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, with reference to the press notice by Ofwat entitled Ofwat approves £104bn upgrade to accelerate delivery of cleaner rivers and seas and secure long-term drinking water supplies for customers, published 19 December 2024, what discussions his Department has had with Ofwat on its planned timetable for releasing additional funding for the water system.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofwat on a range of issues, including ensuring companies properly carry out and finance their statutory functions.
The price controls set as part of Price Review 2024 came into effect on 1st April 2025. In their Final Determinations, Ofwat set expenditure allowances which fund companies to meet their statutory and regulatory requirements and deliver their performance commitments over the 2025-30 period.
The £104 billion funding package is the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation and is set to be the second largest private sector investment programme for this Parliament, which will contribute to the delivery of key elements of the Government’s Plan for Change and Mission Objectives.
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, if he will publish the projects funded by the Water Restoration Fund since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April last year, is reinvesting funding based on water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. The Water Restoration Fund funding is based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023.
Up to £11 million of funding was made available on a competitive basis to support a range of water restoration projects.
Following a rigorous assessment process, I am pleased to say that current applicants to the Water Restoration Fund have been contacted regarding the outcome of their application. Further details regarding which projects have been successful and project publication procedures will be shared in due course.
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, with reference oral contribution of 23 April 2025 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Official Report, column 1141, how much funding has been approved for projects under the Water Restoration Fund in the latest funding round.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April last year, is reinvesting funding based on water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. The Water Restoration Fund funding is based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023.
Up to £11 million of funding was made available on a competitive basis to support a range of water restoration projects.
Following a rigorous assessment process, I am pleased to say that current applicants to the Water Restoration Fund have been contacted regarding the outcome of their application. Further details regarding which projects have been successful and specific funding allocations per project will be shared in due course.
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, with reference oral contribution of 23 April 2025 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Official Report, column 1141, if his Department will maintain the Water Restoration Fund for this Parliament and beyond.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The water restoration fund is currently active.
Defra is evaluating how water company fines and penalties can be reinvested in improvements to the water environment.
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, whether he plans to continue to provide funding for biosecurity checks onsite at the Port of Dover.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra remains committed to agreeing an appropriate funding model with Dover PHA to help tackle illegal imports. Officials are working with Dover Port Health Authority to agree funding for 2025/26.
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 he is taking to provide mental health support to farmers.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture.
The Government continue to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This currently funds four charities to deliver projects which support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. One consortium of charities, led by the Farmer Network, operates in Lancashire. Their ‘Keep Farming Stronger for Longer’ campaign is delivering workshops, training, events, networking, 1:1 advice and the provision of additional Field Nurse services in the region.
Furthermore, the Government is paying out £60m through the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers affected by this unprecedented extreme wet weather.
Finally, the Government announced in their 2024 manifesto 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes.
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, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to the hon. Member for Epping Forest during the Oral Question on Flood-prone Communities: Cumbria of 20 March 2025, Official Report, column 481, whether the £500,000 for rural mental health is new funding.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
farming and agriculture.
Since 2024, Defra has funded the Farmer Welfare Grant, which supports projects that improve the mental health and wellbeing of farming people in England.
The fund was allocated through an open competition process to the following organisations: the Farming Community Network, You Are Not Alone (YANA), Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN), and a consortium of organisations led by the Farmer Network which includes Field Nurse, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services (UTASS) and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS).
The projects are all designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families as well as prevent further cases of poor mental health by helping to build resilience within farming communities and deliver a range of essential services including the development of new online resources, provision of workshops, training events and networking opportunities, and one-to-one support.
To date we have paid out £325,355, and we expect to pay out a further £174,999 in FY25/26. This is in line with the individual funding agreements.
In the Autumn Budget, this Government committed to support the farming sector through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26). Spending on farming in future financial years, including for Mental Health, will be subject to decisions made as part of the Chancellor’s upcoming spending review.
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, with reference to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State's oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for Epping Forest of 20 March 2025, Official Report, column 481, what progress his Department has made on investing £500,000 into mental health charities; and if he will list each recipient charity.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
farming and agriculture.
Since 2024, Defra has funded the Farmer Welfare Grant, which supports projects that improve the mental health and wellbeing of farming people in England.
The fund was allocated through an open competition process to the following organisations: the Farming Community Network, You Are Not Alone (YANA), Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN), and a consortium of organisations led by the Farmer Network which includes Field Nurse, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services (UTASS) and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS).
The projects are all designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families as well as prevent further cases of poor mental health by helping to build resilience within farming communities and deliver a range of essential services including the development of new online resources, provision of workshops, training events and networking opportunities, and one-to-one support.
To date we have paid out £325,355, and we expect to pay out a further £174,999 in FY25/26. This is in line with the individual funding agreements.
In the Autumn Budget, this Government committed to support the farming sector through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26). Spending on farming in future financial years, including for Mental Health, will be subject to decisions made as part of the Chancellor’s upcoming spending review.
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 he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in Hungary.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In response to the outbreak of FMD in Germany, this Government took decisive and rapid action to protect the UK by suspending the commercial import of susceptible animals and certain untreated products of animal origin from Germany and restricting personal imports of animal products from across the EU. Following the outbreak in Hungary, these border control measures were immediately extended to cover imports of these products from Hungary and Slovakia (given the close proximity of the Hungarian FMD case to the Hungarian Slovakian border).
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 his Department is taking to ensure that Government-funded tree planting schemes are avoiding planting sycamore trees adjacent to, or near to, known equine grazing areas, in the context of the causative link between exposure to sycamore trees and seeds and (a) equine atypical myopathy and (b) hypoglycin A toxicity.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra seeks to ensure all Government-funded tree planting schemes plant the right trees in the right place. Trees, forests, and woodlands can bring different benefits to different individuals, communities, and sectors. All woodland creation proposals considered by the Forestry Commission are assessed according to the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS), which sets out the government’s approach to sustainable forestry. The UKFS is explicit on the importance of tree species selection ensuring a diverse composition which is site appropriate, with the potential to mitigate the risks posed by climate change, pests and diseases.
In November 2024 a Tree Species Guide for UK Agroforestry Systems was launched. Developed by Forest Research and the University of Reading, this is designed to inform farmers about the different tree species which could be used in agroforestry systems, and highlights potential risks associated with individual species.
Landowners are encouraged to engage with neighbours and stakeholders when designing their woodland creation proposals, to discuss the proposal, including species selection. All woodland creation and most felling proposals are listed on the Forestry Commissions Consultation Public Register.