Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to announce further details of the revised Sustainable Farming Incentive, and what support they will provide to upland and tenant farmers.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We will provide more detail on the new SFI offer ahead of publishing the full scheme details before the first application window opens in June.

Eligible upland and tenant farmers will be able to apply for funding as part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive this year. The department is working with social entrepreneur Dr Hilary Cottam on a new approach to supporting the uplands and our next step will be to develop a place-based approach for what these communities need, co-designing solutions to specific problems. An example would be, developing a common understanding of how land can be best used for food production and the public good.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the judgment in Gladman Developments Limited v Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government and Lancaster City Council [2026] EWHC 51 (Admin), which sets aside the sequential test allowing planning authorities to disapply the national standards for sustainable drainage systems published in June 2025.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Due to ministers' role in the planning system, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the details of a specific legal case.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is however clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk (whether existing or in the future). Where development is necessary in such areas, it should be made safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere.

The Government is committed to securing the delivery of high-quality sustainable drainage systems to help manage flood risk and adapt to the effects of climate change. The NPPF sets out that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts.

We are consulting on a new framework that includes clearer, more ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making, designed to make planning policy easier to use and underpin the delivery of faster and simpler local plans. The consultation includes a dedicated chapter on planning for flood risk and a proposed new requirement for SuDS to be designed in accordance with the National Standards for SuDS published last year.

The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available (attached) here: National Planning Policy Framework: proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system - GOV.UK and will remain open for responses until 10th March 2026.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of job losses in the hospitality and tourism sectors on rural and coastal areas on (1) opportunities for young people to work and (2) the local economy; and what measures they are taking to alleviate these job losses.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government recognises the vital importance of the hospitality sector, particularly in rural and coastal areas, in providing employment opportunities for young people and supporting local economies. We have put in place a range of measures to ease cost pressures on the sector, including permanently lowering the business rates multiplier for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, alongside a £4.3 billion business rates support package to protect ratepayers from increases following the revaluation.

Building on this, From April, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget and then bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years. The pub and hotel sector has also raised concerns about valuation, which the government agrees need to be addressed. We are therefore launching a review into how they are valued for business rates.

To go even further, we are more than doubling the Hospitality Support Fund, providing £10 million over three years to help local hospitality businesses diversify, improve productivity, and support people into jobs.

We are also investing significantly in young people's skills and opportunities. This includes £820 million for the Youth Guarantee and £725 million through the Growth and Skills Levy, ensuring young people have the support they need to earn or learn. We will support 50,000 young people into apprenticeships in England by fully funding apprenticeship training costs for all eligible 16-24year-olds, expanding foundation apprenticeships to hospitality, and extending the Destination Hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programme pilot, launched in partnership with UKHospitality.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of funding to deliver the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) 2025 is expected to be raised from the private sector for environmental schemes under landscape recovery within the EIP.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The pilot phase of Landscape Recovery will help us understand how much private finance projects are able to secure from private nature markets and what areas of projects that funding supports.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the relationship is between domestic food production, including increasing self-sufficiency and food security, and nature recovery schemes.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Restoring nature is not in competition with sustainable food production but is necessary to it. Protecting the environmental foundations of farming is essential to farm profitability, because all farms need healthy soils, abundant pollinators, and clean water to produce good food.

The Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. The department is targeting public money where it delivers most value, supporting nature. By investing in nature, Defra is helping secure the foundations of long-term food security.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have taken to prevent thermal runaway at battery storage plants.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Thermal runaway risks at battery storage plants are mitigated through a regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. This framework sets legal requirements for battery developers and operators, requiring them to maintain health and safety throughout all stages of a battery’s deployment. This includes the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations which sets minimum requirements for the management of explosion risks.

To complement this framework, government has recently consulted on the principle of including batteries within scope of environmental permitting legislation. Government will publish a consultation response in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fire risks of battery storage plants.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government takes fire safety extremely seriously. The risk of a fire starting at grid-scale battery sites is lower than those at non-domestic buildings in general from all sources. Existing regulations and guidance limit the impact of a fire were one to occur, in particular with respect to location and operating conditions.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what compensation is available to residents who have to evacuate due to a fire at a battery storage unit.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Government is not aware of any evacuations which have been required in Britain because of fire at a battery site and does not consider the development of any specific compensation arrangements to be necessary.

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