Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to include capital grant options for improving on-farm water supply and storage infrastructure in the grant scheme that will incorporate elements of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund from 2027.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the significant challenges that drought conditions can pose for farmers and growers. As part of the drought support package announced on 14 August 2026, up to ÂŁ15 million has been made available to support on-farm reservoir construction.
FETF 2026 was the final round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund in its current form; Defra is reviewing our wider grants offers to ensure they deliver the greatest benefit for farmers, food production and the environment. Decisions on the design and scope of any future offers have not yet been made.
Defra will continue to engage with farmers and industry stakeholders as we develop its future programme.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department will include measures to improve farm water security when determining which items currently supported through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund will be incorporated into Environmental Land Management Capital Grants from 2027.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No decisions have been made on the scope of FETF inclusion in Capital Grants from 2027, we are still considering future support arrangements and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the capacity of laboratories in processing bluetongue tests in a timely manner during periods of increased transmission; what the current average turnaround time is for such testing, and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that delays in laboratory testing do not (a) impede disease control measures and (b) increase disruption to the movement of livestock.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with APHA and The Pirbright Institute to reduce delays in testing and reporting. Testing is being undertaken by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at Weybridge alongside the National Reference Laboratory at The Pirbright Institute.
A new online reporting form was launched on Friday 11 September, which makes it easier and quicker for vets to report suspect cases and clinical signs directly to APHA. This will allow private vets to diagnose bluetongue after examining affected animals, with cases formally confirmed by APHA at a premises level. Where a vet cannot rule out suspicion of another notifiable disease, including foot and mouth, the usual reporting and laboratory testing arrangements will continue. This will support prioritising laboratory capacity for tests such as movement testing and surveillance in emerging areas in GB. Defra will monitor the impacts of these changes on turnaround time and capacity.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that sufficient supplies of vaccines against bluetongue virus are available to livestock keepers; and what steps she is taking to improve the availability and timely distribution of those vaccines.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) are working closely with manufacturers, wholesalers and veterinary bodies to monitor availability and support continuity of supply. Defra and VMD have taken proactive regulatory action to expedite the import of authorised Northern Ireland and European Union-authorised BTV-3 vaccines, helping to increase vaccine availability in Great Britain.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department intends to bring forward legislative proposals to implement the reforms to National Parks governance and purposes announced in December 2024.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Government is committed to implementing the reforms announced in December 2024 as soon as parliamentary time allows.
As set out in the revised Environment Improvement Plan we will champion Protected Landscapes by refreshing our national vision for these special places, eliminating bureaucratic barriers and ensuring teams have the tools and resources to achieve our ambitions.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take legislative steps to expand access rights for swimming and non-motorised craft on inland waters.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of access to nature for people’s health and well-being, and is considering the best approach to improving that, including access onto unregulated inland waterways. We are committed to working with stakeholders as this develops.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hectares of privately-owned Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites have received public subsidies to restore them into good ecological condition in the last 2 years.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) scheme supports the restoration of Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS).
In 2023 there was around 1,100 ha that received subsidies for the restoration of Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) under the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme which increased to around 1,900 ha of land in 2024. It is not possible to differentiate between publicly and privately owned land within this figure.
To Note: The payment window for existing CSHT agreements opens on the 01 December and receive annual payments. Applicants with a New CSHT agreement will receive quarterly payments.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) all plastic bottles sold in the UK are fully recyclable and (b) 100 per cent of such bottles are recycled by 2030.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is coming to England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027 and will focus on increasing recycling and reducing littering.
A new organisation called UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO) will run the scheme. It’s a not-for-profit group, led by businesses. They were officially appointed in May 2025 (England & NI) and June 2025 (Scotland).
Once the DRS is introduced, the Deposit Management Organisation will be required to reach a return rate of 90% in year 3 of the scheme.
International DRSs have seen recycling rates increase to over 95%.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers to be implemented across the UK; and what assessment he has made of its expected impact on plastic bottle recycling rates.
Answered by Mary Creagh
The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is coming to England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027 and will focus on increasing recycling and reducing littering.
A new organisation called UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO) will run the scheme. It’s a not-for-profit group, led by businesses. They were officially appointed in May 2025 (England & NI) and June 2025 (Scotland).
Once the DRS is introduced, the Deposit Management Organisation will be required to reach a return rate of 90% in year 3 of the scheme.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department plans to issue to Material Recovery Facilities to ensure consistent sorting standards.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra does not plan to issue specific guidance on sorting requirements for Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs).
We are working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and waste industry representatives to support MRF readiness for the Simpler Recycling requirements. We have engaged with MRF operators and local authorities through WRAP’s MRF Forum to identify challenges with MRF capacity, investment and upgrade timelines, and to work with the sector to identify interventions to support MRFs as they prepare for Simpler Recycling. WRAP is developing interventions to support local authorities with the procurement of new MRF contracts, determine the potential future composition of dry mixed recyclable waste streams and the associated financial implications.
Those MRF operators engaged with us are aware of their obligations and are working hard to upgrade their facilities to ensure they can separate the target materials as required by Simpler Recycling.