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 her European Commission counterparts on border controls for the import of high-risk plants in the context of the 10 remaining species of plants on the EU's prohibitions list.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2021 Defra has worked with the horticultural industry to submit 48 market access applications (including multiple species within the same genera) for the most widely traded High-Risk Plants, 40 of which have now resulted in the adoption of EU import requirements allowing the export of these species to resume to the EU. The industry has been consulted on a regular basis to ascertain the species of interest, as industry’s cooperation and input have been paramount in completing the relevant applications. Following the announcement of the intention to negotiate an SPS agreement with the EU and after consultation with the industry, work has been paused on further applications, in the expectation that under the agreement the High-Risk Plant prohibitions for third countries would no longer be applicable to the UK.
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 the Northern Ireland Executive to develop the Circular Economy Growth Plan.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Circular Economy Growth Plan will be England only in scope (aside from policy areas that are reserved matters), but we recognise that the Devolved Governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive, either have or are developing similar circular economy plans.
The Growth Plan will set out the biggest opportunities to support growth in sectors right across the economy, including: agri-food; built environment; chemicals and plastics; electrical and electronic equipment; textiles; and transport.
We recognise the overlap between these sectors and the circular economy packages being taken forward by Devolved Governments. Ministers have engaged with their counterparts in Northern Ireland on areas of shared interests and opportunities for collaboration through both the Inter-Ministerial Group and the British-Irish Council. This engagement has been further continued at official level too in order to support alignment.
The Secretary of State will continue to discuss the progress of our Circular Economy agenda with the Northern Ireland Executive and all devolved governments, as we are actively looking to work collaboratively and closely across the four nations, recognising that consistency throughout the UK also has benefits for industry and other stakeholders.
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, when did the Inter Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last meet: and what agenda items were discussed.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Inter-Ministerial Group for EFRA met on 24 November. The group discussed the following agenda items: water quality and collaboration on nutrient management; the Fisheries and Coastal Growth Fund; funding; the EU-UK SPS agreement; CO2 Supplies and Defra Food Strategy. A communique will be published on GOV.UK in due course.
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.