commitments over the 2025-30 period.

The £104 billion funding package is the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation and is set to be the second largest private sector investment programme for this Parliament, which will contribute to the delivery of key elements of the Government’s Plan for Change and Mission Objectives.

The water restoration fund is currently active.

Defra is evaluating how water company fines and penalties can be reinvested in improvements to the water environment.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April last year, is reinvesting funding based on water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. The Water Restoration Fund funding is based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023.

Up to £11 million of funding was made available on a competitive basis to support a range of water restoration projects.

Following a rigorous assessment process, I am pleased to say that current applicants to the Water Restoration Fund have been contacted regarding the outcome of their application. Further details regarding which projects have been successful and specific funding allocations per project will be shared in due course.

Local authorities are independent employers, responsible for managing industrial relations and the impacts of any potential industrial action.

Whilst pEPR was announced a few years ago, Defra has now built a modelling framework to calculate local authority costs and producer fees that was used for the first time by the OBR to include pEPR in their forecast. Pending a decision by the ONS, the OBR have recorded pEPR disposal fees as a tax in their forecast on the advice of Treasury classification experts, whose indicative views is that the ONS will likely classify the income stream as a tax when they formally classify the scheme.

This technical classification does not affect the distribution of revenue to local authorities. Revenue from pEPR will be distributed directly by PackUK, the scheme administrator, to local authorities. It will not be diverted to the Treasury or central government finances.

On 14 January 2025, the Environment Agency purchased training for qualifying staff who hold a professional qualification provided by the Institute of Asset Management. The training was provided by Asset Management Consulting Limited, described on the publication as VAT: GB 695449381. The description comes from the supplier.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to ensure public expenditure offers maximum value to the taxpayer. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here:

Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK

The Government is committed to the protection and restoration of our cherished chalk streams. We have taken immediate action to clean up our waterways, including a new Water (Special Measures) Act which will bring criminal charges against those who persistently break the law. In October last year we launched an independent commission into the water sector regulatory system to deliver transformative change to the water system.

We are investing in initiatives to improve chalk streams including 45 projects in 24/25 through the Water Environment Improvement Fund. As part of the Water Resources Chalk Partnership Fund, in 24/25 the Government will contribute £1 million for chalk stream projects with partners on 30 projects, aimed at safeguarding these rare and irreplaceable habitats.

It is confirmed that no request from the Northern Irish Minister of Agriculture for mutual assistance with bee inspecting has been received by APHA’s National Bee Unit.

The Government has no plans to assess how global deforestation specifically will affect the UK’s economic growth over the next five years. However, economic growth will be considered along with other factors in shaping our policy on deforestation. We are currently reviewing how to address deforestation in UK supply chains and will outline our approach in due course.

The pEPR Scheme Administrator, working with the relevant UK regulator, will revise producer guidance, where appropriate, to assist them in understanding and meeting their obligations under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.

The Government recognises the important role of independent regulation in attracting the investment our water sector needs to deliver for both current and future consumers. We are aware there has been investment into the water sector in the UK by Chinese investors. Under Ofwat’s current processes, Ofwat are notified of acquisitions in line with water company licence conditions.

Ofwat, as the independent economic regulator, protects the interests of consumers by making sure water companies carry out their statutory functions and are financially resilient as well as holding them to account on overall performance and delivery of essential services.

These same standards and licence conditions apply across all water companies, regardless of whether they are owned by foreign or domestic investors.

The Government recognises the importance of managing public spaces sustainably and its first priority is to ensure that pesticides do not harm human or animal health or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. A pesticide may only be placed on the market following a thorough risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met. All professional pesticide users must minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public, receive adequate training and register with Defra.

They are also encouraged to follow the principles of Integrated Pest Management, which aims to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides by making use of lower risk alternatives and promoting natural processes. The UK Pesticides National Action Plan sets out how the Government will continue to promote the sustainable use of pesticides. Local authorities are encouraged to identify innovative pesticide use solutions and share good practice.

Defra is currently funding an R&D project to gather data on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sequestration in peatlands in the Falkland Islands.

This will deliver scientifically robust data to improve our understanding of Falkland peatland GHG emissions and reporting into the GHG Inventory. It will also establish accurate carbon sequestration rates for the peatlands, enabling a feasibility study for a carbon offsetting scheme with the long-term aim of financing peatland restoration.

We published three sets of illustrative base fees to help industry prepare for pEPR. The third set, published in December, was based on improved data and using point estimates as opposed to ranges, providing further certainty to businesses. These fees represent the best possible point estimate of base fees given currently available information.

Producers were required to submit their final 2024 data by 1 April 2025. Following this deadline, we are conducting regulatory checks. Once checks are conducted to an appropriate level, we will use 2024 data and insight from regulator checks to publish pEPR base fees in June 2025. Regulatory activity will continue throughout 2025 and may result in changes to base fees during the assessment year.

The government has worked closely with industry, including the pub sector, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging. In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.

The Government committed to a hunting trophy import ban of endangered animals in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra is engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver on this commitment in the most effective way.

As outlined in our manifesto, we are committed to ending puppy smuggling. The Government is supporting the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by the hon. Member for Winchester. The Bill will close loopholes in the non-commercial pet travel rules that are abused by unscrupulous traders and give the government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.