Written questions by Davies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on the consultation on banning the use of carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the remit of the Farming & Food Partnership Board refers to UK or England-only agricultural sectors.

Defra has established the Board on an England-only basis, reflecting the scope of the Farming Profitability Review. While the Farming Profitability Review applied to England only, some of the recommendations relating to the Board envisaged involvement across the four nations. In the longer term, to achieve its full potential, it is expected that the scope of the Board will evolve.  Close working will be fostered with Government and sectoral leads across the four nations, reflecting the interconnection of the UK food system.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Farming & Food Partnership Board will consider stakeholders in (a) Wales and (b) other devolved nations when compiling sector growth plans, in the context of the operation of cross-border food supply chains.

The Board will oversee Sector Growth Plans, which will be owned and delivered by each farming sector and will focus on achieving good growth in the farming sector by improving farm productivity, increasing profitability, and strengthening the contribution of domestically produced food for national security. Defra has established the Board on an England-only basis, reflecting the scope of the Farming Profitability Review. This means that the Sector Growth Plans will focus on the agricultural sectors in England. Sector expert groups, who are leading the development of Sector Growth Plans, may wish to engage with stakeholders in devolved nations where relevant, including regarding cross-border supply chains. Defra will continue to consider the scope of the Board, including its relationship with Devolved Administrations, as its work evolves.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the conflict between the US and Iran on (a) the cost and (b) supply of fertilizer to farmers in Wales.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The fertiliser market is a global market, and while there is no immediate risk to UK supply, the market price in the UK is strongly influenced by international prices for fertiliser and by the value of the pound. The Government is aware of the current price increase for fertiliser due to the conflict in the Gulf. Defra is in close contact with domestic fertiliser suppliers and is monitoring overall supply to the UK. The Government remains ready to support businesses as effectively as possible in these challenging times.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with his EU counterparts on a future SPS agreement and the potential impact of this on the rollout of Bovine TB vaccines in the UK.

The Government has begun negotiations with the EU on an SPS agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and removing barriers to trade for British producers and retailers. While those negotiations are ongoing, Defra cannot comment further on the SPS agreement The Government is continuing to drive forward the development of a bovine TB cattle vaccine, which is at the forefront of innovative solutions to help eradicate this disease, including through ongoing field trials.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has for protected funding for UK fruit and vegetable growers, following the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

The Government is committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Future support for the horticulture sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer. We are already doing a great deal to support the sector. Of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Further opportunities for farmer and grower led trials to test ideas and solutions are also now available in FIP via ADOPT grants. Wider Government support includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether Wales will receive any consequential funding through the Barnett formula as a result of UK Government actions on the bluetongue virus in England.

The Barnett formula is applied in the usual way, as set out in the Statement of Funding policy, to all changes to Defra’s budget. It is applied when departmental budgets change - not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets. Barnett consequentials provided to the Welsh Government are not ringfenced for a specific policy area. It is for the Welsh Government to allocate their funding in devolved areas, including agriculture, as they see fit. The Welsh Government can therefore take its own decisions on managing and investing available resources, reflecting its own priorities and local circumstances, and it is accountable to the Senedd for these decisions.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of imposing an all-England restricted zone from 1 July 2025 in response to the bluetongue virus on (a) livestock markets and (b) other businesses (i) in Wales and (ii) along the Wales-England border.

From 1 July 2025 the restricted zone for bluetongue will be extended to cover all of England. This change is being made because the area of England where disease has been found is now too large for movement restrictions to remain an effective and proportionate way of controlling the disease. Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, Defra and the Devolved Governments work closely together with the aim to provide, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response across the UK. A key forum for this is the Animal Disease Policy Group, which is a UK-wide policy decision making group. Defra and Devolved Governments also engage closely with industry to inform policy development and implementation through the Livestock Core Group. The Government recognises that keepers and businesses can also be affected not only by the impacts of bluetongue disease on animals, but also by disease control measures. That is why Government seeks to minimise these burdens where safe to do so using exemptions under licenses, whilst maintaining the integrity and efficacy of measures intended to mitigate the risk of disease spread.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s capacity to effectively tackle the spread of bluetongue virus.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) leads Government action on animal disease control and has outbreak response plans, supported by the bluetongue virus (BTV) national reference laboratory at The Pirbright Institute. Response times are kept under regular review between Defra, Welsh Government, Scottish Government and APHA and appropriate action initiated where additional operational support is required. Defra’s disease control measures aim to limit the spread of BTV infection through proportionate and evidence-based control measures, whilst balancing the burdens of controls against the benefits of eradication of bluetongue and minimising the cost of any outbreak both to government and farmers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of potential merits of establishing a compensation scheme for farmers affected by the imposition of restricted zones in response to the bluetongue virus.

The Government recognises that keepers and businesses can be affected not only by the impacts of bluetongue disease on animals, but also by disease control measures. That is why Defra seeks to minimise these burdens where safe to do so by using exemptions under licenses, whilst maintaining the integrity and efficacy of measures intended to mitigate the risk of disease spread. Compensation is available for keepers whose animals are required to be culled for disease control purposes by the Government. However, we would not expect to cull large numbers of animals due to bluetongue since culling becomes ineffective once disease is established within the biting midge population. There are no plans to introduce a wider compensation scheme in relation to bluetongue. As set out in The Animal Health Act 1981 compensation is not paid for consequential losses or business interruption including those caused by measures in force in disease control zones.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the spread of bluetongue virus on food security in (a) Wales and (b) other parts of the UK.

Bluetongue does not impact human health or food safety, and the current outbreak of bluetongue serotype 3 affecting England has not had an impact on food security in the UK. Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, Defra and the Devolved Governments work closely together with the aim to provide, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response across the UK. A key forum for this is the Animal Disease Policy Group, which is a UK-wide policy decision making group. Defra’s disease control measures aim to limit the spread of infection, seeking to contain the number of animals that need to be culled, either for disease control purposes or to safeguard animal welfare, whilst balancing the burdens of controls against the benefits of eradication of bluetongue. Our approach aims to reduce adverse impacts on the rural and wider economy, the public, rural communities and the environment (including impact on wildlife), whilst safeguarding the health and safety of those involved in controlling the outbreak and minimising the overall cost of any outbreak.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Welsh Government on limiting the spread of bluetongue virus.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 4 June 2025 to question UIN 57569.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to extend the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme beyond 31 December 2025.

The Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme is an EU legacy scheme and, in England, legislation is in place to close the scheme to English Producer Organisations on 31 December 2025. The Government has committed to championing British farming, whilst protecting the environment, and is currently considering the best way to support our farming sectors in the future, including horticulture.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of not extending the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme on producers in England and Wales.

The Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme is an EU legacy scheme and, in England, legislation is in place to close the scheme to English Producer Organisations on 31 December 2025. The Government has committed to championing British farming, whilst protecting the environment, and is currently considering the best way to support our farming sectors in the future, including horticulture.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support farm-to-fork initiatives on publicly-owned land.

The Government recently announced a series of reforms for delivering on the Government’s New Deal for Farmers including backing British produce by monitoring food currently bought in the public sector and where it is bought from this will make it easier for British farmers to win a share of the £5 billion spent each year on public sector catering contracts. The Government also announced how it would boost profitability through fair competition across the supply chain. New rules for the pig sector will come this spring, ensuring contracts clearly set out expectations and changes can only be made if agreed by all parties. Similar regulations for eggs and fresh produce sectors will follow with the Government ready to intervene with other sectors if needed.