Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic impact of an outbreak of African swine fever on the (a) pig industry and (b) related exports.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) could have a significant impact on the UK’s £8 billion pig industry, as well as its annual pork and pork product exports worth £600 million. Exact costs to industry and on trade would be determined by a number of factors including geographic location, husbandry system, epidemiology of the outbreak and whether wildlife were involved.
The practical impacts of a reasonable worst-case scenario outbreak of ASF were assessed in 2023 for the National Risk Register which is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect the (a) animal and (b) plant export sector from risks posed by illegal meat imports.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with the Home Office, Border Force and Dover Port Health Authority to ensure that operations around detecting illegal meat imports are as effective as possible and have allocated this financial year £3.1 million to Dover Port Health Authority. We are also working with port and airport operators to ensure travellers are aware of the new restrictions on bringing in animal products for personal use. In most cases there is no risk to plant exports as a result of the animal disease risk posed by illegal meat imports, with the exception of the export of hay and straw.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to strengthen deterrence of illegal personal imports of (a) meat and (b) dairy products following the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Germany.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In England, Border Force and port health officials seize and destroy illegal imports of meat and dairy products, and importers risk additional sanctions including financial penalties or prosecution.
On 12 April 2025, Defra extended the ban on personal imports of meat and dairy products from the European Union (EU) following recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Germany and other EU countries. Defra has worked with other government departments, ports, airports and international travel operators to communicate the ban.
Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what weighting the Land Use Framework will have in planning decision making.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently consulting on land use in England, the outcome of which will inform the publication of a Land Use Framework, planned for later this year. The Government is committed to building 1.5 million homes and the new infrastructure needed to deliver resilient and sustainable growth and clean energy; the Land Use Framework will play in a key role in delivering these commitments.
The Land Use Framework will provide the principles, advanced data and tools required to support national and local government, landowners, businesses, farmers, and nature groups in making the right decisions to meet the demands on their land.
By law, planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. What constitutes a material consideration is broadly defined and is for the decision-maker to determine based on the circumstances of the case, as is the weight to give to each material consideration.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
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 provide funding to (a) improve water quality in the river Tone in Somerset and (b) reduce pollution discharges (i) upstream of French Weir Bathing Water and (ii) downstream at Hook Bridge.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. This Government is committed to holding water companies to account to protect the environment.
Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. This will deliver substantial, lasting improvements for customers and the environment through a £104bn delivery plan for the water sector, including around £12bn to reduce spills from storm overflows.
Under these plans, Wessex Water will investigate and invest to improve water company assets along the River Tone, including those discharging to the French Weir designated bathing water, which will also benefit Hook Bridge. They committed to ensuring their spills will have no adverse ecological impact by 2050 through the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan, with the most sensitive sites prioritised for early action.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill will also drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department plans to provide to (a) Quantock Hills, (b) Blackdown Hills and (c) other national landscapes in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Business planning is ongoing, so we are currently unable to confirm Defra grant allocations to National Landscapes, including the Quantock Hills and Blackdown Hills, for the 2025-26 financial year. We understand the uncertainty around resourcing remains a challenge and recognise that the Defra core grant is vital to support our Protected Landscapes.