Asked by: Earl Russell (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the large-scale illegal waste dumping sites in (1) Sittingbourne in Kent, and (2) Camborne in Cornwall, which were listed as "active" in the letter from Baroness Hayman of Ullock to Lord Krebs on 5 November, are currently still receiving waste; and if so, why and what steps they are taking to close those sites.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Waste input ceased at the site in Sittingbourne in 2021. The site at Camborne experienced a period of cessation from June 2025 until the end of November 2025. At the end of November one further deposit of waste was discovered.
The original letter to Lord Krebs on 5 November gave descriptions of ‘active’ and ‘inactive’ sites. The description of an ‘active’ site said it continued to accept waste – this was incorrect. Defra apologises for this mistake and has issued a correction to Lord Krebs accordingly.
A site is considered ‘active’ in this context if the Environment Agency is taking action at the site. A site having ‘active’ status does not necessarily mean that the site is actively receiving waste
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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for canal maintenance.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Canal maintenance, and ensuring funding for it, is the responsibility of navigation authorities. The Government provides the largest navigation authority, the Canal and River Trust, with an annual grant of £52.6 million to support the Trust’s network maintenance programme. This represented 22% of the Trust’s total income of £232 million last year.
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 (a) the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, (b) developers and (c) local government on the adequacy of tree planting and open space provision in housing developments in England.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 25 November 2025 to Question 91614 by the Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government).
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department has established measurable targets for rural business productivity improvements supported by public funding in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not set productivity targets specifically for businesses in rural areas. Defra provides funding to rural businesses via the Rural England Prosperity Fund. Each individual eligible local authority is responsible for running their own rounds of funding and establishing their own delivery targets based on local priorities.
The Fund is devolved to local authorities, and they have been given responsibility for delivery of REPF – including setting priorities and delivery targets for the funding they have been allocated, assessing and approving project applications, processing payments and the day-to-day monitoring of delivery. Each eligible local authority reports every 6 months on spend and outcomes via the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, who administer the Fund on Defras’ behalf.
The Department provided Buckinghamshire with an allocation of £1.828m in financial years 2023/24 & 2024/25 and a further £548k in financial year 2025/26 via the Rural England Prosperity Fund.
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 assessment has been made of the effectiveness of plans to reduce vehicle generated air pollution in Greater Manchester as an alternative to the now cancelled charging Clean Air Zone proposal.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We agreed in January 2025 an £86m plan for Greater Manchester to help reduce pollution from vehicles and clean up the region’s air. The plan includes support for cleaner buses, local traffic measures and moving Greater Manchester’s taxi fleet to cleaner vehicles. The plan was agreed by Government following assessment of evidence provided by Greater Manchester authorities that it was likely to achieve compliance with legal nitrogen dioxide limits in the shortest possible time, including in comparison to the alternative of a Clean Air Zone.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of (a) consultations and (b) reviews conducted by her Department since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An answer could only be provided by incurring disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of a) farms and b) slaughterhouses are inspected each year; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that proportion on animal welfare standards.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
a). In 2023, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) undertook 1381 visits, inspecting 3001 herd and flocks. APHA operates an intelligence- and risk-based inspection regime, prioritising cases where significant animal suffering has been identified. There is no prescribed proportion of farms inspected solely for welfare purposes. When inspections are carried out for other purposes, such as disease control, any welfare concerns identified are addressed immediately or escalated for further action.
b) All approved slaughterhouses have Food Standards Agency (FSA) officials present during operations and receive at least one dedicated welfare inspection annually. These inspections are supplemented by risk-based audits, ensuring a high level of compliance with animal welfare standards. Overall compliance with animal welfare requirements in slaughterhouses remains very high across the sector.
Risk-based and intelligence-led inspections remain the most effective means of targeting resources to tackle serious animal welfare breaches. The FSA monitors large numbers of animals and reports any welfare concerns to APHA, which forms part of this integrated, risk-based approach.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has she made of the potential implications of the simplifications made by the EU to the EU Deforestation Regulation in terms of (a) its impact on the UK economy in Northern Ireland, (b) the timetable for the Northern Ireland Assembly to consider the legislation and (c) the timetable for the application of the legislation to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are currently reviewing the latest EU proposals. We will take them into account as part of our ongoing considerations.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Further to the DEFRA 2024-25 annual report and accounts, HC 1388, 12 November 2025, p.147, whether Nick Joicey has permanently left her Department as a civil servant.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nick Joicey is currently on secondment from Defra. He remains a Civil Servant and, in line with standard practice, continues to be on Defra's headcount during the period of the secondment.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to issue updated guidance to local councils on maintaining minimum service levels in waste operations during periods of industrial disruption.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not plan to update guidance to local councils on prioritising services in periods of disruption in waste operations. Defra’s current guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/waste-collection-services-guidance-for-local-authorities/waste-collection-services-guidance-for-local-authorities.