Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Defra works closely with the Home Office and National Police Chiefs’ Council to ensure an aligned and effective response to waste crime. The Home Office sets the overarching serious and organised crime strategy and tasking framework, with waste crime treated within this wider threat picture, particularly where it intersects with fraud, money laundering and drugs. Cross-agency coordination is delivered through the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, enabling intelligence sharing, resource prioritisation and best practice. The Unit has supported hundreds of operations, contributing to arrests and delivering training to thousands of staff.

The Government brought in the Fair Dealing (Pigs) Regulations 2025 for the pig sector, to give pig producers stronger protections against unfair contract practices and greater certainty. Defra works closely with trade bodies from across the pig supply chain and will continue to closely monitor the performance of the sector.

Government has recently announced reforms to Biodiversity Net Gain including actions to make it easier and cheaper for smaller developers to access the off-site market.

Government has also recently put in place the legal framework for mandatory BNG to apply to Nationally Significant Infrastructure projects (NSIPs) from November this year, providing a new source of demand.

Taken together, these new measures will support the off-site market and demonstrate this government’s commitment to BNG.

All registered biodiversity gain sites must be legally secured for at least 30 years providing confidence that biodiversity gains will be delivered.

Government consulted on removing the exemption for small scale self-build and custom build development in the 2025 consultation on Improving the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain for minor, medium and brownfield development.

Most respondents supported its removal due to implementation challenges and the burden it places on local planning authorities. Removing it also simplifies the BNG framework for developers.

Government expects that most small scale, single dwellings will be covered by the new 0.2 hectare area based exemption, being introduced in the coming months.

Further detail on the full package of BNG reforms is set out in the Government consultation response published on 15 April: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-implementation-of-biodiversity-net-gain-for-minor-medium-and-brownfield-development/outcome/government-response-and-summary-of-responses.

We have already taken steps to increase transparency of water company finances. Under the Water (Special Measures) Act, water companies are required to ensure the public has access to clear and concise information on their finances. In March 2026, Ofwat published updated financial transparency requirements, which include new reporting requirements for water companies on dividends and the total remuneration received by each director (including any bonuses) in their annual performance reports. Companies already report on infrastructure investment and customer bills in their annual performance reports.

This Government is committed to delivering on its manifesto commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern. Defra is continuing to engage with relevant stakeholders to help determine the most appropriate scope for a ban. Species of conservation concern are listed primarily on Appendices I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) based on the level of threat that international trade poses to their conservation status.

Water safety is a shared responsibility across Government, arm's length bodies, and specialist organisations. All organisations are encouraged to use their social channels in the most effective way. Platform use and advertising spend varies between organisations to reflect different target audiences.

The Environment Agency shares safety advice around its assets and supports campaigns by leading experts such as the RNLI and Royal Life Saving Society. The Canal and River Trust, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, and others run their own water safety campaigns across multiple channels.

The National Water Safety Forum is currently running ‘Phone-Float-Throw’, a targeted paid digital campaign aimed at young male audiences across platforms including Snapchat. Defra and its ministers amplify water safety messaging by resharing content from the Environment Agency and partners on social media.

Government departments are limited in their use of TikTok, with central Government activity primarily conducted through the UK Government's central account.

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and encourages safe and responsible access to the countryside through the Countryside Code and support for nationwide water safety campaigns.

Public access onto around 3,400 miles of our regulated inland waterways, including several of the larger rivers, is available through the licensing regimes of the navigation authorities that own or manage them.

As set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, Defra committed to consulting on measures to ensure that everyone has access to nature close to home and to strengthen the public’s legal rights to access through an Access to Nature Green Paper to be published during this Parliament. This includes exploring the feasibility of increasing access onto unregulated waterways, and Defra is committed to working with stakeholders as this develops.

The Government will bring forward legislation through the Clean Water Bill, announced in the King’s Speech on 13 May, to deliver major reforms to the water system.

Public health will be at the heart of these reforms, alongside measures to strengthen regulation, improve water quality and tackle pollution at source, as set out in the Water White Paper.

The Government recently designated 13 new bathing waters, including six river sites. Designated bathing waters are regularly monitored during the bathing season, and water quality results are published on the Swimfo website. This helps to protect public health, allowing individuals to make more informed decisions about when and where to enter the water.

Safety at metal scrapyards is regulated in a number of ways. Environmental permits or exemptions issued by the Environment Agency are required to ensure the safety of the environment and human health from pollution risks, including managing fire risks; the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 requires scrap metal dealers to be licensed by the local authority to verify the identity of sellers, and prohibits cash payments, making it harder for criminals to sell stolen metal; and the health and safety of those working at metal scrapyards is covered by health and safety legislation regulated by the Health and Safety Executive.

The only way to bring energy bills down sustainably is by reducing Britain’s exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. The Government’s mission for Clean Power by 2030 will get us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices, to cut bills for businesses and households for good.

In the nearer term, through the British Industry Supercharger, the Government is reducing electricity costs for energy‑intensive industries. Since April 2026, the discount on electricity network charges for these firms has increased from 60% to 90%.

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will also reduce electricity costs by up to £40/MWh for over 10,000 businesses across the Industrial Strategy’s growth sectors and key manufacturing supply chains.

Careful choice of land management techniques can play a part in reducing wildfire impacts and bring a wide range of public benefits, but influencing human behaviour will be essential in preventing most wildfires from starting. Decisions on the most appropriate land management technique(s) should be tailored to the site in question, be evidence-led and part of a wider long-term strategy, beyond individual site boundaries, to restore ecosystem health and function.

Caution is needed when interpreting evidence from elsewhere in the world where there may be different fire regimes, habitat and vegetation types, and/or societal and cultural characteristics including current and historic grazing management. Some strategies used in countries with natural fire regimes (e.g. where lightning strikes are a common ignition source for wildfires), where target habitats may be naturally adapted to fire, over thousands of years, may not be appropriate in the UK where most wildfire is caused by humans.

The Government recognises the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is currently considering its approach to addressing the impact of the use of forest risk commodities in our supply chains and will set out its approach in due course.

The relevant Defra Minister did not meet any minister responsible for fire in 2025 to discuss the proposed burning regulations.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole, pre base fees calculation. This assessment did not split the assessment by material sector impact. Since, Defra and PackUK have engaged extensively with waste management experts and the packaging industry across all materials to ensure that the modelling of local authority costs underpinning the pEPR scheme base fees fairly reflects the costs on-the-ground in reality of waste management operations. From year 2 of EPR (2026/27) onwards, fees will be modulated to ensure that less recyclable packaging materials incur higher fees, and more recyclable packaging materials incur lower. The fee modulation policy will be reviewed every 3 years.

This Government thanks the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for their hard work in delivering the market investigation into veterinary services for household pets. Many of the recommendations raised by the CMA requiring legislative change were covered in Defra’s consultation into the reform to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA). This Government shall release a response to the CMA’s market investigation and the consultation on the reforms to the VSA in due course.

On 20 March the Government published its Waste Crime Action Plan, a major step up in its efforts to tackle waste crime. The Plan commits Defra to working closely with the Ministry of Justice to explore what more could be done to ensure that those who illegally dump waste are appropriately punished. Furthermore, the Crime and Policing Act, which received Royal Assent at the end of April, strengthens deterrence by enabling courts to endorse driving licences with penalty points for fly tipping offences involving vehicles, making it more difficult for repeat offenders to continue to dump waste illegally.

Part 4 of Schedule 1 to The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024 provides a list of plastics which are included in the recyclable plastic waste stream.

This includes PE, PET and PP pots which are larger than 40x40mm and do not contain any pigment which prevents them from being near-infrared detectable (e.g. carbon black pigment) within the plastic recyclable waste stream.

Defra engages regularly with local authority networks and will raise this matter with them, so they can communicate directly with their members about the legal requirement to collect this material.

We know that some local authorities are still to roll out changes beyond 31 March 2026 due to circumstances beyond their control, such as delivery timescales for collection vehicles and containers. In such circumstances, we expect local authorities to be taking all necessary steps to progress and keep their residents informed on timeframes for service changes.

We continue to work with local authority waste networks and the wider industry, providing targeted support to address the outstanding issues.

The Government continues to work closely with all livestock sectors as they face higher input costs particularly for fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

At the March 2026 meeting of the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Governments decided to closely monitor the price and availability of these key inputs in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The UKAMMG monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments including international conflicts and extended unfavourable weather. The Group meets monthly, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

The Government continues to work closely with all livestock sectors as they face higher input costs particularly for fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

At the March 2026 meeting of the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Governments decided to closely monitor the price and availability of these key inputs in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The UKAMMG monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments including international conflicts and extended unfavourable weather. The Group meets monthly, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

The Government continues to work closely with all livestock sectors as they face higher input costs particularly for fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

At the March 2026 meeting of the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Governments decided to closely monitor the price and availability of these key inputs in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The UKAMMG monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments including international conflicts and extended unfavourable weather. The Group meets monthly, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

The Government continues to work closely with all livestock sectors as they face higher input costs particularly for fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

At the March 2026 meeting of the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Governments decided to closely monitor the price and availability of these key inputs in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The UKAMMG monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments including international conflicts and extended unfavourable weather. The Group meets monthly, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

The Government continues to work closely with all livestock sectors as they face higher input costs particularly for fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

At the March 2026 meeting of the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Governments decided to closely monitor the price and availability of these key inputs in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The UKAMMG monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments including international conflicts and extended unfavourable weather. The Group meets monthly, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

The department understands that the action in question relates to Ofwat’s June 2025 enforcement case concerning Northumbrian Water’s management of its sewage treatment works and sewerage network.

This required the company to submit remediation plans to Ofwat in December 2025 for agreement, and Ofwat has since been in discussions with the company to ensure these plans meet all requirements.

Under the agreed undertakings, Northumbrian Water must provide Ofwat with regular monitoring reports on progress, including an initial report in June 2026 and further updates every six months. The company is also required to publish progress updates for customers and stakeholders on its website.

Defra is actively monitoring prevailing market conditions by assessing factors such as demand for seafood, price movements across key species, and wider supply chain dynamics, including the effects of seasonality and market access on fishers’ returns.

In parallel, Defra is closely monitoring input costs, in particular changes in diesel prices, and the impact these are having on the operational viability of the UK fishing fleet. Defra is working with other Government departments and industry stakeholders to gather evidence on cost pressures and how these vary across different fleet segments and regions.

Our assessment draws on economic data and analysis from Seafish and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), and considers the interaction between market conditions and input costs, including the extent to which rising costs can be absorbed or passed on through the market.

Defra will continue to work closely with stakeholders to understand how these pressures are evolving and to consider what, if any, measures may be appropriate to support the sector.

Defra continues to work closely with all cropping sectors as they face higher input costs particularly for fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

At the March 2026 meeting of the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Governments decided to closely monitor the price and availability of these key inputs in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The UKAMMG monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments including international conflicts and extended unfavourable weather. The Group meets monthly, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

Defra continues to work closely with all cropping sectors as they face higher input costs particularly for fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

At the March 2026 meeting of the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), Defra and the Devolved Governments decided to closely monitor the price and availability of these key inputs in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The UKAMMG monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments including international conflicts and extended unfavourable weather. The Group meets monthly, enabling it to provide forewarning of any atypical market movements.

There is no specific Programme spend.

There are currently no plans to issue further badger control licences. The government has committed to ending the badger cull by the end of this Parliament, and the 2025 culling season marked the final year of industry-led culling in England’s High Risk and Edge Areas.

Multiple published studies indicate that badger vaccination is safe and can reduce TB infection and transmission in badgers. Vaccination is now being deployed across a number of large areas, including through a newly contracted Badger Vaccination Field Force. This expanded programme will provide further opportunities to assess and add to the body of evidence about the impact of vaccination on reducing TB incidence in cattle, where important evidence gaps remain.

Several modelling studies published by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) predict that badger vaccination will significantly reduce TB in badger populations, reducing onward risks to cattle. Further modelling work is ongoing to investigate this further.

The co-design steering group, in its recently published recommended bovine TB strategy, concludes that with most of the High-Risk Area having received at least four years of culling, a transition to vaccination should be beneficial to TB control, particularly when targeted to areas where it can have the greatest impact.

Statutory tuberculin skin testing (SICCT) and interferon-gamma blood testing (IFNy) of cattle herds will remain the foundation of bovine tuberculosis (TB) control and will continue to be required. The recently published co-designed bovine TB Control Strategy for England also proposes facilitating greater access to privately-funded ancillary bovine TB testing alongside this, to support earlier detection of infected cattle and disease management.

Government will now consider the recommendations in the new bovine TB strategy, including on testing.

New World Screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, a parasitic blowfly, is classified as a notifiable pathogen under the Specified Animal Pathogens Order (SAPO) in the United Kingdom. The fly is not established in the UK and there have been no recorded cases of screwworm infection in the UK cattle herd.

In the event of a suspected or confirmed case, the Secretary of State would either be notified via the Animal and Plant Health Agency or by the Health and Safety Executive who are the SAPO licensing authority.

The Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations (FDOP) are the result of extensive consultation with farmers, producer groups and the wider industry. They have applied to any new contracts since August 2025 and will come into force fully (for all contracts) from August 2026.

FDOP includes a statutory requirement for post-implementation review, which will be carried out at the appropriate time, to assess the effectiveness and adequacy of the regulations. In the interim, the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) continues to engage with the pig sector and wider industry stakeholders to support implementation and monitor how the regulations are operating in practice.

The Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations (FDOP) are the result of extensive consultation with farmers, producer groups and the wider industry. They have applied to any new contracts since August 2025 and will come into force fully (for all contracts) from August 2026.

FDOP includes a statutory requirement for post-implementation review, which will be carried out at the appropriate time, to assess the effectiveness and adequacy of the regulations. In the interim, the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) continues to engage with the pig sector and wider industry stakeholders to support implementation and monitor how the regulations are operating in practice.

Landowners are responsible for preventing and clearing illegally dumped waste on their land. While landowner responsibility protects against perverse incentives, we recognise that innocent landowners can and often do face unaffordable remediation costs. That is why, as part of our Waste Crime Action Plan, we are exploring barriers to a more accessible insurance market, alongside practical guidance and preventative measures to help landowners reduce the risks that they face. Wherever possible, Government seeks to recover costs from perpetrators; we have recouped over £1.5 million since 2024.

We recognise rewilding and restoration of habitats and species plays a role in supporting thriving and productive seas. In the Environment Improvement Plan, through the Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) programme we aim to restore at least 15% of priority habitat, such as saltmarsh, seagrass and oyster reefs along the English coast by 2043.

Our Marine Protected Area network review is exploring ways to better address biodiversity loss, recover our seas and improve climate change resilience. We are exploring how Highly Protected Marine Areas can be used to support goals.

This Government is aware there have been increases in the price of red diesel as a result of volatility in international markets, influenced by the continued instability in the Middle East. This Government is taking decisive action to support fishers and farmers by cutting the duty on red diesel to its lowest rate in over 20 years, reducing the rate on red diesel by a third.

This Government speaks regularly with the fuel industry, and the UK remains well stocked for all fuel types.

Water companies must submit their estimated water poverty levels as part of their Price Review 24 business plan. From these projections we expect around 1 million households to be in water poverty by 2030. The Water Servies Regulation Authority (Ofwat) will publish a Cost-of-Living Report on affordability challenges this summer.

We expect all water companies to support customers struggling to pay their bills including more than doubling the number of customers receiving social tariffs. We will continue to take action to ensure the most vulnerable are protected from rising bills. As part of this, this Government is undertaking reforms to the statutory support scheme WaterSure.

Water companies must submit their estimated water poverty levels as part of their Price Review 24 business plan. From these projections we expect around 1 million households to be in water poverty by 2030. The Water Servies Regulation Authority (Ofwat) will publish a Cost-of-Living Report on affordability challenges this summer.

We expect all water companies to support customers struggling to pay their bills including more than doubling the number of customers receiving social tariffs. We will continue to take action to ensure the most vulnerable are protected from rising bills. As part of this, this Government is undertaking reforms to the statutory support scheme WaterSure.

Water companies must submit their estimated water poverty levels as part of their Price Review 24 business plan. From these projections we expect around 1 million households to be in water poverty by 2030. The Water Servies Regulation Authority (Ofwat) will publish a Cost-of-Living Report on affordability challenges this summer.

We expect all water companies to support customers struggling to pay their bills including more than doubling the number of customers receiving social tariffs. We will continue to take action to ensure the most vulnerable are protected from rising bills. As part of this, this Government is undertaking reforms to the statutory support scheme WaterSure.

On 20 April 2026, Defra instructed the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) to cease provision of the adjudication element of the Alternative Dispute Resolution service it had been operating through a third party, on the basis that CCW does not have the statutory power to conduct adjudication activities or to charge for them. CCW’s published Annual Report and Accounts set out provisions to refund subscribing water companies £34k for 2023–24 and £114k for 2024–25. As part of ongoing engagement on this matter, water companies will consider how best to allocate any refunds to support their respective community funds.

The Government will bring forward legislation through the Clean Water Bill, announced in the King’s Speech on 13 May, to deliver major reforms to the water system.

Public health will be at the heart of these reforms, alongside measures to strengthen regulation, improve water quality and tackle pollution at source, as set out in the Water White Paper.

Defra recognises there is significant interest in the continued access to glyphosate for farmers and growers. The renewal of approval for glyphosate is currently being reviewed in Great Britain (GB) by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Defra cannot pre-judge the outcome of the review.