theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to Connecting Devon and Cornwall's news story Airband’s full fibre broadband delivery for CDS scaled back, published on 31 October 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the amendment to Airband’s contract to reduce the number of properties in Somerset and Devon that will receive full fibre broadband. \p Chris Bryant: Last year, Airband and Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) took the decision to descope premises from their Superfast contracts in the region. Approximately 6,000 premises will remain under contract to gain access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection from Airband. Other premises have since been included in suppliers’ commercial rollout, and we are working swiftly to identify alternative solutions for the remaining, approximately 13,000, descoped premises.

Eligible descoped premises have been made available for connection via the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. Several projects are currently under review. Any premises that are not included in voucher projects will be considered for inclusion in our Project Gigabit contracts in Devon and Somerset being delivered by the supplier Openreach.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will have discussions with (a) the hon. Member for Newton Abbott, (b) Devon County Council, (c) Project Gigabit and (d) Airband on improving broadband speeds in (i) Ideford, (ii) Newton Abbot, (iii) Ashburton, (iv) Teignmouth, (v) Ipplepen, (vi) Holcombe and (vii) Dawlish. \p Chris Bryant: The hon. Member has recently met with Openreach and my officials in Building Digital UK (BDUK) and my officials are in the process of organising a further meeting with the hon. Member to discuss broadband connectivity across his constituency in greater detail.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that creative industries and their intellectual property rights are (a) protected and (b) strengthened, in the context of increasing use of Artificial Intelligence. \p Feryal Clark: The Government’s consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence (AI) closed on 25th February.

This consultation sought views on a range of approaches to clarify copyright law for both the creative industries and AI innovators. The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, gathering the evidence to inform its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively before setting out proposals in due course.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on UK participation in the EU Space Programme. \p Chris Bryant: A Government priority is for a ‘reset’ in relations with the European Union, with a particular focus on driving economic growth, and improving our security and trade relationship.

Space has a fundamental role to play in achieving these ambitions, and we will continue to work closely with EU counterparts to identify areas to strengthen our space cooperation for mutual benefit. Discussions are taking place across Government regarding future UK participation in the next EU Space Programme, ahead of the next Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF). We will continue to engage with the EU Commission as this work progresses.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an estimate of the number of jobs at risk due to the adoption of artificial intelligence in (a) industries reliant on manual labour and (b) other industries. \p Feryal Clark: We are already witnessing AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and displacing old ones. We remain mindful of this impact and its effect on the UK workforce, whilst working to harness the benefits that AI can bring – such as productivity gains, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing.

The Get Britain Working White Paper from DWP, HMT and DfE sets out how government will address key labour market challenges. We continue to work closely with these and other government departments through the AI Opportunities Action Plan to monitor this rapidly developing area.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will ensure that law enforcement agencies have sufficient resources and training to identify and prosecute creators of non-consensual deepfake content. \p Feryal Clark: Non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes are degrading and harmful. We refuse to tolerate the violence against women and girls that stains our society, which is why we’ve brought forward legislation in the Data (Use and Access) Bill to ban their creation as quickly as possible.

The Home Office is funding the police to detect and remove illegal deepfake images and are working closely with them to improve officers understanding of this emerging threat.
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Samantha Niblett:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to support the technology industry in adopting data-led practices to improve diversity in the sector; and whether the Department plans to support an industry diversity accreditation scheme. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to promoting diversity in the tech sector and is doing so in a number of ways. DSIT is supporting the Tech Future Taskforce on Social Mobility, which includes helping companies to collect and act upon data to promote tech workforce diversity. As committed in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, DfE and DSIT will collaborate with industry to publish a plan to improve the diversity of the AI talent pool.

More widely, the Employment Rights Bill and Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will strengthen reporting and action on gender, race and disability by large companies, which includes tech companies.
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Luke Myer:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans his Department has to reform regulations on social media advertising to prevent the promotion of products that breach UK product regulations. \p Feryal Clark: UK product safety law is clear that all products placed on the market must be safe. However, the Government keeps regulatory frameworks under regular review. The Department for Business and Trade has recently introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to update the UK’s regulatory framework on product safety. It will support business and economic growth whilst providing greater protection for consumers.
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Alex Burghart:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his oral contribution of 26 February 2025, Official Report, column 763, by when he plans to have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Irish government on their co-operation with the Omagh Inquiry. \p Hilary Benn: The Government has the deepest sympathy for all of those affected by the Omagh bomb in August 1998. It was a terrible atrocity committed by the Real IRA at a time when the people of Northern Ireland were looking to a future without violence, causing immeasurable damage to the families who lost loved ones and those who were injured.

I welcome the Irish Government's public commitments to cooperate with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, through the memorandum of understanding which will be agreed directly between the Inquiry and Irish Government in the coming weeks. The Inquiry is independent of Government, however as sponsoring Minister, I see this as a positive step in enabling the Inquiry to fulfil its important role.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of water infrastructure costs on consumers. \p Emma Hardy: For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways.

Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December. This will deliver substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment through a £104bn upgrade for the water sector.

These bill rises equate to around £3 additional per month on average. This will pay to fix crumbling infrastructure, which will dramatically reduce sewage spills and lead to cleaner rivers, lakes and seas.

Funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent companies refund customers.

All water companies offer affordability support for customers struggling to pay their bills and companies have more than doubled the number of customers that will receive help through social tariffs, from 4% to 9%, between 2025-30. The Government is working with industry to keep current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the new legal and financial processes required for a partnership funding model for Environment Agency projects. \p Emma Hardy: The Government inherited an outdated funding formula for allocating money to proposed flood defences. Established in 2011, the existing formula slows down the delivery of new flood schemes through a complex application process and also neglects more innovative approaches to flood management such as nature-based approaches and sustainable drainage.

We will be consulting on a new and simplified approach to funding floods projects in the coming months. This will include a review of the existing formula to ensure that the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account when delivering flood protection.

The Floods Funding Policy consultation will be open to everyone, and we will be inviting all stakeholders to be part of the consultation. We will review all responses received to improve our approach to floods investment.

We will implement the new investment framework from April 2026.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is considering an exemption to the new Extended Producer Responsibility for packing regulations for closed loop systems. \p Mary Creagh: The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, which reform the UK’s producer responsibility system for packaging came into force on 1 January 2025. Extended Producer Responsibility is a major reform that will be iterated over several years to incentivise packaging producers to reduce their material footprint and use more recyclable packaging. We are considering further improvements to the scheme, including how to treat businesses which run closed loop recycling systems for packaging that is commonly collected by Local Authorities, and my officials are reviewing options to bring forward an offset for closed loop recycling systems at the earliest opportunity.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if he will ask the Electoral Commission to publish (a) invoices and (b) receipts relating to its spending by the Labour Party on its battlebus during the 2024 general election campaign. \p Sir Jeremy Wright: The use of a battlebus by the Labour Party was reported in its return submitted to the Electoral Commission in January.

The Commission will publish the spending returns for parties and campaigners that spent over £250,000 at the 2024 general election in the coming months.

As part of this, it will publish invoices and receipts for any payment over £200, which parties have to submit with the details of their spending.

This is an important part of the Commission’s work to provide voters with transparency over the money spent and received at the election.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle environmental harm in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire. \p Emma Hardy: The Environment Agency (EA) advises and regulates businesses across the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors; they are the environmental regulator for water companies; they prosecute and take action against those who pollute the environment and blight our communities; and they reduce and protect against flood risk and coastal erosion.

They are a Category 1 Responder (with the emergency services) under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and have a duty to warn, inform, and respond to flood incidents and prevent environmental damage. They work with other local responders to co-ordinate their response and support recovery.

For example, the EA advises on planning applications for all local planning authorities within their statutory remit, including St Albans and Dacorum district councils. This includes assessing flood risk and potential impacts to main rivers or controlled waters. They also have a role in working with Local Planning Authorities during the preparation of Local Plans to ensure flood risk, climate change, land contamination, and the water environment are appropriately included in their evidence base and policies.

In addition, they partner with the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, local authorities, and local police departments, such as Hertfordshire Constabulary, to tackle environmental waste crime. They follow a triage style approach to enforcement, ensuring it is intelligence led and target their efforts based on threat, risk, and harm.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect local biodiversity in South Northamptonshire. \p Mary Creagh: Work is ongoing in South Northamptonshire to protect biodiversity. The constituency has a number of protected areas that provide for a host of notable habitats and species, from the ancient woodlands of the Whittlewood Forest Site of Special Scientific Interest to the rich wetland systems of the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area.

Farmers are helping to recover nature through Countryside Stewardship schemes, protecting these special sites and creating wildlife corridors, so species can move and colonise new areas.

Defra is buffering and expanding wildlife rich woodlands through grant support for woodland creation and tree cover expansion. And Natural England provides advice to developers and local authorities, to ensure that nature is firstly protected and all opportunities are taken to create new wildlife rich spaces through the planning system.
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Graeme Downie:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will provide a breakdown of (a) the type of freight and (b) its value processed at the border control post at Grangemouth. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra does not hold information on the value of freight going through Grangemouth BCP. The BCP is designated for the importation of products of animal origin (POAO), high risk food and feed not of animal origin (HRFFNAO), and plastic kitchenware.

Further details are available on GOV.UK:

Animals, animal products and HRFNAO imports: authorised border control posts in the UK - GOV.UK
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have been brought against waste operators in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire since July 2024; and how many resulted in custodial sentences. \p Mary Creagh: The Environment Agency (EA) has brought prosecutions against six waste operators in Lancashire since July 2024. In one of these cases, illegal activity at a site in Fylde was part of the case. None of these prosecutions resulted in custodial sentences. This information only relates to action taken by the EA.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the budget for nature-friendly farming practices in meeting environmental targets. \p Daniel Zeichner: In 2025 the Government will publish its review of the 25-year environment improvement plan (EIP), which includes the progress made in achieving the Government's Environment Act targets. The government also publishes annual progress reports setting out delivery towards the EIP.

Farming and food security are the foundations of a healthy and resilient economy, local community, and environment. That is why we announced £5 billion for the farming budget over 2024/25 and 2025/26 - the largest ever directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history. In February we committed to a further Capital Grants offer worth £45 million to support nature-friendly farming. There are also over 39,000 live sustainable farming incentive (SFI), which aims for large scale uptake of sustainable farming practices.

Defra’s Land management budget will be set for the coming years in the Chancellor’s upcoming spending review. More information on the future budget will be announced in due course.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor long-term animal health outcomes for herds participating in the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway in Buckinghamshire. \p Daniel Zeichner: Animal Health and Welfare is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway supports continual improvement in farm animal health. Defra has an ongoing monitoring and evaluation approach to assess health and welfare outcomes relating to Pathway participation, so that lessons can be learned from periodic reviews. Our first Animal Health And Welfare Review: Process Evaluation Report - Ff0211has been published and can be found at https://sciencesearch.app.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=21755. We will be publishing further information periodically, as evaluation results become available.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the reporting of waste crime in rural communities. \p Mary Creagh: Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which are published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england, this data excludes the majority of private-land incidents.

We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land.

Suspected illegal waste activity can be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers through their dedicated website https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously or by calling xx-xxxx-xxxx. Alternatively, the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline is available on xx-xxxx-xxxx and fly-tipping can be reported here https://www.gov.uk/report-flytipping.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to increase funding for nature-friendly farming. \p Daniel Zeichner: We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget over two years and are on track to do so. This is the highest budget for sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our history.

Spending on farming in future financial years will be confirmed as part of the government’s spending review.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to publish annual updates of regional waste crime heatmaps produced by the Environment Agency. \p Mary Creagh: The Environment Agency have had a positive response to their recent article that included regional waste crime heatmaps and have committed to publishing future updates.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many sewage discharges there have been into the (a) River Bourne, (b) River Wey and (c) Hoe Stream in the last five years. \p Emma Hardy: The Environment Agency (EA) has reviewed its records of sewage related pollution incidents in the Woking constituency in the last five years. This shows the Addlestone Bourne has had two incidents, the River Wey/Navigation has had one incident, and the Hoe Stream has had three incidents.

The EA continues to respond and investigate any significant pollution incidents.

The EA is currently transforming its regulatory approach including developing a larger specialised workforce and delivering a step change in inspections of Thames Water's permitted sites and associated enforcement.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to implement the recommendations of the report entitled Delivering economic growth and nature recovery: an independent review of Defra’s regulatory landscape, published on 2 April 2025. \p Emma Hardy: The Government has welcomed the publication of Dan Corry’s review of Defra’s regulatory landscape and confirmed that it is actively considering all 29 recommendations. The Government also confirmed that work is already underway on nine key measures with the greatest impact for growth and nature recovery, which are being fast-tracked.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture. \p Daniel Zeichner: Although the term “regenerative agriculture” does not have a legal or universally accepted definition, and is used variably, it is based on an understanding that the health of the food system is intrinsically linked to soil health.

Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will support farmers and land managers to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's guidance, new national flood and coastal erosion risk information, published on 25 March 2025, if he will write to home owners now classified as being in flood zone (a) 2 and (b) 3. \p Emma Hardy: The Environment Agency (EA) provides a free service which allows homeowners to check and understand the flood risk around their properties and the actions they can do to reduce their risk. The EA also shares updated information about the risk of flooding at community engagement events.
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Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of banning snares on animal welfare. \p Mary Creagh: The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.
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Zöe Franklin:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the effectiveness of the household waste electrical and electronic equipment collection scheme. \p Mary Creagh: The January 2025 Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the WEEE regulations assess a range of measures aimed to drive up the levels of separately collected WEEE for re-use and recycling.

We are considering further measures to deliver a Circular Economy, including across electricals, as part of the circular economy strategy.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with animal rights groups on the (a) import and (b) sale of fur products. \p Daniel Zeichner: There have been no recent discussions between the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with animal rights groups specifically on the import and sale of fur products.

Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The report that they produce will support our understanding of the fur industry and help inform our next steps.
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Clive Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to monitor the steps water companies are taking to ensure drought preparedness. \p Emma Hardy: Water companies are required to produce drought plans which are a statutory requirement and are expected to be reviewed annually. The Environment Agency (EA) as the regulator request an industry wide annual drought preparedness report every April. This covers companies’ readiness to respond to drought, updates on work it has done to improve its readiness, such as drought permit environmental assessments or training and exercises.

In response to the dry weather this year, water companies are ready to or already have implemented communications regarding drought preparedness. In some areas, companies have stepped up their engagement with customers on using water wisely, managing demand and taking efforts to reduce leakages as part of their drought preparation measures.

The EA continue to work with water companies to ensure they follow their drought plans. Water companies are continuing to attend the National Drought Group meetings to update regulators and stakeholders on the latest dry weather impacts and drought preparedness this summer.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement on fertiliser (a) regulation and (b) availability for farmers in the UK. \p Daniel Zeichner: Fertiliser product regulation does not fall within the scope of the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.

Fertiliser is a global market. Ensuring a resilient supply chain involves maintaining diverse sources, domestically and through international imports. The UK sources fertiliser from a wide range of countries including the EU. The UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement has not changed this situation.
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Tom Gordon:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many additional surveillance sites are being introduced under the Vector-Borne RADAR programme following the detection of West Nile Virus fragments. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Vector-Borne RADAR programme includes a project run by UKHSA’s Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology team undertaking country-wide surveillance for mosquitos in 2025. Pools of any female mosquitos collected will be tested for several potential mosquito-vectored viruses. The sites being surveilled are suitable mosquito breeding sites. In 2024, mosquito traps were successfully deployed in almost all 50 km2 grids across England, collecting nearly 1,000 individuals across 71 sites.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the geographical distribution of cattle-specific infrastructure grants under the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. \p Daniel Zeichner: The deadline for full applications for the Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant was the 30 April 2025. There were no geographic targets for the grant.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is in the process of reviewing and approving final applications for the grant. It is too early to assess the distribution of grants awarded, until all full applications have been assessed and grant funding agreements issued to successful applicants.
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Tom Gordon:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of climate change on the range of mosquito-borne diseases in the UK. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra funds, with UKRI, a large research consortium looking at the effects of climate change on mosquito-borne diseases in the UK. This programme includes the Vector-Borne disease RADAR programme, but there are other equally important vector borne diseases we also accept will be impacted by changes in our climate.

Risk assessments undertaken by the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance group, for mosquito-borne diseases consider the likely changes with climate change.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his French counterpart on the lack of visible (a) controls and (b) public information at French ports of departure on the risk of foot and mouth disease under the new import restrictions. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government communicated the ban on personal imports of meats and dairy products from EU countries, introduced on 12 April 2025, via a press release and information on social media and on GOV.UK. It has also published updated posters for operational partners to display.

As part of our national mission to protect our food sector and farmers, Defra has written to ports, airports and travel operators requesting that they take further steps in communicating the new rules to travellers as a matter of urgency.

Defra has also written to Department for Transport, Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers for their support in asking for their help with making travellers aware of the new rules.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_23

Tom Rutland:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect chalk streams from untreated sewage. \p Emma Hardy: The Government is committed to the protection and restoration of our cherished chalk streams.

That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Act. The Act will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.

The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will make recommendations to shape further action to transform how our water system works and clean up our waterways for good. The review's final recommendations will be published and shared with the UK and Welsh Governments this summer.

Sites such as Chalk Streams will be prioritised as part of the record £11 billion of investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales during PR24, with 75% of such High Priority Sites needing to be improved by 2035 and the rest by 2045. By 2050 we expect no storm overflow spill to cause any adverse ecological harm and spill no more than 10 times per year.
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_24
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_24

Katie Lam:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many abattoirs he has visited in (a) England, (b) the South East of England and (c) Kent. \p Daniel Zeichner: As Minister for Farming, I have visited abattoirs and will continue to do so.
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_25
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_25

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 36240 on Zoos: Animal Breeding, how many civil servants are working on negotiating a UK-EU Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary agreement. \p Daniel Zeichner: On 19 May the UK and EU announced the terms of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement that we will now negotiate, in addition to the Government announcing recent deals with India and the USA, and further deals in the pipeline. These deals will make agrifood trade with key markets cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers, and boosting exports. Defra’s trade staff work flexibly across trade deals according to demand.
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_26
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_26

Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of eligible cattle holdings that will access support through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway by 2027. \p Daniel Zeichner: Animal health and welfare is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Cattle farm businesses are currently able to claim funding for the Animal Health and Welfare Review (AHWR) and Endemic Disease Follow-up if they have more than 10 cattle. Defra’s analysis of AHWR uptake published on 20 February 2025 estimated that there are 30025 eligible cattle holdings and an uptake rate of 8.9%. Uptake is expected to increase as planned iterations to the scheme are implemented. We are reforecasting estimated uptake rates based on these changes. We encourage all eligible holdings to join the schemes to take advantage of the support on offer.

The February 2025 analysis of uptake is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-health-and-welfare-review-uptake/animal-health-and-welfare-review-uptake#eligible-farm-businesses-in-england
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_27
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_27

Dr Jeevun Sandher:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support land owners to implement nature based solutions to (a) drainage and (b) flood management. \p Emma Hardy: Farmers and landowners have an increasingly important role to play in reducing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion, through measures such as nature-based solutions (NbS).

To support this the Government is investing in NbS measures, such as natural flood management (NFM), via its Environmental Land Management schemes and floods investment programme.

On 3 June we launched a consultation on reforming our approach to investing in flooding and coastal erosion for communities across the country. The proposals will enable a broader range of resilience interventions and will make it easier to invest in natural flood management schemes that also boost nature, water resources and fight climate change.
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_28
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_28

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to help consolidate agricultural advice services; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on the (a) consistency and (b) coordination of guidance provided to farmers on climate change. \p Daniel Zeichner: We are working across Defra to continue to improve the advice services on offer to farmers, building on existing broad services such as the Farming Advice Service and Catchment Sensitive Farming. We will aim to create greater alignment across services. We also continue to work with the commercial advice sector, who are often best placed to ensure that farmers get the information they need to make decisions that support their business and help achieve their aims.
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_29
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_29

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to prohibit the routine culling of male chicks. \p Daniel Zeichner: The legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing, including male chicks from the egg production sector.

Permitted killing methods for chicks, such as gas stunning and maceration, are based on scientific research and assessment to ensure birds are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering. All laying hen hatcheries in the UK use argon gas mixtures as their stunning method.

We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of technologies that allow chicks to be sexed in-ovo (within the egg). We welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_30
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_30

Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to support the natural regeneration of trees in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England. \p Mary Creagh: Across England, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier does provide grant support for natural regeneration (including WD2 and WS2) in line with a UK Forestry Standard approved Woodland Management Plan. These grants are demand led, which means that the Forestry Commission welcomes applicants for sites that meet the criteria from any constituency.

In addition to supporting natural regeneration of woodland within existing woodlands through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier there is grant support for natural colonisation (woodland expansion through natural processes) through the England Woodland Creation Offer.

We do not collate this information at constituency or county level.
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_31
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_31

Dr Jeevun Sandher:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring into force the legislative provisions of schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 for the adoption of sustainable draining systems in England. \p Emma Hardy: This Government is committed to requiring standardised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in new developments. These should be to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits, reduce run off and help to improve water quality, amenity, and biodiversity. It is also important to ensure appropriate adoption and maintenance arrangements are in place.
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_32
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_32

Lizzi Collinge:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide (a) funding and (b) support for the control of (i) Himalayan Balsam, (ii) Japanese Knotweed and (iii) other invasive non-native species in the (A) Yorkshire Dales National Park and (B) River Lune catchment area; and whether his Department plans to implement a coordinated approach to enable management at the head of the catchment to prevent downstream spread. \p Mary Creagh: The Government recognises the threats posed by invasive species including Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed and has a comprehensive Great Britain Non-native Species Strategy designed to co-ordinate action to tackle these threats.

Himalayan balsam is listed as a ‘Species of Special Concern’ under the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019, which means that it cannot be brought into GB, kept, bred, transported, sold, used or exchanged, allowed to reproduce, grown or cultivated, or released into the environment. This legislation is aimed at preventing further introduction and spread of these species. Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it an offence to cause Japanese knotweed to grow in the wild.

Funding is available for control and management of Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam and other invasive species through Defra’s Environmental Land Management Countryside Stewardship scheme. Over the last two years, Defra has funded twelve Local Action Groups (LAGs) across all regions in England to control invasive species through its Local Invasive Species Management Fund. The two-year fund, totalling just over £300,000, was used by LAGs mostly to remove invasive plants including Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed. Most of these projects also involved training volunteers, awareness-raising and community engagement.

In partnership with the Welsh Government and Natural England, Defra is funding specialist scientists at the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), an inter-governmental, not-for-profit organisation, to conduct biological control (biocontrol) research into the use of naturally occurring, living organisms to tackle Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and other invasive, non-native plants. Biocontrol could provide a more cost- and time-effective way of managing these invasive plants as compared to manual removal.

The Government has also developed guidance on how to prevent the spread of Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam and other invasive non-native plants, and how to treat and dispose of them, which can be found on GOV.UK:

How to stop invasive non-native plants from spreading - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_33
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-06 conversation_33

Tom Rutland:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the National Farmers’ Union on challenges faced by small and medium-sized abattoirs. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Secretary of State and I often meet with the National Farmers’ Union to discuss a wide range of farming issues which are important to both producers and processors.

Defra officials continue to work closely with small and medium sized abattoir sector stakeholders particularly through the Small Abattoirs Working Group, of which the National Farmers’ Union is a member. This group provides a platform for the industry to raise the key challenges and opportunities that the sector faces directly with the Department.