theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Melanie Ward:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress her Department has made on increasing driving examiner recruitment in Fife. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

The driving test centres that serve candidates in Fife are Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy. From a recent recruitment campaign a potential new driving examiner (DE) has been offered a position in Dunfermline. Following successful completion of training and pre-employment checks, it is hopeful the candidate will be in post by autumn. A further potential DE who had been offered a post in Kirkcaldy, has since withdrawn from the process.

DVSA will be undertaking another recruitment campaign shortly and will again advertise for posts in this area.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57937 on Roads: Closures, what mechanisms are in place to ensure accountability when coordination between HS2 Ltd and local authorities fails to prevent avoidable road closures or extended disruption. \p Lilian Greenwood: Highway authorities have a duty to coordinate works on the highway. HS2 Ltd holds regular local traffic liaison meetings with highway authorities to assist with this. Whilst traffic disruption is inevitable on a project of HS2’s scale, HS2 Ltd is committed to ensuring that this is minimised as far as reasonably practicable. This includes ensuring that any plans for road closures or works that may cause extended disruption are scrutinised carefully to ensure that they cannot be avoided and that appropriate mitigations are put in place.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is considering taking steps to reform the escalation process for Penalty Charge Notices in cases where the original notice was for a minor offence and was not received by the registered keeper. \p Lilian Greenwood: With regard to on-street parking, local highway authorities are responsible for enforcing parking restrictions under the system of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE). Penalty charge notices must be issued in line with the Secretary of State’s ‘Statutory Guidance on the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions’ which is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-enforcement-of-parking-contraventions/

The Department has no plans to change the process for issuing Penalty Charge Notices.

With regard to private and off-street parking, policy on this including enforcement is the responsibility of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing specific (a) Sikh and (b) Jewish options for a person’s ethnic group in data collection conducted by her Department. \p Mike Kane: There are no plans for the Department for Transport to assess the potential merits of introducing specific (a) Sikh and (b) Jewish options for a person’s ethnic group as part of data collection.

For analytical data collection, the Department follows Office for National Statistics guidance on how to capture personal characteristics and ethnic group data choices are aligned to the Civil Service wide NOVA Functional Reference Model.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57937 on Roads: Closures, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Code of Practice for the Co-ordination of Street and Road Works in reducing levels of disruption caused by overlapping works from (a) statutory bodies and (b) HS2 Ltd. \p Lilian Greenwood: My department provides the statutory code of practice for the co-ordination of street and road works. It is not possible to assess the effectiveness of this code of practice alone in reducing disruption. The code of practice is one tool amongst many others, including other legislation, statutory guidance and guidance that enables highway authorities to coordinate works on their network and reduce disruption caused by overlapping works.

HS2 Ltd also use a range of mitigation measures to manage disruption across the route and keep local communities informed. To help coordinate works with other parties in the area, HS2 Ltd uses traffic management plans, and holds regular local traffic liaison meetings with highway authorities along the route.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57937 on Roads: Closures, whether her Department has considered introducing a centralised digital platform to improve transparency and real-time coordination between (a) statutory undertakers, (b) HS2 Ltd and (c) local authorities during roadworks planning and implementation. \p Lilian Greenwood: My department has already introduced Street Manager, our digital service that is used by all highway authorities and statutory undertakers in England. Our online service allows highway authorities to plan and manage street and road works on their road network. HS2 Ltd also uses this service. We stream open data on live and planned works that is made available to the public via apps and websites.

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) can be used during works to regulate or restrict use of a road. My department has been developing a central publication platform, known as D-TRO (digital TRO service). The service will improve efficiency and provide real time updates on restrictions. It is currently in private beta testing with a selection of authorities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing specific (a) Sikh and (b) Jewish options for a person’s ethnic group in data collection conducted by her Department. \p Alex Davies-Jones: Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The Ministry of Justice collects ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard.

The current harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions used across the UK; those questions were updated for the 2021 and 2022 Censuses. The current standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group.

The ONS is reviewing the harmonised standard to ensure this remains appropriate and meets the needs of both data users and respondents. This will include a public consultation later this year.

We await the outcome of this review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department holds data on the number of (a) cycle and (b) car parking spaces at each (i) Crown and (ii) Magistrate Court. \p Sarah Sackman: HMCTS holds data on the number of car parking spaces at each Crown and Magistrates’ Court, which can be found in the attached spreadsheet. HMCTS does not hold equivalent data on the number of cycle parking spaces at each Crown and Magistrates’ Court.

PQ_66462 (xlsx, 27.6KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much is the average payment to those eligible With-Profit-Annuitants within the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. \p Torsten Bell: The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).

The total value of payments made by the Scheme stood at £1.35 billion as of 30 May 2025, and the Scheme is on track to pay out the remainder. Annual annuity payments to the over 17,000 eligible WPAs amounted to £20.25 million in 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-18)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the consistency of enforcement by the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision across legal sector regulators. \p Emma Reynolds: OPBAS oversees 22 Professional Body Supervisors (PBSs) in the legal and accountancy sectors, to improve their Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) supervision. Its powers include obtaining information from PBSs, appointing skilled persons to improve supervisory work, and recommending that HM Treasury remove a PBS as an AML/CTF supervisor. OPBAS produces annual reports on PBS performance against the expectations set out in its Sourcebook. These show that OPBAS has delivered substantial improvements since 2018; however some weaknesses remain and HM Treasury has consulted on further options for reform.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of clay pigeon shooting on (a) business growth and (b) job creation in rural communities. \p Daniel Zeichner: Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are important to our economy, contributing over £315 billion a year to England alone.

Defra has not made a formal assessment on contribution of clay pigeon shooting to the rural economy; however, we know the rural economy is diverse with 86% of rural businesses unrelated to agriculture, forestry or fishing.

The government recognises the economic benefits that shooting sports such as clay pigeon shooting can bring to rural communities and that it can be an important part of a local economy which provides direct and indirect employment opportunities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that sugar beet growers receive an adequate price for their product. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers who are vital to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from cereal production.

We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain. That includes seeing a price agreed for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors, in the context of the global market. There is a well-established process in place to agree the sugar beet price; designed to be independent between both parties. An Inter Professional Agreement is agreed each year between both parties and sets out the process for negotiating and agreeing price, terms and conditions for the upcoming crop year, as well as any dispute resolution process.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken with (a) the United Nations and (b) the Food and Agriculture Organisation to help tackle gaps in fisheries data collection in the South Atlantic. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra continues to seek progress on addressing fisheries data collection in the South Atlantic. This includes raising the matter in UN and FAO fora, such as consultations on the UN General Assembly Resolution on Sustainable Fisheries, and the FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management.  At the first FAO Subcommittee on Fisheries Management in January 2024, text was agreed urging the FAO to support members to enhance cooperation, strengthen data collection and improve regional fisheries management to tackle data gaps in high seas fisheries.

Achieving sustainably managed fisheries is our focus when highlighting these issues in international fora. Defra will continue to work with all relevant parties with the aim of assessing and improving the sustainability of relevant stocks. Regarding the status of relevant fish stocks, I refer the Hon. Member to the reply previously given on 01 April to PQ 41239.

I also refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills, Wendy Morton, on 25 March, PQ 35284.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward regulations on the composition of bread marketed as sourdough. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government has no current plans to introduce regulations to specifically cover the composition of ‘sourdough bread’. The UK maintains high food standards including on requirements relating to food labelling and information. Existing legislation ensures the labelling and marketing of food, including sourdough products, does not intentionally mislead consumers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Rachel Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help enforce the Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations, Tariff Quotas and Wine) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government is committed to resetting our EU relationship, including by seeking to negotiate an SPS agreement. We have been clear that an SPS agreement could boost trade and deliver significant benefits on both sides. It’s too early to discuss any specific areas in detail and we will not be providing a running commentary on discussions with the EU.

A public consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the emissions reductions required in agriculture to deliver the sixth carbon budge. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government is absolutely committed to our net zero targets. We will publish an updated Carbon Budget Delivery Plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors in due course. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 and our Nationally Determined Contribution commitments on a pathway to net zero.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to financially support low carbon farming. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government is committed to our net zero ambitions and boosting nature’s recovery, which are the foundations of a productive and profitable farming sector.

Our Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) pay farmers to take up land management practices that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26, which includes the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for ELMs to boost Britain’s food security and accelerate the transition to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.

The Government has spent £51.8 million through the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), with a further £98 million committed to ongoing projects in support of Agri-technology research and innovation. Many FIP projects support low carbon farming practices. FIP competitions for 2025/26 will include up to £12.5 million for the Net Zero Farming thematic competition.

Since 2021, Defra’s Farming Investment Fund awarded more than 11,000 grants worth over £130 million to farmers, growers and foresters to invest in technology, equipment and infrastructure, much of which supports low carbon farming practices. Of this, £107 million was through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). The next window of FETF will launch in Spring 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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John Whitby:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to provide funding to help support low carbon farming. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government is committed to our net zero ambitions and boosting nature’s recovery, which are the foundations of a productive and profitable farming sector.

Our Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) pay farmers to take up land management practices that contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26, which includes the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for ELMs to boost Britain’s food security and accelerate the transition to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.

The Government has spent £51.8 million through the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), with a further £98 million committed to ongoing projects in support of Agri-technology research and innovation. Many FIP projects support low carbon farming practices. FIP competitions for 2025/26 will include up to £12.5 million for the Net Zero Farming thematic competition.

Since 2021, Defra’s Farming Investment Fund awarded more than 11,000 grants worth over £130 million to farmers, growers and foresters to invest in technology, equipment and infrastructure, much of which supports low carbon farming practices. Of this, £107 million was through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). The next window of FETF will launch in Spring 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help increase the number of microchipped horses. \p Daniel Zeichner: This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

It is a legal requirement in the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 that all equines resident in England (except certain populations of wild or semi-wild equines on designated areas) are microchipped. The law applies retrospectively, to include older equines born before microchipping legislation was introduced and applies to equines imported to GB for more than 90 days. Enforcement of these requirements is the responsibility of Local Authorities.

The Government recognises the importance of improving equine identification. Defra is engaging with industry to consider improvements to this.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department's objectives on support for sustainable farming have changed, in the context of the closure of the SFI scheme. \p Daniel Zeichner: We have closed Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for new applications because the current SFI budget has been successfully allocated, with large-scale uptake of the scheme and 37,000 live SFI agreements delivering towards our environmental targets. This will allow us to align SFI with our work on the Land Use Framework and the 25-year farming roadmap to protect the most productive land and boost food security, whilst delivering for nature.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Anna Dixon:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of the licensing of grouse shooting in England. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government recognises well-managed grouse shooting can be an important part of a local rural economy, providing direct and indirect employment. We also appreciate that many people hold strong views on the issue of grouse shooting and there is evidence to suggest a link between it and crimes against birds of prey as well as potential risks to biosecurity. Work will continue to ensure a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between grouse shooting, biosecurity and conservation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will meet with representatives of the school milk supply chain to discuss the classification of school milk as a household waste. \p Mary Creagh: I am responding to these PQs as the Minister who is responsible for Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR). In autumn last year my department published an assessment of the impacts of implementing pEPR, including on inflation, when the regulations were laid in parliament, however, this impact assessment does not include an assessment of the impact on specific sectors/products. The governments of the four nations of the United Kingdom will monitor the effectiveness and impact of the regulations and will amend them when and where appropriate.

I will politely decline the meeting as I am aware of the issues around the definition of household packaging and its impact across a number of sectors. However my officials, who have been working with stakeholders on assessing the possibility of amending the household packaging definition, would be happy to meet representative of the milk supply chain.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Rachel Blake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce pollution from plastic cigarette butts. \p Mary Creagh: Cigarette butts are the most littered item according to a survey commissioned by Defra. Littered filters are not just an eyesore, they can also release toxins into the environment. The best way to reduce cigarette litter is to reduce smoking rates and we continue to support all measures that do so. We will however continue to monitor the available evidence on the prevalence of littered cigarette filters.

Dropping litter, including cigarette butts, is a crime and councils can issue fixed penalty notices of up to £500. An effective and proportionate local enforcement strategy can deter people from littering.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Dr Allison Gardner:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish a breakdown of how extended producer responsibility fees will be allocated, in the context of transparency in funding for local authority waste management services. \p Mary Creagh: PackUK will publish annual reports and financial statements, which will provide transparency on the allocation of funds received through the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees. These reports will clarify how the collected fees are distributed and used to support the scheme’s objectives.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April to 2025 to Question 41338 on Nature Restoration Fund, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a long term plan to help protect irreplaceable (a) peatlands and (b) ancient woodlands. \p Mary Creagh: This Government is committed to protecting our irreplaceable peatlands. That's why we are investing £400 million to protect and restore nature, including our peatlands and trees including ancient woodlands. We have large ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatlands across the country, and we are working to ensure that we have the most effective mechanisms in place to go further than we have before.

Defra recently conducted and published a review into how ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees are protected by the National Planning Policy Framework. This revealed that the policy is not being consistently implemented and we are looking at how this can be improved. Defra is also currently revising the Environmental Improvement Plan, which includes actions to protect ancient woodlands.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for banning animal snares. \p Mary Creagh: This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

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. 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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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 32569 on Domestic Waste: Recycling and Waste Disposal, whether WRAP provided guidance on the Simpler Recycling reforms to residual waste collection. \p Mary Creagh: WRAP, supported by Defra, and with input from local authorities, has developed good practice guidance on household and commercial waste collections designed to help local authorities deliver quality waste and recycling services to citizens in England. This will include guidance on residual waste collection and is intended to be published shortly.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to integrate his planned updates to the (a) Environmental Improvement Plan and (b) Carbon Budget Delivery Plan. \p Mary Creagh: Nature and climate action must be taken together and will underpin the delivery of this Government’s missions, from clean energy to economic growth.

Our revised Environmental Improvement Plan will set out the vital role of nature in mitigating and adapting to climate change, such as through tree planting and management and peatland restoration, recognising that tackling climate change in turn supports nature’s recovery.

The Government will publish an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors in due course. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 on the pathway to net zero.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of infrastructure developments on agricultural land in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire. \p Mary Creagh: The Government does not comment on individual projects which have yet to be consented via the independent planning process.

The Government has launched a consultation on land use in England which will inform the publication of the Land Use Framework this year. The framework will set out how the Government will protect land with the greatest long-term potential for food production, while delivering on the need for new infrastructure which will bring forward green growth, good jobs and investment across the country.

The Land Use Framework and the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan are being designed alongside each other to work cohesively together and with other sectoral plans.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025 to Question 26635 on Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal, whether (a) his Department and (b) WRAP has undertaken research on restricting residual waste volumes by capping the quantity of bin bags provided to local households for collection. \p Mary Creagh: No, Defra has not undertaken research on this. WRAP, supported by Defra, and with input from local authorities, has developed good practice guidance on household and commercial waste collections designed to help local authorities deliver quality waste and recycling services to citizens in England. This will include guidance on residual waste collection and is intended to be published shortly.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 32568 on Litter: Fines, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse being non-statutory on levels of compliance with that guidance. \p Mary Creagh: The Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, as it relates to cleaning standards, is statutory guidance. The code was amended in 2019 to include advisory guidance on litter enforcement. We do not intend to make an assessment of levels of compliance with the enforcement guidance. The Government is however currently examining the benefits of making it statutory.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support local government to help tackle flytipping and littering. \p Mary Creagh: Local councils have wide ranging enforcement powers to help them tackle littering and fly-tipping. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 to fly-tippers and £500 to those who litter, prosecution action and, in the case of fly-tipping, vehicle seizure. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are currently seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to issue statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals 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.

Defra also chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available here.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of bird flu. \p Daniel Zeichner: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 December 2024 to question UIN 19297.

An updated outbreak assessment for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Great Britain and Europe was published by the Animal and Plant Health Agency on 18 March 2025, and an updated veterinary risk assessment for notifiable avian influenza incursion into poultry in Northern Ireland was published by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in December 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a right to roam for waterways. \p Emma Hardy: The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors including blue spaces for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors. We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, including onto unregulated inland waterways, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders to reduce barriers preventing people from accessing green and blue spaces.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_25

John Whitby:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times his Department has met with the Joint Air Quality Unit and the Department for Transport to discuss the implementation of the NO2 programme in the last eight months. \p Emma Hardy: The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) is a joint Defra/DfT division. Members of JAQU attend meetings with officials across both Departments regularly.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_26

Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has funded any publications produced by WRAP in each of the last three years. \p Mary Creagh: Yes, Defra has funded a number of publications produced by WRAP in each of the last three years including publications on food waste reduction, recycling and textiles.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_27

Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 32571 on WRAP: Finance, how much funding to WRAP has been budgeted for the 2025-26 financial year. \p Mary Creagh: A WRAP grant provision of £5,952,500 for 2025-26 is planned, this is provisional subject to agreement of the 2025-26 programme proposal from WRAP.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_28

Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that farmers are not undercut by imports from countries with lower animal welfare standards. \p Daniel Zeichner: The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. This Government will uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals. We will promote robust standards nationally and internationally and will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage

All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market. This includes ensuring imported meat products have been slaughtered to animal welfare standards equivalent to our domestic standards

The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to support economic growth and promote the highest standards of food production.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_29

Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 32568 on Litter: Fines, if he will take steps to issue guidance to local authorities on establishing a mechanism to (a) appeal and (b) review fixed penalty notices. \p Mary Creagh: There is no formal right of appeal against a fixed penalty notice. If an alleged offender does not accept their liability for the offence, there is no requirement on them to pay the fixed penalty. They may have to defend their case in court. We consider it good practice for councils to operate an informal dispute process to minimise the number of cases that reach court.

Advisory enforcement guidance attached to the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse provides enforcing authorities with advice on how to operate a process for informally disputing liability. The Government is currently considering the benefits of placing this guidance on a statutory footing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_30

Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 26631 on WRAP, if he will publish the contract or memorandum of understanding between his Department and WRAP that provides the basis for his Department funding WRAP. \p Mary Creagh: Details of the WRAP grant agreement are published on the Grants register held on GOV.UK. The WRAP grant agreement details the purpose and objectives of the grant, standard terms and conditions, performance monitoring and financial assurance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_31

Blair McDougall:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the regulations on the sale of energy drinks to children under the age of 16. \p Ashley Dalton: As set out in the King’s Speech, we plan to bring forward the necessary secondary legislation to deliver on our commitment to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years old.

We are developing plans which consider the potential impact of high-caffeine energy drinks on children, and will set these out in a consultation in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_32

Edward Argar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, from what date Baroness Casey is contracted to start work on the social care commission. \p Stephen Kinnock: Baroness Casey of Blackstock will start work on her independent commission into adult social care later this month, April 2025. Baroness Casey of Blackstock and her team are currently in the process of setting up the Independent Commission, ahead of its formal launch.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_33

Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase (a) the recruitment and (b) levels of training of GPs. \p Stephen Kinnock: We have invested an additional £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) in 2024/25 to enable the recruitment of over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs). Under the 2025/26 GP contract changes, the ARRS will become more flexible to allow primary care networks to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for the reimbursement of direct patient staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.

The curriculum for postgraduate training is set by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges for foundation training, and by individual Royal Colleges and faculties for specialty training. The General Medical Council approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme. Curricula emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_34

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to develop a (a) comprehensive and (b) fully-funded plan to effectively (i) recruit, (ii) train, and (iii) retain a sustainable social care workforce. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. We expect that the commission will look at workforce issues, building on work already underway to provide a career structure, give care professionals greater skills and legislate for the first ever Fair Pay Agreements.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_35

Alison Griffiths:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) retain existing and (b) recruit new GPs in Sussex. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are committed to training thousands more general practitioners (GPs) across the country, including in Sussex. We invested an additional £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) over 2024/25, as part of an initiative to address GP unemployment and secure the future pipeline of GPs.

We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession and we are tackling morale issues through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.

The fully qualified GP workforce in Sussex has increased by 6.3% or 51.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) compared to January 2024 and compared with 2.7% nationally or 1,019 FTE.

I understand that the Sussex Primary Care Workforce Plan was developed and published last year, and aims to further develop a sustainable healthcare workforce, ensuring high-quality patient care despite rising demand. The plan prioritises expanding the workforce, improving staff retention, and introducing innovative training methods.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_36

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure brain injury survivors have access to community-based specialist neurorehabilitation services. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government wants a society where every person, including those with a long-term condition such as an acquired brain injury (ABI), receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently developing guidance ‘Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury’, which is expected to be published in September 2025. More information is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181

The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention along with officials met the original proponent of the ABI strategy, Sir Chris Bryant MP, at the end of 2024 to discuss ABI, and had a useful discussion about what might be achievable in both the short term and the longer term. Sir Chris remains a huge advocate for those that have suffered an ABI, and the Department fully agrees with him that the Government should, and importantly will, do more. The Department and NHS England are keen to showcase those areas that have effectively integrated post-hospital care and support, including rehabilitation, to other areas where patients are not getting the care and support they deserve.

A decision on next steps on ABI at the national level will be taken in due course.

More widely, our 10-Year Health Plan will deliver three big shifts from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their long-term conditions, including ABI, closer to home.