Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Civil Contingencies Act to enable livestock owners and farmers to support their livestock during emergencies such as water outages.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare Codes, made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, recommend that keepers should have contingency plans for events such as the disruption of feed, power or water supply.
The Government expects water companies to provide a secure and resilient supply of water at all times. Disruptions to water supplies can have significant consequences for animal health and farm operations, underlining the importance of water companies maintaining robust resilience and contingency plans.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many projects were funded through the Water Management Grant between its inception and 4th July 2024 inclusive.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Between the Water Management Grant inception and 4 July 2024 inclusive, 52 Grant Funding Agreements had been issued, following this a further 28 Grant Funding Agreements have been issued since 5 July 2024. We have so far paid 84 claims against these agreements, and some projects are still in progress and have not yet received payment. Beneficiaries may also submit more than one claim, so payment figures do not directly equate to the number of projects funded.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many projects have been funded through the Water Management Grant since 5th July 2024.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Between the Water Management Grant inception and 4 July 2024 inclusive, 52 Grant Funding Agreements had been issued, following this a further 28 Grant Funding Agreements have been issued since 5 July 2024. We have so far paid 84 claims against these agreements, and some projects are still in progress and have not yet received payment. Beneficiaries may also submit more than one claim, so payment figures do not directly equate to the number of projects funded.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding was provided to abattoirs through the Smaller Abattoir Fund between its inception and July 4th 2024 inclusive.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Before and including 4 July 2024, 12 Grant Funding Agreements, with a total value of £208,987, had been issued through the Smaller Abattoir Fund. Of this, one payment of £7,875 had been made to a successful applicant by that date.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been provided to abattoirs through the Smaller Abattoir Fund since July 5th 2024.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 5 July 2024, 38 Grant Funding Agreements, with a total value of £910,264, have been issued through the Smaller Abattoir Fund. Of this, £687,734 has been paid to successful applicants to date.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps they are taking to tackle plastic pollution.
Answered by Mary Creagh
We have several restrictions on unnecessary single-use plastic products, including a ban on the supply of single-use vapes and a ban on supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic in England, marking a major step forward in tackling the plastic and microplastic pollution that harms our waterways.
The UK is working internationally to agree a new international, legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution and is committed to working with a range of other countries to secure an agreement at the next round of negotiations in March 2027.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 are taking to help tackle the discarding in the environment of nitrous oxide canisters.
Answered by Mary Creagh
It is an offence to illegally dispose of cannisters. Local councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught littering may be prosecuted in a magistrates’ court, which can lead to a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine) of up to £500.
Guidance to councils and others on the use of their fixed penalty powers for littering and related offences is available at: Litter enforcement powers - when and how to use them - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 plastic pollution.
Answered by Mary Creagh
We have several restrictions on unnecessary single-use plastic products, including a ban on the supply of single-use vapes and a ban on supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic in England, marking a major step forward in tackling the plastic and microplastic pollution that harms our waterways.
The UK is a leading voice in the negotiations for a new international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution and a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, a group of over 70 countries calling for an ambitious and effective treaty that will end plastic pollution by 2040.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of consignments of products of animal-origin were taken, after being flagged, from Dover to the Border Control Post in Sevington from December 2025 to May 2026.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Checks at the border are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. To protect the integrity of these controls, detailed operational data on inspections is not routinely published. Data is not held in the form requested. Available data relates to whether vehicles rather than consignments attended Sevington Border Control Post.
However, for the period December 2025 to April 2026 (as May data is not yet available), we can advise that for Port Health 71.7% of vehicles listed on the manifest for CHED-P and CHED-D arrived at the Sevington Border Control Post. The remaining 28.3% did not attend.
Non-attendance is followed up by Ashford Port Health and recorded in PHILIS to establish the reason. Non-attendance does not necessarily indicate non-compliance. For example, consignments may not have been loaded or shipped and therefore did not enter Great Britain, may have travelled under a different vehicle registration, or may have been processed through an alternative point of entry or control point.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of consignments of products of plant-origin were taken, after being flagged, from Dover to the Border Control Post in Sevington from December 2025 to May 2026.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Checks at the border are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. To protect the integrity of these controls, detailed operational data on inspections is not routinely published. Data is not held in the form requested. Available data relates to whether vehicles rather than consignments attended Sevington Border Control Post.
However, for the period December 2025 to April 2026 (as May data is not yet available), we can advise that for Port Health 71.7% of vehicles listed on the manifest for CHED-P and CHED-D arrived at the Sevington Border Control Post. The remaining 28.3% did not attend.
Non-attendance is followed up by Ashford Port Health and recorded in PHILIS to establish the reason. Non-attendance does not necessarily indicate non-compliance. For example, consignments may not have been loaded or shipped and therefore did not enter Great Britain, may have travelled under a different vehicle registration, or may have been processed through an alternative point of entry or control point.