Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the tonnage of (a) recycled and (b) incinerated waste between 2019 and 2024.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The most comprehensive waste treatment data Defra hold for the period from 2019 to 2024 cover the management of local authority collected waste in England for the financial years 2018/19 to 2023/24. The data are available in the Local authority collected waste management - annual results - GOV.UK publication.
Over this period, the total tonnage of waste collected by local authorities has fallen by 534,000 tonnes, from 25.6 million tonnes in 2018/19 to 25.1 million tonnes in 2023/24. Tonnages of waste recycled have fallen by 560,000 tonnes, while tonnages of waste sent for incineration with energy recovery have increased by 1.5 million tonnes and tonnages incinerated without energy recovery have fallen by 88,000 tonnes.
Data are available on the final treatment of all waste in the UK in the UK statistics on waste - GOV.UK publication, the most recent data are for 2020. Equivalent England-level data are also available for 2022 in the same publication. Both the UK and England data sets are updated biennially.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Veterinary Medicine Working Group plans to meet in January 2026.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Veterinary Medicine Working Group last met on 9 December 2025 and plans to meet next in the early new year when the two schemes that the Government is introducing will be in effect.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her policy to provide full access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland via the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme from 1 January 2026.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Veterinary Medicine Internal Market Scheme allows for products from Great Britain (GB), that are not vaccines, to be moved without the need for a Special Import Certificate, respecting Northern Ireland’s integral part in the UK’s internal market. The scheme will provide vets, who have a clinical need under the cascade, access to GB medicines without additional administrative burden.
Additionally, under the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme, vets do not need to wait for a medicine shortage to arise before they can source a product. Both vets and wholesalers may hold stock of medicines including products from GB, other than vaccines, that may need to be used in the future.
The Government’s current assessment does not expect any significant disruption to the supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland; therefore, most medicines will continue to be supplied as they are now.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with devolved Administrations on ensuring best coordination to restrict the spread of Bluetongue in cattle and sheep.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Disease control policy is a devolved matter and it is for the Devolved Governments to assess the disease risks and impacts in relation to their national herds, alongside the impacts of controls, and respond accordingly. Defra works closely with the Devolved Governments with the aim of providing, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response across the UK. A key forum for this is the Animal Disease Policy Group (ADPG), which is a UK wide policy decision making group. Defra and Devolved Governments also engage closely with industry to inform policy development and implementation.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 18 November 2025 to Question 89387 on Veterinary Services: Northern Ireland, with whom consultations took place on the estimate of the proportion of veterinary medicine products that are expected to be discontinued after January 2026.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following on from PQ 89387, our assessment that most products currently on the Northern Ireland will remain available is built on extensive assessment with industry stakeholders. In particular, we contacted all the Marketing Authorisation Holders that had products with a valid Marketing Authorisation for Northern Ireland and asked them their supply intentions for after the end of the grace period. We first started this survey in 2022 and have followed up on a regular basis. The Department continues to engage with industry to help ensure a smooth transition into 2026.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 20 November 2025 to WPQ 91307, whether she plans to reduce the number of grey squirrels and increase the number of red squirrels by the end of the current Parliament.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To deliver against the statutory targets for biodiversity, in England, we are acting at scale to create, restore, manage, and protect wildlife-rich habitats, reduce pressures on biodiversity, and take targeted action for species including red squirrels.
Effective management to reduce grey squirrel populations supports the conservation of red squirrels. To help achieve this, the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme provides payments of £60 per hectare to manage and reduce the impact of grey squirrels. Additionally, Defra continues to explore non-lethal and passive control methods to reduce grey squirrel populations and has contributed funding to the fertility control research led by the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the UK Squirrel Accord.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the EU on the movement of veterinary medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after 1 January 2026; and when she plans to communicate relevant decisions to veterinary practices.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government continues to engage with the EU on a range of issues relating to the Windsor Framework, including veterinary medicines.
We continue to engage extensively with industry including veterinary bodies and other veterinary experts and will use this information to inform and calibrate the guidance and measures we are taking.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is having discussions with counterparts in the devolved Administrations on the circular economy strategy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Yes. This government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out. This systemic change, with investment in green jobs and vital infrastructure, builds a path to economic growth, progress towards Net Zero, restoration of nature, and a more resilient economy.
The Government convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help map that transition; in the new year we will publish a Circular Economy Growth Plan that sets out how government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy.
The Government will maintain this collaborative approach as the Circular Economy Growth Plan is finalised, with further joint working and mutual learning scheduled to ensure coherence across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the numbers of (a) grey squirrels and (b) red squirrels in England.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A 2018 report by the Mammal Society estimates there are 1.94million grey squirrels and 38,900 red squirrels in England.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to ensure that veterinary medicine supply via suitably qualified persons to Northern Ireland will continue on the same basis as now from 1 January 2026.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Suitably Qualified Persons (SQPs) are unique to the UK, and the Government is committed to supporting them and the vital role they play in supporting the UK’s farming and companion animal sectors.
Continued access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period is a Government priority. After extensive stakeholder engagement, our current estimate is that 10-15% of products are expected to be discontinued. Many of these authorisations are dormant or sold in very low volumes and we do not anticipate significant animal health or welfare issues as a result of these discontinuations.
Where there is, or likely to be, a significant animal health issue, and it is appropriate to do so, products under the Veterinary Medicines Health Situation Scheme could be made available for prescription and supply by SQPs who would be able to supply veterinary medicines as they do now.