Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures are in place to enable those parts of the country with a surplus of water to redistribute it to those areas in need.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically and set out how they plan to continue to supply water to their customers through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). These plans set out how each company will continue to meet this duty and manage water supply and demand sustainably for at least the next 25 years.
Transferring water from areas of surplus, or from new water supply infrastructure, may contribute to a more optimal overall solution, delivering best value for society. Water company Water Resources Management Plans published in 2024/25, propose a number of larger inter-company transfers and many internal and external transfers. The Environment Agency has published a summary of the water company plans: A review of England’s revised draft regional and water resources management plans - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of trends in the number of manufacturers using imported virgin plastic on (a) the environment and (b) revenues to the Exchequer.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is currently no planned assessment regarding the potential impact of trends in the number of manufacturers using imported virgin plastic on the environment.
HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs are currently evaluating the Plastic Packaging Tax, using analysis of environmental and tax data to assess the impact of the tax and will update in due course. Forecasts on tax revenues are published regularly by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 plans to bring forward legislative proposals to remove incentives for plastic waste collectors to export rather than process waste domestically.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are currently considering the role of exports in dealing with the UK’s plastic waste and how they can compliment domestic recycling.
Defra is committed to building a circular economy that enhances industry competition and capitalises on the UK’s potential in plastic recycling and reprocessing, whilst realising our environmental objectives. The Government’s collection and packaging reforms will help to stimulate investment in the UK reprocessing infrastructure so we can reduce our dependency on plastic waste exports.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 help reduce the volume of exported plastic waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are currently considering the role of exports in dealing with the UK’s plastic waste and how they can compliment domestic recycling.
Defra is committed to building a circular economy that enhances industry competition and capitalises on the UK’s potential in plastic recycling and reprocessing, whilst realising our environmental objectives. The Government’s collection and packaging reforms will help to stimulate investment in the UK reprocessing infrastructure so we can reduce our dependency on plastic waste exports.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 has considered revising its guidance to local authorities on dog breeding licence fees in relation to (a) if the licence is new or being renewed, (b) the scale of the licensed activity measured by the number of breeding dogs and (c) how far the cost recovery principle can cover enforcement.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations), a local authority can charge such fees as it considers reasonable to meet its statutory licensing responsibilities. The Regulations require local authorities to provide an annual return to the department outlining their licensing fees. That information is published here.
Defra has recently completed its Post-Implementation Review of the Regulations and considered local authority returns and other evidence about the fees charged by local authorities. The review was published in December 2024 and can be found here. The Government is considering the review’s findings and will be outlining more detail on next steps in due course.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 implications for his policies of variations in licence fees set by local authorities for dog breeding.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations), a local authority can charge such fees as it considers reasonable to meet its statutory licensing responsibilities. The Regulations require local authorities to provide an annual return to the department outlining their licensing fees. That information is published here.
Defra has recently completed its Post-Implementation Review of the Regulations and considered local authority returns and other evidence about the fees charged by local authorities. The review was published in December 2024 and can be found here. The Government is considering the review’s findings and will be outlining more detail on next steps in due course.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 introducing method of production labelling on (a) the economy and (b) farm incomes.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are considering the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of the ongoing development of the Government’s wider animal welfare strategy.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 26 June 2025 to Question 61000 on Hunting, what recent progress he has made to ban trail-hunting.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Work is ongoing to determine the best approach to deliver the manifesto commitment to ban trail hunting. We have committed to running a consultation to ensure those with an interest can input. We will share further details in due course.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 UK-EU Summit - Joint Statement, updated 19 May 2025, whether his Department will prioritise the removal of the need for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) certificates in the new UK-EU SPS Agreement.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
As announced at the UK-EU Leaders Summit on May 19, 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area which will slash costs and remove red tape. The removal of the need for Export Health Certification will save trading businesses up to £200 per consignment each time goods are sent, meaning a single lorry carrying a mixed load of animal products could see £1000s in reduced costs.
Our aim is to start the detailed negotiations as soon as possible, as we want to see businesses benefit from removing barriers to trade.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to includes measures for young people in the forthcoming food strategy.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We are developing an ambitious new food strategy to set the food system up for long term success. The strategy will deliver wide ranging improvements. Everyone including young people will benefit from a healthier, more affordable, sustainable and resilient 21st century UK food system that grows the economy, feeds the nation, nourishes people, and protects the environment, now and in the future. A number of food strategy outcomes are particularly important for young people touching on children's health, food education, and jobs and skills in the food sector.