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 plans she has to help ensure farmers are not out of pocket for costs incurred under AB12 supplementary feeding for farmland birds.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Environmental Land Management Capital Grants scheme, AB12 aims to provide bird feed during the winter period when other food sources are scarce. It pays £732 per tonne for every 2 hectares (ha) of winter bird food and is available under Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier. Feed can be purchased from a number of suppliers across the UK. The department regularly reviews payment rates.
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 issue updated guidance on pet passports.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area, which will mean taking pets on holiday into the EU will become easier and cheaper.
Instead of getting an animal health certificate each time you travel, owners will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU.
We have begun negotiations with the EU on the SPS agreement, however we are not going to give a running commentary of talks. In the meantime, owners will still need an Animal Health Certificate for their dog, cat or ferret if they are travelling from Great Britain to an EU country.
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 adequate skills in local authorities to develop horticulture and parks.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to working in partnership with local authorities, industry, further education institutions, and training providers to strengthen skills and support jobs across the farming sector, including the horticulture sector, ensuring businesses and local authorities have the expertise needed to manage and develop green spaces. In collaboration with the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture we are also helping to promote the wide range of exciting opportunities the sector offers.
The Spending Review 2025 provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
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 support jobs in the environmental sector, particularly horticulture.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to working in partnership with local authorities, industry, further education institutions, and training providers to strengthen skills and support jobs across the farming sector, including the horticulture sector, ensuring businesses and local authorities have the expertise needed to manage and develop green spaces. In collaboration with the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture we are also helping to promote the wide range of exciting opportunities the sector offers.
The Spending Review 2025 provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
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 protect chalk streams.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams. Chalk streams are embedded in our plan to reform the water industry. The Government has announced an ambitious programme of reforms to clean up our rivers, lakes, and seas for good.
We are tackling one of the biggest impacts on chalk streams by reducing the risk of harmful abstraction by an estimated 126 million litres daily by 2030, through the amendment of water company abstraction licences, protecting vital water flows to these fragile ecosystems.
We are rebuilding the entire water network through one of the largest infrastructure projects in this country’s history with a record £104 billion investment to upgrade crumbling pipes and cut sewage spills, which will help to protect chalk streams.
Our protections through the Water (Special Measures) Act will ensure chalk streams are preserved for future generations.
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 guidance his Department has issued to builders when building on historic dump sites of fly ash.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued the following guiding principles on how planning can deal with all forms of land contamination: Land affected by contamination - GOV.UK.
In addition to this, the Environment Agency publishes guidance on land contamination risk management, which can be found here: Land contamination risk management (LCRM) - GOV.UK.
Technical guidance on investigating and remediating land affected by contamination is often issued by industry as well as by Government. Much industry-led guidance can be found online, such as through the CL:AIRE Water & Land Library.
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 guidance her Department has issued to builders on building on historic dump sites for fly ash.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued the following guiding principles on how planning can deal with all forms of land contamination: Land affected by contamination - GOV.UK.
In addition to this, the Environment Agency publishes guidance on land contamination risk management, which can be found here: Land contamination risk management (LCRM) - GOV.UK.
Technical guidance on investigating and remediating land affected by contamination is often issued by industry as well as by Government. Much industry-led guidance can be found online, such as through the CL:AIRE Water & Land Library.
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 guidance his Department has issued on sites previously used for the dumping of fly ash.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued the following guiding principles on how planning can deal with all forms of land contamination: Land affected by contamination - GOV.UK.
In addition to this, the Environment Agency publishes guidance on land contamination risk management, which can be found here: Land contamination risk management (LCRM) - GOV.UK.
Technical guidance on investigating and remediating land affected by contamination is often issued by industry as well as by Government. Much industry-led guidance can be found online, such as through the CL:AIRE Water & Land Library.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 72246 on Litter: Fast Food, if his Department will ensure that packaging from fast food outlets is marked by the outlet with the car registration of the customer using Automatic Number Plate Recognition.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We do not intend to require fast food outlets to implement a vehicle registration number printing system for packaging.
Guidance published by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government clarifies the powers available to councils to ensure new hot food takeaways do not increase the impact of litter on local communities. The latest guidance is available here: Healthy and safe communities - GOV.UK
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 his Department is taking to use technology to apprehend (a) fly tippers and (b) other people dropping litter across the countryside.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities are usually best placed to respond to fly-tipping and littering problems in their area, and we encourage them to make good use of the enforcement powers at their disposal. We are conducting a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool, such as by using innovative techniques like drones and mobile CCTV cameras.
Defra also chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities, to share good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping, including on private land. The NFTPG has developed various practical tools including best practice case studies highlighting the use of technology such as CCTV to tackle fly-tipping. These are available at: https://nftpg.com/.