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: 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: 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: 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: Lord Kamall (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 introduction of a transition period for products with a shelf life of three to five years that will be affected by the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU to prevent waste.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers, and helping to reduce the pressure on prices and increase choice in the shops.
We are working closely with businesses to assess the implementation impacts of the Agreement.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered the impact of the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU on additives in vitamins, including the Healthy Start Vitamins.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have begun negotiations with the EU on an SPS agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and removing barriers to trade for British producers and retailers. While negotiations with the EU on the SPS agreement are underway, we will not be providing a running commentary of discussions.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 flooding risk to farms; and what percentage of farms are at high flood risk.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our new national flood risk assessment (NaFRA) shows that of the 85,000 square kilometres of agricultural land in England, over 11,000 square kilometres is in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and sea.
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 she has made of the adequacy of the clarity of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 relating to publicly accessible land.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department acknowledges that the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 contains a number of provisions relevant to the planning, management and use of land, and considers these to be clear in their intended scope and application. Section 245 strengthens the statutory duty on relevant authorities in National Parks and National Landscapes by requiring them to seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty when exercising their functions. The Act also supports the safeguarding and integration of walking and cycling networks through the planning system, building on existing policy in the National Planning Policy Framework.
More broadly, the Government has announced, as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, a commitment to publish an Access to Nature Green Paper to consult on proposals to increase access and engagement with nature. The Green Paper will test a range of policy options and invite views from stakeholders and the public, helping us to gather evidence and test approaches before decisions are made. This consultation will play an important role in shaping the development of future policy in this area.