First elected: 4th July 2024
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Don't change inheritance tax relief for working farms
Gov Responded - 5 Dec 2024 Debated on - 10 Feb 2025 View Ben Goldsborough's petition debate contributionsWe think that changing inheritance tax relief for agricultural land will devastate farms nationwide, forcing families to sell land and assets just to stay on their property. We urge the government to keep the current exemptions for working farms.
These initiatives were driven by Ben Goldsborough, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Ben Goldsborough has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Ben Goldsborough has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Ben Goldsborough has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Ben Goldsborough has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Information on specific technologies such as heat pumps used across the Government estate is not held centrally. Across the office estate managed by Cabinet Office’s Government Property Agency, there are 2 buildings which are heated in part by heat pumps.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) works closely with local authorities and investment partners to monitor and support the impact of foreign direct investment in the South Norfolk constituency.
Foreign direct investment in the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area resulted in 14 FDI projects and the creation of 516 new jobs in 2023-24, including both single-site and multi-site projects. While this area covers South Norfolk, specific statistics for the parliamentary constituency are not published due to confidentiality concerns.
DBT provides a wide-ranging package of export support for food and drink businesses in Norfolk and across the whole of the UK. This includes educational support to upskill food producers via our Export Academy and one to one support from International Trade Advisors and our extensive overseas network, with trade advisors promoting UK food in over 100 countries. Overseas we deliver a comprehensive programme of trade shows, trade missions and events to connect exporters with buyer and new market opportunities. Our UK Export Finance agency helps companies access export finance, with a dedicated finance manager covering Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
The Low Pay Commission publishes a report that provides a coverage of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) each year, shortly before the rates are updated in April. The report provides a Local Authority and Regional breakdown of NMW and NLW coverage, including those paid below or within 5p of the applicable rate. Data on those who are within 50p of the rates is not provided as part of the report.
In total, over 3 million workers are expected to receive a pay rise due to increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage in April 2025.
We will also publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. The Impact Assessment will provide a regional and country breakdown on the number of workers benefitting from an increase.
The Department for Business and Trade provides a comprehensive package of support to increase exports, including the Export Support Service, UK Export Finance and a network of trade advisers across the UK and overseas. The department remains committed to breaking down market access barriers affecting the horticultural industry, and to opening up new markets for horticultural exports through trade agreements.
The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty in 2022 in administrative areas and parliamentary constituencies in England can be found in the published sub-regional fuel poverty statistics, in Tables 2 and 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics
For England and Wales, the Planning Act 2008 sets out the consultation requirements that developers of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), including electricity transmission projects, are required to follow. In April 2024, new guidance was published for NSIPs which sets out the consultation milestone that requires developers to demonstrate that they have consulted adequately with communities. The developer’s statutory consultation needs to show compliance with the energy National Policy Statements, including in relation to construction. In Scotland, the Scottish Government’s good practice guidance sets out the expectations and requirements for consultation.
The previous government’s response to the consultation on community benefits for transmission network infrastructure was published in November 2023. This document outlines that, when combined with bill discounts and additional benefits for underground cables and substations, these levels of wider benefits could lead to benefits to society with an estimated value between £1.5bn - £7.8bn if improved acceptability reduces delays to network build. These benefits come from reduced network constraint costs and emissions savings.
It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it. We are currently considering how to ensure communities benefit from living near new onshore electricity transmission infrastructure.
It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it. We are currently considering how to ensure communities benefit from living near new onshore electricity transmission infrastructure.
It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it. We are currently considering ways that ensure communities benefit from living near new onshore electricity transmission infrastructure.
Strategic network planning will reduce the overall impact of infrastructure through coordination where appropriate. Networks plans take account of environmental and community impacts, alongside deliverability and economic cost, at every stage of network planning.
National Grid Electricity System Operator is developing the Electricity Transmission Design Principles.
The previous government’s response to the consultation on community benefits for transmission network infrastructure was published in November 2023. This document outlines that, when combined with bill discounts and additional benefits for underground cables and substations, these levels of wider benefits could lead to benefits to society with an estimated value between £1.5bn - £7.8bn if improved acceptability reduces delays to network build. These benefits come from reduced network constraint costs and emissions savings.
It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it. We are currently considering how to ensure communities benefit from living near new onshore electricity transmission infrastructure.
The previous government’s response to the consultation on community benefits for transmission network infrastructure was published in November 2023. This document outlines that, when combined with bill discounts and additional benefits for overhead cables and substations, these levels of wider benefits could lead to benefits to society with an estimated value between £1.5bn - £7.8bn if improved acceptability reduces delays to network build. These benefits come from reduced network constraint costs and emissions savings.
It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it. We are currently considering how to ensure communities benefit from living near new onshore electricity transmission infrastructure.
Community projects will play a crucial role in the Government’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower, by saving families money and improving communities’ energy security.
Through the Government’s Local Power Plan, which will be delivered by Great British Energy, we will put local communities and stakeholders at the heart of the energy transition. Great British Energy will collaborate with private energy companies, local authorities, and cooperatives to roll-out small and medium-scale clean energy projects. This will save families money and ensure communities directly benefit from local developments.
In 2021/22, UKRI invested £478 million in East Anglia.
For example, Innovate UK’s Launchpad programme is allocating up to £7.5 million to help SMEs in the East of England agri-tech and food technology cluster to grow. Norfolk County Council is one of the Launchpad’s partners.
Other UKRI investments in the region include the Next Generation Infrastructure programme, delivered jointly by the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory; and the Earlham Institute-coordinated BioFAIR, which will establish a transformative digital research infrastructure for life sciences.
This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in this Government's National Youth Strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector, and will be dependent on Spending Review decisions.
Over £120,000 has been invested in South Norfolk and an additional £1.4 million in the wider Norfolk County through the Youth Investment Fund.
The Secretary of State’s Written Statement, of 15 May 2025, sets out the Department’s 2025/26 funding for youth programmes - an investment of over £145 million - to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy.
The package of funding includes £79.4 million of reprofiled Youth Investment Fund Phase 2 to ensure the successful delivery of projects scheduled for completion in 2025/26. This includes the pipeline of 25 Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) projects.
This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in this Government's National Youth Strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector, and will be dependent on Spending Review decisions.
Over £120,000 has been invested in South Norfolk and an additional £1.4 million in the wider Norfolk County through the Youth Investment Fund.
The Secretary of State’s Written Statement, of 15 May 2025, sets out the Department’s 2025/26 funding for youth programmes - an investment of over £145 million - to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy.
The package of funding includes £79.4 million of reprofiled Youth Investment Fund Phase 2 to ensure the successful delivery of projects scheduled for completion in 2025/26. This includes the pipeline of 25 Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) projects.
As of 2023/24, a total of £826 million has been allocated from the Dormant Assets Scheme to England, with DCMS responsible for this portion of funding. This is broken down by year as follows: 2011/12: £39.9 million; 2012/13: £41.6 million; 2013/14: £70 million; 2014/15: £41.1 million; 2015/16: £30.7 million; 2016/17: £79.1 million; 2017/18: £128 million; 2018/19: £59.8 million; 2019/20: £57.6 million; 2020/21: £75.6 million; 2021/22: £44.8 million; 2022/23: £77.9 million; and 2023/24: £79.9 million.
To date, this has been distributed by four independent, expert organisations set up with the explicit purpose of delivering dormant assets funding: Youth Futures Foundation, Fair4All Finance, Better Society Capital, and Access: The Foundation for Social Investment. Dormant assets funding seeks to address entrenched societal challenges through long-term, innovative programmes at a national scale, and is not allocated on a regional basis.
Examples of how dormant assets funding has benefited East Anglia and Norfolk include Fair4All Finance investing £88,240 in community finance organisations in Norwich to support people in vulnerable circumstances by improving their access to fair and affordable financial products and services. Additionally, Asperger East Anglia received a £35,000 loan from Access’s Growth Fund, funded by dormant assets.
The hourly funding rate for the early years entitlements varies to reflect the costs of delivering provision to different ages. The department knows, from listening to the sector and from our own regular research, that the cost of delivery is highest for younger children due to tighter staffing ratios and, consequently, higher staff costs, as staffing makes up the most significant proportion of provider costs.
Each local authority receives an hourly rate for each entitlement, determined by the early years national funding formulae (EYNFF). The EYNFF targets funding to local authorities where it is needed most, reflecting the relative needs of the children and costs of delivering provision in that area. Local authorities are responsible for setting individual provider funding rates in consultation with their providers and schools forum, and fund providers using their own local funding formula.
Further details of how early years entitlements funding is distributed, including a detailed methodology document on the EYNFF and operational guidance, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-funding-2025-to-2026.
The department meets with Ministers and officials from across the UK and other nations to discuss developments, approaches and best practice in the provision of early education and childcare. International evidence, such as the OECD’s Education at a Glance publication, is used to identify high performing and innovative early years systems and inform policy development. England is a member of the British-Irish Council, in which we actively engage to collaborate on a wide range of education matters, including early education and childcare across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The 2024 Department for Education Provider Survey shows that there were 322,000 registered places at school-based nurseries in 2024.
School-based nurseries are one part of this country's childcare and early years market.
Nurseries located on a school site can operate under different delivery models, such as nursery classes run by the school, a private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nursery leasing space on a school’s premises or operating on the school’s behalf, or provision run by a childminder, or group of childminders, leasing space on a school premises.
School-based nurseries are more likely to be led by graduate qualified staff, which is associated with higher quality provision for children. Additionally, the benefits of school-based nursery provision, including transition to school, were highlighted by many teachers working in schools with a nursery in the Kindred Squared school readiness report.
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The 2024 Department for Education Provider Survey shows that there were 322,000 registered places at school-based nurseries in 2024.
School-based nurseries are one part of this country's childcare and early years market.
Nurseries located on a school site can operate under different delivery models, such as nursery classes run by the school, a private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nursery leasing space on a school’s premises or operating on the school’s behalf, or provision run by a childminder, or group of childminders, leasing space on a school premises.
School-based nurseries are more likely to be led by graduate qualified staff, which is associated with higher quality provision for children. Additionally, the benefits of school-based nursery provision, including transition to school, were highlighted by many teachers working in schools with a nursery in the Kindred Squared school readiness report.
Too many children are held back by their background, with gaps between disadvantaged children and their peers opening early and widening throughout their education. These gaps are not acceptable, which is why the Opportunity Mission will break the link between young people’s background and their success by helping all children achieve and thrive wherever they are in the country.
High and rising standards in every school, delivered though excellent teaching and a shared, knowledge-rich and engaging curriculum, are at the heart of the mission. Great schools need great teachers, and the quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for children, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. That is why the department has moved quickly by beginning work to recruit 6,500 expert teachers and launching the Curriculum and Assessment Review that will look closely at the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve, in particular those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or with special educational needs or disabilities.
New Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will drive higher standards, supporting all state schools by facilitating networking, sharing best practice and enabling schools to better access support, and learn from one another, in addition to providing bespoke intervention packages to driving up outcomes where standards are slipping.
To further support disadvantaged children, pupil premium funding is allocated to schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils and is worth over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.
Alongside this, in 2025/26, 10.6% (£5.1 billion) of the schools national funding formula (NFF) has been allocated through deprivation factors and 17.8% (£8.6 billion) has been allocated for additional needs overall. Furthermore, in 2025/26, on average, the most deprived schools have attracted the largest per pupil funding amounts through the schools NFF. This will help schools in their vital work to close attainment gaps and break down barriers to opportunity.
The department is also committed to offering free breakfast clubs in all state-funded schools with primary-aged pupils, ensuring every primary school child, no matter their circumstances, is well prepared for school. From April 2025, up to 750 early adopter schools will be funded to provide access to a free, universal breakfast club lasting at least 30 minutes that includes food.
More widely, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education co-chairs the government’s Child Poverty Taskforce which will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with the development of an ambitious child poverty strategy, which will be published later this year.
The government is committed to ensuring that every child in care grows up with the love, care and support they need to achieve and thrive. All foster carers receive the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) to cover the costs of looking after the children in their care. In the 2025/26 financial year, the NMA is being uplifted by 3.55%.
The government is supporting children in care by expanding the Mockingbird Family Model, which is an innovative evidence-based approach. Relationships are central to the design of the programme which involves six to ten satellite families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer.
In South Norfolk, this is being delivered as part of the Foster East Recruitment Hub, which launched in 2024 and comprises 12 neighbouring local authorities, including Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Luton, Thurrock, Southend, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.
Across England, ten fostering regional programmes are live, working with 64% of all local authorities to collaboratively recruit and retain foster carers who will provide loving homes, local to the children who need them. An additional £15 million was announced to support this programme in the budget and the department intends to move towards full national roll out in the next financial year. The department welcomes discussions with other local authorities about our national expansion plans.
The department publishes official statistics on Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans annually, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans. This includes data at local authority level on the rate of EHC plans issued within the deadline of 20 weeks.
The attached table contains details of assessments in 2023 by local authority and by the duration, in days, between the date of the request for assessment and the date of the assessment outcome. This includes those for whom a plan was issued and those with the decision not to issue a plan, but excludes cases where the assessment was withdrawn.
The person-level data collection on EHC plans is in its second year. As a result, we expect the quality of data returns to improve over time, as the collection becomes established. In particular, the recording of the dates of the assessment request and the assessment outcome is subject to data quality issues, which become especially prominent when looking at a low level of granularity. For this reason, cases over two years have been aggregated, and where the date of request is missing or was recorded after the outcome date, this is marked in the table as ‘not available’. The department continues to work with local authorities in understanding and improving the data collection.
The information requested is not held by this department.
The department collects aggregate data on the use of parenting orders, education supervision orders and penalty notices from local authorities in England through the annual parental responsibility measures attendance census. No information is collected on characteristics of the children concerned. The available data is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.
The department collects aggregate data on school attendance orders issued and revoked from local authorities in England through the new collection on elective home education and children missing education. No information is collected on characteristics of the children concerned. The available data is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education.
This Government will continue to work with regulators to hold water companies to account on poor performance and drive improvements which benefit customers and the environment. The Water (Special Measures) Act delivers on our manifesto commitment to put water companies under special measures by strengthening regulation to clean up our waters.
Through water resource management plans and regional water resources plans we are addressing unsustainable abstraction and protecting the environment from climate change over the next 25 years and beyond. These plans include action to protect England’s precious and unique chalk stream habitats, reducing abstraction by nearly 3 billion litres a day by 2050.
Nutrient pollution from wastewater is one of the key pressures affecting our rivers, lakes, and seas. There is a legally binding target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater by 80% by 2038 against a 2020 baseline. We will require water companies to upgrade 440 wastewater treatment works by 2030, to meet stricter phosphorus permit limits, reducing harmful nutrient pollution from treated wastewater. In Price Review 2024 final determinations, Ofwat has allowed £4.795bn of investment to improve water quality by reducing phosphorus pollution in England and Wales.
Furthermore, as part of the record £11bn of investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales during Price Review 2024, with 75% of such High Priority Sites needing to be improved by 2035 and the rest by 2045. By 2050, we expect no storm overflow spill to cause any adverse ecological harm and spill no more than 10 times per year.
The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers and their vital contribution to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from cereal production.
We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market.
There is a well-established process in place to agree the sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties. The NFU has a statutory mandate, under Article 125 of Regulation EU 1308/2013 (Retained EU Law on the common organisation of agricultural markets) to represent the interests of growers in all commercial dealings with the processor. An Inter Professional Agreement is agreed each year between both parties and sets out the process for negotiating and agreeing price, terms and conditions for the upcoming crop year, as well as any dispute resolution process.
The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers and their vital contribution to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from cereal production.
We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market.
There is a well-established process in place to agree the sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties. The NFU has a statutory mandate, under Article 125 of Regulation EU 1308/2013 (Retained EU Law on the common organisation of agricultural markets) to represent the interests of growers in all commercial dealings with the processor. An Inter Professional Agreement is agreed each year between both parties and sets out the process for negotiating and agreeing price, terms and conditions for the upcoming crop year, as well as any dispute resolution process.
The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers and their vital contribution to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from cereal production.
We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market.
There is a well-established process in place to agree the sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties. The NFU has a statutory mandate, under Article 125 of Regulation EU 1308/2013 (Retained EU Law on the common organisation of agricultural markets) to represent the interests of growers in all commercial dealings with the processor. An Inter Professional Agreement is agreed each year between both parties and sets out the process for negotiating and agreeing price, terms and conditions for the upcoming crop year, as well as any dispute resolution process.
Defra considers this to be commercially sensitive information and therefore may not be released.
Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. To protect the integrity of this approach, we cannot share granular data on inspections.
Please see the table below for total seizures of illegal meat, for full year on year. We are unable to provide further levels of detail as we do not release details of the location of seizure; this information could risk undermining border security, by providing intelligence in our resource deployment and targeting.
Total seizures for full year on year since 2022 are as follows:
2022 (Sept-Dec) | 3745kg |
2023 | 44,482kg |
2024 | 92,270kg |
2025* | 5,593kg |
*2025 runs from 3 to 10 January 2025
Consignments called in to Sevington Border Control Post (BCP) for an inspection will have completed the necessary customs declarations and pre-notifications. These goods will not be legally cleared for sale or use within the UK until they have checked and been cleared by the BCP. If the importer fails to attend, the Port Health staff will commence the necessary action.
Individual Local and Port Health Authorities will hold local data and will be able to identify when the Timed Out Decision Contingency Feature has been used.
The site at Bastion Point is currently retained in a non-operational state. The Government will explore further options for the site in the future.
Please see the table below for total seizures of illegal meat year on year. The figures quoted are seizures from all ports who had returned seizure data to us from September 2022 onwards as part of Defra African Swine Fever programme. This does not reflect all illegal meat seizures.
We are unable to provide further levels of detail as we do not release details of the location of seizure; this information could risk undermining border security, by providing intelligence in our resource deployment and targeting
Total seizures for full year on year are as follows:
2022 (Sept-Dec) | 3745kg |
2023 | 44,482kg |
2024 | 92,270kg |
Lead Local Flood Authorities undertake formal investigations after significant floods and produce Section 19 reports, which include the number of properties affected. Not all floods require a Section 19 investigation. Criteria for investigation include the number of properties internally flooded, nature of flooding, frequency of flooding, and critical infrastructure affected.
Over the last five years, Norfolk County Council recorded over 900 reports of flooding to properties, 139 of those in the South Norfolk Constituency. In this period, the most significant flooding event in this Constituency occurred on 23 and 24 December 2020 with 83 properties flooded.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window with the first payment normally issued four months after the start of the agreement and quarterly thereafter.
As of 21 November 26,329, payments have been made within fourth months and 371 not within four months.
The number of water abstraction licences (temporary, full and transfer) live for all or part of the financial year for each of the last ten financial years is shown in the tables below. This data is shown by former Environment Agency (EA) regions.
This had been done by former EA regions to ensure consistency and allow comparison, as the EA changed its area boundaries in 2016.
For the purposes of this analysis, the boundary of each former EA region is river catchment based.
Also, these figures are for the country of England only. Figures for the former ‘Wales’ and ‘Midlands’ EA regions only include water abstraction licences with abstraction points located in England.
Former EA Region | 2014/2015 | 2015/2016 | 2016/2017 | 2017/2018 | 2018/2019 |
Anglian | 4761 | 4717 | 4610 | 4488 | 4556 |
Wales | 450 | 447 | 434 | 408 | 413 |
Midlands | 3566 | 3506 | 3481 | 3386 | 3299 |
North East | 2184 | 2162 | 2140 | 2065 | 2033 |
North West | 1657 | 1675 | 1645 | 1615 | 1606 |
South West | 2225 | 2179 | 2165 | 2049 | 2023 |
Southern | 1702 | 1669 | 1642 | 1631 | 1567 |
Thames | 1689 | 1672 | 1648 | 1607 | 1603 |
Total | 18234 | 18027 | 17765 | 17249 | 17100 |
Former EA Region | 2019/2020 | 2020/2021 | 2021/2022 | 2022/2023 | 2023/2024 |
Anglian | 4466 | 4507 | 4580 | 4640 | 4656 |
Wales | 412 | 471 | 474 | 471 | 465 |
Midlands | 3277 | 3339 | 3320 | 3482 | 3447 |
North East | 2028 | 2115 | 2104 | 2152 | 2157 |
North West | 1576 | 1580 | 1600 | 1621 | 1609 |
South West | 2002 | 1999 | 2021 | 2055 | 2054 |
Southern | 1566 | 1551 | 1639 | 1687 | 1677 |
Thames | 1613 | 1622 | 1648 | 1706 | 1714 |
Total | 16940 | 17184 | 17386 | 17814 | 17779 |
The Government appreciates and values the vital work of the horticulture industry and, as part of our mission-driven government, we are committed to working with colleagues across Whitehall to support the sector.
Underlining this commitment, the Seasonal Worker visa route has been confirmed for 2025, with a total of 43,000 Seasonal Worker visas available for horticulture next year. This is broadly the same allocation as the sectors received in 2023 and 2024, which comfortably met demand. This will help the sector secure the labour and skills needed to bring high quality British produce to market.
We are also continuing support for crop Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) investing in R&D for breeding to improve crop varieties supporting crop resilience and efficiency.
The following table lists the answer:
Qty Rejected | Value Rejected | Qty Granted | Value Granted | |
2017/18 | 0 | £ - | 2 | £215,974.42 |
2018/19 | 11 | £1,708,260.72 | 121 | £8,912,028.96 |
2019/20 | 14 | £20,762.30 | 179 | £ 311,127.36 |
2020/21 | 5 | £5,374.00 | 201 | £ 203,902.00 |
2021/22 | 0 | £ - | 0 | £ - |
2022/23 | 103 | £3,287,841.96 | 381 | £2,698,059.35 |
2023/24 | 19 | £2,047,450.67 | 423 | £6,811,257.63 |
2024/25 | 7 | £393,871.55 | 329 | £1,673,697.22 |
The table below shows the number of water abstraction licences (temporary, full and transfer) live for all or part of the financial year for each of the last ten financial years.
Financial year | No. of water abstraction licences |
1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 | 18234 |
1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 | 18027 |
1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 | 17765 |
1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 | 17249 |
1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 | 17100 |
1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 | 16940 |
1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 | 17184 |
1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 | 17386 |
1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 | 17814 |
1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 | 17779 |
Financial Year | Number of water abstraction licences that were not renewed because no renewal application was received, the application was withdrawn or rejected as incomplete | Number of water abstraction licences that were not renewed because the application was refused |
2016-2017 | 145 | 0 |
2017-2018 | 191 | 7 |
2018-2019 | 47 | 1 |
2019-2020 | 39 | 0 |
2020-2021 | 40 | 0 |
2021-2022 | 71 | 1 |
2022-2023 | 43 | 0 |
2023-2024 | 102 | 2 |
a) Applications for new full licences, normal variations and substantial variations:
| 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | Total |
Total | 206 | 320 | 311 | 682 | 1260 | 425 | 483 | 243 | 265 | 219 | 4475 |
b) Of those applications, granted licences below:
| 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | Total |
Total | 64 | 254 | 280 | 288 | 406 | 553 | 495 | 556 | 318 | 146 | 3370 |
Organic production is internationally recognised as a soil-based system, that is strictly regulated by assimilated organic Regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008. Vertical farming relies on hydroponic production, the method of growing plants with their roots in a mineral nutrient solution or in an inert medium, which is specifically prohibited within organic production systems. Therefore, it is not possible to certify vertical farming as organic.