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 ensure that meat imported illegally into the UK is seized at the border.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Defra is working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle meat smuggling, with the support of Border Force, port health authorities and local authorities.
Defra has committed £3.1 million for Dover Port Health Authority to work in partnership with Border Force in seizing meat smuggled via the Port of Dover in 2025/26, additional to over £9m of funding provided to date.
Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
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 much the Animal and Plant Health Agency has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For desk-based Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) staff, APHA Directors have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service in line with departmental policies.
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 days the Union Flag was flown on his Department's main sites in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra follows Government guidance which sees a Union Flag flying daily at the main sites which have the facility to do so.
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 much and what proportion of the funding provided to the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit in March 2025 will be allocated to local partnerships in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not provide financial allocations to local partnerships for tackling wildlife crime but instead provides funding directly at the national level, to the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), and in 2025/26 is providing £424,000. Home Office, similarly, does not provide financial allocations to local partnerships. Home Office provides funding directly at the national level. In 2025/26 the Home Office has provided the NWCU with £450,000 and the National Rural Crime Unit with £365,000.
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 his Department has spent money on promotion through social media influencers since July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No money has been spent by Defra on social media influencers since July 2024.
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 support hedgehog conservation initiatives in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Greater Lincolnshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) demonstrates strong local commitment to hedgehog conservation. Following online public consultation, where hedgehogs emerged as one of the most frequently mentioned priority species, the draft LNRS includes specific actions to support hedgehog recovery. These targeted measures include creating suitable feeding habitats, encouraging property owners to leave gaps in fencing to improve garden connectivity, and building hibernacula to provide essential winter shelter.
Nationally, there are several projects underway which will enable the conservation of our hedgehogs. The first National Hedgehog Conservation Strategy has been published by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society. Natural England (NE), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Forestry England all contributed to the strategy, which highlights the factors causing a decline in native hedgehog populations. In addition, NE is co-funding the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme. The information gathered will also produce insights into the factors causing hedgehog population decline, leading to the implementation of practical conservation measures to address this challenge.
These hedgehog-specific initiatives complement broader environmental improvements in Lincolnshire, including the designation of the Lincolnshire Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve - the first in the new King's Series. Such landscape-scale conservation efforts create the connected habitats that hedgehogs and other wildlife need to thrive.
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 much the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Exact costs are not available for the amount the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science’s spent on dedicated home office equipment although they are low for this three-year period.
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 much the Forestry Commission has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Forestry Commission provides IT equipment to support staff working in a blended way, between office space and home and also a small number of contracted home workers.
Equipment is procured through best-value frameworks, including the Civil Service Purchase Platform, and is redeployed wherever possible to ensure value for money.
Estimated expenditure on IT equipment to support staff working from home or in a blended capacity:
Forestry Commission (Forest Services, Forestry England and Commissioners Office):
Forest Research:
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 much Ofwat has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat's staff balance working from home and in the office. This is important to support collaboration, build and sustain relationships with others, and support the delivery of Ofwat's business outcomes. Working from the office provides opportunities for face-to-face interaction and connection, in-person meetings, and networking.
Taking this hybrid approach, Ofwat recognises that staff are likely to incur new or additional spend on hybrid working incidentals. Ofwat has spent the following on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years:
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 much the Veterinary Medicines Directorate has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate’s (VMD’s) spend on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years is:
Year | Total |
|
FY2022/23 | £10,579.77 |
|
FY2023/24 | £6,248.34 |
|
FY2024/25 | £3,235.72 |
|
The VMD is unable to differentiate between costs that are associated with the provision of equipment for use at home relating to a workplace adjustment, and formal working contracts versus any costs associated with hybrid working arrangements. Obtaining this information could only be achieved at a disproportionate cost.
The VMD, in common with other directorates and Government departments, has agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.