Written questions by Gardiner.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the trends in the number of verifications of catch certificates accompanying seafood imports undertaken by UK authorities.

Defra and the Marine Management Organisation work closely with Devolved Governments, Local Authorities and Port Health Authorities to ensure illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing documentary checks are completed at the border and appropriate verifications are conducted on seafood imports to the UK. Verifications, defined under Article 17 of the UK’s IUU Regulation, are formal checks beyond standard documentary reviews. Competent Authorities conduct risk-based checks, and if concerns arise, the MMO may hold consignments and carry out verifications.

Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department has provided to (a) the Marine Management Organisation and (b) port health authorities on applying a risk-based approach to identifying seafood consignments for scrutiny under illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing regulations.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) provides training and guidance to port health authorities (PHAs) on implementing the UK’s IUU Regulation, which PHAs apply through their local risk-based approaches. Where concerns arise, the MMO engages with third-country authorities to resolve the issue or reject the consignment. Defra attends monthly PHA forums chaired by the MMO, where issues related to IUU imports and risk assessment are discussed. At these meetings, Defra provides policy advice to support the operational guidance shared by the MMO and PHAs.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to update the catch certificate system for seafood imports to mirror upcoming changes being made by the EU to its catch certificate scheme.

The UK will be updating the information required on catch certificates this year. These changes will focus on ensuring the robustness of the data on traceability measures and will ensure that UK exporters can continue to re-export seafood originating from other countries to the EU. The UK’s Fish Export Service (FES) enables exporters to generate electronic IUU catch documentation, including catch certificates. The UK also plans to integrate FES with the EU’s CATCH system in 2026 to support system interoperability.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to adopt a digitised catch certificate scheme that is interoperable with the EU’s new CATCH IT system for (a) receiving and (b) processing seafood catch certificates.

The UK will be updating the information required on catch certificates this year. These changes will focus on ensuring the robustness of the data on traceability measures and will ensure that UK exporters can continue to re-export seafood originating from other countries to the EU. The UK’s Fish Export Service (FES) enables exporters to generate electronic IUU catch documentation, including catch certificates. The UK also plans to integrate FES with the EU’s CATCH system in 2026 to support system interoperability.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the risk that seafood imports from (a) China, (b) Russia and (c) countries yellow-carded by the EU may be linked to (i) illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and (ii) human rights abuses.

The UK has retained the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Regulation following its departure from the EU and continues to apply its provisions. While the UK has not formally adopted the EU’s carding system, it does enforce import bans on seafood from countries that have been red-carded by the EU, such as Cambodia, Comoros, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Imports and landings from vessels listed on the UK’s IUU vessel list are also prohibited. Imports from yellow-carded countries are permitted to avoid unnecessary trade disruption because marking these countries as IUU offenders may undermine their efforts to improve compliance and address IUU fishing. The UK keeps issues related to IUU fishing and human rights abuses in seafood supply chains under active review, and we welcome robust evidence from stakeholders to inform future policy development.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance he has issued to the UK delegation to the International Seabed Authority about the establishment of a global moratorium on deep sea mining following recent legal analysis of President Trump's Executive order on deep sea mining.

The UK supports a moratorium on the granting of exploitation contracts for deep sea mining projects by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). We will not sponsor or support the issuing of any such exploitation contracts for deep sea mining by the ISA until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems and strong enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines are in place. This is a matter for each ISA member State to consider carefully.

What steps he has taken to assess the suitability of Glomar Minerals Ltd as a licence holder for deep sea exploration.

UK Seabed Resources Limited remains the holder of the UK’s two deep sea mining licences following its sale to Glomar Minerals Ltd. The UK government is carrying out a thorough review of Glomar Minerals Ltd and the UK’s sponsorship of UK Seabed Resources Limited under UNCLOS and the Exploration Regulations.

Pursuant to the ruling of Mr Justice Akenhead in the case of Corby Group Litigation v. Corby Borough Council, if he will conduct a review of the incidence of birth defects and rare cancers recorded in children by hospitals serving the population around Corby and the sites where spoil was deposited.

The Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are aware of this issue, which is currently being looked at by the local Director of Public Health. The UKHSA will offer support if needed, and the Department is awaiting the findings before further action.

Whether the independent evidence review commissioned by the previous government and undertaken by scientists from the British Geological Survey, National Oceanography Centre, and Heriot-Watt University will be taken into account in his determination of the sponsored exploration licences for Deep Sea Mining.

The 2021 independent evidence review, commissioned by the previous government, remains a valuable contribution to our understanding of the environmental impacts of deep sea mining. The government will take all relevant information into consideration when reviewing its sponsorship of exploration licences.

If he will publish the records of all the sites where waste was deposited following the site reclamation of the Corby Steelworks in the 1980s.

Records of all the sites where waste was deposited following the reclamation of the Corby Steelworks site should be held by the local authority that managed the reclamation, in this case North Northamptonshire Council. The Department for Business and Trade does not hold this information.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for the implementation of the stage 3 offshore MPA byelaws once the consultation has been concluded.

We aim to implement any necessary byelaws quickly. However, this will depend on the number and complexity of responses received to the consultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of England's waters would be closed to bottom trawling when the proposed stage 3 byelaws are implemented.

We cannot pre-judge the outcome of the stage 3 byelaw consultation, which is currently in progress.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for implementing measures in Inshore Marine Protected Areas.

The responsibility for developing byelaws lies with the ten Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs). We are encouraging the IFCAs to complete as soon as possible the good work they have already done to ensure our MPAs are effectively protected. Inshore MPAs located between 6 and 12 nautical miles from the coast are the responsibility of the Marine Management Organisation and it launched a consultation in June 2025 on stage 3 of its programme of MPA fisheries management measures.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department adopted the features-based approach for the assessment method for the stage 3 Marine Protected Area byelaws.

The Marine Management Organisation uses a feature-based approach for developing fisheries management measures in England’s Marine Protected Areas, including the proposed stage 3 byelaws. Sometimes these management measures will involve restrictions across the whole of a site, where the features to be protected cover the whole site.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish an implementation plan for the Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative.

Since the publication of the Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative, we have continued our work to minimise and, where possible, eliminate the bycatch of sensitive marine species. That has included renewing Clean Catch for a further 3-year period. This flagship programme will be focused on collaborative trials with the fishing industry to establish practical ways to minimise bycatch, delivery of research on potential bycatch hotspots and of best practice guides tailored to fishermen’s needs, and critical knowledge exchange both within and beyond the UK. In addition to that, in 2025, we are considering further measures to reduce bycatch of seabirds. We have not published an implementation plan but will consider the need for this when working with stakeholders to identify and implement these measures. This builds on wider work done under the English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway. For more information see: English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway (ESCaRP) - ME6044.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his planned timetable is to complete work necessary for the participation of the UK in the first conference of Members of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 22880 on the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, whether his Department has drafted the secondary legislation required in advance of ratification for the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Work is in hand on the measures needed to implement the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement before the UK can ratify. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK's progress in ratifying the Global Oceans Treaty ahead of the United Nations Oceans Conference in June 2025.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Ocean Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change draft rules on the attribution of emissions reductions from bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to the country of origin on UK subsidies for BECCS.

All UK greenhouse gas emissions are compiled and reported consistent with international guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories provide a methodology for the reporting of emissions from bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) that the UK will follow when the technology is operating at sufficient scale. In line with all IPCC reports, the 2006 Guidelines were written by world-leading experts, underwent multiple rounds of review from other experts and Governments and were formally accepted by Governments including the UK.

What information her Department holds on the number of tribunal judges who have been promoted to become Circuit Judges by the Judicial Appointments Commission within six months of receiving a formal advice of misconduct from the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office in the last five years.

Circuit Judges are appointed by the King, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice, following a fair and open competition administered by the Judicial Appointments Commission.The number of judges who have been appointed as Circuit Judges having been tribunal judges, within six months of receiving formal advice of misconduct from the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office in the last five years is one.