Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the size of the badger population in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The first major national badger population survey in a decade began in February, with the first round of fieldwork now concluded. Further surveying will resume later this year, to estimate badger abundance and population recovery.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure the enforcement of laws prohibiting piglet thumping on pig farms.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are strict rules to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing. Due to serious concerns about the welfare consequences of a manual percussive blow to the head, piglet thumping is not a permitted method for stunning or killing piglets.
Potential breaches of animal health and welfare legislation, such as the use of manual blunt force trauma on piglets, are taken very seriously. Any allegations of poor animal welfare are investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), and appropriate action is taken. The local authority, as the appropriate enforcement agency, may initiate prosecution action for animal welfare offences where there is sufficient evidence.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the size of the hedgehog population in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As hedgehogs are widespread but scarce, there are practical challenges in estimating their number nationally. In the last 10 years, only one estimate, updated in 2024, has been made which indicated a population size estimate of 597,000 hedgehogs in England. However, confidence in the accuracy of this estimate is low.
Natural England is supporting the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, in partnership with the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society, to provide a more robust national estimate of Britain’s hedgehog population. The pilot is due to be completed in May 2026.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 tackle environmental harm in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) plays a vital role in protecting the environment by regulating businesses in the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors, and serving as the environmental regulator for water companies. Through water permitting, it balances the needs of public water supply, agriculture, industry, and the environment. The EA enforces environmental laws, prosecutes polluters, and responds to major incidents like pollution and waste fires as a Category 1 Responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
It advises on planning applications within its statutory remit, including in South Holland, South Kesteven, and Lincolnshire County Council areas, ensuring flood risk, climate change, and water quality are considered. The EA also works with Local Planning Authorities to embed environmental priorities in Local Plans.
In Lincolnshire, the EA combines flood defence with biodiversity enhancement, tackling invasive species and restoring natural river processes in partnership with Wildlife Trusts, River Trusts, and landowners.
In South Holland and The Deepings, the EA has led sustainable initiatives such as controlling Giant Hogweed and American mink, maintaining pollinator-friendly flood banks and hedgerows, and creating fish refuges at Crowland Washes. Sensitive operations at Cowbit Washes have also protected breeding avocets during flood recovery.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to improve the condition of sites of special scientific interest in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) continue to be one of the most effective tools for protecting and enhancing biodiversity and deliver a wide range of health and socio-economic benefits.
Natural England has an ongoing programme to assess the condition of SSSI features and implement the actions needed to restore and maintain the condition of SSSIs, such as the Bardney Limewoods SSSI in Lincolnshire.
In the autumn budget we also allocated £13 million to Protected Site Strategies which will develop and implement spatial restoration plans for priority sites, such as The Wash, an internationally important coastal and marine protected site. These strategies will put in place action to restore protected sites and manage the impact of environmental harm.
The Nature Restoration Fund in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will also allow us to take a more strategic approach to the restoration of SSSIs and deliver improved environmental outcomes.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect local biodiversity in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is undertaking extensive work to protect and enhance biodiversity across Lincolnshire, including South Holland and the Deepings.
Farmers are helping to recover nature through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements and Higher Level Stewardship agreements across the county and we are supporting Landscape Recovery Projects, including the Greater Frampton, Doddington and Boothby Wildlands schemes, to create joined-up habitats that benefit local wildlife and ecosystems.
Local Planning Authorities are securing Biodiversity Net Gain in the area through development. There are two sites in Lincolnshire (one in South Holland and the Deepings) on the Natural England Biodiversity Net Gain Register, which together have committed 85ha of land to nature recovery. Private sector investment into these sites will create and enhance a mosaic of habitats including species-rich grassland, woodland, scrub and wetland.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the condition of the River Welland in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) inspects the River Welland every year to check for any visible problems with its structures and embankments. In 2022, they also surveyed the river to check for silt build-up and see if extra maintenance was needed. While some silt was found, it wasn’t enough to cause concern compared to other narrow parts of the river, such as bridges. The EA also reviewed how they maintain the Cradge Bank, which is part of the river. As a result, they plan to do more maintenance there to improve grass growth as healthy grass helps prevent the bank from failing.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in his Department.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all departments as part of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.
Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship, will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.
In addition, Defra has a group apprenticeship strategy with a clear ambition for year-on-year growth in enrolments. There is a focus on areas where apprenticeships can support organisational priorities, career development for existing staff and addressing key skills gaps.
These include:
Following a successful pilot of a Data Protection and Information Governance cohort in 2023, plans for recruitment of a second cohort in early 2026 have begun.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many visits have Ministers in his Department made to farms in Lincolnshire since the announcement of proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief on 30 October 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra ministers regularly visit farms in a range of counties and meet with farmers and the wider industry nearly every week.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 had recent discussions with the big four supermarkets on animal welfare standards on pig farms.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly engages with supermarkets about a range of issues, but has not had any recent discussions on pig welfare standards.