Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 potential impact on increasing domestic production of fertilisers on energy security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Supply of nitrogen fertiliser to the UK is competitive and the proportion that is met by domestic production varies from year to year. As well as domestic production, the UK typically imports fertiliser products from a wide range of countries which means the supply chain has remained dynamic in sourcing product, while maintaining a good diversity of nutrient supply.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on UK CBAM for fertilisers and ammonia.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government remains committed to implementing the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from 1 January 2027. CBAM will apply to imported goods from the fertiliser sector, and the rate charged will reflect the final carbon price paid by domestic industries after support mechanisms (such as free allowances within the UK ETS) have been taken into account.
Therefore, it is expected that initial liabilities arising from the CBAM will be modest, and the Government does not expect CBAM to put UK farmers at a significant competitive disadvantage.
CBAM, like all taxes, will be kept under review by the Chancellor.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of green hydrogen from ammonia.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In line with our current priorities, the Hydrogen Production Business Model is intended to support domestic, primary methods of hydrogen production, such as electrolytic and CCUS-enabled production. The production of green hydrogen from ammonia through ‘ammonia cracking’ would not create any new hydrogen (given the ammonia itself is produced from hydrogen) and so we do not consider it to meet these criteria. The HPBM does provide revenue support to selected low carbon hydrogen producers who may sell hydrogen for a variety of applications including as a feedstock for the production of ammonia.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the removal of tariffs on US ethanol imports on the UK's bioethanol industry.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The 1.4 billion litre duty free tariff rate quota (TRQ) for US ethanol imports was introduced as part of the negotiation of the General Terms for the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD).
Discussions on the EPD are ongoing, covering tariff and non-tariff barriers, including digital and services trade.
Impact assessments are completed at the conclusion of a trade agreement.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made towards establishing a national fertiliser recording system.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware of the merits of having a national fertiliser recording system and will consider if it is appropriate to have one for Great Britain.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans her Department has made for red diesel availability and costs if the conflict in Iran becomes a long-term issue.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food security is a priority for the Government, and Defra is taking the impacts from the Middle East conflict seriously.
The Government has increased the frequency of official fertiliser price reporting, now published by the AHDB on a weekly basis. This will give farmers more timely and transparent information to support decision-making.
The Government asked the Competition and Markets Authority to consider industry concerns about red diesel, including transparency, and has taken further decisive action to support farmers by cutting it to its lowest rate in over 20 years, reducing the rates on red diesel by a third.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to recommendation R/2026/074 of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body Report 'Insulin: supporting safe self-administration in vulnerable patient groups in the community with a mental health problem', what steps his department is taking to improve collaboration between mental health teams and specialist diabetes services.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much Government funding to the National Wealth Fund is unspent.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government has set the National Wealth Fund (NWF)’s total capitalisation at £27.8 billion which the NWF plans to deploy by 2030-31. This will help unlock economic growth and clean energy across the UK economy. As of the 1 June 2026, the NWF has committed £10.1 billion of its capital into different projects over the past five years. The remaining capitalisation of the NWF is £17.7 billion.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the domestic production of ammonia.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are constantly working with industry to monitor both the overall supply and pricing of ammonia in the UK, including the derivative products.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 reduce the impact of changes to red diesel prices during peak harvest season.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To support farmers with fuel cost pressures during peak harvest, this Government is taking decisive action to support farmers by cutting red diesel to its lowest rate in over 20 years, reducing the rates on red diesel by a third. We're committed to protecting the farming sector from global pressures including the war in Iran.