Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms the Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs visited in the period (a) before and (b) after the Autumn Budget 2024.

Ministers visit farms and other food production premises regularly and have met with farming stakeholders nearly every week since entering Government.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 37757 on Fisheries: South Atlantic Ocean, what assessment he has made of the impact of Chinese fishing fleets on fishing stocks in the South Atlantic.

Defra is aware of significant fishing activity undertaken by Chinese vessels operating in the South Atlantic. There is a high level of fishing activity targeting squid in an area of the high seas to the north of Falkland Islands waters. The Falkland Islands Government continue to gather information on the health of squid and other stocks in the region. Data is also compiled at a larger scale by The Food and Agriculture Organisation, including in its State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report. The most recent edition of this report from 2024 highlights that in 2021, 58.8% of all assessed fish stocks in the Southwest Atlantic and 59.5% in the Southeast Atlantic were at biologically sustainable levels. Defra is also aware that gaps in fisheries data collection still remain and continues to seek progress on addressing these gaps through the United Nations and Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 36866 on Internal Drainage Boards: Cambridgeshire, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of all pumping infrastructure under the Middle Level Commissioners.

The Middle Level Commissioners take responsibility for assessing the condition and adequacy of their infrastructure. Where they identify a need for future capital investment, the Environment Agency (EA) will support them to secure funding and deliver capital schemes for their assets. The pumping infrastructure in the Fens is important in enabling communities and businesses in this area to continue to thrive and support the local and national economy. The EA is developing a long-term adaptive plan for flood infrastructure in the Fens. The 'Fens 2100+’ Programme is a £9.8 million programme to develop a Fens-wide flood resilience investment strategy that achieves long-term value for money and generates regional and national benefits. It’s being developed with, and for, Flood Risk Management Authorities so they can plan for the next 20-25 years of flood risk management. This investment strategy will be completed in 2025. The Middle Level Commissioners, and the assets and system they manage are a key part of this work. The Government has also announced an additional £16 million in funding for IDBs this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 36866 on Internal Drainage Boards: Cambridgeshire, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the pumping infrastructure at St Germans Pumping Station in King's Lynn.

St. Germans Pumping Station was completed in 2011 and is the largest pumping station in Britain. The pumping station drains an area of 700km2 which is mostly grade 1 agricultural land and encompasses 22,500 houses and 3,500 business. The fully automated pumping station plays a key part in the network of 17,000 Environment Agency and IDB assets which manage water levels to make it possible to live and work within the catchment. The asset is owned and operated by the Middle Level Commissioners who lead on identifying future capital investment needs. IDBs are eligible to bid for funding from the flood investment programme. We expect all those responsible for flood risk management assets, including IDBs and other risk management authorities to invest in ongoing maintenance and ensure timely repairs where necessary.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 36866 on Internal Drainage Boards: Cambridgeshire, what the nature is of the Bevill’s Leam Pumping Station Resilience Works Phase 1; and when they are scheduled for completion.

Bevill’s Leam Pumping Station Resilience Works Phase 1 is a project which is being delivered through Tranche 2A of the Internal Drainage Board (IDB) Fund. This funding is focused on modern replacement and improvements to IDB assets. The Bevill’s Leam project aims to deliver repairs and improvements to the pumping station after Winter 2023/24 flooding to improve the reliability and resilience of the asset. The scope of works includes improvements to the weed screens and repairs/replacements to engine and electrical components within the pumping stations. The project has received £254,596 of grant funding to be delivered by 31 March 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of levels of sustainability of the fishing industry in the South Atlantic on fish imports.

The volume of fish caught in the South Atlantic, which are then imported into the UK, is low when compared with the primary sources of UK seafood imports. All seafood imported into the UK has to be accompanied by appropriate documentation, demonstrating that the fish have been caught legally and in line with the relevant governance arrangements.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 35001 on Sewage: Cambridgeshire, what the eight internal drainage boards projects in Cambridgeshire are.

The eight grants awarded to Cambridgeshire IDBs under the IDB Fund are supporting repairs and refurbishments to their assets, including pumping stations. The eight projects are: Application IDIDB Name Project title Total Grant Awarded - £AT2-0058Conington & Holme Internal Drainage BoardConington Fen Pumping Station Improvement Scheme130,000.00AT2-0087Middle Level CommissionersMiddle Level Commissioners Mobile Pumps539,710.00AT2-0088Middle Level CommissionersBevill’s Leam Pumping Station Resilience Works Phase 1254,596.00AT2-0091Middle Level CommissionersMiddle Level Commissioners Operational Depot Resilience145,450.00AT2-0098Middle Level CommissionersIDB Weedscreens Package 1250,000.00AT2-0100Middle Level CommissionersMLC IDBs Pumps & Channels Package636,600.00AT1-119Curf & Wimblington Combined IDBCurf & Wimblington combined IDB catchment78,636.81AT1-124Middle Level CommissionersMiddle Level catchment747,266.18Total:2,782,258.99 The fund, whilst allocated at the values shown, is subject to end review and the values may change based on completed scheme costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the lifespan of pumping station infrastructure in Cambridgeshire under the Middle-Level Commissioners.

Protecting communities from the dangers of flooding is one of Defra’s top priorities. The Government fully supports the important work internal drainage boards (IDBs) do in managing water and flood risk, benefiting communities, businesses and the environment. The Government has invested £50m as part of the one-off £75 million IDB Fund to support greater resilience for farmers and rural communities. The Fund was split into two tranches and is being delivered by the Environment Agency. The second tranche provides grants which will enable IDBs to repair, modernise and improve their flood defence assets. Grants have been awarded to eight IDB projects in Cambridgeshire, with a value of over £2.7 million. This will support repairs and refurbishments to IDB assets including pumping stations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle hare coursing in rural areas.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England and Wales only. This Government recognises the importance of tackling rural crimes such as Hare Coursing. The previous Government made changes to address illegal hare coursing through a package of measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This broadened the circumstances in which police can investigate and bring charges for hare coursing related activity. Enforcement of the law is a matter for the police. This is in line with their duties to keep the peace and protect communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve facilities for men with (a) colostomy bags and (b) stomas.

The Government oversees policy and legislation with respect to the safe management of waste and litter as well as the protection of drains and sewers. The provision of facilities for people with colostomy bags and stomas is however a matter for local authorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16252 on Flood Control: Cambridgeshire, what steps the Government is taking to improve the condition of the Environment Agency's high consequence assets in Huntingdon constituency.

The Environment Agency (EA) received an allocation of £155,000 for asset maintenance in the Huntingdon Constituency for 2024/25 and prioritises this budget towards higher consequence areas to ensure the biggest possible benefit to people and property. Alongside maintenance activities, the EA also has planned capital investment of £6.5 million in assets in the Huntingdon constituency across the current 6-year Capital Programme. We continually monitor asset condition and prioritise the funding available based on these ongoing condition assessments. The Government inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record following years of underinvestment by the previous Government – 92.1% of the EA’s 38,000 high consequence assets are currently at required condition.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to produce a domestic research strategy for food biosecurity.

The Government published the Biological Security Strategy which sets out a vision and plans to protect the UK from significant biological risks. Defra published the five-year Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britian and its associated Plant Health Research and Development Plan. Defra also invests in research to prevent and control risks to animal health and to support food security.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of domestic cybersecurity risks on food biosecurity.

Defra assesses the potential impacts of cybersecurity risks along with other risks to the food supply chain as outlined in the National Risk Register (NRR) and supporting assessment. Defra works with the Cabinet Office, as leads for the NRR, and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as the Lead Government Department for cybersecurity, to ensure the range of potential impacts on the food system from these types of risks are included in their assessment. To inform this, Defra engages with external stakeholders to understand how they prepare for cybersecurity risks whilst promoting vigilance and improvements to resilience.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many taskings for Military Aid to the Civil Authorities from his Department required the use of RAF CH-47 Chinook helicopters since 2019.

Since 2019, Defra has made two Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) requests that have resulted in the deployment of RAF CH-47 Chinooks. These were both in 2019.

Food and Rural Affairs, what Cambridgeshire's allocation under the flood funding formula is for 2024-25.

The Environment Agency (EA) has allocated over £13 million of funding across the Cambridgeshire area in 2024/25. Alongside this investment, the EA is working in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council to support over 30 local flood action groups across the county to effectively respond to and improve their resilience to flooding. The Government inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record following years of underinvestment by the previous government – 92.1% of the EA’s 38,000 high consequence assets are currently at required condition.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he first discussed changes to (a) agricultural and (b) business property relief with the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of (a) current and (b) future planned incineration waste capacity is used in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Peterborough.

Local authorities consider their waste treatment capacity needs at local level via Waste Local Plans. The Government does not undertake assessments of the national proportion of waste management and treatment facilities at an individual authority level. Before the end of this year, however, we hope to publish an analysis of municipal residual waste treatment infrastructure capacity, including exports, against expected future residual waste arisings in England so we can understand what future capacity may be required following implementation of the packaging reforms. This will include assessment of currently operational and consented capacity at a national level and by planning region. This analysis will support decision making relating to planning for new residual waste treatment infrastructure. The published Local Authority Collected Waste Management Statistics detail waste collected by local authorities and how this is managed and treated. These statistics are available here.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6809 on Flood Control: Huntingdon, what the responsibilities are of the Lead Local Flood Authority within the Floods Resilience Taskforce.

The Taskforce will consider both near-term resilience and preparedness, and longer-term resilience and wider floods strategy, for all sources of flooding. Defra is working with Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to engage Lead Local Flood Authorities between the Taskforce meetings.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6809 on Flood Control: Huntingdon, which settlements are covered by the 12 Flood Liaison Action Groups.

There are 10 active and well-established flood action groups across the Huntingdon constituency. These are Alconbury, Alconbury Weston, Broughton, Buckden, Godmanchester, Houghton & Wyton, Kimbolton & Stonely, Offord (Cluny/D’Arcy), St Ives and Wistow. All of these communities have flood plans in place and access to flood kit. In Alconbury and Alconbury Weston, the Environment Agency (EA) have also installed flood monitoring cameras which the local flood action group in the community can access and use for monitoring purposes during a flood event. Following the recent flooding event, Brampton and Hemingford Grey have also sought support to set up local flood actions groups. The EA are now in the process of working with Cambridgeshire County Council (the Lead Local Flood Authority) to help support and develop these new flood groups.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 6855 on Water Supply: East of England, what the planned timetable is for (a) approving and (b) constructing the proposed two new reservoirs in East Anglia.

The Secretary of State has allowed Anglian Water to finalise its Water Resources Management Plan, which includes proposals for two reservoirs, the Fens Reservoir and Lincolnshire Reservoir. Both meet the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project criteria and would need development consent, under the Planning Act 2008. Anglian Water expects the Fens Reservoir to be in supply by 2036/37 and the Lincolnshire Reservoir to be in supply by 2039/40. Future consultations on the proposals are required before the applications for development consent are submitted. The applications are expected in 2026/27 for the Fens Reservoir, and in 2028/29 for the Lincolnshire Reservoir.