Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 is taking to reduce waste crime in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to tackling waste crime from the fly-tippers who blight our towns and villages to the serious and organised crime groups who are exploiting the waste sector. We are making policy and regulatory reforms to close loopholes exploited by criminals and have increased the Environment Agency’s (EA’s) budget for waste crime enforcement by over 50% this year to £15.6m.
The EA focuses on tackling large-scale waste crime, often linked to organised criminal activity. While fly-tipping is managed by local authorities, the EA works proactively with partners including the police, HMRC, DVSA, Local authorities and National Farmers Union through intelligence-led “days of action” at locations such as Cartgate roundabout near Yeovil. These operations target unregistered waste carriers and ensure compliance with licensing requirements and robust enforcement for non-compliance.
Representatives from the EA sit on the Avon and Somerset Rural Affairs Forum which is a partnership to address rural crime including waste crime. The Agency is also part of the South-West Regional Organised Crime Unit, which focuses on serious and organised waste crime. This unit assesses reports of illegal waste activity, undertaking triage and determining the response, based on a range of risk and public interest factors.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 is taking to support a reduction of incidents of fly-tipping in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) South Somerset.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local councils are responsible for tackling fly-tipping in their area and have a range of enforcement powers to help them do so. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution action. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and are taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers. We are also conducting a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool.
In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.
In the meantime, Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities, National Farmers Union and the Environment Agency, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping, including on private land. Various practical tools are available from their webpage at: https://nftpg.com/
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's progress on improving agricultural grant funding to help support fruit and vegetable growers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Both Defra ministers and officials host regular discussions with a range of farming stakeholders, including growers, to understand the challenges that they face and how we can best support them.
Legislation introduced in July 2023 effectively closed the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in England by preventing submission of new operational programmes and the extension of existing programmes which would end on or after 1 January 2026. The sector has been aware of its closure since that time and there has been extensive engagement with officials. The scheme was designed to help fresh fruit and vegetable growers increase their power in the supply chain, but it was only available to Producer Organisations, with around just over 20% of the sector accessing it and the vast majority not benefitting. Future support for the sector will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.
Moreover, of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Wider Government support that we are providing for horticulture includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has carried out a recent impact assessment for the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Both Defra ministers and officials host regular discussions with a range of farming stakeholders, including growers, to understand the challenges that they face and how we can best support them.
Legislation introduced in July 2023 effectively closed the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in England by preventing submission of new operational programmes and the extension of existing programmes which would end on or after 1 January 2026. The sector has been aware of its closure since that time and there has been extensive engagement with officials. The scheme was designed to help fresh fruit and vegetable growers increase their power in the supply chain, but it was only available to Producer Organisations, with around just over 20% of the sector accessing it and the vast majority not benefitting. Future support for the sector will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.
Moreover, of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Wider Government support that we are providing for horticulture includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 help support the financial viability of farming businesses in North Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Supporting farmers in North Shropshire and across the country is a key priority for the Government.
We have allocated a record £11.8bn to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. We are targeting public money where it delivers most value, including actions that support nature to produce good food, and providing grants to help the sector access cutting-edge technology and techniques.
We have started to make the supply chain fairer, so farmers are protected in contracts with supermarkets, and are unlocking new markets for British produce to fuel growth.
We will continue our work to make farming and food production more profitable in the decades to come. We are working with farmers, farming and environmental organisations to develop the Farming Roadmap, which will set the course of farming in England for the next 25 years.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on which local authorities have introduced (a) three-weekly and (b) monthly residual household rubbish collections.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East, Joe Robertson, on 20 December 2024, PQ UIN 19914.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has issued guidance on council farms.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recently published the 74th annual report to Parliament on smallholdings in England. The report indicated that council farms continue to play an important role in the tenanted agricultural sector across England.
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, what steps she is taking to protect UK food security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We need a resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British farmers, fishers and food producers.
As part of the Government’s Plan for Change we are delivering on the Government’s New Deal for Farmers which includes a raft of new policies and major investment to boost profits for farmers.
We've allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 is taking to improve mental health awareness training for the agricultural sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra funds the Farmer Welfare Grant that includes a recipient consortium led by The Farmer Network that is delivering mental health first aid training to those who interact with farmers. Participants reported an almost 100% increase in their knowledge and confidence in discussing mental health. Another recipient, the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network are also delivering farmer specific mental health awareness and first aid sessions to the sector.
Furthermore, the department is also increasing awareness of mental health training opportunities by signposting resources to our customers and supporting the rollout of training for our staff who directly engage with individuals in the sector.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the EU on the movement of veterinary medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after 1 January 2026; and when she plans to communicate relevant decisions to veterinary practices.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government continues to engage with the EU on a range of issues relating to the Windsor Framework, including veterinary medicines.
We continue to engage extensively with industry including veterinary bodies and other veterinary experts and will use this information to inform and calibrate the guidance and measures we are taking.