Written questions by Mayer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government on the potential impact of light pollution on animal populations; and what steps he is taking to reduce light pollution in (a) urban, (b) suburban and (c) rural areas.

Defra has not had direct discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government about the potential impact of light pollution on animal populations.  Defra will continue to work closely with researchers, non-governmental organisations and across the Government to improve our understanding of the impacts of light pollution and will continue to address key threats to biodiversity. For example, our Pollinator Action Plan includes an action to keep potential and emerging threats such as light pollution under review. Government policy is to encourage good design, planning policies and decisions to limit the impact of pollution from artificial light. In particular, lighting schemes for developments in protected areas of dark sky or intrinsically dark landscapes should be carefully assessed on their necessity and degree. The Government believes that any mitigating actions to reduce light pollution in urban, suburban and rural areas are best taken by local authorities as these are best dealt with at a local level.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of availability of veterinary surgeons; and what steps his Department is taking to help increase the capacity of veterinary surgeons.

We appreciate the incredibly valuable work completed by veterinary surgeons and recognise their essential role in achieving our ambitious goals of upholding high standards of animal welfare, supporting trade, and safeguarding public health and food security. The Government acknowledges the high demand for veterinary services and is working collaboratively across departments and with the profession to explore additional measures that will ensure sufficient staffing levels to support and sustain the sector effectively.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a centralised database of licenced (a) breeders and (b) sellers of (i) dogs and (ii) other pets.

Interested parties can check whether a dog breeder or pet seller is licensed without separately referring to a database. Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, licensed dog breeders and pet sellers must display a copy of their licence at any premises where the activity is carried out and their licence number and name on any website used for the activity. The associated statutory guidance also recommends that local authorities publish a list of licenced businesses and their star ratings on their website.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish a consultation on the regulation of dog behaviour and training services.

Defra are working with police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to promote responsible dog ownership. As part of this work, we will continue to consider the role of education and training (for both dogs and their owners) in encouraging responsible dog ownership.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on catchment-based water systems planning.

Since taking office, we have prioritised engagement with our stakeholders to reap the benefit of their expertise through information sharing. The Secretary of State and I have held one-to-one meetings and shared panels with several organisations involved in catchment-based approaches such as the Rivers Trust. Defra is supportive of the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) and officials regularly meet with local catchment partnerships and nationally through attendance at the CaBA National Support Group. Wednesday 23 October we announced that the UK and Welsh governments are launching an independent commission, led by a chair and supported by expert advisors, to recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system. One of the objectives of the commission will be to ensure there is a strategic spatial planning approach to the management of water across sectors of the economy, tackling pollution and managing pressures on the water environment and supply at a catchment, regional and national scale. This approach should recognise the cross-border challenges that water can present. The scope of the independent commission will include catchment approaches and Stakeholder engagement will be a key component of the review. The commission will consult experts in areas like the environment, public health, engineering, customers, investors and economics, reporting to the Secretary of State for Environment and Wales’ Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs by Q2 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the water industry provides funding for catchment-based solutions for natural flood management.

Defra recognises that nature and catchment-based solutions in the water sector have an important role to play. The strategic policy statement in 2022 set out the governments priorities for Ofwat. This set out that water companies should significantly increase their use of nature and catchment-based solutions to achieve multiple benefits for the environment and the public including natural flood management. We expect companies and regulators to work towards delivering these solutions as a matter of preference. The Working with Natural Processes (NFM) Evidence Directory, will be updated this year provides natural flood management information and case studies: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-with-natural-processes-to-reduce-flood-risk.The Environment Agency is producing new long-term investment scenarios to quantify the benefits of natural flood management for the next 50 to 100 years in England.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the impact of drought conditions on (a) the economy and (b) food supplies in each year since 2010.

The UK agricultural sector is highly resilient and adaptable and operates in an open market with the value of commodities established by those in the supply chain. We have seen evidence of this particularly in recent years following global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. There are a wide range of factors that affect harvest size and livestock production, including input costs, currency fluctuations and market demand.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of rain conditions on (a) food supplies and (b) the economy in each year since 2010.

The UK agricultural sector is highly resilient and adaptable and operates in an open market with the value of commodities established by those in the supply chain. We have seen evidence of this particularly in recent years following global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. There are a wide range of factors that affect harvest size and livestock production, including input costs, currency fluctuations and market demand.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on its commitment to launch a four-country tree planting task force.

Defra has been engaging with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive on the establishment of a Tree Planting Taskforce.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in European countries on mitigating the spread of the Ips typographus tree pest.

Ips typographus is present in most of continental Europe, where it is not a regulated pest. In recent years, large populations have built up across western and central Europe causing extensive damage and mortality of spruce trees. Beetles routinely caught in traps in south-east England are probably a result of blow over from mainland Europe. It is not possible to prevent this natural dispersal, but the Government has robust surveillance and control measures in place nationwide to detect and eradicate outbreaks as they occur. The Forestry Commission has visited multiple countries experiencing outbreaks of Ips typographus to discuss different approaches to outbreak management, including participating in a pan-European workshop on outbreak mitigation, and has received critical appraisal of our approach from members of the international community. Experts actively engage with European scientists to develop research projects, including research on the susceptibility of Sitka spruce in Denmark and cross-channel dispersal from Belgium.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help increase tree planting along riverbanks.

Defra recognises the role tree planting has to support the management of England’s rivers. Defra works with the Forestry Commission, Natural England and the Environment Agency to ensure tree planting is appropriately targeted. Defra supports a number of projects and grants in this area. These include: - The England Woodland Creation Offer supports riparian tree planting, flood management and improved water quality;- The Woodlands for Water project works with the Riverscapes Partnership to facilitate the creation of riparian woodland corridors in six river catchment areas;- The Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund supports the planting of thousands of riparian trees across England;- The introduction of a Sustainable Farming Incentive action for the management of habitat strips next to watercourses to support the planting of trees and scrub for biodiversity, flooding and water quality benefits.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department had made of the potential merits of producing an animal protection strategy.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. We will be outlining more detail in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to help ensure that all domestic insurers signed up to the Build Back Better flood insurance scheme offer those provisions across all their products.

I hosted a roundtable in September 2024 with leaders from the insurance industry, as well as experts in research and development. At this event, the importance of Build Back Better was stressed to the insurance industry and all providers were encouraged to offer this. Flood Re and the insurance industry responded positively to this ask.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to use the Government's tree planting programme to help tackle (a) flooding and (b) upper catchment management of rivers.

Defra recognises the role tree planting has to support the management of England’s rivers. Defra works with the Forestry Commission, Natural England and the Environment Agency to ensure tree planting is appropriately targeted. Defra supports a number of projects and grants in this area. These include: - The England Woodland Creation Offer supports riparian tree planting, flood management and improved water quality;- The Woodlands for Water project works with the Riverscapes Partnership to facilitate the creation of riparian woodland corridors in six river catchment areas;- The Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund supports the planting of thousands of riparian trees across England;- The introduction of a Sustainable Farming Incentive action for the management of habitat strips next to watercourses to support the planting of trees and scrub for biodiversity, flooding and water quality benefits.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take legislative steps to ensure all domestic insurers offer Build Back Better policies.

I hosted a roundtable in September 2024 with leaders from the insurance industry, as well as experts in research and development. At this event, the importance of Build Back Better was stressed to the insurance industry and all providers were encouraged to offer this. Flood Re and the insurance industry responded positively to this ask.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish best practice guidance for the transport of live decapod crustaceans.

The Government is committed to an evidence-based approach to improve welfare standards for decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs. My department is continuing to engage with stakeholders and seeking to address evidence gaps to inform future policy decisions in this area. Animal welfare legislation protects all animals from being transported in a way likely to cause injury or suffering. Live decapod crustaceans are protected from injury or unnecessary suffering during transportation by a general duty of care provision in Article 4 of The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 (WATEO) and equivalent national legislation in Wales. There are no plans to publish best practice guidance for the transport of live decapod crustaceans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to end the sale of live decapod crustaceans.

The Government is committed to an evidence-based approach to improve welfare standards for decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs. My department is continuing to engage with stakeholders and seeking to address evidence gaps to inform future policy decisions in this area. Animal welfare legislation protects all animals from being transported in a way likely to cause injury or suffering. Live decapod crustaceans are protected from injury or unnecessary suffering during transportation by a general duty of care provision in Article 4 of The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 (WATEO) and equivalent national legislation in Wales. There are no plans to publish best practice guidance for the transport of live decapod crustaceans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the damage caused by the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle to trees in (a) Central Bedfordshire and (b) the UK.

The eight-toothed spruce bark beetle is a quarantine pest of spruce tree species and is not native to the UK. The Forestry Commission have a nationwide surveillance programme in place to monitor for incursions of this pest, which spreads naturally from Europe. A demarcated area is in place over south-east England which implements robust measures to detect and eradicate outbreaks and prevent potential spread. The demarcated area does extend to a small part of Bedfordshire, but there have been no outbreaks in this region. All outbreaks to date have been detected on stressed, dying and dead spruce trees, which are more vulnerable to the pest. There is an estimated 725,000 hectares of spruce in Great Britain, but less than 1% of this is within the demarcated area.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Faroese Minister for Fisheries on cetacean hunts.

The UK strongly opposes the hunting of all cetaceans other than some limited activities by indigenous people for clearly defined subsistence needs. The UK reaffirmed its strong support for the global moratorium on commercial whaling at the September International Whaling Commission meeting with Danish Government in attendance, where we co-sponsored a resolution on International Legal Obligations in Commercial Whaling. We also raised the UK opposition to cetacean hunting at official level in September as part of the UK-Faroe Islands fisheries intersessional. Ministers and senior officials will continue to raise the issue with the Faroese at every appropriate opportunity.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help people adapt their homes to mitigate against the risk of flooding.

Property flood resilience measures, such as airbrick covers and flood resilient materials, can ensure that new and existing homes are resilient to risks from flooding. The Environment Agency’s Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Framework provides consultancy and contracting services for the survey, supply, and installation of property flood resilience to homes and is in place for up to four years. Lead Local Flood Authorities can also use the framework to secure these services for local projects. In the current flood's investment programme, there are over 150 property flood resilience schemes planned, which will better protect over 4,000 homes.