Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the report National security assessment on global ecosystems, published on 20 January, what plans they have to prioritise the protection and restoration of ecosystems, particularly those that support the UK food system.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is taking action to strengthen resilience to environmental risks at home and overseas, investing in forest and ocean protection and supporting the transition to more sustainable food and land use globally.
This includes strengthening supply chain resilience through the Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy and supporting sustainable agriculture globally through International Climate Finance (ICF) investments. The UK is on track to deliver £11.6 billion in ICF by the end of FY25/26, of which £3 billion should be Nature finance.
The Government has also recently published the revised Environmental Improvement Plan, which will help us to restore nature, improve environmental quality, and protect environmental security. Furthermore, our Food Strategy calls for action that will reduce the impact of our food system on the natural environment and build sustainability and resilience into our food supply chain. Together with our Farming Roadmap and Land Use Framework, we will enhance UK food security by protecting and stabilising food production and supply; and accelerate the green financial transition to drive economic growth at home and abroad.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the hospitality, pub and food to go sectors to remain in business.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to supporting pubs and the wider hospitality sector, which is why we have taken decisive action. We recently announced an additional 15% cut for pubs on top of the permanent reduction in the business rates multiplier for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties.
We recognise that revaluation has increased bills for some businesses, which is why we are providing £4.3 billion over three years to protect ratepayers from sharp rises. We are also launching a review of how pubs and hotels are valued for business rates.
Alongside this, we have introduced the first National Licensing Policy Framework, expanded temporary event permissions, doubled the Hospitality Support Fund to £10 million, and will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy later this year to help reinvigorate our communities.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle organised crime networks involved in fly-tipping in rural areas.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is making the necessary policy and regulatory reforms to close the loopholes being exploited by waste criminals. Key reforms include carrier, broker, dealer reform, waste permit exemption reform and the introduction of digital waste tracking. Defra believes these reforms are the best way to drive criminality out of the waste sector whether in urban or rural communities.
The Government has increased the Environment Agency’s (EA) budget for waste crime enforcement by over 50% this year to £15.6 million. The EA-hosted Joint Unit for Waste Crime has nearly doubled in size thanks to our extra funding and its UK-wide partnership work with the EA, HM Revenue & Customs, National Crime Agency, the police and others continues to share intelligence, powers and resources to disrupt waste criminals.
However, the Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime. That is why the Government collaborated with the National Police Chiefs’ Councils to deliver their renewal of the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, which was published in November. The strategy, lasting until 2028, will ensure efforts to reduce crime benefit every community no matter where they live, including rural communities.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they have provided for food banks in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Food banks are operated by independent charitable and community organisations. Social security, including welfare support, is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Government's Child Poverty Strategy includes measures such as lifting the two-child benefit cap, the Universal Credit deduction reforms and increasing the National Living Wage that will apply in Northern Ireland, so providing better support for low-income families.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether food banks are a devolved matter to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Food banks are operated by independent charitable and community organisations. Social security, including welfare support, is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Government's Child Poverty Strategy includes measures such as lifting the two-child benefit cap, the Universal Credit deduction reforms and increasing the National Living Wage that will apply in Northern Ireland, so providing better support for low-income families.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her department's policies of the National Security Assessment on Global Ecosystems, published 20th January 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nature underpins our security, prosperity, and resilience, and understanding the threats we face from biodiversity loss is essential to addressing them effectively. The assessment published 20 January 2026 has implications across a wide range of Defra policy areas, including food and farming, water, international biodiversity, and climate adaptation.
The assessment is a strategic analysis rather than a prediction. It is designed to help the Government plan for potential shocks that are credible enough to warrant preparation. This approach ensures the UK is better equipped to anticipate and manage risks should they arise. Publishing the assessment also supports international cooperation on shared biodiversity challenges.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. Defra contributed to the 2025 UK National Security Strategy, which recognises climate and nature degradation as strategic risks, and is supporting its implementation. Defra also supports the Government’s Defence Energy and Capability Resilience Centre of Excellence, announced under the Defence Industrial Strategy, which will strengthen UK resilience by harnessing innovation in dual-use energy technologies and circular economy approaches.
This work complements wider cross-government efforts to build long-term stability across food, energy, and environmental systems.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the National Security Assessment on Global Ecosystems, published on 20 January 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nature underpins our security, prosperity, and resilience, and understanding the threats we face from biodiversity loss is essential to addressing them effectively. The assessment published 20 January 2026 has implications across a wide range of Defra policy areas, including food and farming, water, international biodiversity, and climate adaptation.
The assessment is a strategic analysis rather than a prediction. It is designed to help the Government plan for potential shocks that are credible enough to warrant preparation. This approach ensures the UK is better equipped to anticipate and manage risks should they arise. Publishing the assessment also supports international cooperation on shared biodiversity challenges.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. Defra contributed to the 2025 UK National Security Strategy, which recognises climate and nature degradation as strategic risks, and is supporting its implementation. Defra also supports the Government’s Defence Energy and Capability Resilience Centre of Excellence, announced under the Defence Industrial Strategy, which will strengthen UK resilience by harnessing innovation in dual-use energy technologies and circular economy approaches.
This work complements wider cross-government efforts to build long-term stability across food, energy, and environmental systems.
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 her Department is taking in response to the findings of the Nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, published on 26 January 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nature underpins our security, prosperity, and resilience, and understanding the threats we face from biodiversity loss is essential to addressing them effectively. The UK is already taking action to strengthen resilience to environmental risks at home and overseas.
The Nature Security assessment is a strategic analysis designed to help government plan for potential shocks that are credible enough to warrant preparation and will inform policy and decision-making. This approach ensures the UK is equipped to anticipate and manage risks should they arise. Publishing the assessment also supports international cooperation on shared biodiversity challenges.
In the UK, the Government is investing in sustainable farming, restoring peatlands, improving water quality, and protecting pollinators. The government has introduced landmark legislation to protect our oceans and is working to restore over half of all plantations on ancient woodland sites by 2030.
Internationally, the UK is investing significantly in forest and ocean protection and is supporting the transition to more sustainable food and land use globally, to help ensure the future of our global supply chains.
Together, these measures form part of the UK’s wider strategy to reduce the security risks of biodiversity loss, protect livelihoods, and promote global stability through nature recovery.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a long-term strategy alongside medical professionals to ensure sustainable funding for obesity services, including prevention, behavioural and psychological programmes, and alongside clinical treatments.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service and local government provide a range of obesity services, from universal prevention initiatives to targeted interventions, including behaviour change programmes, digital tools and apps, and specialist services for people living with severe obesity and related conditions. These services support individuals at every stage to achieve and maintain a healthier weight.
Commissioning and funding decisions for obesity services are made locally by local authorities and NHS organisations in line with assessed population needs and available budgets. The Department works with these partners and NHS England to provide national policy direction, to support effective and sustainable service models and to introduce digital behavioural programmes.
NHS England is supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver a phased roll‑out of tirzepatide for the treatment of obesity. They have provided funding and guidance to ICBs and established a national wraparound support service for patients receiving these treatments, covering diet, physical activity, and behaviour change.
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis, including restricting junk food advertising to children, and setting healthy sales reporting and targets for large food businesses.
Whilst we recognise that prevention will always be better than a cure, we also need to support those already living with obesity. We have committed to doubling the number of people able to access the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme and to expand access to the newest obesity medicines.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 help reduce fly-tipping in suburban and semi-rural areas.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights communities and places significant costs on both taxpayers and businesses.
Local authorities are responsible for tackling fly-tipping in their local areas and we want to see an effective enforcement strategy at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem. We are taking steps to help councils make good use of their powers, including seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to local authorities. We are reviewing local authority powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers and we intend to publish guidance to support councils to make better use of this tool soon.
In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.
Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities and the National Farmers Union to share good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping, including on private land. The NFTPG has developed various practical tools, guidance and case studies highlighting best practice. These are available at: https://nftpg.com/.