Written questions by McIntyre.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help reduce water bills in Gloucester constituency.

The Government committed to reforming the WaterSure affordability scheme and published its response to the public consultation on 6 March 2026.  Proposed changes will expand eligibility to include disability benefits – meaning a further 53,000 low-income households will see significant savings. The reforms will also alter the way the price cap is determined, with most existing recipients seeing further savings of up to £100. Together the changes will mean around 300,000 households will see substantial help with their bills. Water companies are also more than doubling social tariff support for vulnerable customers by 2030 and Government is working with industry to keep their schemes under review to ensure vulnerable customers receive the support they need. We are considering ways to drive more consistency and increase awareness of the support consumers can access. Defra also expects companies to hold themselves accountable for their public commitment to end water poverty by 2030.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help tackle dog attacks in Gloucester constituency.

The Government has reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce to explore measures to promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. The taskforce is considering four themes: educating the public on how to stay safe around dogs, training for both dogs and their owners, enforcement, and improving data on dog attacks. The Government looks forward to receiving its findings and recommendations in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) fly tipping and (b) littering in Gloucester.

Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering and fly-tipping problems, in a way tailored to the community in which they occur. They have a range of enforcement tools at their disposal including fixed penalty notices and prosecution. We are reviewing how we can further support local authorities to tackle these issues. We are also considering how to most effectively deliver our manifesto commitment to force fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created. We will provide further details in due course. In the meantime, Defra will continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local authorities, the Environment Agency and National Police Chiefs Council, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to establish the (a) nine new river walks and (b) three new national forests.

The Government is continuing to progress plans to designate nine new National River Walks across England and is considering delivery options to ensure the new river walks will have the most benefits for local communities. Further details will be provided in due course. The Government is committed to the establishment of three new forests. Good progress is being made towards establishing the first of these forests as part of our wider work to fulfil this commitment.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ban the use of shock collars.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation and will bring forward plans in due course. Ministers will be considering available evidence around the use of hand-controlled e-collars and their effects on the welfare of animals.