Written questions by Maguire.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to criminalise the failure to prevent dumping of sewage into public waterways by water companies.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. Storm Overflows are strictly regulated by the Environment Agency (EA). Where breaches are found, EA will not hesitate to hold companies to account. The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, signed into law on 24 February, marks the most significant increase in the water industry regulators’ enforcement powers in a decade. The Act increases criminal liability for water executives who break the law. It also delivers new powers for Ofwat to make rules to ban the payment of bonuses for water bosses where water companies fail to meet specified standards, including standards in relation to the environment, and requires water and sewerage companies to develop statutory Pollution Incident Reduction Plans, driving increased transparency and a stronger preventative approach. Beyond this new legislation, we are also carrying out a full review of the water sector. The Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, will make recommendations to shape further action to transform how our water system works and clean up our waterways for good. A public Call for Evidence closed on 23 April, with all interested parties invited to share their views. The review's final recommendations will be published and shared with the UK and Welsh Governments this summer. The government is also committed to taking a systematic approach to improving drainage and wastewater systems. This means looking at the bigger picture – how these systems affect the environment, local communities, and other key priorities like flood prevention, economic growth, and urban development. By doing this, we can make sure policies and services work better together to deliver real benefits for people and nature.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish his response to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's 7th Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 relating to marine mammals; and whether he plans to consider the potential impact of this review on his review of the Environmental Improvement Plan.

We are carefully reviewing the proposals, including for marine mammals, from the 7 Quinquennial Review, taking into account our nature recovery ambitions. The Government has concluded a rapid review of the existing Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) and published a statement of the rapid review’s key findings on 30 January 2025. We are developing a new EIP to protect and restore our natural environment, it will be published later this year. We will publish our response to the Quinquennial Review in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to (a) add all resident pinniped species to Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and (b) protect all pinniped and cetacean species from each offence under Section 9 of that Act.

We continue to consider the evidence for legislative change. This includes the proposals submitted by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to the previous Government for amending the lists of species afforded protection by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Nature recovery is one of my main priorities, so Defra is working to review whether we have the right tools in place including developing a revised Environmental Improvement Plan to protect and restore our natural environment, which will be published later this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish a timeline for the (a) planning and (b) development of the nine new national river walks.

Officials are continuing to scope out the delivery of the nine new national river walks manifesto commitment. Further details will be published in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the selection criteria his Department is using to (a) review and (b) allocate funding for locations for the nine new national river walks.

Officials are continuing to scope out the delivery of the nine new national river walks manifesto commitment. Further details will be published in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has assessed the potential merits when sewage is released by water companies that poses a risk to human health of requiring (a) a physical warning system and (b) the flying of warning flags for a minimum time duration at (i) beaches and (ii) waterways.

Under the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, local authorities with a designated bathing water must actively disseminate and promptly make available to the public, in the near vicinity of the bathing water, a warning whenever short-term pollution is predicted or present.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a minimum-distance rule for gill nets.

Decisions on an assessment 0-6 nautical miles from the shore would be for individual Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities, with measures beyond six nautical miles falling to the Marine Management Organisation.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing restrictions on setting gill nets in areas frequently used by surfers, swimmers, and paddleboarders.

Decisions on an assessment of the potential merits of introducing restrictions on setting gill nets in areas frequently used by surfers, swimmers, and paddleboarders is shared between several bodies. These include Local Authorities which oversee the safety of recreational sea users, such as swimmers; Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities which manage fishing activity within the 0-6 nautical mile zone; and the Marine Management Organisation which manages fisheries beyond the 6 nautical mile zone. HM Coastguard provides safety guidance for recreational sea users including swimmers and paddleboarders.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to enforce the responsibility of water companies to publish accessible real-time data on sewage released into (a) rivers, (b) seas and (c) other public waterways.

Since 1 January 2025, water companies are required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. The Secretary of State has authorised Ofwat to carry out enforcement action for this duty, in accordance with the powers conferred under sections 18 and 141DA (4) of the Water Industry Act 1991. Ofwat’s enforcement powers provide for a wide range of enforcement activity, including substantial penalties. Ofwat is monitoring compliance with the duty to report relevant data in real time. Where it detects non-compliance, will take appropriate enforcement action. In addition to this, the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 will introduce a matching duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. Once commenced, this duty will be enforced in the same way.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to prohibit water companies from passing on any fines to customers via increasing their water bills.

Ofwat are clear that when financial penalties are imposed on water companies, customers should not bear the costs and water companies cannot surcharge their customers to recover the funds. Building on this, during its first week in office, the government announced that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason Sustainable Farming Incentive and Environmental Land Management scheme payments have been delayed.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive Scheme has a rolling application window, and quarterly payments begin four months after the start of an accepted agreement. As of 04 February, the Rural Payments Agency has 35,949 accepted agreement offers for which a payment is due with around 98% having received their quarterly payments. The Countryside Stewardship payment window runs from 1 December 2024 to 30 June 2025. Rural Payments Agency received 35,596 claims and as of 04 February 2025, payments have been released for 25,540 (74%) of these. The Environmental Stewardship payment window runs from 1 December 2024 to 30 June 2025. Rural Payments Agency received 5,950 claims and as of 04 February 2025, payments have been released for 5,559 (93%) of these. The Get Funding to Improve Animal Health and Welfare Review scheme has a rolling application window and as of 04 February the RPA has received 8,992 claims, of which 8,079 claims were accepted and 80.2% paid. RPA received 125% more Countryside Stewardship revenue claims in 2024 than in 2020. Recognising payments are made between December and the following June, as at end of December 2024 we’d made 22,000 payments (worth over £278.5m) which is 11,900 more payments (worth £214m more) than we had by end of December 2020.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications his Department has received for the (a) Sustainable Farming Incentive and (b) Environmental Land Management scheme; and what the status is of each application.

(a)The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 04 February the RPA has received 46,765 applications of which 42,497 agreements have been offered and 35,949 accepted. ** Farmers can have more than one agreement in SFI schemes (including SFI Pilot, SFI 2023 SFI EO). The Get Funding to Improve Animal Health and Welfare Review scheme has a rolling application window and as of 04 February the RPA has received 8,992 claims, of which 8,079 claims were accepted. (b) Rural Payment Agency received 9,105 applications for Countryside Stewardship revenue agreements to start 01 January 2024. 8,313 agreements were offered, and 8,308 agreements were accepted.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 24102 on Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances, whether his Department has conducted work into assessing the suitability of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance alternatives.

Beyond the preliminary analysis of PFAS alternatives included in the Regulatory Management Options Analysis published in April 2023, more detailed analysis is conducted as part of the preparation of a restriction dossier proposal by the Health and Safety Executive as the Agency for UK REACH. The UK REACH dossier for a restriction on PFAS in fire-fighting foams is due to be published for consultation in March 2025. Defra also supports international efforts in addressing PFAS risks. This includes support for projects undertaken by the OECD that assess availability of suitable PFAS alternatives for key sectors.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of banning perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances where there are alternatives.

A Regulatory Management Options Analysis (RMOA), published in April 2023, made a detailed assessment of the range of hazards and risks from Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) identified in Great Britain, as well as a preliminary analysis of the availability of alternatives for a range of applications. The RMOA recommended a range of actions including the development of UK REACH Restrictions for a wide range of PFAS uses. Under the UK REACH Work Programme, we are investigating whether to restrict PFAS in firefighting foams and are progressing work to consider other measures relating to PFAS. The preparation of a UK REACH Restriction proposal requires there to be an assessment of the suitability of alternatives. Innovation of suitable PFAS alternatives is also needed and we are working to harness industry leadership in the transition away from PFAS.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the needs of sea users, in the context of food security.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential. Food security is national security, and working closely with our fishing and seafood sectors to ensure they are vibrant, profitable and sustainable is key to achieving that. Nonetheless, the Government needs to assess how we can best deliver our future targets and ambitions on food security, net zero, shipping, energy security, fishing and the environment, among others. Through the Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme, Defra is engaging across Government and with marine users to improve our understanding of future demands and identify opportunities for greater co-location.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the UK’s marine natural capital.

Defra’s £38 million marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme has investigated the state of our marine natural capital assets and the environmental, societal, and economic value they hold. This is informing decisions on managing and enhancing our marine natural capital in a way that benefits both people and nature.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce new measures to tackle perfluoroalkyl substances in the marine environment.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were added to the OSPAR List of Chemicals for Priority Action in 2023. This list identifies substances considered to be a threat to the marine environment and the actions that OSPAR Contracting Parties (including the UK) should take to minimise those threats. We are also working closely with domestic regulators and key stakeholders to improve our understanding and approach to managing the risks from PFAS. This includes working with the Environment Agency (EA) to assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources, and potential risks to inform future policy and regulatory approaches.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to tackle perfluoroalkyl substances in the marine environment.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were added to the OSPAR List of Chemicals for Priority Action in 2023. This list identifies substances considered to be a threat to the marine environment and the actions that OSPAR Contracting Parties (including the UK) should take to minimise those threats. We are also working closely with domestic regulators and key stakeholders to improve our understanding and approach to managing the risks from PFAS. This includes working with the Environment Agency (EA) to assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources, and potential risks to inform future policy and regulatory approaches.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to further restrict the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances where there are alternatives.

A Regulatory Management Options Analysis (RMOA), published in April 2023, made a detailed assessment of the range of hazards and risks from Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) identified in Great Britain, as well as a preliminary analysis of the availability of alternatives for a range of applications. The RMOA recommended a range of actions including the development of UK REACH Restrictions for a wide range of PFAS uses. Under the UK REACH Work Programme, we are investigating whether to restrict PFAS in firefighting foams and are progressing work to consider other measures relating to PFAS. The preparation of a UK REACH Restriction proposal requires there to be an assessment of the suitability of alternatives. Innovation of suitable PFAS alternatives is also needed and we are working to harness industry leadership in the transition away from PFAS.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate he has made of the value of UK’s marine natural capital to coastal communities.

Coastal communities derive social and economic benefits from marine natural assets, including through recreation, heritage, jobs, and tourism. The Office for National Statistics estimated the value of UK marine natural capital assets at £211 billion for 2018.