Written questions by Mayer.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) licensing shoots and (b) making the penalty for using snares the loss of such a licence.

Defra is considering the most effective way to deliver its commitment to ban the use of snares in England and will be setting out next steps in due course. The use of snares is commonly associated with gamebird shooting. Defra has not yet made any formal assessment of the potential merits of licensing gamebird shooting in England or whether to make the penalty for illegally using snares the loss of such a licence.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for felling licences were refused by the Forestry Commission in each of the last ten years.

Felling licences refused 2016 to 2025: 20162017201820192020202120222023202420250000100000

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of afforestation on hydrology in the Oxford–Cambridge Forest region.

As part of our approach to the New National Forest in the OxCam region -spatial data will be used to prioritise sites for woodland creation that will deliver public benefits such as flood management and mitigation as well as other water management functions. Afforestation projects above 0.5 hectares will also likely require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which will include a detailed assessment of potential impacts on the water environment. Further details on this new national forest will be announced in the coming months.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the EIP25 targets for improving plantations on ancient woodland soils align with Forestry England’s 2044 target on PAWS restoration.

The Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 (EIP25) target and Forestry England’s Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) restoration target are compatible. The EIP25 target for improving PAWS is strategic, setting a national ambition to enhance biodiversity and resilience across these irreplaceable habitats. Forestry England’s 2044 PAWS restoration target is more granular, requiring measurable improvement in Semi-Natural Scores. These objectives are entirely aligned: both aim to restore ecological integrity and native woodland character. Early soil eDNA investigations by Forestry England indicate that PAWS restoration works to restore soil health.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Tree Planting Taskforce's progress; and what involvement that Taskforce has had in the development of the Tree Action Plan.

The UK-wide Tree Planting Taskforce brings together the relevant ministers from across the four UK nations. It has made good progress, enabling cross-UK collaboration and furthered understanding of shared challenges and opportunities. Given the UK-wide nature of the Taskforce, it is not directly involved in the development of the Trees Action Plan for England, although Defra is engaging with relevant delivery partners and arm’s-length bodies on the Action Plan. We will continue to engage with the Taskforce to identify opportunities for cross-UK working.

Food and Rural Affairs, how she plans to enforce the ban on snares.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation and this included a commitment to bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. This was recently reaffirmed in the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy. Defra is considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course. The detail of the enforcement of the ban will depend on the nature of the legislation that is ultimately progressed.

What (a) assessment and (b) estimate she has made of the differential in her Department’s Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit budget in the (i) Spending Review and (ii) Autumn Budget 2025 in each year between 2024-25 and 2029-30.

The Spending Review 2025 established allocations of Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) up to financial year 2028-29, with further spending announcements made during Autumn Budget 2025. A profile of these spending limits is enclosed in the table below. RDEL £m2025/262026/272027/282028/29Control Total8,291.08,118.77,671.57,509.5Changes at AB25Net changes at AB25-131.5138.6109.5New Control Total8,291.08,250.2007,810.1007,618.953 Spending limits for 2029-30, as well as how Resource Spending Limits are allocated are subject to business planning processes. Furthermore, the department will provide more detail on future spending plans at the appropriate Supply Estimate.

Whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of eCall on (a) response times and (b) the (i) number and (ii) severity of road traffic (A) casualties and (B) fatalities in each of the last five years.

A pre-legislation appraisal of eCall was conducted in 2013. The report is available on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ecall-uk-cost-benefit-analysis

What (a) assessment and (b) estimate she has made of the differential in her Department’s Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit budget in the (i) Spending Review and (ii) Autumn Budget 2025 in each year between 2024-25 and 2029-30.

The Spending Review 2025 established allocations of Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) up to financial year 2029-30, with further spending announcements made during Autumn Budget 2025. A profile of these spending limits is enclosed in the table below. CDEL £m2025/262026/272027/282028/292029/30SR25 Control Total21,56522,90423,17622,74123,940AB25Net Changes at AB25501001646-10420New Control Total21,61523,00424,82222,73124,360*CDEL is adjusted for TfL Business Rates Retention (£1.2bn p.a. from 2026-27). Capital spending limits in future years and how they are allocated are subject to departmental business planning processes. Furthermore, the department will provide more detail on future spending plans at the appropriate Supply Estimate.

What assessment she has made of the likely effectiveness of Network Rail’s asset renewal programme in Control Period 7 between 2024 and 2029; and what estimate she has made of the level of depreciation of Network Rail’s assets between 2024 and 2029.

Network Rail updates its Delivery Plan each year of the Control Period. As forecast at the start of CP7 we expect to see an increase in the average age of railway assets by the end of the Control Period. The impact of this, measured using the Composite Sustainability Index, was estimated in the year 2 update to Network Rail’s Delivery Plan to be a 2.6% reduction in asset sustainability. Depreciation of the value of the railway network up to 2029 is forecast to remain broadly consistent with about 1.8% annually, as set out in the Department for Transport’s 2024/25 Annual Report and Accounts.

Whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of motorcycle crash notification systems on (a) emergency service response times and (b) the number of motorcyclist (A) casualties and (B) fatalities.

On 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy is an opportunity to reflect on the changes and challenges faced by motorcycle riders and the government has announced a consultation on an ambitious package of reforms to the training, testing and licensing regime for Category A moped and motorcycle licences in Great Britain. While there is no mandatory requirement for motorcycles to be fitted with collision notification systems, aftermarket products exist that are promoted as being compatible with motorcycle riding.

What steps her Department is taking to support car-sharing and car-club provision in the context of Zipcar announcing that it will cease its UK operations by the end of the year.

The Minister for Local Transport met with the shared mobility industry in November to discuss how Government can continue to best support the sector and ensure the right measures are in place to support car clubs across the UK. The Department is considering the evidence and experiences shared to inform our next steps. Our forthcoming integrated national transport strategy will focus on creating a transport network that works well for people across England and ensuring they have a choice of good transport options.

How many business units will Great British Railways comprise of.

Business Units will be the powerhouse of Great British Railways (GBR), bringing together today’s infrastructure management functions provided by Network Rail, and passenger operations currently led by train operating companies, into a single local team with an accountable leader.The detailed design process is underway, including determining the geographic make-up of GBR’s Business Units, and hence their number.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure an adequate (a) supply and (b) distribution of the flu vaccine in (i) Bedfordshire and (ii) East of England, in light of the emergence of the H3N2 “subclade K” virus.

The supply and distribution of flu vaccines for the majority of NHS England’s flu programme is managed by individual providers. NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) work with the pharmaceutical sector to support adequate supply, understand provider ordering, and signpost providers to the continued availability of stock towards the end of the season. There is currently good availability of flu vaccines in Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes. Local practices and pharmacies have not reported any significant disruption to supply or distribution. NHS England regional teams monitor availability of appointments and stock levels, and are working with community pharmacies, general practices, and other providers to identify and escalate any providers that need further support with supply, which the NHS England Regional Vaccination Operations Cell will assist with. For the children’s flu programme, the UKHSA centrally procures and manages the supply of all vaccines to ensure that eligible children aged under 18 years old who present for vaccination can be offered an appropriate vaccine. Supply remains available throughout the entire flu season. Flu vaccines for children are made available to order via the UKHSA’s online ordering platform ImmForm. General practices are able to place weekly orders and receive weekly deliveries of children’s flu vaccines from the UKHSA. School immunisation teams are able to place orders and receive deliveries up to twice per week.

Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on maintaining continuity of household recycling services in the event of (a) contractor disputes and (b) contract termination.

Defra has published guidance for local authorities on prioritising services in periods of disruption in waste operations which can be found here.

What information his Department holds on the proportion of tyres procured in the last 12 months for (a) central government and (b) local government heavy vehicle fleets—including lorries, buses and refuse vehicles—were retreaded tyres; and whether the Government holds data on the volume of single-use imported tyres purchased for these fleets.

This information is not centrally held. Procurement and fleet management records are maintained by individual departments, agencies and local authorities.

What steps the Government is taking to support the UK tyre retreading industry in the context of rising imports of single-life budget tyres; and what assessment the Government has made of the impact of such imports on circular economy objectives and domestic manufacturing jobs.

Following reviews by the Trade Remedies Authority, the Government varied and extended anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on imports of Chinese bus and lorry tyres on 1 August 2025. These measures are in place to protect the UK tyre retreading industry from unfair trading practices, and support jobs.The Department remains vigilant to any reports of potential injury to the UK tyre retreading industry. Affected producers should speak to the TRA in the first instance.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the potential cost savings to the public purse of introducing a mandatory minimum requirement that 30% of tyres procured for government fleet vehicles be retreaded.

Defra is working on a review of the Government Buying Standards which set out how Government procurement can take account of environmental and social impacts whilst ensuring value for money. This review considers the lifecycle impacts of fleet vehicles, including measures to reduce waste and raw material consumption associated with vehicles parts such as tyres. As part of this work, Defra has made no specific estimate of the potential cost savings arising from a mandatory minimum target on government tyres being retreaded.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waste and raw material consumption in government fleet maintenance including through the use of retreading.

Defra is working on a review of the Government Buying Standards which set out how Government procurement can take account of environmental and social impacts whilst ensuring value for money. This review considers the lifecycle impacts of fleet vehicles, including measures to reduce waste and raw material consumption associated with vehicles parts such as tyres. As part of this work, Defra has made no specific estimate of the potential cost savings arising from a mandatory minimum target on government tyres being retreaded.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ban the live sale of decapod crustaceans to the public to be consumed as food to ensure compliance with the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015.

There are no plans to ban the live sale of decapod crustaceans to the public to be consumed as food.