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 her Department has made of the potential financial impact of the changes to bird show and gathering licences for (a) bird breeders, (b) seed merchants and (c) cage makers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Regulation 6 of the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended, sets out the legal basis for permitting gatherings of poultry or other captive birds. In England, a licence to hold a bird gathering may be granted by Defra if a veterinary risk assessment has been carried out, and if the gathering, including the movement of birds to and from it, would not significantly increase the risk of the transmission of avian influenza virus. Detailed risk assessments can be found on Gov.UK.
As legislation requires this to be a risk-based decision, assessments of the financial or breeding impacts have not been made. The restrictions on certain types of gatherings do not prevent direct sales of breeding birds or their progeny from a breeder’s own premises. There are no native wild canary populations in Britain.
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 her Department has made of the potential impact of the single-year funding arrangement for the School Milk Subsidy Scheme on the financial sustainability of the school milk dairy supply chain.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and this response applies to England only.
The School Milk Subsidy Scheme is available in participating schools and supports the provision of milk, certain milk products and yoghurts.
The administration of the scheme is renewed regularly, and funding decisions are made on a single or multi-year basis, influenced by the timing and the duration of departmental spending reviews.
The volume of milk consumed under the scheme annually accounts for less than 1% of total UK milk production. It therefore has limited impact on the financial sustainability of those in the dairy supply chain who participate in the scheme.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of the expansion of free school meal eligibility from 2026 on the level of demand for school milk; and what steps are being taken to ensure adequate provision.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is a legislative requirement that milk is provided free of charge to children who meet the free school meal criteria.
We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals putting £500 back in families’ pockets.
We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover additional meal costs. This includes milk. This is on top of £1.5 billion we already spend annually supporting schools to deliver free school meals and milk.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department is taking steps to provide small scale flower farmers with standard industrial classification codes; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on helping to (a) track economic activity, (b) track industry trends and (c) provide information to her Department on the contributions of ecology to the economy.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 12th January is attached.
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 the Environment Agency has made of the impact of historic highway drainage systems on downstream flooding and water pollution.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environment Agency (EA) water quality monitoring programmes identify where ‘urban and transport’ inputs are having a potential impact on a waterbody. Water quality monitoring data is publicly available here: Water Data Explorer | Engage Environment Agency. Highways authorities should address outfalls with the potential to pollute.
Water and sewerage companies in England and Wales are currently developing their first statutory Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs), due to be published in 2027/28. These strategic plans identify risks to the companies’ drainage and sewerage networks and set out solutions for how those risks will be mitigated, including environmental risks, which could have implications for highways inputs.
The EA also works with National Highways to assess the impacts of highway drainage on downstream flooding and water quality. They are working together to deliver actions in the National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy Roadmap. This includes delivering multi-benefit, nature-based solutions that reduce flood risk, improve water quality and enhance biodiversity. The EA supports this through its flood investment programmes, catchment partnerships and use of national flood risk mapping to help target priority locations and future investment.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps National Highways is taking to record the potential impact of historic drainage networks associated with major roads on (a) downstream flooding and (b) river pollution.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways’ (NH) standard practice is to report all flood events on the Strategic Road Network (SRN). This includes flood events within 200 metres of the SRN, or within 500 metres of a NH drainage asset. All such flood events are recorded in NH’s drainage data management system (DDMS). NH also maintain drainage and water quality records on its DDMS.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83877 on Eels: Conservation, what research and development projects her Department are supporting through the allocated £350,000 to improve eel management and conservation; and over what time period will this funding be spent; and how this level of funding compares to budgets for similar purposes.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and therefore the response relates to England only.
Defra’s funding will support three eel management and conservation projects for delivery in 2026:
Due to the nature of research in the aquatic environment it is not possible to meaningfully compare costs, but all projects are assessed by Defra to ensure policy priorities will be delivered and demonstrate value for money.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83876 on Eels: Conservation, what plans she has to review the root causes of these problems and to reverse the decline in the number of eels.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and therefore the response relates to England only.
Actions to address the pressures on eels at the River Basin District scale are set out in Eel Management Plans, which the EA continue to deliver and report against. Additionally, as noted in response to Question 101014, Defra has recently funded three projects to improve eel management and conservation.
Defra officials will meet with the Devolved Governments in early 2026 to review the current approaches to eel management across the UK nations.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the financial allowance for jury service in covering the cost of wages, food and travel.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Jury service is a vital civic duty, and the Government is committed to ensuring jurors feel supported throughout their service. All the support provided to jurors throughout their service is kept under review to ensure it remains appropriate and accessible. Jurors can claim subsistence and travel expenses, as well as a loss of earnings allowance from the court. For those individuals facing particular difficulties in serving the jury summoning process provides for applications for deferral or excusal based upon financial hardship.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much additional funding her Department plans to provide to Avon and Somerset Police as part of the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy 2025-2028.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This financial year the Home Office has provided the first Government funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit (£365,000) as well as continuing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (£450,000). The National Rural Crime Unit assists all police forces, including Avon and Somerset, in tackling rural crime.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy 2025-2028 is a vital step in our mission to deliver safer streets everywhere and comes as we give the police new powers to take on the organised criminal gangs targeting the agricultural sector.
As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the Government has made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales. Of this, Avon and Somerset Police have been allocated £4,574,856 for an increase of 70 police officers.