Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
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 has made an estimate of the volume of sewage discharged at Baltonsborough Pumping Station in Somerset in the past year.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are required to submit data to the Environment Agency (EA) showing the duration of discharges. The EA uses this information to target its regulatory work and to drive improvements to assets and parts of the sewerage networks where they are most critical.
Water companies have not submitted 2025 data yet; they will do so by the end of this month.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will conduct an assessment of the value of agricultural land when making decisions to invest in flood defences being based on the value of the asset needing protection.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 14 October, following consultation, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy.
The new rules will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment.
Our funding rules will support farming and rural communities and improve resilience against flood risk across the country.
The old rules gave higher payment rates for properties than agricultural or environmental benefits. We are now giving equal weighting to all the different types of benefits – a positive change for rural areas.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of farmers having to store flood water on agricultural land on (a) feedstock, (b) grassland conditions, (c) crops and (d) food production for 2026/27.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament, including £5.9 billion for environmental farming schemes. The Government is focusing efforts on actions that have multiple benefits: for example, improving soil health so soil can hold more water, which reduces flood risk.
Farmers contribute to and are affected by water-related challenges. The measures the Government is introducing will help British farming thrive and boost farmers’ resilience to flooding while protecting this country’s water resources and meeting environmental goals.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what Government body is responsible for landfill sites that have been abandoned.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is the lead Government department for waste policy, including that relating to landfill sites, both former and current. Responsibility for abandoned landfill sites at any given point in time is determined on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Department officials on potential landfill abandonment due to improved environmental standards.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is a long-standing convention that meetings between ministers and their officials to discuss matters of policy are not separately reported.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of leachate on the aquatic environment as a result of landfill abandonment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the potential impacts and threats presented from leachates entering into the environment, such as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and the risks of these associated with abandoned landfill sites. Government is assessing options on ensuring that any environmental risks which stem from landfill sites, both current and former, are minimised.
Prior to a landfill becoming abandoned, a conceptual site model and hydrogeological risk assessment must be undertaken to identify any potential risks to the aquatic environment. These risks must be mitigated throughout the operational life of the site.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of attenuation ponds in reducing both the volume and flow of run from major roads where such works were not considered necessary pre-1990.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Attenuation ponds are deployed by Risk Management Authorities as a flood alleviation measure; they are determined by a range of factors including cost to benefit ratio and the standard of protection that can be achieved. In recent years, the highway sector has been innovative in its use of sustainable drainage and green infrastructure to help manage road flooding.
A new three-year £4.2 billion Flood and Coastal Risk Investment Programme will start in April 2026, where new projects will align with the strategic objectives set out in the Government’s new funding rules announced in October 2025. This means investment goes where it is most needed, accounting for flood risk, value for money, natural flood management opportunity and additional contributions to make Government investment go further. This investment will benefit properties, infrastructure and agriculture.
The Government and the Environment Agency are committed to improving England’s picture of flood and coastal erosion risk, including from surface water. The Environment Agency published its new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data in 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the relative cost benefit of attenuation ponds compared with repeated flood damage to (a) properties, (b) infrastructure and (c) agricultural land.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Attenuation ponds are deployed by Risk Management Authorities as a flood alleviation measure; they are determined by a range of factors including cost to benefit ratio and the standard of protection that can be achieved. In recent years, the highway sector has been innovative in its use of sustainable drainage and green infrastructure to help manage road flooding.
A new three-year £4.2 billion Flood and Coastal Risk Investment Programme will start in April 2026, where new projects will align with the strategic objectives set out in the Government’s new funding rules announced in October 2025. This means investment goes where it is most needed, accounting for flood risk, value for money, natural flood management opportunity and additional contributions to make Government investment go further. This investment will benefit properties, infrastructure and agriculture.
The Government and the Environment Agency are committed to improving England’s picture of flood and coastal erosion risk, including from surface water. The Environment Agency published its new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data in 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when representatives from her Department last met with milk producers to discuss farmgate milk prices.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials regularly engage with stakeholders from across the UK dairy industry on a wide range of issues including farmgate milk prices. Engagement is undertaken in various forms including through ad hoc and regular meetings with industry bodies and individual dairy businesses and milk producers, farm visits and attendance at industry events.
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Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the average cost of producing a pint of milk in each of the last five years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The average cost of production for milk is shown below. Data is from the Farm Business Survey which covers farm businesses in England with a Standard Output of more than £21,000. Whilst it captures the majority of agricultural activity, it excludes smaller businesses (which account for 2% of output).
Production costs include all financial aspects of dairy enterprises such as unpaid labour, herd depreciation and an estimated rental equivalent for owned land. An allowance is also made for non-milk revenue (mostly the sale of dairy calves), which is applied as a reduction to cost. This reflects the value of by-products from milk production. The production costs therefore represent the price that would have to be paid on all milk produced for dairy enterprises to break even. The data includes organic production which is likely to incur higher production costs.
Average cost of milk production (pence per litre) 2020/21 to 2024/25
2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
28.3 | 36.4 | 48.6 | 44.2 | 44.9 |
Source: Farm Accounts in England