Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 the press release entitled Deprived communities to get new flood defences faster, published on 14 October 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of deprivation on flood risk.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, we are investing £4.2 billion over three years (2026/27 to 2028/29) to construct new flood schemes and maintain and repair existing defences across the country.
On 14 October 2025, following consultation, the government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. The reforms will make it quicker and easier to deliver the right flood defences in the right places, optimise funding between new floods projects and maintaining existing defences, and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment.
Areas of deprivation face particular challenges in preparing for and recovering from the impacts of flooding. This is why a minimum of 20% of FCERM investment will go to the 20% most deprived communities and a minimum of 40% to the 40% most deprived communities combined over both the next three and ten years.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 promote soil education among planning officers, developers, landowners and the public.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of soil education and promoting the importance of soil health, through sustainable and responsibly managed soil practices.
Defra continues to engage with the industry to disseminate a range of material to support planning officers, farmers and land managers to make informed choices about how to sustainably manage their soil. This includes engaging with the British Society of Soil Science to introduce a soil scientist apprenticeship programme to increase the number of qualified experts to support them.
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by protecting and enhancing sites of geological value and soils. The associated guidance is clear that soil is an essential natural capital asset that provides important ecosystem services. More broadly, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have also established a ‘Planning Capacity & Capability’ programme to develop a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, to ensure that local planning authorities have the skills and capacity they need.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing planning protections for high-functioning soils by designating them as Soil Conservation Zones.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has no plans to assess or introduce new planning-based protected designations for high functioning soils.
However, the Government recognises the importance of improving and protecting soil health, through sustainable and responsibly managed soil practices. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that the planning system should protect and enhance soils and ensure new development does not lead to unacceptable levels of soil pollution. It also requires planning authorities to safeguard ‘best and most versatile land’ (BMV) agricultural land. Surveys under the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system are required to be carried out on agricultural land, so that planners can determine whether a site contains BMV land before making planning decisions.
Other soil functions are also protected or managed through various existing mechanisms within the planning system, including those relating to flood risk, pollution and contaminated land, biodiversity, landscape and cultural heritage.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 protect Best and Most Versatile agricultural land from development.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) underlines the importance of the Best and Most Versatile agricultural land which is the land most valuable for food production. Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be used in preference to that of higher quality.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 the press release entitled Reed: Government to cut sewage pollution in half by 2030, published on 19 July 2025, what proportion of the £104bn funding has been allocated to Bedfordshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has secured £104 billion of investment which includes over £10 billion to reduce sewage discharges from over 2,500 storm overflows in England and £4.8 billion to reduce phosphorus pollution. This will deliver on cleaning up our rivers, lakes, and seas.
Further information on Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) actions for water companies to deliver within the 2025-2030 period is available for the public here: Price Review 2024 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) App. This can be filtered by Local Authority.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many visas a) the Forestry Commission, b) Ofwat, c) the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, d) the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, e) the Environment Agency, f) the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, g) the Marine Management Organisation, h) the Covent Garden Market Authority and i) the Food Standards Agency have sponsored since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of (a) consultations and (b) reviews conducted by her Department since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An answer could only be provided by incurring disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 the press release entitled Reed: Government to cut sewage pollution in half by 2030, published on 19 July 2025, what proportion of the £104 billion funding will be spent in Bedfordshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has secured £104 billion of investment which includes over £10 billion to reduce sewage discharges from over 2,500 storm overflows in England and £4.8 billion to reduce phosphorus pollution. This will deliver on cleaning up our rivers, lakes, and seas.
Further information on Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) actions for water companies to deliver within the 2025-2030 period is available for the public here: Price Review 2024 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) App. This can be filtered by Local Authority.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the (a) amount and (b) proportion of mechanically dried honey sold as honey in the UK; and what steps he is taking to ensure that honey sold in the UK meets legal compositional standards.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department does not collect data on the amount and proportion of mechanically dried honey sold as honey in the UK. However, we do regularly collect UK honey import trade data.
The Government recognises the importance of protecting food standards and has set minimum quality standards for many foods, including honey. All honey on sale, regardless of where it comes from must comply with the Honey Regulations 2015 which set out detailed specifications of its composition, labelling, and quality criteria. These are robust standards which aim to protect honey, ensuring that it meets a set definition and characteristics.
Defra works closely with enforcement authorities who are responsible for enforcing our honey laws, the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) National Food Crime Unit, Food Standards Scotland’s (FSS) Food Crime and Incidents Unit, local and port health authorities, industry and others on investigating any potential fraud issues raised, to ensure honey sold in the UK meets our high standards and maintains a level playing field between honey producers. Enforcement authorities also routinely test honey for compliance with the honey regulations.
Defra and the FSA also support a programme of research dedicated to honey authenticity where it is actively working to provide information and guidance to those carrying out monitoring and enforcement checks on honey, to protect consumers and legitimate businesses.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 publication entitled Key findings, Statistical Digest of Rural England, updated on 15 October 2025, if she will request a formal assessment of the statistics by the Office for Statistics Regulation.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In producing the Statistical Digest of Rural England (the Digest) Defra takes the approach of voluntary application of the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Digest is a compendium publication based on secondary analysis of statistical products produced by other Government departments, most of which are already accredited official statistics that have already been assessed by the Office for Statistics Regulation. Formal accreditation is therefore not needed for the Digest, and Defra will not be requesting a formal assessment from the Office for Statistics Regulation.