theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the use of (a) scanners and (b) enhanced security screening upon entry to secure prisons for all prison officers. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) maintains a zero-tolerance approach to smuggling contraband into prisons, including weapons, drugs and mobile phones, which can fuel violence and create instability.

Airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, comprising of metal detectors and X-ray baggage scanners, is used in 52 highest-risk prison sites (both private and public sector), including all of the High Security prisons in the Long Term High Security Estate.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of civil legal aid providers in rural areas; and what steps she is taking to help reduce gaps in legal aid provision. \p Sarah Sackman: It is vital that those who need legal aid – some of the most vulnerable people in our society – can access it wherever they happen to live.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

The Ministry of Justice has recently concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees, which, once fully implemented, would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year.

The Department is also providing over £6 million of legal support grant funding up to March 2026 to deliver free legal support and advice for people with social welfare legal problems. This includes the ‘Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support’ grant, which supports the work of organisations across England and Wales to sustain and improve access to early legal support and advice, including support at court. It also includes the ‘Online Support and AdviceGrant’, which ensures the provision of online support across a range of civil, family and tribunal problems via one service (Advicenow). The Advicenow website includes information about how to get legal aid in relevant areas of law and signposts users to further information and support.
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Ann Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Welsh Government on limiting the spread of bluetongue virus. \p Daniel Zeichner: I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 4 June 2025 to question UIN 57569.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding to upgrade sewage infrastructure in (a) rural and (b) suburban communities impacted by frequent overflows. \p Emma Hardy: Ofwat’s final determinations for Price Review 2024 (PR24) set out a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector. Water companies are investing over £11 billion in PR24, a record amount, to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales over the next five years. For England, this equates to over £10bn to improve over 2,500 storm overflows. The PR24 investment package also includes £6 billion to remove nutrients from water bodies.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of sewage spills on biodiversity in rivers in Surrey. \p Emma Hardy: For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.

The Environment Agency assesses all reported sewage spills, considering impacts on water quality and ecology. For significant incidents, it may carry out enhanced monitoring, such as fish mortality counts and invertebrate surveys. Routine ecological monitoring across Surrey catchments, supported by Citizen Science, helps track river health, with targeted investigations used where deterioration is detected.

As part of Price Review 24, Thames Water will undertake significant investment programme to improve the environment over the 2025-30 period. This includes £740.31 million to reduce storm overflow use and £1.2 billion to prevent nutrient pollution. Ofwat expects reduction of the storm overflows use by at least 29% over the next five years.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to expand the Chilterns National Landscape area to cover the whole of the Chilterns Character Area in Bedfordshire. \p Mary Creagh: Natural England has the statutory responsibility for identifying areas for new or extended National Landscape designations. Once the designation assessment has been completed, Natural England may submit a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who may confirm, refuse or amend it after considering relevant evidence.
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Shivani Raja:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle potential abuse of the Extended Producer Responsibility exemption threshold; and whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the £2 million turnover exemption on fair competition. \p Mary Creagh: As the environmental regulator for England, the Environment Agency (EA) conducts compliance checks to ensure businesses accurately assess themselves against regulatory thresholds. These checks include, but are not limited to, open-source reviews of company accounts via the Companies House website and requests for evidence to verify reported turnover.

The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 provide for the assessment of turnover thresholds within corporate groups. Where such a group exists, the turnover of all companies performing a producer function must be aggregated to determine whether the £2 million threshold is met. This measure prevents businesses from establishing additional entities to remain below the threshold.

All EA producer compliance monitoring audits include a review of company structures to ensure that all relevant organisations within a corporate group comply with the regulations.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated impact assessment for the introduction of Extended Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR), this includes an analysis of the impact of pEPR on competition.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what metrics his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of routine avian influenza surveillance systems in detecting early outbreaks of H5N1. \p Daniel Zeichner: Our avian influenza surveillance programmes are line with international standards of best practice and requirements for disease surveillance set out by the World Organisation for Animal Health’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code. In addition to our statutory obligations set out in The Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) (No.2) Order 2006 (as amended).

Our avian influenza surveillance is comprised of mandatory reporting of suspicion of avian influenza in kept birds and mammals, targeted avian influenza and testing of found dead wild birds and wild mammals. In addition, targeted serological surveillance for avian influenza viruses in domestic poultry is carried out annually in Great Britain by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) as required by The Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) (No.2) Order 2006 and in line with the sampling guidance in assimilated legislation 2010/367.

The serological surveillance is a risk-based, targeted programme which aims to detect low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) in gallinaceous birds (chickens, turkeys, game birds) which could mutate into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and HPAI and LPAI in domestic waterfowl which generally don’t show clinical signs of avian influenza. Sampling is required to be undertaken where the prevalence of infected poultry holdings is at least 5% with a 95% confidence interval.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54984 to Government Departments: Catering, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of (a) an annual report and (b) a public tracking system to provide transparency on how much local produce is being procured from (i) Lancashire and (ii) other regions by public sector bodies. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government is open to considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards. This could include approaches designed to improve transparency in the way procurement is carried out.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary corporate commitments in preventing deforestation in UK supply chains. \p Mary Creagh: We have not made a comprehensive assessment of the contribution of voluntary corporate commitments in the estimated 22% reduction in UK consumption-driven global deforestation between 2017 and 2022.

However, there is some evidence that voluntary commitments are having a positive impact. For instance, in 2022, 86% of palm and palm kernel oil imported to the UK was certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, driven in part by supermarket sustainability pledges.

We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation and will set out our approach in due course.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54984 to Government Departments: Catering, what steps he is taking to provide (a) specific support schemes and (b) funding opportunities to farmers in Fylde and Lancashire to help them meet procurement standards. \p Daniel Zeichner: Our commitment to farmers and growers remains steadfast, which is why we want our farmers to have the chance to get a fair share of the £5 billion pounds a year spent on public-sector food and catering contracts, including for farmers in Fylde and Lancashire.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential environmental impact of levels of UK consumption of (a) palm oil, (b) soy, (c) beef and (d) cocoa on global deforestation rates. \p Mary Creagh: The Government recognises that agricultural expansion for commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, and cocoa is a major driver of global deforestation. In 2022, UK consumption of these commodities linked to approximately 16,000hectares of deforestation worldwide, with cattle accounting for approximately 53% of this impact The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course.

https://commodityfootprints.earth/#dashboard
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for enacting the due diligence regulations of the Environment Act 2021, in the context of UK efforts to tackle deforestation. \p Mary Creagh: We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course. We are committed to ensuring that any regulatory framework is robust, proportionate and effective in addressing deforestation in UK supply chains.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the designation of National Landscapes on nature recovery in Mid Bedfordshire. \p Mary Creagh: Natural England (NE) has the statutory responsibility for identifying areas for new or extended National Landscape designations. As part of this, they undertake evidence-based assessments to consider the potential impact of any proposed changes. This assessment includes consideration of the contribution of wildlife to the natural beauty of the area and if the designation of a National Landscape is desirable in order to conserve and enhance the area’s natural beauty.

Given budgetary constraints, NE has made the decision to stop work on some of the planned National Landscapes programme – including the Chilterns boundary review. Natural England are considering how the evidence base which has been gathered so far through their designation work can best be shared and used.

The existing boundary for the Chilterns National Landscape is unaffected and remains in place.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the trends in capital investment in the farming sector ahead of the implementation of reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. \p Daniel Zeichner: Data on farm investment income is available in the table 5 series of Farm Accounts in England – these tables show data for 2022/23 and 2023/24.

The Farm Business Survey is currently collecting the 2024/25 data.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to launch a public consultation on the future use of farrowing crates in the UK. \p Daniel Zeichner: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 April 2025 to the hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield, PQ 41698.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure timely reporting of suspected animal cruelty incidents to the Animal and Plant Health Agency; and whether guidance is issued to (a) industry and (b) the public on how and when to report. \p Daniel Zeichner: There is newly published guidance on what and how to report animal welfare  concerns in England (Report farm animal welfare concerns - GOV.UK); additional contact details are available at the top of the APHA contact list on GOV.UK.

For England and Wales, there is a telephone number which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In Scotland, people can call their local APHA field service office.

People should contact APHA immediately with concerns about farm animals being neglected, abused or mistreated. If the concern about the welfare of farm animals is not urgent, they can email APHA at xxx@xxx.xx.

APHA leads on responding to animal welfare concerns in livestock. For concerns about wild animals or pets, people can contact their local council, private veterinary surgeon or wildlife rescue centre.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish his Department's style guide for answering written Parliamentary questions; and if he will publish (a) the style guide that was in use on and (b) any other style guide used since 3 July 2024. \p Daniel Zeichner: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given on 12 June 2025 to PQ 57805.
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Dr Allison Gardner:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy of the performance of Severn Trent Water and (b) potential impact of water pollution on the environment. \p Emma Hardy: Severn Trent has delivered a 4-star EPA performance for the past 5 years which is sector-leading. However, 2024 data demonstrated an increase in pollution incidents. The EA demands improved performance by implementing their action plans to improve their Water Resources and Waste License compliance.

The EA assesses compliance against environmental permits and takes enforcement action where failures occur.

Severn Trent’s AMP8 WINEP 2025-2030 will invest £6.4 billion into environmental schemes, which is significantly larger than other water companies. They are investing £566 million in their Green Recovery programme in innovative projects to improve the environment.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an estimate of the number of live lobsters being (a) posted and (b) couriered in 2024. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra does not hold data for live lobsters being posted and couriered in 2024.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to review (a) agricultural and (b) environmental regulation for (i) food producers and (ii) small farmers. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra’s ambition is to reform the agricultural and environmental regulatory system so that it is fair, clear and effective for food producers, farmers and landowners. We are working closely with the sector to improve regulation so that it is proportionate, reduces unnecessary burden and improves clarity for farmers through advice and guidance. We welcome Dan Corry’s recent review of Defra’s regulatory landscape and are actively considering all 29 recommendations. 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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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of fly-tipping incidents in South East Cornwall constituency. \p Mary Creagh: Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights local communities and the environment, and we appreciate the difficulty and cost that it poses to landowners.

Local councils are usually best placed to tackle fly-tipping in their areas, and they have a range of enforcement powers to help them do so. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution action. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and are taking steps to develop new enforcement guidance. We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool.

In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

In the meantime, Defra continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the National Farmers Union, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping, including on private land. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available here.
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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 improve communication with (a) bird keepers and (b) the public during avian influenza outbreaks. \p Daniel Zeichner: Supporting bird keepers, the public and conservation bodies to manage and prepare for avian influenza continues to be one of Defra’s main priorities.

Defra and the Devolved Governments have several lines of communication to bird keepers and the public. Each administration has a live avian influenza page which is updated regularly with the most recent information. Biosecurity guidance and a biosecurity self-assessment checklist have also been published by each of the UK administrations to assist all bird keepers in instigating and maintaining good biosecurity, including mandatory measures when an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) is in force. We also issue national, local and trade press releases to make sure the latest information is communicated through the media. We regularly post the latest advice, key messages, and situational updates on both Defra and APHA social media channels. Through our work with a wide range of industry groups, this vital information is also distributed out to their members.

All bird keepers in Great Britain must now register their poultry and other captive birds (with the exception of certain psittacines and passerines), even if only kept as pets. Registered keepers will receive regular updates and guidance to help protect their birds from avian influenza. The new registration requirements which came into force in Autumn 2024 will enable Government to communicate with bird keepers quickly, to mitigate the risk of further disease spread. In addition, anyone can subscribe to the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) free animal disease alerts service for the latest information on updated risk levels, guidance and new cases in Great Britain regardless of whether they keep birds.

Any bird keepers whose premises are directly affected by avian influenza will receive support from the APHA, including compensation for any healthy birds culled by HM Government for disease control purposes. In addition, a range of grants have been made available to poultry keepers through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway to improve biosecurity on poultry premises and support the welfare of birds.

There are numerous support networks that poultry farmers can contact for help including the rural services helpline. Defra work in partnership with Farming Help organisations to support their work to help the farming community through challenging times.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of sows in the UK kept in farrowing crates in each of the last five years. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra does not hold official data, however, for the last five years estimates have consistently maintained that 60% of the UK breeding herd were kept indoors with the vast majority of sows using farrowing crates to give birth. The remaining 40% farrow freely on outdoor units with no option for confinement.

Recent industry estimates suggest that the number of sows kept indoors has declined to 50%. Of these, around 8% of the British indoor pig herd were reported to be flexibly farrowed where the sow can be confined on a temporary basis and for a limited period.
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Lorraine Beavers:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of potential merits of recovering the costs of treating chemical pollutants in (a) drinking water, (b) wastewater and (c) high risk sites in England from the producers of those substances. \p Emma Hardy: Defra is committed to the ‘polluter pays’ principle and regularly reviews ways to improve its implementation and efficacy.

The Government can already seek cost recovery for contaminated land so that the responsible party (typically the polluter or current owner/occupier) bears the financial burden of cleaning up the land. The Environment Act 1990 Part 2A outlines this principle, with local councils having a statutory duty to recover reasonable costs incurred for remediation. Where contaminated land is designated a special site and the Environment agency is the lead regulator, it also has similar cost recovery powers.

The quality of drinking water in England is exceptionally high and among the best in the world. Water companies and local authorities have statutory duties to carry out risk assessments and to sample drinking water supplies for any contaminants they believe may cause the supply to be unwholesome.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of rehoming (a) organisations and (b) centres that are operating (i) with and (ii) without a licence. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra does not hold a central list of rehoming centres or rescue organisations.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 28 April 2025 to Question 47228, what his plans for the future of the Sustainable Farming Incentive are following the Spending Review. \p Daniel Zeichner: Our new Sustainable Farming Incentive offer will be more targeted to better meet priorities on food, farming and nature. More details on the offer will be available later in the summer.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications have been received under the 2025 round of animal health and welfare grants; and what proportion of these applications have been approved in Wiltshire. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF 25) opened for applications on the 29 May this year and will close at midday on 10 July 2025. The application process is ongoing; therefore, applications have not been approved at this stage.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in the (a) Scottish, (b) Welsh and (c) Northern Irish governments on the potential merits of extending licensing requirements to include (i) animal welfare establishments and (ii) rehoming organisations. \p Daniel Zeichner: Animal welfare is a devolved matter in the UK. This means that responsibility for animal welfare policy in the individual nations is the responsibility of the relevant nation’s Ministers. Defra engages regularly with its counterparts in the devolved administrations on animal welfare matters and takes their experience into account.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has contributed to modelling on inheritance tax revenue expected to be raised by proposed reforms to (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief. \p Daniel Zeichner: HMT undertakes its own modelling on revenues raised by tax changes. See page 118 here Autumn Budget 2024 – HC 295. The expected revenue from changes to APR and BPR were based on HMRC data. This was independently assessed by the OBR. See page 58 here Economic and fiscal outlook – CP 1169.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the report by Family Business UK entitled Taxing Futures: The economic and fiscal implications of changes to BPR & APR for UK family businesses and farms, published in June 2025. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government is confident that its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances in a fair way. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief on the rural economy. \p Daniel Zeichner: The decision to reform agricultural property relief and business property relief was a difficult but necessary decision in order to restore economic stability, fix the public finances, and support public services, including in rural communities.

The Government is confident that its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances in a fair way.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he has received from (a) the NFU, (b) the CLA , (c) Historic Houses and (d) other rural stakeholders on the economic challenges posed by the proposed inheritance tax reforms. \p Daniel Zeichner: Ministers from multiple Government departments have had several meetings with agricultural organisations on this matter since the Autumn Budget last year.

In February, the Exchequer Secretary and Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs both met the National Farmers Union, the Tenant Farmers Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Farmers Union of Wales.

Ministers have participated in several debates in Parliament to listen to views. After listening, the Government is confident that the approach set out is an appropriate one.
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Steve Barclay:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline for for the proposed Fens Reservoir is for the (a) submission of a development consent order application to the Planning Inspectorate, (b) final decision on the development consent order application, (c) construction work to start on site, (d) construction work to finish on site, and (e) for the reservoir to be operational. \p Emma Hardy: Anglian Water is responsible for the development of the Fens reservoir. Proposals will be consulted on and will follow the requirements of the National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure. A traffic and transport assessment is currently underway and further information will be shared with communities as part of the next phase of consultation this Autumn.

Anglian Water will submit the application for a Development Consent Order in 2027. The determination of the application by the Secretary of State is expected in 2028/29 and should Development Consent be granted, construction of the reservoir will start in 2029/30.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many days Ministers in his Department have worked in (a) departmental offices and (b) Government hubs outside London since 5 July 2024. \p Daniel Zeichner: As under the previous Government, Defra does not hold specific information regarding how many days Defra Ministers have worked in departmental offices and Government hubs outside of London since 5 July 2024.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase sewage capacity for new build homes. \p Emma Hardy: Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, setting company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. The £104 billion funding package is the highest level of investment in the water sector since privatisation and is set to be the second largest private sector investment programme in this parliament. This planned investment will support new home building.

Under the Environment Act 2021, a new duty has been created for water companies in England to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans. These explain how a water company intends to improve its drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraphs 8 and 10 of the National Audit Office’s report entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what plans his Department has to (a) deliver an effective digital identification system for horses, (b) enforce the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 and (c) upgrade the Central Equine Database. \p Daniel Zeichner: This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine identification and traceability.

The SPS agreement, outlined at the UK-EU Leader’s Summit on 19 May 2025, will establish a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area, aimed at facilitating the safe and efficient movement of trade. The SPS Agreement will cover sanitary rules and the regulation of live animals, including animal health conditions governing the movement and importation of Equidae.

Enforcement of Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 lies with within the responsibilities of the Local Authorities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Andrew George:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) trading rules and (b) tariffs on trade apply between the UK and settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK's current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 55229 on Electric Bicycles: Sales, what estimate he has made of the number of illegally modified electric bikes removed from sale by (a) Trading Standards and (b) the Office for Product Safety and Standards in the last year. \p Justin Madders: Under UK product safety regulations, businesses are responsible for ensuring the products they supply comply with all relevant legal requirements. The Office for Product Safety and Standards published a regulatory activity update for e-bikes in January which summarises its actions in this area. It does not routinely collect estimates of numbers of products removed from sale. Individual Trading Standards departments prioritise action against non-compliant consumer products based on the trading patterns and safety issues specific to their locality, which differ between regions.

Enforcement of illegally modified electric bikes used on public roads is a matter for the police.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 55229 on Electric Bicycles: Sales, what plans his Department has to improve consumer awareness of the legal requirements for electric bikes and the risks of using illegally modified versions. \p Justin Madders: As part of DBT's programme of activity tackling unsafe e-bikes and associated products, last October I launched a consumer awareness campaign Buy Safe, Be Safe to encourage consumers to buy safe e-bikes from reputable sellers; to only use manufacturer recommended replacements; and to only engage professionals if modifying products. DBT partners with fire services, consumer bodies and relevant businesses to ensure these messages reach gig economy workers and those most likely to use e-bikes. DBT also collaborates with other departments, including MHCLG on fire safety, and DfT on safe road use, to raise public awareness on using e-bikes safely.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Tristan Osborne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) pricing structures imposed by large pub companies on tenant landlords and (b) restrictions on purchasing alcohol from independent breweries on the long term sustainability of community pubs. \p Justin Madders: The government works with the Hospitality Sector Council to address challenges facing the sector, including community pubs. The Government’s £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme co-funds projects to help community pubs adapt to their communities’ changing needs. The Government is also conducting an exercise to understand potential market barriers for small brewers. Interested parties can contact xxx@xxx.xx.

Tied tenant landlords of pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales are protected by the Pubs Code which ensures they are treated fairly and lawfully and are no worse off than if not subject to any product or service tie. The third statutory review of the Pubs Code and Pubs Code Adjudicator is underway and the call for inputs is open until 14 August 2025.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allowing tenanted pubs in England and Wales to purchase beer directly from small producers. \p Justin Madders: The government is currently completing an exercise to understand whether there are any barriers to market for small brewers. This exercise covers all pub models. Interested parties can contact xxx@xxx.xx.

The government is separately conducting a statutory review into the operation of Pubs Code and the performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator. Interested parties can submit their views to the call for inputs until 14 August 2025. The Pubs Code applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covering around 8,000 pubs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-16)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps to prevent consumers who do not opt in to supermarket loyalty schemes from being charged higher prices. \p Justin Madders: In 2024, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) undertook a review into loyalty pricing in the groceries sector, publishing their findings in November 2024. The CMA found that shoppers who are members of a loyalty scheme can almost always make a genuine saving on the usual price by buying loyalty priced products. This should give shoppers confidence that they are not being treated unfairly.

The CMA analysed around 50,000 grocery products on a loyalty price promotion and found very little evidence of supermarkets inflating their ‘usual’ prices to make loyalty promotions seem like a better deal.

In addition, shoppers without a loyalty scheme membership are generally paying the same price during the loyalty price promotion as they do in the weeks both before and after loyalty price promotions. However, the CMA found several loyalty priced products which were significantly more expensive than the cheapest price available at other supermarkets at that time, so there is value in shopping around.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to provide funding for legal advice for Sub-Postmasters pursuing compensation claims. \p Gareth Thomas: The Department for Business and Trade meets the reasonable legal costs of postmasters in applying to its Horizon redress schemes, and encourages claimants to take up this offer. Legal cost frameworks and tariffs for each scheme delivered by the Department have been agreed and published following discussions with claimants’ legal representatives. Post Office provides funding for reasonable legal fees to help claimants on the Horizon Shortfall Scheme to consider offers made by the independent panel, with further legal support available should they choose to dispute or appeal their offer.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) fairness and (b) efficiency of the Horizon compensation schemes. \p Gareth Thomas: As of 2 June 2025, over £1 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the 4 horizon schemes. This represents a fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 4,500 victims receiving compensation for the first time.

Claims for Horizon redress are assessed by applying the specific facts of the individual cases to established legal principles and any other factors which support reaching a fair outcome. Across each scheme, claimants have the option of accepting a fixed-sum offer or requesting a detailed assessment. Where a claimant is not satisfied with an offer for redress, the offer may be appealed. On the Group Litigation Order scheme, disputed offers would be assessed by an independent panel and in some circumstances, an independent reviewer.

We continue to seek options to speed up redress, in discussion with the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what criteria his Department is using to calculate compensation offers made to Sub-Postmasters impacted by the Horizon scandal. \p Gareth Thomas: Claims for Horizon redress are assessed by applying the specific facts of the individual cases to established legal principles and any other factors which support reaching a fair outcome. Assessment criteria for the individual redress schemes are published by the Department for Business and Trade and the Post Office.

Across each scheme, claimants have the option of accepting a fixed-sum offer or requesting a detailed assessment.

Where a claimant is not satisfied with an offer for redress, the offer may be appealed. On the Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme, disputed offers would be assessed by an independent panel and in some circumstances, an independent reviewer.

As of 2 June 2025, over £1 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the 4 horizon schemes.