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, with reference to the press release entitled England’s peatlands mapped for first time in major step towards their recovery, published on 12 May 2025, whether her Department's assessment of the proportion of peatland that is degraded was based on (a) land management definitions and (b) testing the health of peat.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The England Peat Map has not assessed peatland as degraded or not and so cannot determine the proportions of degraded peatland in each category mentioned.
Work is currently ongoing to incorporate England Peat Map outputs into the Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which will help assess the carbon emissions from England’s peatlands.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 local authorities and regional stakeholders, including in Surrey, on the delivery of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s intentions to enhance the roles and functions of Local Nature Recovery Strategy responsible authorities to take a leading role in environmental delivery are set out in English Devolution White Paper. Officials have been engaging with all responsible authorities, including Surrey County Council, and other relevant stakeholders to develop more detailed expectations for what this delivery role should entail.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support is available to communities to respond to treefall as a result of extreme weather.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission works closely with the forestry sector and environmental organisations to provide guidance on storm recovery operations for both public and private woodland owners following extreme weather.
The Forestry Commission provides support through Incident Management and Contingency Planning, helping to coordinate response, issue warnings, and share information to the forestry sector and communities. This work is carried out in partnership with Lead Government Departments and emergency responders.
Forestry Commission guidance states that a felling licence is not required to clear windblown (uprooted, snapped or no longer growing) or dangerous trees. Where felling licence applications relate directly to managing standing trees that present public safety risks, the Forestry Commission may expedite processing by excluding publishing on the public consultation register where there is an overriding public safety benefit.
During recovery, restocking woodlands provides an opportunity to increase resilience to future extreme weather and climate change, including adjusting woodland design and tree species choices to improve long‑term stability.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 adequacy of (a) funding and (b) capacity for local authorities to implement Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Funding for Local Nature Recovery Strategy responsible authorities to support the delivery of the strategies will be confirmed as part of departmental business planning for financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29. This will be informed by discussions with responsible authorities about what the new delivery role will entail.
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, how much and what proportion of peatland assessed as degraded is (a) lowland farmland in the Fens,(b) other lowland cropland, (c) grassland, (d) modified heather dominated upland, (e) woodland and (f) land used for peatland extraction; and what proportion of carbon emissions is produced by each category.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The England Peat Map (EPM) does not classify peatlands by land-management definitions or directly test peat health. It provides a detailed national map of peat extent and depth, vegetation and land cover, upland drainage channels, and bare peat—features that are strong indicators of condition.
The Department’s statement that “around 80% of England’s peatlands are in dry and degraded states” reflects widely accepted UK-wide estimates and is consistent with analysis of the EPM. This figure (80%) is cited by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in its UK Peatland Strategy and Commission of Inquiry on Peatlands. It is also referenced by the Office for National Statistics. The figure was neither produced by Natural England nor derived from the EPM. However, analysis of the EPM does show that around 80% of England’s peatlands are associated with vegetation and land use cover associated with drier habitats, such as bare peat, arable land, and heather-dominated vegetation.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 adequacy of funding levels to meet the Government’s environmental targets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 sets out how we will deliver against our Environment Act targets. This is backed by a settlement that maintains the Government’s steadfast commitment to farming, food security, and nature’s recovery.
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, with regard to the independent report Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2025: infections, published on 4 December 2025, what action they plan to take in response to the specific additional recommendation about the link between agricultural use of novel fungicides and the spread of resistant strains of fungi with the capacity to cause serious disease.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government recognises the importance of carefully managing pesticide use, including fungicides, to protect the environment and human health and address the risks of resistance.
During the plant protection product approvals process, the Health and Safety Executive considers the potential for resistance development in the target pest organism. Where resistance is known or anticipated, limitations are placed on product use to mitigate resistance developing. Defra is also funding work by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board which provides farmers best practice to minimise the risk of resistance emerging.
Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department of Health and Social Care has provided over £12 million in funding over the last five years for research into fungal infections and tackling antifungal resistance. Defra has also co-funded a research programme for UK Research and Innovation on ‘Transdisciplinary research to tackle antimicrobial resistance’.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is routinely monitoring threats from antifungal resistance. The National Mycology Reference Laboratory performs antifungal susceptibility testing of fungi from human infections from across the UK. UKHSA also monitors antifungal susceptibility testing data for fungal yeast pathogens isolated from blood samples from local microbiology laboratories in England. Trends are published annually.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
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 granting the Welsh Government’s proposed UK Internal Market Act exemption to run its own Deposit Return Scheme on food and drink businesses.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is following the process to assess the Welsh Government’s proposal for an exclusion from the UK Internal Market Act as set out in the UK Internal Market Act Review published in July 2025. The Government has been engaging with stakeholders to gather evidence and feedback on the impact of the proposal on the UK internal market in order to inform its response to the Welsh Government’s proposal. The Government is working at pace to be able to communicate its position within the Resources & Waste Common Framework, in line with the processes set out in the 2025 Review.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
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 introduce a ban on cages for laying hens in the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The recently published animal welfare strategy sets out that ending the use of cages and crates is a key priority for this Government.
As announced on 12 January 2026, a consultation on a proposal to ban the keeping of laying hens, pullets and breeder layers in cages has been launched and will close on 9 March 2026.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 recent planning exemptions for campsites on protected landscapes in West Dorset.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of recent planning exemptions for campsites on Protected Landscapes in West Dorset. However, we are committed to working with local partners and Protected Landscapes organisations to understand how planning measures can protect the unique landscape and natural assets of these areas, while supporting sustainable tourism and rural economic growth.