Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Snowden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 141–160 of 234 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce veterinary costs.
Defra is supportive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) conducting a full market investigation into the supply of veterinary services (including costs) for household pets in the UK. Defra cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, but we look forward to seeing the outcomes in May 2026 which will assist the work being undertaken to reform the veterinary sector.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 60563 on Livestock: Death, how many breaches of animal welfare regulations during periods of extreme weather have been recorded by the Animal and Plant Health Agency in each of the last five years.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) was made aware that the meat chicken sector experienced high mortality during the heat spell in July 2022. when an estimate of four million meat chickens died of heat stroke during two days of extreme heat. APHA inspectors visited 31 affected premises; in addition to the required regulatory actions, APHA has been liaising with the British Poultry council to raise awareness on the most common findings to allow appropriate contingency actions to be promptly implemented. Inspectors from APHA have been conducting follow-up inspections to monitor compliance on seven premises in 2023 (one disclosed as non-compliant) and ten premises in 2024 (with no non-compliances disclosed). In addition to that, the Agency continue investigating allegations of potential animal welfare breaches however no specific figures are collected to identify the non-compliances specifically related to extreme weather conditions. Where incidents of unnecessary suffering caused on farm or by transporting animals in extreme weather are identified, APHA will take appropriate regulatory action which may include the suspension of transporter authorisations. The Local Authority is notified and supported by APHA in any investigation carried out including those where enforcement actions are deemed necessary.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of climate change on farm animal welfare.
Defra has commissioned, and published, research detailing potential adaptation options which farms could implement in order to adapt to the changing climate, including extreme heat, drought, rainfall and flooding. The analysis included potential adaptation options which would contribute towards the maintenance of animal welfare on-farm, in response to climate events. Research to assess resilience measures that support UK agriculture in adapting to drought, extreme heat, and wildfires - SCF0140Research to assess resilience measures that support UK agriculture in adapting to changing seasonality and extreme rainfall - SCF0141 The Animal Welfare Committee, the expert committee of Defra, and the Scottish and Welsh Governments, has also recently begun work on a project to consider how best to safeguard the welfare of poultry from the effect of climate change.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 60563 on Livestock: Death, whether his Department plans to review the temperature threshold for transporting farm animals in the context of the frequency of extreme weather events.
It is the responsibility of authorised transporters to ensure that any compromise to animal welfare is minimised during transport and that unnecessary suffering does not occur. Defra has published research detailing adaptations which farms could implement to adapt to the changing climate, including mitigating actions that can be taken when transporting animals. Defra has also commissioned and published research into the welfare outcomes of transporting poultry in temperature-controlled vehicles.Defra guidance recommends that animals should not be transported in temperatures over 30°C and that transporters should consider a number of other factors, including checking the ‘feels like’ temperature for the intended journey if humidity is high.Where incidents of unnecessary suffering caused by transporting animals in extreme weather are identified, APHA will take appropriate regulatory action, which may include the suspension of transporter authorisations, and will work with Local Authorities who are responsible for taking any enforcement action.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of introducing booking systems at Household Waste Recovery Centres on fly tipping.
This Government has no plans to undertake an assessment of the impact of introducing booking systems at Household Waste Recovery Centres (HWRCs) on fly-tipping.
Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues to police forces on intervening when dogs are reported to be in distress in locked vehicles during hot weather.
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the Act) police officers and local authority inspectors have broad powers to intervene where an animal is in distress, including where they are enclosed in vehicles during hot weather. The powers are explained in the Act and its Explanatory Note.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of the dangers of leaving dogs in hot cars during warm weather.
The Government maintains a Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs which can be found here: Code of practice for the welfare of dogs. The Code summarises important information owners and keepers should consider when caring for their dogs. This includes advice on preventing dogs suffering from heat stress in cars and other enclosed areas on warm days.
Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) funding and (b) other support his Department gives to seasonal campaigns run by (i) the RSPCA, (ii) the Dogs Trust and (iii) other campaigning organisations to highlight the risks of leaving pets in hot vehicles.
The Government greatly appreciates the work undertaken by the nation’s animal welfare organisations to highlight the risks associated with leaving pets in hot vehicles. The Government regularly engages with animal welfare organisations to discuss their campaigns but does not provide funds.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to prevent heat-related deaths of household pets in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the Act), owners and keepers must protect their animals from harm and provide for their welfare needs in line with best practice The Act is supported by Codes of Practice for Dogs and Cats. The Codes include guidance on providing a suitable environment for the animal, including information on protecting the animal from extreme temperatures and weather conditions. Local authorities and the police have powers to enforce the Act and can intervene where an animal is suspected to be suffering.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) condition and (b) ecological quality of woodlands in Fylde constituency.
This Government recognises the importance of woodland management to improve the condition and ecological quality of woodlands. We are helping owners manage their woodlands by providing Countryside Stewardship woodland management planning grants, infrastructure grants, and woodland improvement as well as supplements for deer and grey squirrel impact management. Through the Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Funds, grant funding has been made available to stimulate the development and testing of new ideas that can help improve the ecological condition of woodlands. Grants are demand led, and we do not measure uptake at constituency level.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to prevent heat-related deaths of farm animals in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 May 2025 to the hon. Member for Romford, PQ UIN 48861.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the support provided by the Rural Payments Agency for (a) new and (b) young farmers who apply for funding under new environmental land management schemes.
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) administer agreements and issue payments for Countryside Stewardship and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). Both a) new and b) young farmers were eligible to apply for agreements under the SFI Expanded Offer, whilst the scheme was open for applications until March 2025. RPA issues a range of supporting communications including online 'how to apply' videos and regularly shares reminders and updates across their channels. Direct communications are issued to agreement holders, and the Rural Payments Helpline is available Monday - Friday.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of agri-science on (a) improving soil health and (b) reducing chemical inputs in farming in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire.
Defra has not made any assessments or carried out any research on soil health or reducing chemical inputs in farming in (i) Fylde constituency or (ii) Lancashire, specifically. Defra understand the importance of soil health and will be developing a soil health indicator which can be applied nationwide to assess soil health. The indicator will assess soil health over time and track changes in the abilities of soils to deliver sustainable food production, carbon storage, reduction in runoff and soil biodiversity. The Department is funding research into exploring the impact of agriculture on soil health and reducing chemical inputs to farming. However, none of these field sites are in Lancashire or the Fylde constituency.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many complaints the Rural Payments Agency has received from farmers in the last 12 months; and what the most common issues raised were.
Between 01 June 2024 & 31 May 2025 the Rural Payments Agency, received 363 complaints. The most common issues raised were regarding the application and claims process for the Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes and outstanding payments. During the 2024/25 Financial year 01/04/2024 to 31/03/2025 The number of complaints received decreased by 7.7% compared to the previous year.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of Government-supported agri-science programmes to small and medium-sized farms in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.
Since 2021, the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) has been Defra’s flagship programme for supporting research and innovation in farming in England to help farmers, growers and foresters increase productivity, sustainability and resilience. FIP encourages smaller organisations to be involved in the innovation process. Of the 603 organisations that have received funding through the programme to date, 480 have been small or medium in size. In February the Secretary of State announced a further £63 million for competitions starting in 2025/6. This includes the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) fund with £20.6 million across 2025/6 which is focussed on farmer-led, smaller-scale innovation grants and supports trialling new technology and methods on farms. ADOPT is aimed at on farm trials which can deliver quick results, with project costs between £50,000 and £100,000. We have funded a support hub, led by ADAS, to encourage famers to collaborate and to increase participation rates. In addition to this we will also pay support grants of £2,500 to allow smaller farming operations to access our grants by covering professional fees related to applications.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Rural Payments Agency in delivering timely payments to farmers in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
The Rural Payment Agency (RPA) makes payments for schemes and grants against published performance indicators and continues to look at opportunities to issue payments as promptly as possible. Performance in relation to the financial year (1 April to 31 March) is reported each year within the RPA Annual Report and Accounts and will be published next month.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support innovation in agri-science to improve farming (a) productivity and (b) sustainability in (i) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Since 2021, the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) has been Defra’s flagship programme for supporting research and innovation in farming in England to help farmers, growers and foresters increase productivity, sustainability and resilience. In February the Secretary of State announced a further £63 million for new competitions starting in 2025/6. Competitions currently open include low emissions farming and precision breeding with up to £12.5 million across each; the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies fund with £20.6 million across 2025/6 which provides farmer-led, smaller-scale innovation grants and supports trialling new technology and methods on farms; and a £5 million Investor Partnerships programme which will blend government grant money with private investment to bring cutting edge technology to market, giving farmers and food producers faster and more widespread access to state-of-the-art innovations.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with farming representative organisations on the (a) efficiency and (b) responsiveness of the Rural Payments Agency.
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) meets regularly with a range of farming representative organisations at a strategic and operational level to discuss effectiveness, ideas for improvement and upcoming delivery plans. Meetings take place each month alongside organisations having an open dialogue with the RPA, sharing valuable insight and feedback to help continuously improve their services.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that (a) rural and (b) farming communities receive appropriate tailored mental health services.
Defra’s Mental Health in Agriculture team is working with experts across government and the third sector to improve mental and physical health outcomes for rural and agricultural communities. They are identifying requirements and developing options as to how they can further support DHSC and third sector investment in mental health interventions for those communities.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support local authorities to (a) monitor and (b) reduce particulate pollution in (i) residential and (ii) agricultural areas in Fylde.
Local authorities review and assess air quality in their areas and publish an annual report on their actions to improve local air quality including local monitoring data which is assessed by Defra. Fylde council have reported continued compliance with the Air Quality Objectives set by central Government and have an Air Quality Strategy in place aimed at further reducing pollution from key sources. Defra supports local authorities through the provision of clear detailed statutory guidance and a helpline provided via contractors. We also host the Air Quality Hub; a resource and knowledge-sharing platform for local authorities. The Government will publish a revised Environmental Improvement Plan, to protect and restore our natural environment with delivery information to help meet the ambitious Environment Act targets.