Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department has established measurable targets for rural business productivity improvements supported by public funding in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not set productivity targets specifically for businesses in rural areas. Defra provides funding to rural businesses via the Rural England Prosperity Fund. Each individual eligible local authority is responsible for running their own rounds of funding and establishing their own delivery targets based on local priorities.
The Fund is devolved to local authorities, and they have been given responsibility for delivery of REPF – including setting priorities and delivery targets for the funding they have been allocated, assessing and approving project applications, processing payments and the day-to-day monitoring of delivery. Each eligible local authority reports every 6 months on spend and outcomes via the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, who administer the Fund on Defras’ behalf.
The Department provided Buckinghamshire with an allocation of £1.828m in financial years 2023/24 & 2024/25 and a further £548k in financial year 2025/26 via the Rural England Prosperity Fund.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Department records skills gaps identified by rural enterprises applying for Government support.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra provides funding to rural businesses via the Rural England Prosperity Fund. The fund is devolved to local authorities, and each individual eligible local authority are responsible for running their own rounds of funding.
Defra does not record skills gaps identified by rural enterprises applying for Government support.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what framework the Department uses to evaluate rural supply-chain resilience projects funded by public programmes.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The effectiveness of public programmes is reviewed according to standard Government evaluation guidance. This usually includes process, impact and value for money criteria against the stated objectives of each grant scheme.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what performance indicators are used to review the effectiveness of food sector capital incentives.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Investment is through grants to sustainable farming and food production businesses and prioritised in terms of where it delivers most value. Applications are assessed against published criteria.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment criteria are used for evaluating applications to food industry investment programmes.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Investment is through grants to sustainable farming and food production businesses and prioritised in terms of where it delivers most value. Applications are assessed against published criteria.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what monitoring arrangements her Department has for measuring the performance of water companies in meeting service standards in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers and set out how they plan to continue to supply water to their customers through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). These plans must demonstrate how they will achieve a secure supply of water whilst protecting the environment over a minimum 25-year period. The Environment Agency (EA) assesses how companies perform against their published plans annually in July and advises the Secretary of State. Water companies must also produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMP), setting out how they will ensure robust drainage and sewerage services over a 25-year period.
The WRMPs and DWMPs will demonstrate where and when investment will be needed to support the Government’s growth agenda and to ensure infrastructure is fit for purpose now and in the future.
The EA has strengthened its water industry regulation with new dedicated regulation and enforcement teams. The EA has increased inspections of water company wastewater assets and completed over 4,600 last year and is on track to deliver 10,000 this year. The EA’s Thames and East Anglia Areas have completed over 1500 inspections since April 2025.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of how water (a) supply and (b) drainage vulnerabilities will evolve in the next decade in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers and set out how they plan to continue to supply water to their customers through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). These plans must demonstrate how they will achieve a secure supply of water whilst protecting the environment over a minimum 25-year period. The Environment Agency (EA) assesses how companies perform against their published plans annually in July and advises the Secretary of State. Water companies must also produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMP), setting out how they will ensure robust drainage and sewerage services over a 25-year period.
The WRMPs and DWMPs will demonstrate where and when investment will be needed to support the Government’s growth agenda and to ensure infrastructure is fit for purpose now and in the future.
The EA has strengthened its water industry regulation with new dedicated regulation and enforcement teams. The EA has increased inspections of water company wastewater assets and completed over 4,600 last year and is on track to deliver 10,000 this year. The EA’s Thames and East Anglia Areas have completed over 1500 inspections since April 2025.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what strategy her Department has to improve the resilience of water infrastructure in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers and set out how they plan to continue to supply water to their customers through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). These plans must demonstrate how they will achieve a secure supply of water whilst protecting the environment over a minimum 25-year period. The Environment Agency (EA) assesses how companies perform against their published plans annually in July and advises the Secretary of State. Water companies must also produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMP), setting out how they will ensure robust drainage and sewerage services over a 25-year period.
The WRMPs and DWMPs will demonstrate where and when investment will be needed to support the Government’s growth agenda and to ensure infrastructure is fit for purpose now and in the future.
The EA has strengthened its water industry regulation with new dedicated regulation and enforcement teams. The EA has increased inspections of water company wastewater assets and completed over 4,600 last year and is on track to deliver 10,000 this year. The EA’s Thames and East Anglia Areas have completed over 1500 inspections since April 2025.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
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 ensure local communities are involved in the management of new national forests.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Community engagement is central to the approach we will encourage these new national forests to apply, and reflects the approach embedded by the original National Forest in the Midlands, which is managed by the National Forest Company. As an illustration of their dedication to community engagement, in 2021 the National Forest Company brought together its 70 community woods groups and conservation organisations under the Community Woods Network.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how she plans to (a) monitor and (b) report progress on establishing new national forests.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All grants funded by the Nature for Climate fund are subject to the appropriate scrutiny as outlined in Defra’s Integrated Assurance and Approvals Strategy including checks on feasibility and value for money.