Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason her Department is not considering providing financial support to homeowners for the treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed; and what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of current guidance available to homeowners for managing this species.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed is the responsibility of the homeowner and Defra has no plans to offer financial support.
Defra has not reviewed its current guidance, as no new evidence has emerged that would make a further review necessary. Existing guidance on preventing spread and treatment — most recently updated in February 2026 — remains in place.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing financial support to homeowners for the treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed; and what consideration her Department has given to the environmental impact of this species.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed is the responsibility of the homeowner and Defra has no plans to offer financial support.
Defra has not reviewed its current guidance, as no new evidence has emerged that would make a further review necessary. Existing guidance on preventing spread and treatment — most recently updated in February 2026 — remains in place.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the consultation on banning trail hunting will begin.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra intends to publish the consultation as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer to Question UIN 102267, what progress has been made on the development of the withdrawal scheme for owners wishing to de‑register dogs incorrectly classified as XL Bullies; when her Department expects to publish information on the scheme; and what indicative timeframe has been set for making these details publicly available.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is continuing to develop a withdrawal scheme so that owners who no longer believe that their dog is an XL Bully type can apply to have their certificate of exemption withdrawn.
Defra does not have a definitive timeline for when this process will be available. Officials are working diligently to develop the withdrawal scheme as soon as possible and further details will be shared once finalised.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on considering method of production labelling reform as a part of the Government’s wider welfare strategy; and when she expects to publish further details.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Putney, Fleur Anderson, on 29 January 2026, PQ UIN 106592.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 ensure that pet owners can de-register dogs which were incorrectly registered as XL bullies.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are currently working to develop a withdrawal scheme so that owners who no longer believe that their dog is an XL Bully can apply to have their certificate of exemption for their dog withdrawn. Information about this process will be available soon.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 Natural England in their responsibilities in wildfire prevention, including in agreeing land management plans.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the lead Government department for wildfire. Defra works closely with MHCLG and supports Natural England (NE) to deliver its responsibilities.
This includes the recently published Environmental Improvement Plan commitment that by 2030 NE will conduct research on increasing the natural resilience of habitats to wildfires, such as through re-wetting or restoring hydrological function, including case studies of success. An initial scoping review will be reported on in the annual progress report in 2027. This will develop our understanding of actions we can take to naturally reduce the risk of wildfires.
Alongside this, Defra supports NE in:
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 77864 on Non-native Species: Weed Control, if she will make it her policy to offer funding to homeowners for the (a) treatment and (b) removal of Japanese knotweed, in the context of (i) obligations under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and (ii) the environmental impact of this species.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9, and subject to Section 14, of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to plant or otherwise cause this species to grow in the wild. There is no explicit obligation upon landowners to manage this species on their property. However, they must prevent it spreading off their property.
Defra is not currently considering offering funding for homeowners for the treatment and removal of Japanese knotweed. Guidance remains available for homeowners who do wish to manage Japanese knotweed on their property: How to stop Japanese knotweed from spreading - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Fairer food labelling, which closed on 7 May 2024, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to mandate method-of-production welfare labelling for (a) pork, (b) chicken and (c) eggs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for York Central, Rachael Maskell, on 8 October 2025, PQ UIN 76016.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to improve transparency in method-of-production welfare labelling for (a) pork, (b) chicken and (c) eggs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for York Central, Rachael Maskell, on 8 October 2025, PQ UIN 76016.