Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 99506 on Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), whether the upcoming PFAS Plan will commit to the Health & Safety Executive's (HSE’s) suggestions, following on from the RMOA and the HSE UK REACH Work Programme 2024-25, to restrict PFAS in wide dispersive uses and PFAS in consumer products.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s approach to PFAS includes consideration of appropriate regulatory interventions as well as other actions, and more details will be provided in the PFAS Plan when it is published.
We recognise that PFAS is used in a wide range of contexts, including wide dispersive uses and in consumer products. Current work includes a 6 month HSE consultation on whether to restrict the wide dispersive use of PFAS in fire-fighting foams, as one of the largest sources of direct releases of PFAS to the environment.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much Western Mackerel has been (a) caught, (b) landed in UK ports and (c) landed in ports outside the UK; and what is the estimated first hand sale value.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is not possible to separate landings of Western mackerel from total mackerel landings in the UK Sea Fisheries statistics published by the Marine Management Organisation.
In 2024, the last full year of landings data available, quota for Western mackerel accounted for 99% of the UK’s total mackerel quota and (a) UK vessels landed 233,586t of mackerel, (b) 127,967t of mackerel was landed into UK ports by UK and foreign vessels and (c) UK vessels landed 111,061t into non-UK ports. The first-hand sale value for mackerel landed by UK vessels was £1,468 per tonne in 2024. Mackerel prices have increased in 2025 – provisional figures suggest in November this year the sale value is £2,076 per tonne.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2025 to question 98902 on the Environmental Improvement Plan, whether her Department plans to publish a formal consultation on domestic combustion.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As outlined in the EIP, we will consult on further measures to reduce emissions from domestic burning.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the most recent estimate is of the number of residential properties in Hemsby at risk of loss to coastal erosion within (i) 5 and (ii) 10 years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to continue making detailed risk assessments, including for the potential economic impacts. To support all RMA’s, the Environment Agency have developed and published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping which has been in place since 2011, updated in 2017 and most recently received a major update in 2025.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the potential economic impact of coastal erosion in Hemsby on (a) tourism, (b) local employment and (c) local tax revenues.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to continue making detailed risk assessments, including for the potential economic impacts. To support all RMA’s, the Environment Agency have developed and published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping which has been in place since 2011, updated in 2017 and most recently received a major update in 2025.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the most recent estimate is of the number of businesses in Hemsby at risk of loss to coastal erosion within (i) 5 and (ii) 10 years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to continue making detailed risk assessments, including for the potential economic impacts. To support all RMA’s, the Environment Agency have developed and published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping which has been in place since 2011, updated in 2017 and most recently received a major update in 2025.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 cost-benefit ratio in relation to (a) maintaining current shoreline management policy outcomes at Hemsby and (b) alternative policies involving additional coastal defences.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to undertake detailed assessments of risk management options along with their costs and benefits.
In 2018/19, the Anglian Regional Flood and Coastal Committee provided local levy funding to Great Yarmouth Borough Council to undertake a high-level study of options for the Hemsby coastal erosion issues.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 the steps her Department is taking to consider (a) displacement costs, (b) temporary accommodation costs and (c) local authority rehousing pressures when deciding on new coastal erosion management projects.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Coastal management is delivered through collaboration between the Environment Agency, local authorities and a range of partners. Defra retains overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) in England, while local authorities lead on managing coastal erosion.
Projects within the Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme are assessing the costs and benefits of proactive coastal transition measures in coastal communities. This includes evaluating socio-economic benefits such as reduced temporary accommodation costs, lower mental health impacts, and decreased financial pressures on councils.
Under the Government’s new funding policy, economic assessments of FCERM projects may include additional by-product benefits beyond flood or erosion reduction. In addition, the Environment Agency’s FCERM appraisal guidance recommends that, when assessing the economic impacts of a project, indirect damages avoided should be taken into account. Indirect damages typically include costs such as displacement and temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) coastal modelling, (b) geomorphical studies and (c) monitoring programmes the Environment Agency has commissioned in relation to Hemsby since 2020.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency was a partner in the development and publication of the Shoreline Management Plan for northeast Norfolk: Kelling Hard to Lowestoft SMP6 | Shoreline Management Plans. In 2018/19, the Environment Agency worked with the Anglian Regional Flood and Coastal Committee to provide local levy funding to Great Yarmouth Borough Council to undertake a high-level study of options for the Hemsby coastal erosion issues. The Environment Agency’s Anglian Coastal Monitoring Programme (ACMP) undertakes detailed coastal monitoring of the coastline which began in 1991. The ACMP team works closely with Risk Management Authorities, including Great Yarmouth Borough Council staff, to refine monitoring to meet their local needs.
In January 2025 the Environment Agency published an update to the National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping online. The new mapping includes data from the National Coastal Monitoring Programme (NCMP), which includes coastal assets, beach profiles, bathymetry, aerial photography, LiDAR and coastal habitats. All coastal monitoring data, reports and analysis are available as open data on the coastal monitoring website ( Programmes - Welcome).
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the current Shoreline Management Plan policy is for the Hemsby coastline; and what the evidential basis was for selecting that policy.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In January 2025 the Environment Agency published the new Shoreline Management Plan Explorer. The documentation associated with preferred policies can be found in the SMP Main Report: Kelling Hard to Lowestoft SMP6 | Shoreline Management Plans. The management approach for Hemsby’s coast is “managed realignment”. This has been developed locally by the East Anglia Coastal Group and included local consultation. The policy development and engagement documents can be found in the appendices. Appendix A, SMP Development Stages 2 and 3, pages 9-17, provide detailed information regarding the policy development process.