Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 her Department's document entitled Guidelines and guidance on the responsible use of veterinary medicines, updated on 8 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the inclusion of blanket flea and worming treatments in veterinary health plans on the responsible use of veterinary medicine and antimicrobials in animals.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flea and tick products play an important role in protecting animal and human health; however, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) recognises increasing concerns about the environmental impacts of substances such as fipronil and imidacloprid. Monitoring in England has detected these substances in some watercourses at levels that may pose a risk to aquatic invertebrates.
The VMD is leading cross‑government work through the Pharmaceuticals in the Environment Group to support responsible use of these products. Recently published VMD‑funded studies (2024–25) have shown that spot‑on flea and tick products can contribute to environmental levels of imidacloprid and fipronil through wastewater pathways and when dogs swim. These findings strengthen the evidence base, but important gaps remain, including understanding the potential unintended consequences if usage patterns change. This is being considered as part of wider stewardship work to ensure future decisions remain proportionate, evidence based and protective of animal welfare.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to answer Question 105030 on Farm Business Tenancy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A response was published to Question 105030 on Wednesday 28 January here: PQ 105030. I apologise for the delay in doing so.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 plans to take to increase participation in the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the newly released consultation regarding reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, Defra proposes to replace the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme with a mandatory licence for all veterinary and animal healthcare businesses. This will ensure they all meet the required standards, including the 30% of practices not currently engaged with the Practice Standards Scheme.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 introduce statutory protection of the title “Registered Veterinary Nurse”.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the newly released consultation regarding reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, Defra is proposing statutory protection of the Veterinary Nurse title in line with Veterinary Surgeons.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to review Farm Business Tenancy to enable longer leases, succession of tenancy and increases in security of tenure for tenant farmers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department recognises the benefits of longer leases and the importance of security of tenure for tenant farmers. Under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, landlords and tenants may agree tenancy terms of any length. To encourage more landlords and tenants to enter into longer-term agreements the joint Defra and industry Farm Tenancy Forum is developing guidance and best practice. All parties to a Farm Business Tenancy are encouraged to employ the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice, which sets out expected standards for constructive tenancy negotiations, including succession.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce requirements for veterinary practices to display in-clinic and online information about ownership beyond listings on the RCVS website.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra welcomes the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) market investigation into veterinary services for household pets and continues to engage with the CMA throughout this process. The CMA’s responsibilities include enforcing the law against anti-competitive practices and investigating mergers that could reduce competition. The CMA are currently reviewing the results of the consultation on their Provisional Decision Report which includes introducing requirements for veterinary practices to be open about their ownership. Defra will be responding to the CMA’s final report following its publication in Spring 2026 and will be consulting on reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 in due course.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that farmers are protected from the monopsony sugar beet processor.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers and their vital contribution to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from cereal production.
We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market. There is a well-established process in place to agree the domestic sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties.
While this process has been effective over many years, we continue to keep it and the regulatory framework under review.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much new burdens funding she plans to allocate for food waste collections; and if she will (a) allocate that funding based on costs incurred by WCAs and (b) apply the New Burdens Doctrine in full.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have invested over £340 million to support waste collection authorities on weekly food collections. While local authorities will have the flexibility to deliver these reforms in the best way for their council areas and residents, we still expect them to take all reasonable steps to meet their statutory obligations.
Previous capital and transitional funding were allocated and published by Defra. As confirmed in the outcome of the Spending Review 2025, ongoing resource funding for food waste services from 1 April 2026 will be included in the Local Government Finance Settlement, rather than as a separate new burdens grant.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 ensure imported eggs are (a) salmonella free and (b) raised to the same standards as UK produced eggs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has detailed legislation on marketing standards for eggs, which also covers imported eggs, to protect our food standards.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact on sugar beet producers in England due to the decision to extend tariff-free access for raw cane sugar.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK relies on some imported refined sugar to meet demand, and the Government’s assessment concluded that any additional volume of raw cane imports would largely displace that imported refined sugar rather than impacting domestic production. The increase in the ATQ volume is therefore not expected to impact UK sugar beet producers and the Government continues to work closely with stakeholders to ensure policy making finely balances all considerations.