Every parliamentary written question tabled by Adam Jogee this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 81–100 of 131 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department had with the Paymaster General regarding UK-EU trade and environmental standards prior to the UK-EU summit in London on 18 May 2025.
Ministerial colleagues have had and maintain regular discussions with the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments on UK-EU trade and environmental standards.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to support the natural regeneration of trees in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England.
Across England, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier does provide grant support for natural regeneration (including WD2 and WS2) in line with a UK Forestry Standard approved Woodland Management Plan. These grants are demand led, which means that the Forestry Commission welcomes applicants for sites that meet the criteria from any constituency. In addition to supporting natural regeneration of woodland within existing woodlands through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier there is grant support for natural colonisation (woodland expansion through natural processes) through the England Woodland Creation Offer. We do not collate this information at constituency or county level.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of updates to the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on animal welfare standards at zoos.
The Government published new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on 24 May 2025. The Standards will come into force from May 2027 and will replace the current 2012 Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. The new Standards reflect the latest in best practice for keeping wild animals in zoos and aquariums.
Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons wildfire warning signs have been installed on English moorland.
The decision to install signage has been made at a local level by Moors for the Future Partnership and Peak District National Park Authority.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to tackle livestock worrying in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
This Government recognises the distress livestock worrying can cause animals and their keepers. The Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which will amend and update the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953. The Bill will modernise definitions and scope, strengthen police powers and increase the maximum penalty from a fine of £1,000 to an “unlimited” fine to act as a deterrent. The legislation will apply to England and Wales.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to update the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain.
The Government published new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on 24 May 2025. The Standards will come into force from May 2027 and will replace the current 2012 Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. The new Standards reflect the latest in best practice for keeping wild animals in zoos and aquariums.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent engagement he has had with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock, Defra Animal Welfare Minister, periodically meets with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA). Most recently the Minister met both the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) at a visit to Chester Zoo on 22 May 2025, ahead of the launch of the new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain and also hosted an Animal Welfare Strategy development roundtable, which BIAZA attended. Defra officials also have regular meetings with BIAZA.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to improve standards for kept animals.
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department is engaging with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more details on this in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had the Secretary of State for Education on the provision of green skills for a circular economy.
This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. We have convened a Circular Economy Taskforce, comprising experts from industry, academia, and civil society, to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The strategy will map our transition to a circular economy, supported by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The importance of green jobs is evidenced by the UK’s existing circular industries delivering £67 billion to the economy, growing from £44 billion in 2008.This is an annual real growth rate of around 2.9%, more than double the 1.2% growth rate of the wider UK economy over this period. Existing UK circular industries provide 827,300 jobs, as of 2022. Defra recognises that fostering green skills is a fundamental tenet of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to deliver on strengthening our current green workforce as well as developing the new green skills we will need for the future. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the strategy.
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) industry, (b) NGOs and (c) other stakeholders on the future of UK REACH.
This Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment from the risks posed by chemicals. We regularly engage with a range of stakeholders, including industry representatives, NGOs, academic organisations and other Government departments, in order to seek their input, harness their expertise and provide updates of Defra policy developments.
Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on developing a UK Chemicals Strategy.
The Environment Improvement Plan (EIP) 2023 included the commitment to publish a UK Chemicals Strategy. The EIP has been under review and a revised EIP will be published in 2025. The revised EIP will include the Government’s approach to managing chemicals.
Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects his Department to respond to the UK REACH Alternative Transitional Registration model (ATRm) consultation, which closed on 25 July 2024.
The Government is currently considering the best approach to chemicals regulation, including UK REACH. We will publish the Government response to the ATRm consultation in 2025.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage public bodies to prioritise the purchase of produce from (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
The new national procurement policy statement sets out requirements for Government contracts, favouring high-quality products that we believe British producers, including those in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Staffordshire more broadly, are well-placed to supply: aiding our ambition for half of food supplied into public sector catering to be from local producers or those certified to higher environmental standards.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the (a) effectiveness and (b) performance of the Rural Payments Agency.
The Secretary of State meets arm’s length body CEOs and Chairs bi-annually to discuss delivery and performance. The Minister for Farming has set out a programme of quarterly performance meetings with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). As the principal sponsor of the RPA, Defra works closely with RPA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on RPA performance, efficacy and delivery. Defra ministers as well as the wider political team meet with the RPA leadership to discuss the RPA ’s performance and delivery of departmental priorities.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the support provided by the Rural Payments Agency to farmers in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
The Secretary of State meets arm’s length body CEOs and Chairs bi-annually to discuss delivery and performance. The Minister for Farming has set out a programme of quarterly performance meetings with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). As the principal sponsor of the RPA, Defra works closely with RPA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on RPA performance, efficacy and delivery. Defra ministers as well as the wider political team meet with the RPA leadership to discuss the RPA ’s performance and delivery of departmental priorities.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) performance and (b) effectiveness of the Rural Payments Agency.
The Secretary of State meets arm’s length body CEOs and Chairs bi-annually to discuss delivery and performance. The Minister for Farming has set out a programme of quarterly performance meetings with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). As the principal sponsor of the RPA, Defra works closely with RPA officials at every level to provide constructive challenge and support on RPA performance, efficacy and delivery. Defra ministers, as well as the wider political team, meet with the RPA leadership to discuss the RPA ’s performance and delivery of departmental priorities.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent meetings he has had with the Food Standards Agency.
I meet regularly with the Food Standards Agency Chair Professor Susan Jebb.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) leadership and (b) management of the Rural Payments Agency.
Ministers meet with the leadership and management of the Rural Payments Agency regularly.
Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the (a) number and (b) proportion of people impacted by flooding in homes who have accessed financial support through the (i) Property Flood Resilience grant and (ii) Flood Recovery Framework.
The Flood Recovery Framework (FRF) has been activated four times since its publication in 2017. A total of 13,538 flooded residential properties have been reported by eligible local authorities across all four activations. Of the two MHCLG schemes that provide support to households, 11,689 community recovery grant payments and 9,967 council tax discount payments have been made to date. The Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Grant Scheme is currently running for Babet (6/11/23 - 06/05/25) and Henk (08/01/24 - 08/07/25). Data for these will be available after each of the schemes close later this year.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many people in Newcastle-under-Lyme have accessed financial support through the (a) Property Flood Resilience grant and (b) Flood Recovery Framework.
Newcastle-under-Lyme has not been eligible for the Flood Recovery Framework or the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Grant Scheme when they have been activated in recent years. With localised flooding incidents, we expect Local Authorities to have well established contingency arrangements in place and to be able to respond and support their local communities.