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 outcomes of the 2025 Quota application mechanism trial; and whether she plans to expand this system to distribute a greater proportion of England’s fishing quota for a greater number of stocks in (a) 2026 and (b) beyond.

An assessment of the 2024 Quota Application Mechanism trial has been published online, and an assessment of the 2025 trial will be developed and published once the 2025 trial has concluded at the end of the fishing year.

Applications for the 2026 trial are now open until 31 October 2025. The trial is being expanded for 2026 to potentially include 14 stocks subject to the outcome of fisheries negotiations, a significant increase from the 5 stocks included in the 2025 trial. Decisions regarding the future of trial will be taken once further assessment of the current trial has been concluded.