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 Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for illegal use of e-scooters in each of the past three years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences in England and Wales on an annual basis, as part of the ‘Police powers and procedures: Roads policing’ statistical bulletin.
However, the Home Office does not centrally collect data on the type of vehicle involved in each offence.
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 Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal by Ofgem to reduce the standing charges on energy bills.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges.
In February, Ofgem launched a consultation which sought views on introducing a zero standing charge energy price cap variant, providing households with more choice over how they pay for their energy. The consultation closed on 20 March.
The Government is committed to lowering standing charges and will continue working constructively with Ofgem on this issue.
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 of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks of water fluoridation in causing cancer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has a duty to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes on health, and to publish reports at intervals no greater than four years. Health monitoring reports published in 2014, 2018, and 2022, taken alongside the existing wider research, show that there is no convincing evidence for adverse outcomes, including for bladder cancer or osteosarcoma, due to fluoridation schemes. These findings are consistent that water fluoridation, at levels recommended in the United Kingdom, is a safe and effective public health measure to reduce dental cavities. The next health monitoring report will be published in 2026.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken an impact assessment of adding fluoride to the water supply which takes account of (1) the financial cost, and (2) the possible health risks.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
An impact assessment was completed as part of the proposals to expand the existing water fluoridation scheme in the North East of England, to a further 1.6 million people. This sets out a net present social value of the proposal of £201 million over 40 years, and accounts for estimated benefits through dental health care cost savings, productivity gains, and quality of life benefits to individuals. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has a duty to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes on health, and to publish reports at intervals no greater than four years. The findings of monitoring reports published in 2014, 2018, and 2022 are consistent that water fluoridation, at levels recommended in the United Kingdom, is a safe and effective public health measure to reduce dental caries.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to water companies of adding fluoride to the water supply.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is responsible for reimbursing water undertakers for the reasonable costs associated with water fluoridation schemes. In the financial year 2023/24, these costs were £4,109,521 in revenue and £348,351 in capital for the estimated six million people in England covered by such schemes.
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.