Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition regarding food resilience and soil health.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra liaised with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition regarding nutrition and emergency planning in 2024, resulting in an item at the committee’s 20 June 2024 meeting. Defra has continued to be in contact with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Subgroup on Maternal and Child Nutrition in following years to enable consideration of infant feeding and nutrition to support planning for food supply disruptions.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with devolved administrations and local government regarding food security in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers from all four nations discuss food system issues through the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In addition, officials have regular engagement on a wide range of food security and resilience issues.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to deliver on their manifesto commitment to reform the Government Buying Standard for food and catering services to include a requirement for 50 per cent local and sustainable food; and what the proposed timeline and process for these reforms is.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is open to considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.
A new national procurement policy statement has been published which sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that British producers are well-placed to meet.
Data collection on the extent to which public sector settings are serving food from local sustainable sources is currently underway. The department expect the work to be completed by Summer 2027.
Defra is considering the policy options available to deliver further on its ambitions for public sector food, including potentially updating the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - 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 potential cost savings to caterers, schools, and the NHS of serving a higher proportion of pulses and other plant-based protein in schools and NHS institutions; and the potential of these cost savings to help public institutions afford more organic, local or higher-environmental standard foods.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No such assessment has been made.
A new national procurement policy statement has been published which sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that British producers are well-placed to meet.
The NHS Eatwell Guide recognises the valuable contribution of plant-based foods and drinks, illustrating that both plant-based products and animal-based products can be part of a healthy balanced diet.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the devolved governments about introducing legislation to enshrine a legal right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is no international consensus on the legal basis of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and no agreement on either the definition of the right or its scope. The UK supported United Nations General Assembly Resolution 76/300 on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, accompanied by an explanation of vote which referred to this lack of consensus. This Government has no current plans to introduce legislation on the right but is monitoring discussions exploring a new instrument at the international level to enshrine the right, including at the Council of Europe. Officials have previously raised this with the Devolved Governments and will consult with them ahead of any formal international negotiations.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with the devolved governments about missing the 1 July deadline to submit an action plan setting out their response to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee's recommendations.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to the effective implementation of all of its international obligations, including those under the Aarhus Convention. The UK continues to carefully consider decisions taken by the Parties to the Convention concerning the UK.
Defra works closely with the devolved governments on issues relating to the Aarhus Convention.
The UK is not required to provide a plan of action to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee. As such, no deadline has been missed. We will continue to provide updates to the Committee on relevant developments. Updates from the UK are available on the UN website here.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to address the UK’s non-compliance with the Aarhus Convention.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to the effective implementation of all of its international obligations, including those under the Aarhus Convention. The UK continues to carefully consider decisions taken by the Parties to the Convention concerning the UK.
Defra works closely with the devolved governments on issues relating to the Aarhus Convention.
The UK is not required to provide a plan of action to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee. As such, no deadline has been missed. We will continue to provide updates to the Committee on relevant developments. Updates from the UK are available on the UN website here.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in changing existing policies to deliver a complete ban on the use of certain neonicotinoid pesticides.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to preventing the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten vital pollinators.
This Government has already taken decisive action. In December 2024, Defra set out plans to change policies to prevent use of neonicotinoid pesticides (thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid) that threaten vital pollinators. In September 2025, the Health and Safety Executive published updated guidance for emergency authorisations of pesticides.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met in March 2026; and, if so, when the communique will be published on the gov.uk website.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs did not meet in March 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards the near elimination of biodegradable waste to landfill in England from 2028.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has gone further than previous targets to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste being sent to landfill. The introduction of measures such as landfill tax and mandatory food waste collections in the simpler recycling reforms will make significant progress in diverting further biodegradable waste from landfill. Following the publication of the summary of responses on our call for evidence in February 2025, we are considering next steps.