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 the capital budget reduction from 2026/7 to 2029/30 on her Department's delivery of its spending plans; and where reductions have been allocated to meet the budget reduction, with particular reference to the capital spending in Voted Expenditure on page 278 of the Central Government Supply Estimates 2026/7 in the following categories: i) Food and Farming, ii) Improve the environment and rural services, iii) Protect the country from floods (ALB) and iv) Animal, marine and plant health.

Departments have been asked to contribute 1p in every £1 of their capital budgets to fund this Government’s Defence Investment Plan, helping keep the country safe in an increasingly volatile world.

Defra will set out further impacts on specific policies and programmes in due course.