Written questions by Rosindell.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that the UK will retain the right to set its own agricultural regulations.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of an SPS agreement with the European Union on UK farmers and food producers.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether UK standards on pesticides and animal welfare could diverge from EU rules under the proposed SPS framework.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent consultations he has undertaken with the farming sector on UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary negotiations.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of recent progress in meeting the UK’s formal obligations under the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) for the South Atlantic Overseas Territories; what the planned timetable is for publication of the consolidated ACAP implementation plans; and what steps she is taking to help ensure annual reviews of the National Plans of Action for trawl and longline fisheries are completed.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of conservation and education activities by zoos and aquariums on the economy.

Under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, all licensed zoos and aquariums in Great Britain must undertake conservation work including promoting public education and awareness in relation to the conservation of biodiversity. Defra has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of these requirements on the economy.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the governance structure of the distinct technical and Ministerial working groups, in relation to the British Antarctic Territories, named in the UK Overseas Territories biodiversity strategy published on 12 January 2026.

The UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy sets out the UK strategy to conserve, protect, and restore biodiversity in the UK Overseas Territories. This joint strategy has been developed by Defra in partnership with Overseas Territories Governments and Administrations. The UK Government will work with the Territories in close partnership to implement this strategy, including through distinct technical and Ministerial working groups. The governance structure of the working groups is under development.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many zoos are operating in the UK; and how many of these are not registered charities.

In relation to zoos, Defra is responsible for the legislation that regulates the welfare and management of animals kept by zoos. Under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, those collections of wild animals on exhibition in Britain that meet the appropriate criteria in the 1981 Act need to be licensed. Local authorities are responsible for licensing zoos that require a licence under the 1981 Act. Local authorities are not required to report to Defra how many collections they do not deem need a licence, and Defra does not maintain a list of zoos (licensed or unlicensed) in England – including whether any of those collections are registered charities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of microplastics in the British food chain.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) continues to monitor and assess emerging data regarding microplastics in food. The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products, and the Environment (COT), an independent scientific committee that provides advice to the FSA and other Government departments, is currently considering the issue of microplastics. The FSA is keeping the issue of microplastics under review as new evidence becomes available.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken with industry leaders to help reduce the prevalence of microplastics in foodstuffs.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) works with industry to ensure UK food safety, enforcing strict rules on plastic food contact materials to prevent contamination. Microplastics are not intentionally added to food but may appear due to pollution or plastic breakdown in general. The FSA monitors ongoing research, provides scientific advice, and supports strategies to reduce plastic pollution and microplastic entry into the food chain.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Animal Welfare Strategy for England published on 22 December 2025, what steps her Department is taking to (a) track and (b) publicly report enforcement actions taken in response to animal welfare non-compliance in the farming sector; which enforcement bodies will be included; what categories of enforcement action will be reported; and when she expects to publish the first report covering the 2026 calendar year.

Local authorities will submit annual returns detailing compliance support and actions taken in cases of non-compliance within the farming sector. Data will be incorporated into Annual Reports on Official Controls performed in Great Britain under the OCR Multi-Annual National Control Plan. The Annual Reports are published online and set out official controls across the UK agri-food system, including animal welfare. From 2027, the Annual Reports will consolidate enforcement actions from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and local authorities in a single report. Enhanced data collection will enable comprehensive reporting of enforcement measures, including warnings, improvement notices and penalties. The first report covering the 2026 calendar year is scheduled for publication in 2027.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Animal Welfare Strategy for England published on 22 December 2025, when she expects to consult on and introduce legislation to strengthen protections for farmed fish at slaughter; and if she will publish the timetable for commissioning and receiving expert advice on farmed fish welfare prior to slaughter.

The Animal Welfare Strategy was published on 22 December and sets out our priorities for animal welfare, focusing on the changes and improvements we aim to achieve by 2030. As laid out in the strategy, and following the Animal Welfare Committee’s report on the topic, the Government will consult on introducing humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish into legislation. Further details will be set out in due course. A project to better understand the welfare of farmed fish prior to slaughter has been included in the Animal Welfare Committee Workplan for 2026, which can be found here. Amongst other things the project will include an assessment of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Animal Welfare Strategy for England published on 22 December 2025, when she expects to launch consultations on (a) phasing out enriched colony cages for laying hens, (b) transitioning away from pig farrowing crates, and (c) ending the use of high concentration carbon dioxide for stunning pigs; and when she expects to publish the Government’s response to each consultation.

The consultation on a proposal to ban the keeping of laying hens in cages was launched on 12 January 2026 and will close on 9 March 2026. For pig farrowing crates, we want to work with industry to explore how to transition away from the use of farrowing crates to alternative systems: either flexible or free farrowing. We will consult on the transition in due course. The Government accepts that there is a pressing need to address the welfare concerns associated with high concentration carbon dioxide stunning of pigs. As set out in the Government’s animal welfare strategy, and following the Animal Welfare Committee’s report on the topic, we will consult on banning the use of carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs. Further details will be set out later this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to work to reduce instances of crime against animals.

The Government has taken steps to reduce crime against animals. We have provided over £800,000 in additional funding to the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the National Rural Crime Unit to strengthen enforcement against offences such as poaching and illegal wildlife trade. There are strong penalties in place for offences committed against wildlife and kept animals. For kept animals we have Penalty Notices for Animal Health and Welfare Offences, giving enforcement bodies a proportionate tool for lower-level breaches. For serious animal welfare offences courts can now impose up to five years’ imprisonment for the most serious cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act. These measures improve deterrence and ensure justice.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to consult UK maritime stakeholders on the implementation of the UN Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.

Defra will be launching a consultation on implementation of Part IV of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement on Environmental Impact Assessments. Through this consultation, we will seek information from UK maritime stakeholders on marine activities occurring in areas beyond national jurisdiction and views on marine licensing regime arrangements. The proposed changes in the consultation will be further to provisions in Part 4 of the BBNJ Bill which was introduced in Parliament on 10 September 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to work with local authorities to improve the safety of footpaths.

Local highway authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way (and ensuring they are free from obstructions). They are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) to plan improvements to the rights of way network in their area for all users. These are available on the authority’s website. This must include an assessment of the local rights of way including the condition of the network. Local authorities are best placed to understand local priorities and allocate funding for rights of way activities accordingly.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department has allocated for advertising public schemes for recycling water.

We continue to work closely with regulators to support progress in this area to reduce water demand. Ofwat are on track to launch the Water Efficiency Campaign (WEC) in spring 2026 and continue to engage closely with Defra, the Welsh Government, NRW, the Environment Agency, and water companies on the campaign’s governance, structure, and strategy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help improve air quality in major cities.

The Government has provided £576 million to support local authorities to improve air quality. The Government is supporting 64 local authorities through the NO2 programme specifically to develop and implement measures to address their Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) exceedances in the shortest possible time. For example, between 2019-2023, in the areas of cities that have a Clean Air Zone, NO2 concentrations have reduced by between 15% and 42% on average.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the consultation on poultry catching and handling, which ended on 2 May 2025, what steps he is taking to ensure that the research project to study the impact of various catching methods and different housing systems will reflect the practices of (a) the Netherlands, (b) Brazil and (c) other countries where upright catching is mandatory.

The Poultry catching summary of responses was published in June, and includes a summary of views on the research and how robust data could best be generated. As set out in the Government response to the public consultation, we have commissioned research that will focus on addressing gaps in the scientific evidence on the impact of upright and two-legged catching within a commercial GB setting. The research has started at SRUC and the University of Bristol and will take account of published peer-reviewed research, which may include information from other countries where relevant.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether Parliamentary time will be allocated for an annual debate to monitor progress towards achieving the goals set out in the animal welfare strategy.

Government has no such plans at the present time. The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year.