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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers she intends to extend to farmers in relation to the dredging of watercourses on their land.

The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 were laid before Parliament on 2 February. Subject to parliamentary approval, from April the Regulations will remove a number of low risk activities from the need for a flood defence consent permit from the Environment Agency, enabling it to focus on the highest risk activities. This includes allowing farmers to maintain ditches up to 1.5km long subject to a number of conditions.