Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 impact on sugar beet producers in England due to the decision to extend tariff-free access for raw cane sugar.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK relies on some imported refined sugar to meet demand, and the Government’s assessment concluded that any additional volume of raw cane imports would largely displace that imported refined sugar rather than impacting domestic production. The increase in the ATQ volume is therefore not expected to impact UK sugar beet producers and the Government continues to work closely with stakeholders to ensure policy making finely balances all considerations.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to help ensure farmers are not out of pocket for costs incurred under AB12 supplementary feeding for farmland birds.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Environmental Land Management Capital Grants scheme, AB12 aims to provide bird feed during the winter period when other food sources are scarce. It pays £732 per tonne for every 2 hectares (ha) of winter bird food and is available under Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier. Feed can be purchased from a number of suppliers across the UK. The department regularly reviews payment rates.
Asked by: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken in response to recent reports of Blue Tongue Disease being detected in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Disease control is a devolved matter and it is for the Devolved Governments to assess the disease risks and impacts in relation to their national herds, alongside the impacts of controls, and respond accordingly. Defra works closely with the Devolved Governments with the aim of providing, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response across the UK.
Following the first suspected bluetongue case in Northern Ireland on 28 November 2025, Defra is working with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to review policy regarding movement of bluetongue susceptible animals between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Fuller (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of the total cost per dwelling for the purchase by developers of nutrient neutrality credits for phosphate and nitrogen respectively, including cost variations by catchment and region.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is broad variation in the cost of nutrient credits across nutrient neutrality areas, dependent on a range of factors such as the type of nutrient, the value of land and the nature of the intervention.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 ensure imported eggs are (a) salmonella free and (b) raised to the same standards as UK produced eggs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has detailed legislation on marketing standards for eggs, which also covers imported eggs, to protect our food standards.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to undertake public consultation on the next England Trees Action Plan; and when will the new England Trees Action Plan be published.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 sets out that the government will publish a new Trees Action Plan in 2026. The Trees Action Plan will set out how the government will invest over £1 billion this parliament into tree planting and the forestry sector to achieve our new 2030 interim tree canopy and woodland cover target, improve the resilience and condition of our trees and woodlands, and deliver multiple benefits for nature, climate, people and the economy.
We are working closely with industry, researchers and other stakeholders to shape the vision, priorities and content of the plan. We will continue to actively engage and collaborate with these and other stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data are being gathered to create greater transparency in supply chains under Part 3 of Schedule 6 to the Agriculture Act 2020, for what purposes, and whether they are being published.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Part 3 of Schedule 6 to the Agriculture Act 2020 provides powers for Government to collect and share supply chain data where this would improve transparency and support the functioning of agricultural markets. These powers have not been exercised to date.
These powers were taken largely to replace equivalent EU data-collection powers to ensure that Government retained the ability to collect information should market conditions require it.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what specific measures funded by the nature restoration levy will be mandatory for farms.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The conservation measures funded through the Nature Restoration Fund will depend on the specific Environmental Delivery Plan and the nature of the impact which the Environmental Delivery Plan seeks to address.
Natural England will look to collaborate with farmers as conservation measure providers, making use of their knowledge and experience to deliver for nature. It will be for farmers to decide whether to provide conservation measures on their land. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill does not provide Natural England with powers to mandate particular management approaches on farms.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which measures funded by the nature restoration levy would take agricultural land out of food production.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises that food security is national security and is committed to safeguarding the most productive agricultural land to maintain long-term food production. Farms also play a leading role in protecting nature and delivering environmental benefits, with nature markets an increasingly important source of income for farmers and land managers.
The impact of the Nature Restoration Fund on agricultural land will depend on the individual Environmental Delivery Plan and the conservation measures identified to address the impact of development. Natural England already considers the impact of its activities on agriculture. For example, when designing mitigation measures, the existing Nutrient Mitigation Scheme seeks to avoid the best and most versatile agricultural land. We expect Natural England to apply this approach to Environmental Delivery Plans.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ofwat on its effectiveness at regulating (a) bonuses (b) dividends (c) inter company management charges (d) company debt (e) consumer bills for water customers in England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State regularly meets with stakeholders including Ofwat to discuss a range of issue, all of which is published on gov.uk.