Written questions by Gelderd.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to merge the proposed Nature Restoration Fund with the Marine Recovery Fund.

The Marine Recovery Fund is being established as a voluntary mechanism to deliver strategic compensation for offshore wind developers. The Nature Restoration Fund will offer a new way for developers to discharge existing environmental obligations related to protected sites and species, using resources strategically to maximise positive outcomes for nature.

Food and Rural Affairs, how the proposed Nature Restoration Fund will interact with the Marine Recovery Fund.

The Marine Recovery Fund is being established as a voluntary mechanism to deliver strategic compensation for offshore wind developers. The Nature Restoration Fund will offer a new way for developers to discharge existing environmental obligations related to protected sites and species, using resources strategically to maximise positive outcomes for nature.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) bans on offshore bottom-towed gear on displacement of fishing to inshore grounds and (b) that displacement on (i) small-scale and (ii) inshore fishers in South East Cornwall constituency.

It is likely that fishing activity will be displaced as a result of the management of our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), but there are many uncertainties. Decisions on the extent of restrictions on bottom trawling in offshore MPAs will be made following the closure of the consultation that opened on 9 June.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many vessels registered to ports in South East Cornwall constituency use (a) bottom trawls and (b) other bottom towed gear.

UK fishing vessels are registered by port of administration. The nearest port of administration to this constituency is Plymouth, to which 330 fishing vessels were registered as of 1 June 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his Department's policies on protecting (a) global forests and (b) the rights of (i) indigenous peoples and (ii) local communities.

The UK strongly supports global efforts to protect forests, including advocating for the international commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while supporting livelihoods and economic development. We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. In 2022, UK consumption was associated with 35.6 thousand hectares of deforestation globally. We are considering the critical guardianship provided by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in protecting forests as well as the importance of safeguarding customary tenure rights in developing our approach, which we will set out in due course. In October 2024, at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, I launched the Principles for Inclusive, Gender-Responsive and Locally-Led Biodiversity Action. These were developed by Defra in collaboration with global stakeholders to guide governments, donors, NGOs, and others in supporting biodiversity efforts that are inclusive, locally-led, and gender-responsive.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of fly-tipping incidents in South East Cornwall constituency.

Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights local communities and the environment, and we appreciate the difficulty and cost that it poses to landowners. Local councils are usually best placed to tackle fly-tipping in their areas, and they have a range of enforcement powers to help them do so. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution action. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and are taking steps to develop new enforcement guidance. We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of fly-tippers, to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool. In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course. In the meantime, Defra continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the National Farmers Union, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping, including on private land. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available here.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will set out the role (a) seagrasses and (b) marine nature-based solutions will have in his Department's net zero plans.

The Government has set out a clear mission to make Britain a Clean Energy Superpower and accelerate progress towards Net Zero. Achieving this ambition within Defra sectors requires enhanced decarbonisation efforts alongside strengthened nature-based solutions. The Net Zero pathway for Carbon Budgets 4-6 includes nature-based measures aimed at protecting existing ecosystems, restoring degraded landscapes, and creating or sustainably managing new ecosystems. Defra is actively exploring the role of marine nature-based solutions, such as seagrass and saltmarsh restoration, to deliver both carbon sequestration and biodiversity benefits. Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership (UKBCEP) Defra is working with Devolved Governments and DESNZ to address key blue carbon research questions, including assessing their carbon storage potential. The UKBCEP has established a working group and earlier this year Defra published a roadmap to help to address the evidence gaps preventing the inclusion of coastal wetlands in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of seagrass decline on (a) climate change, (b) fisheries and (c) the rate of coastal erosion.

Seagrass habitats offer a range of benefits to people and nature. They store and sequester carbon, support a variety of fish species and help prevent coastal erosion. These benefits would diminish were the habitats to decline in future. To improve our understanding of the impact of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems such as seagrass, Defra are supporting the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP). MCCIP synthesise the latest evidence on climate change impacts and predicted trends and publish evidence updates on topics including fisheries, coastal erosion and have previously published a report card specifically on seagrass habitats. Natural England published their “Definition of Favourable Conservation Status for seagrass beds” in 2023. This report outlined seagrass habitat status accounting for historical decline, future pressures – including as a result of climate change – as well as listing beneficial functions seagrass beds provide including for a number of fish species.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support seagrass restoration programmes to scale-up.

Defra is supporting the scaling up of seagrass restoration programmes by identifying and overcoming barriers. The Environment Agency with partners is working to restore 15% of saltmarsh, seagrass and native oyster reef in England by 2043 through the Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) programme. Defra have boosted the capacity of ReMeMaRe by funding a programme office, which is supporting a pipeline of practical restoration projects. The annual ReMeMaRe Conference gives partners from across the country an opportunity to engage with and learn from each other. ReMeMaRe has also worked with partners to produce restoration guidance and map restoration opportunities. It is also funding the development of an estuarine and coastal restoration platform, which will enhance collaboration opportunities for partners, aiming to scale up restoration activity on the ground.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the type approval process for inshore vessel monitoring systems in 2021.

Four devices were granted type-approval in 2021, based on evidence provided that devices met the I-VMS device specification of requirements, with the roll-out starting in 2022. Following feedback of quality assurance concerns, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) paused the roll-out and commissioned a third-party testing laboratory to undertake assurance testing of the four devices in 2022/23. Those devices were evaluated according to the I-VMS device specification of requirements. As a result of that testing, two devices passed and retained MMO type-approval status. The roll-out recommenced in 2023 with those two devices.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle the octopus bloom in Cornwall following discussions on 20 May 2025.

Defra, Government scientists (Cefas), the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and local Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) met on 20 May to discuss this phenomenon, the evidence, the impacts on the crab and lobster stocks and potential actions. Since this meeting Defra has commissioned a report from Cefas on the background, available stock science and potential causes of the bloom. The Devon and Severn IFCA have issued guidance on the regulations regarding fishing for octopus. A meeting with industry is due to take place on 6 June,

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage landowners to offer longer-term leases to tenant farmers.

The Department recognises the benefits that longer-term tenancy agreements can provide for both tenants and landlords. The joint Defra-Industry Farm Tenancy Forum is working on guidance and best practice to encourage more landlords and tenants to enter into longer-term agreements. Alongside this we continually look at how fiscal and policy interventions across the Department may impact on landlord decisions to offer longer-term agreements. In addition, we are in the process of appointing a Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector to help embed fair practice across the sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce any (a) fiscal and (b) policy incentives to support longer-term leasing arrangements between (i) landowners and (ii) tenant farmers.

The Department recognises the benefits that longer-term tenancy agreements can provide for both tenants and landlords. The joint Defra-Industry Farm Tenancy Forum is working on guidance and best practice to encourage more landlords and tenants to enter into longer-term agreements. Alongside this we continually look at how fiscal and policy interventions across the Department may impact on landlord decisions to offer longer-term agreements. In addition, we are in the process of appointing a Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector to help embed fair practice across the sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of including traceability requirements in the UK Forest Risk Commodities regulations.

The UK is committed to supporting the progress of traceability and transparency in global supply chains, as we appreciate they play an essential part in supporting sustainable commodity production, trade and consumption. The UK Government recognises the need to take action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation and we will set out our approach to addressing this in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his speech at the 2025 Oxford Farming Conference on 9 January 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed permitted development rights on farms.

Ministers are holding Ministerial round tables in June with a diverse range of agricultural stakeholders to understand how existing planning measures are supporting farmers and to better understand the key asks to go further.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increase in biomass of Octopus vulgaris on (a) lobster and (b) crab stocks in Cornwall.

I recently visited the fishing industry in Plymouth and was made aware of reports of an unusual abundance of octopus in the Southwest including Cornwall. Defra understands this ‘octopus bloom’ is impacting shellfish potting fisheries and causing concern to the fishing industry in the Southwest. Government scientists, the Marine Management Organisation and local Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities have met with Defra on the 20th of May to discuss this phenomenon, the evidence, the impacts on the crab and lobster stocks as well as possible actions.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Global Biodiversity Framework commitment to reduce excess nutrients lost to the environment by at least half by 2030, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of domestic targets (a) to reduce (i) nitrogen, (ii) phosphorous and (iii) sediment from agriculture by 40% and (ii) to reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater by 80% by 2038.

The UK has published a full National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and UK National Targets that commit us to achieving all 23 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at home, including Target 7 which features a pledge to reduce excess nutrients lost to the environment by at least half by 2030. An assessment of progress toward achieving the UK National Targets and implementation of the GBF will be set out in the UK 7th National Report, due to be published in February 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the deployment of offshore energy does not adversely impact (a) the fishing industry and (b) marine (i) habitats and (ii) ecosystems.

Further to the written statement I made on 29th January 2025, this Government has committed to deliver an Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package, which supports the Clean Power 2030 Mission. This will support the accelerated deployment of offshore wind developments while protecting our marine habitats and ecosystems. This includes establishing a Marine Recovery Fund to deliver strategic environmental compensation for unavoidable impacts to Marine Protected Areas. More broadly the Department is leading the cross Government marine spatial prioritisation programme. This is looking at how to take a more strategic approach to managing the increased demands on the marine space, including from future offshore wind, alongside nature’s recovery in English waters. This Government will ensure that the fishing industry is supported to adapt to the increased spatial pressures.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43003 on Chemicals Regulation, if he will publish the projected cost of UK REACH to the Environment Agency in the 2025-26 financial year.

The Environment Agency has been allocated £1.8 million from Defra in 2025/26 to deliver its statutory duties under UK REACH.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing Schedule 17 of the Environment Act before the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties to UNFCCC (COP 30) in November 2025.

The UK strongly supports global efforts to protect forests, including advocating for the international commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while supporting livelihoods and economic development. We will set out our approach to addressing deforestation in the UK’s supply chains in due course.