Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Ofwat’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2025-28, how much Ofwat has spent on external equality, diversity and inclusion training since July 2024; via which suppliers; and what the estimated cost of mandatory EDI training is in 2026.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The total expenditure on EDI training since July 2024 to date is £7,495 (not including VAT).
These details can be broken down as requested:
Name of supplier | Session topic | Cost |
Andrew Pain Ltd | Men's mental health | £800 |
Champions UK | Black History Month | £1,200 |
Powered by Diversity | A monthly session on a range of EDI topics (i.e. International Women's Day, Time to Talk Day) | £2,000 |
Wellity Global | Supporting neurodivergent individuals through times of change and stress | £3,495 |
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
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 17 December 2025 to Question 98120 on DEFRA: Public Appointment, whether any made a declaration of political activity.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Direct Ministerial Appointees are not typically expected to submit declarations of political activity. However, they are expected to comply with the provisions on political activity set out in the code of conduct for board members of public bodies. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-conduct-for-board-members-of-public-bodies.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason Ofwat's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2025-28 refers to gender rather than sex awareness.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy makes reference to "gender" in relation to the statutory Gender Pay Gap. Further references to gender are intended to be interpreted broadly and to include both sex and gender identities that do not align with sex at birth. This helps Ofwat to meet the Public Sector Equality Duty, which covers protected characteristics including both sex and gender reassignment, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
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 is paying the salary of the Second Permanent Secretary while he is on secondment to the Blavatnik School Of Government.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nick Joicey is currently on secondment to a role at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University. As is standard for secondments Defra continues to pay Mr Joicey’s salary and Defra is being reimbursed by Oxford University for his role there.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK–EU reset agreement on the (a) use and (b) sale of precision-bred (i) plants and (ii) animals.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We remain committed to moving forward with the Precision Breeding Act.
The EU has accepted there will need to be a number of areas where we need to retain our own rules. The details of these are now subject to negotiation, but we have been clear about the importance of being able to support the use of new and innovative technologies.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
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 July 2025 to Question 62320 on Farm: Domestic Visits, if he will provide an aggregate and anonymised number of farm visits since 4 July 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - 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.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the recruitment process was for her Department's new Permanent Secretary; and whether he plans to publish any declarations of interest.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The new Permanent Secretary for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, was recruited under a fair and open competition managed by the Cabinet Office. Any declarations of interest will be made, published and updated in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to protect the UK food supply in the event of a (a) cyber or (b) physical attack.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Food Sector is one of the UK's 14 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Defra works closely with industry, the Cabinet Office and other Lead Government Departments (LGD) to monitor risks and ensure preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. Defra assesses the potential impacts of cyber and physical risks to the food supply chain as detailed in the National Security Risk Assessment (NRSA) and reflected in the National Risk Register (NRR). Defra works with Cabinet Office, as leads for the NRR, and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as the LGD for cybersecurity along with other Government Departments to ensure the range of potential impacts on the food system from these types of risks are considered in the dynamic risk assessment process. |
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the EU-UK Common Understanding, published on 19 May 2025, whether the dynamic alignment with the EU will apply to standards and regulations on the production and marketing of (a) wine and (b) other types of alcohol.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Rules related to the production and marketing of wine and spirits are outside the scope of the UK-EU SPS Agreement meaning dynamic alignment with the EU will not apply in these areas. Retaining this regulatory autonomy is important for this sector and will benefit the UK economy as a whole.