Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect on the viability of poultry businesses of the increase in permit charges for intensive poultry farming in April 2018.

The Environment Agency undertook an economic assessment and this has been published in the link below. It is their view that the increase in permit costs is small in comparison to other start-up costs.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/environment-agency-charge-proposals-from-april-2018