Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts to ensure aid supplies are able to enter Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains in close and regular contact with international counterparts to press for increased humanitarian access into Gaza. On 19 May, the UK, Canada, and France issued a joint statement calling on Israel to cease its renewed military offensive and lift restrictions on humanitarian assistance. In parallel, on 20 May, I summoned the Israeli ambassador to demand the immediate, full, and unhindered flow of aid, making the UK's position unequivocally clear. Alongside international partners, we continue to call for Israel to allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with UN officials to ensure aid supplies are able to enter Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has held regular discussions with UN agencies, including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Programme (WFP), to support aid delivery and address access challenges in Gaza. On 19 May, the UK issued a joint statement calling for full aid resumption and for Israel to allow UN and non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners to operate independently. We will continue to convene international partners to increase pressure and take further steps to address the catastrophic situation on the ground. We have committed £101 million this financial year in humanitarian support to trusted partners including UN agencies and NGOs.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding his Department has provided to Natural England’s National Landscapes programme in each year since 2015.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are unable to provide detailed information prior to 2022 due to time/cost involved. Limited landscape designation work was delivered and funding for this was from Natural England’s baseline’ settlement.
Defra provided direct funding of £1.1 million per annum for years 2022/23 - 2024/25. As well as the four National Landscape designation cases, this covered wider work on landscape designations and alternatives.
For 2025/26 the direct funding for National Landscape designation work was not continued. Natural England is using baseline budget to fund a reduced programme of landscape designation work.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the adequacy of his Department's guidance on the (a) labelling and (b) information on country of origin for beef products in (i) food service and (ii) retail.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK maintains high standards on the information provided both online and on food labels and packaging so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.
A range of Defra guidance is available on the Gov.uk platform for both consumers and retailers. This guidance sets out the requirements for general food labelling and specific product labelling, including details on the country of origin for beef and other meats.
Defra guidance on food labelling, including country of origin for beef products, is kept under regular review to ensure it remains accurate, up to date, and in line with current labelling regulations.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions under the Equal Pay Act there have been; and what the scale of the fines issued is.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not hold information on how many convictions under the Equal Pay Act there have been; or what the scale of the fines issued is.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of beef imports from the US that will be (a) carcass and b) valuable cuts following the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 8 May, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. This delivers on the commitment by the Prime Minister and the President on 27 February to agree an economic deal in our respective national interests.
This deal has created a reciprocal agreement to lower tariffs for British beef exporters to the US, while acting in the UK’s national interest by ensuring that we uphold our rigorous food standards while protecting our farmers.
The agreement on beef means that around 1.5% of the UK beef market could come from the United States, and the same quantity of British beef can be exported to them.
We have always been clear that this Government will protect British farmers, secure our food security, and uphold our high food, animal welfare, and environmental standards in trade deals. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that the interests of UK (a) beef and (b) ethanol producers are represented in the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
On 8 May, the UK government announced a landmark economic deal with the US. The US has committed to further negotiations, and we will continue our extensive engagement with businesses from across the UK throughout these remaining negotiations.
For the first time ever, this deal will open up exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US market. We are engaging extensively with the agricultural and food sector and will put the UK’s national interest first.
Senior officials from the Department for Business and Trade have been meeting representatives of the domestic bioethanol industry, and the Secretary of State has met with bioethanol businesses. We are committed to working with the domestic bioethanol industry about their concerns.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated to the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in each year since its inception; and how much and what proportion of that funding was spent.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Prior to 2021 the scheme was EU funded. The Secretary of State did not allocate any direct funding to The Fruit & Vegetable Aid Scheme started in 2021 governed by EU rules before this time. Since then, £117,794,154.23 has been spent
The breakdown of actual UK funding spent on the scheme post EU exit is as follows:
2021 - £39,056,567.83 (£35,999,480.17 England only)
2022 - £40,110,883.98 (£34,460,975.86 England only)
2023 - £38,626,702.42 (£35,393,728.71 England only)
2024 - claims still being assessed.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total area of land was in (a) entry-level agreements, (b) mid-tier countryside stewardship agreements, (c) higher tier countryside stewardship agreements and (d) higher-level stewardship schemes in each year since 2022.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Total area of land covered by Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship agreements:
For Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (hectares), the figures were:
2022 - 453,789
2023 - 513,288
2024 - 603,626
2025 - 574,676
For Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier (hectares) the figures were:
2022 - 459,334
2023 - 567,482
2024 - 660,535
2025 - 594,952
For Higher Level Stewardship (hectares), the figures were:
2022 - 70,729
2023 - 63,163
2024 - 53,832
2025 - 51,792
For Entry Level plus Higher Level Stewardship (hectares), the figures were:
2022 - 975,307
2023 - 851,967
2024 - 683,271
2025 - 633,248
For Organic Entry Level plus Higher Level Stewardship (hectares), the figures were:
2022 – 63,240
2023 – 44,548
2024 – 22,874
2025 - 19,736
Please note the following points:
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 is taking to ensure food security in relation to the ongoing negotiations for the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 8 May, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. This delivers on the commitment by the Prime Minister and the President on 27 February to agree an economic deal in our respective national interests.
We have always been clear that this Government will protect British farmers, secure our food security, and uphold our high food, animal welfare, and environmental standards in trade deals. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do.