Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 25 November to Question 92922 on Fly-tipping, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a single responsible body to receive and investigate incidents of fly-tipping, as called for by the Hon. Member for St Albans and Hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted in their letter dated 19 September 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of a single responsible body to receive and investigate incidents of fly-tipping.
Local councils are responsible for tackling fly-tipping in their area and have a range of enforcement powers to help them do so. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution action. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and are taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers. We are also conducting a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool.
In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.
In the meantime, Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties such as local councils, the Environment Agency, National Farmers Union and National Police Chiefs Council, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has received any representations from (a) farmers, (b) other rural landowners and (c) other interested parties calling for a single responsible body to receive and investigate incidents of flytipping.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra not received any representations from farmers, other rural landowners and other interested parties calling for a single responsible body to receive and investigate incidents of fly-tipping.
Local councils are responsible for investigating most fly-tipping incidents, including those on private land. Fly-tipping incidents can be reported by visiting the relevant local authority's website. Individuals can get help on identifying the relevant local authority webpage at https://www.gov.uk/report-flytipping.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 23 September2025 to Question 75189 on Pigs: Animal Welfare, how many complaints of illegal slaughter on pig farms the Animal and Planet Health Agency has received in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) take all complaints of illegal slaughter, and serious breaches of animal welfare, seriously. On receipt of a complaint, APHA will triage the details provided to determine the action required. The number of
complaints is not publicly available.
Local authorities lead on enforcement and prosecutions with support from APHA where needed to provide veterinary expertise and evidence. Any successful prosecution for welfare offences taken by a local authority is published in the annual Section 80 report under the Animal Health Act 1981 which is laid in Parliament. The data for this report is held and provided by the local authorities.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 23 September 2025 to Question 75189 on Pigs: Animal Welfare, how many prosecutions for illegal pig thumping brought by local authorities are being supported by the Animal and Planet Health Agency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) take all complaints of illegal slaughter, and serious breaches of animal welfare, seriously. On receipt of a complaint, APHA will triage the details provided to determine the action required. The number of
complaints is not publicly available.
Local authorities lead on enforcement and prosecutions with support from APHA where needed to provide veterinary expertise and evidence. Any successful prosecution for welfare offences taken by a local authority is published in the annual Section 80 report under the Animal Health Act 1981 which is laid in Parliament. The data for this report is held and provided by the local authorities.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the UK/EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement to improve the ability of businesses to trade in EU countries.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Prime Minister welcomed President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen and President of the EU Council António Costa to London for a UK-EU Summit on 19 May.
At that Summit we agreed the parameters for a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers, and increasing choice in the shops.
This agreement will reduce delays and paperwork at the border, make it easier and cheaper to take pets on holiday into the EU, and trade in products such as fresh sausages and burgers will be able to resume.
Further information can be found at UK-EU Summit - Explainer (HTML) - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 assessment of the potential merits of providing inspectors to carry out sanitary and phytosanitary checks at border control points after 5pm.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Border Control Posts (BCPs) and Control Points already operate on a range of schedules. The inspection hours are determined by the competent authorities and are based on factors such as the volume of traffic, arrival times, and the resources available at each specific point of entry.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 his Department's press release entitled Leading food experts join Government food strategy to restore pride in British food, published on 21 March 2025, what steps he is taking to ensure the planned Food Strategy incorporates all parts of the food supply chain in its development.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Since announcing the food strategy in December 2024, we have been building a coalition with the food sector, academics, charities, civil society, citizens and key thinkers.
The Food Strategy Advisory Board serves to stress test ideas and provide advice. We have hosted roundtables with academics. Our four, multi-stakeholder workshops in May include people chosen to represent a broad range of food system interests. There will be ongoing sectoral and thematic conversations through May and June, utilising existing Defra stakeholder groups. We are also working with The Food Foundation and Food Farming Countryside Commission to ensure the citizen’s voice is heard. This is just the start of the conversation, and stakeholders across the food supply chain will be engaged.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 assessment of the potential impact of his Department's (a) collection and (b) packaging reforms on levels of private sector investment in advanced recycling infrastructure.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has published updated impact assessments of each of the projects within the Collection and Packaging Reforms: pEPR in 2024, DRS in 2024, and Simpler Recycling in 2024.
These impact assessments do not specifically present private sector investment in advanced recycling infrastructure. However, The Environmental Services Association, alongside by the Chief Executives of the UK’s largest waste management companies, have stated that in response to the Collection and Packaging Reforms they will invest £10 billion over the next decade in the UK’s recycling infrastructure.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to expedite the (a) rollout of the Authorised Operator Status (AOS) and (b) a POD+ (Place of Destination) system for the trade of high-risk plants.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Authorised Operator Status (AOS) pilot ran for 6 months and ended in Dec 2024. The evaluation stage is complete and Ministers are considering the findings. We will update stakeholders when a decision has been made.
The Place of Destination (POD) scheme ended in April 2024. It was only ever intended to be a temporary solution and Defra does not intend to re-instate it. Moving controls to Border Control Posts (BCPs) and Control Points is vital to achieving the biosecurity aims of the BTOM, by increasing the percentage of consignments we are able to inspect.
BCPs are designed to handle high volumes of imported SPS goods and offer extended opening hours with staff working shifts on site to carry out reliable checks which minimise friction on traffic flow. Most BCPs can process six or more vehicles at the same time with ample space to remove or inspect products. Checks at BCPs are handled by trained staff working to standard operating procedures, ensuring inspections are undertaken safely and efficiently.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support he is providing to the horticulture sector to encourage young people into its workforce.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Attracting bright new talent into land-based careers and having a skilled workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming.
Defra works closely with The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) which is encouraging young people and new entrants into farming in its capacity as an industry -led professional body for the farming and horticulture industry. This includes leading a cross-industry initiative to address common negative misconceptions about the sector and providing free TIAH membership for students.
Furthermore, the Government has launched Skills England to ensure there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training, and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access, which are aligned with skills gaps and what employers need. It will work with its partners to ensure that regional and national skills needs are met.