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 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding has been issued from the Smaller Abattoir Fund since July 2024.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since July 2024, the Rural Payment Agency has paid £406,545 to customers of the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

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 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding is remaining in the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The total funding remaining for the Smaller Abattoir Fund is £704,928.

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 increase the number of cats being microchipped.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

From 10 June 2024, all owned cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database. The legislation is intended to improve pet welfare by increasing the likelihood of reuniting lost or stray pets with their keepers.

Defra works closely with stakeholders to communicate pet microchipping requirements to the public.

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 increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of vets in the public sector.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is aware of the numerous challenges facing recruitment and retention of qualified veterinary surgeons into Government roles. The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Food Standards Agency have been looking at ways to increase recruitment into Government and Defra has been working with the vet sector at blockers and options to support recruitment and retention.

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 hold discussions with the Animal and Plant Health Agency on their ability to respond to category five animal disease outbreaks.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency regularly discuss capacity and capability to manage disease outbreaks at a variety of governance boards including the Outbreak Readiness Board and the Disease Emergency Response Committee.

APHA has dealt with multiple disease incidents in 7 of the last 10 years, including concurrent outbreaks of bluetongue and avian influenza since 2023.

In the Public Accounts Committee hearing on 4 September, Defra acknowledged that a category 5 outbreak would pose challenges and explained that there are contracts and agreements in place that would enable draw down of additional veterinary and administrative capacity.

Outbreak structures and governance are set out in the ‘Contingency Plan for Exotic Notifiable Diseases of Animals in England’ published on GOV.UK. This is reviewed annually.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting the 5 per cent rule for smaller abattoirs on the abattoir sector.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Working with Devolved Governments, Competent Authorities, and industry stakeholders, Defra has considered the potential merits of adopting the livestock unit regulatory flexibility (5% Rule) for smaller abattoirs, as part of its commitment to identifying opportunities to ease regulatory and administrative burdens on the sector.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the process of applying for an ECHP.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government inherited a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that has failed to meet the needs of families for far too long.

We want to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments are progressed promptly and, if required, high-quality EHC plans are issued in line with statutory deadlines.

The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help to identify the problems and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, providing specialist SEND Advisor support to help identify the barriers to carrying out the EHC plan process in a timely way and put in place practical plans for recovery.

We are working closely with experts, including parents, local authorities, SEND organisations and education settings across the country, as we consider the next steps for SEND reform.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide mental health support in schools in Epping Forest constituency.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The government is providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs). 53% of schools and colleges in Epping Forest constituency were supported by an MHST in March 2025. Further data for 2024/25 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision. This has been available since 16 May 2025 at national, regional and local authority level and since 10 July 2025 at constituency level. Around six in ten pupils nationally are expected to have access to an MHST by March 2026. Under government plans, all pupils will have access to mental health support in school by 2029/30.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support pupils with SEND in Epping Forest constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government’s ambition is that every child or young person receives the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child or young person feels like they belong and that sets them up for life and work.

As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore parents’ trust by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate to crisis point.

We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight. There will always be a legal right to the additional support that children with SEND need.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of inflation on (a) businesses, (b) farmers and (c) consumers in Epping Forest constituency.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for National Statistics does not publish inflation statistics at the level of individual constituencies such as Epping Forest. However, the Government understands that inflation remains a challenge for businesses, including farmers, and consumers. This is why the Chancellor has asked departments to prioritise reducing inflation when developing policies for the Autumn Budget, ensuring decisions support stability and long-term growth.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her economic policies on inflation for food and drink.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not produce forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasting the economy, including the impact of Government policy decisions, is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 March 2025. The OBR does not publish estimates of the impact of policy decisions on levels of food and drink inflation. The Chancellor has asked departments to prioritise reducing inflation when developing policies for the Autumn Budget, ensuring decisions support stability and long-term growth.

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