Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the water usage by data centres in the United Kingdom, and what sustainable sources of water will be used for this purpose.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works closely with other Government Departments on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. Defra will continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.
The water requirements of data centres vary, largely depending on the type of cooling systems used. Air cooled systems do not require very much water but are much more energy intensive. Closed loop systems reuse water, so have much lower water requirements than open loop systems.
As part of meeting the national statutory target to reduce the use of public water supply in England per head of population by 20% by 2038, Defra have set out an interim target to reduce non-household water use by 9% by 2030. We are currently working with TechUK, the trade association for data centres, to increase Defra and the Environment Agency's understanding of current water usage and cooling technologies being used.
When data centres are planned and designed, consideration should be given to the types of cooling technology being selected and the corresponding water needs. The water for cooling systems does not need to be drinking water quality. Consideration must also be given to where the data centre is going to be located to ensure that any water needs can be met.
The Environment Agency’s upcoming National Framework for Water Resources (2025) highlights the need for joined-up planning between different water-using sectors to identify collaborative solutions for water resources.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (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 access tenant and family farmers have had to advice on applying for the Sustainable Farming Incentive and the Environmental Land Management farm schemes given the short time for which such schemes have been open.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We share guidance about Environmental Land Management (ELM) and other scheme offers on our farming blog and on the relevant scheme pages at gov.uk. Details of the expanded SFI 2024 offer were first shared at https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2024/05/22/this-years-sustainable-farming-incentive-offer/) on 22 May 2024. Defra and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) regularly attend industry events to share scheme offers and advice with farmers. The RPA helpline supports farmers, including tenant and family farmers, with general questions about SFI and other ELM schemes on their helpline
Furthermore, for the beginning of the agricultural transition, the Farming Resilience Fund (FRF) provided free business support to farmers and land managers in England. FRF was available from October 2022 to March 2025.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (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 level of (1) theft from farms and (2) flytipping in each of the last three years, and what steps they are taking to reduce these.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Data on overall levels of farming theft has been collected by stakeholders. In 2023, National Farmers Union Mutual estimated the cost of specific crimes that victimise famers:
We recognise the importance of tackling rural crime and are committed to safeguarding rural communities. The Home Office and Defra are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver the updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy.
The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 requires secondary legislation before it can come into effect. We are currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine the scope of the legislation. We will publish the Government’s response to the Call for Evidence on the scope of the legislation soon and intend to have the necessary regulations in place later this year.
Local authorities are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which we publish annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. This excludes the majority of private-land incidents.
Local authorities have enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping, including fixed penalty notices and prosecution action which can lead to a significant fine or imprisonment. We intend to seek powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory enforcement guidance to support local authorities to appropriately and consistently exercise their enforcement powers.
We have committed in our manifesto to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up their mess. We will provide an update on this in due course.
We will continue to work with stakeholders through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, such as the National Farmers Union, local authorities and police, to promote and disseminate good practice on tackling fly-tipping.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether inshore fishers are able to use their full fishing quota without being subject to a cap based on size of vessel or other factors; how this situation has changed since the UK left the European Union; and when the quota was last revised.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The 350kg licence cap on some English 10 metre and under vessels was removed in December 2024 enabling them to fully utilise their fishing opportunities. The capping of UK fishing licences is a domestic decision and has not been affected by the UK leaving the EU. The measures used to manage the UK fleet, including quota allocation, are reviewed regularly with the most recent change being the decision to remove the cap in December 2024.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (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 impact of the closure of applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive on upland farmers.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We fully recognise the importance of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for upland farmers – and we strongly want the scheme to be available to them as we move forward.
We have closed SFI for new applications because the current SFI budget has been successfully allocated, with large-scale uptake of the scheme and 37,000 live SFI agreements delivering towards our environmental targets.
We will be reforming the SFI offer to direct funding towards SFI actions which are most appropriate for the least productive land and have the strongest case for enduring public investment.
We expect to publish more information about the reformed SFI offer in summer 2025. This will include an indication of when we expect to re-open SFI for applications.
In the meantime, as announced on 25th February, we’re increasing HLS payment rates. We believe this uplift better reflects the contributions made by those with HLS agreements and will support the continued protection and management of these sites.
We will also open the rolling application window for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier this summer and have published information that sets out what upland farmers can do now to prepare to apply for CSHT.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the time allowed between the agreement of criteria for applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive from upland farmers and the date the scheme was closed.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra announced details of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 offer on 21 May 2024, at GOV.UK. This included details of the criteria for applications made by upland famers.
Defra has now closed SFI for the submission of new applications, but existing agreements will continue. We now have over 37,000 live SFI agreements. Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed.
We will provide further details about the reformed SFI offer once the Spending Review has been completed.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made to reduce barriers to and facilitate cross-border travel without physical checks for thoroughbred horses since 6 February.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There have been no changes to the rules for importing thoroughbred horses into Great Britain since 6 February 2025. Imports of thoroughbred horses from the European Union (EU) do not currently need to enter Great Britain via a Border Control Post and are not subject to physical checks at the border. Guidance on importing horses into Great Britain is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure there is no repeat of the 2013 horsemeat scandal; and what measures they are taking to improve the traceability of horses in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the national authority responsible for food safety and food hygiene across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The FSA ensures that official controls and legislation for meat safety and traceability are met by deploying staff in every slaughterhouse. The FSA also conducts risk-based, intelligence driven surveillance to monitor food safety and authenticity. It also has a National Food Crime Unit to prevent, detect and investigate food crime. This was established following the 2013 horsemeat incident.
The Government recognises the importance of improving equine traceability. Defra is engaging with industry to consider improvements to this.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Manchester Airport Group, the owner of Stansted Airport, on the potential closure of the Border Inspection Post at Stansted Airport.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware that Stansted has signalled an intention to relocate its Border Inspection Post to another site and that the timing of this remains uncertain. This is a commercial decision for the airport’s owners. No application to de-designate the existing site or designate a new site has been received. The Department stands ready to help progress such applications when received.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (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 impact of the potential closure of the Border Inspection Post at Stansted Airport on the British horseracing industry; and what plans they have to ensure that horses are able to continue travelling to and from the UK by air.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware that Stansted has signalled an intention to relocate its Border Inspection Post to another site and that the timing of this remains uncertain. This is a commercial decision for the airport’s owners. No application to de-designate the existing site or designate a new site has been received. The Department stands ready to help progress such applications when received.