Written questions by Stephenson.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 38457 on Electricity Generation: Infrastructure, what steps he has taken to identify suitable locations since July 2024.

Forestry England have not undertaken a detailed assessment of the potential suitable locations of renewable energy projects across the Public Forest Estate since July 2024. Forestry England will commence detailed assessments following Royal Assent of the Bill, with an aim to integrate proposals into the natural landscape with no net loss of woodland area.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release £16 million boost to improve flood protection for farmers and rural communities, published on 16 March 2025, what the additional funding will be for each internal drainage board.

The Internal Draining Board (IDB) Storm Recovery and Asset Improvement fund was established to help IDBs recover from flooding events over winter 2023/24 and to modernise their infrastructure.On 31 March, the Government announced an additional £16 million to bolster the fund, bringing the total to £91 million.The whole fund will provide improved flood protection benefits to over 400,000 hectares of agricultural land and 91,000 homes and businesses.The additional £16 million will be allocated to previously submitted and assessed bids. The funding will support an additional 20 projects, across 18 different IDBs. Announcements of the specific amounts will be made in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of what the median income of farmers was in the 2023-24 financial year who will be affected by the changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.

Assessing the impact of the new Inheritance Tax policy, which comes into force from 6 April 2026, relies on a number of factors such as ownership structure and debt levels. The Government is aware that each farm is different, and so we encourage farmers to speak to their tax advisors and agents to understand how these changes may impact their specific situation and how to plan for the future. Published data for all farms in the Farm Business Survey population in England are based on mean average incomes and are available at: Farm business income - GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 35439 on Forests and Rivers: Access, what plans he has considered for other national forests.

Defra launched the Western Forest on 21 March 2025 and is considering its approach to the creation of further national forests.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38205 on Tree Planting: Bedfordshire, what the range of sensitives are.

The Forestry Commission provides guidance on the common constraints and designations that might be relevant to tree planning – this is available at Forestry project checks: constraints - GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38205 on Tree Planting: Bedfordshire, if he will publish county level statistics.

The Government has no plans to publish county level statistics.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 35439 on Forests and Rivers: Access, when he expects to confirm the National River Walk for the East of England.

The Government continues to be committed to enhancing access to nature. We are still in the process of considering locations for the National River Walks and further information will be announced in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 35439 on Forests and Rivers: Access, what the options under consideration are for the East of England’s National River Walk.

The Government continues to be committed to enhancing access to nature. We are still in the process of considering locations for the National River Walks and further information will be announced in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Questions (a) 36880, (b) 36881, (c) 36882, (d) 36883 and (e) 36884, when he plans to conclude this work; and if he will publish the results.

To develop recommendations to address the reports’ findings, we have met with a range of stakeholders, including environmental NGOs, forestry industry representatives and local planning directors. We have also met with relevant government bodies, such as Forestry Commission and Natural England. Initial engagement is helping to shape our recommendations for next steps and we will continue to work alongside these groups to establish the most effective actions for improving the implementation of the National Planning Policy Framework protections for ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees. We have no plans to publish.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Questions (a) 36880, (b) 36881, (c) 36882, (d) 36883 and (e) 36884, which stakeholders have been consulted.

To develop recommendations to address the reports’ findings, we have met with a range of stakeholders, including environmental NGOs, forestry industry representatives and local planning directors. We have also met with relevant government bodies, such as Forestry Commission and Natural England. Initial engagement is helping to shape our recommendations for next steps and we will continue to work alongside these groups to establish the most effective actions for improving the implementation of the National Planning Policy Framework protections for ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees. We have no plans to publish.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with (a) insurance companies and (b) the Association of British Insurers on the sharing of data on surface water flood claims with the Environment Agency.

The Floods Resilience Taskforce was formed by this Government to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness and improve policy delivery and implementation. Bringing together key stakeholders in order to ensure that we are comprehensive and inclusive in our approach. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) represent the insurance industry at this forum; my officials also routinely engage with the ABI at working level to enhance everyone’s understanding of prevailing issues. As part of these conversations, we routinely seek various industry data through the ABI to inform policy development. The Taskforce will also play a key role in speeding up and coordinating national and local flood preparation ahead of the winter flood season. To drive work forward, Action Groups have been created to help focus on specific areas, one group will be leading on insurance, which the ABI is party too. The Action Groups will feed into the main group.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Water investment to unlock growth in East of England, published on 13 March 2025, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of a Bedford to Milton Keynes waterway on (a) local and (b) national economic growth.

The Government recognises the wide range of benefits brought by our inland waterways and is supportive in general of projects to restore and develop them, including where they form part of wider growth plans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for local record centres.

Biodiversity data is essential for informed planning decisions, with Local Environmental Records Centres (LERCs) and national platforms like the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) providing key species data. However, access to, and use of, Biodiversity data is inconsistent across planning applications. LERCs vary greatly by region in terms of resources, systems, and data sharing models. In 2015, Natural England ended its Service Level Agreement with LERCs and moved to a case-by-case payment model, which has a renewed focus making sure LERC data supports HMG priorities. LERCS are one of many sources that can provide Biodiversity data for informed planning decisions. Through the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme, Natural England is collaborating with UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Biological Records Centre, NBN, as well the overarching Association of LERCs, to improve data flow, simplify submissions, and enhance national access. Recent system updates return more control to data providers, strengthening transparency and stewardship. This work supports the Geospatial Commission’s Review on Mapping the Species Data Pathway (link), which calls for modernising data systems, enabling open data use, and securing long-term sustainability Mapping the Species Data Pathway - NE commissioned

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government's Flood Resilience Taskforce has made on improving flood resilience in high-risk areas.

The Floods Resilience Taskforce is a new approach to preparing for flooding which brings together representatives from national, regional and local government, the devolved Governments emergency services, businesses and environmental interest groups. The first meeting on 5 September provided all organisations with a shared understanding of the flood risk for the autumn and winter, to inform preparatory action. The second taskforce meeting on 5 February looked at lessons from the winter flooding and informed the forthcoming consultation on long-term investment reform. The Taskforce is developing Action Groups on flood warnings, flood recovery and insurance services to drive work on these issues. This Government inherited flood assets in their poorest condition on record, as years of underinvestment and damaging storms left just 92% of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high-consequence assets at required condition, meaning approximately 60,000 properties are at a higher risk. As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, a record £2.65 billion will be invested over two years in building, maintaining and repairing flood defences, better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026. Around 1,000 projects will receive funding in 24/25 and 25/26.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of AXA UK's report entitled Extreme weather risks: An analysis of England’s vulnerability to flooding and heat, published on 27 November 2024.

The UK has a legal framework for managing climate risks under the Climate Change Act 2008. This includes preparing a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment every five years, followed by a National Adaptation Programme, setting out actions by government to address the risks identified. While Defra coordinates this work, this is a whole of government effort. Each department is responsible for managing the risks that apply to their sectors and responsibilities. Defra has a Minister responsible for the cross-government coordination of climate change adaptation, who works with Ministers across Government to build the UK’s climate resilience. Defra also has overall national responsibility for policy on flooding and coastal erosion. The Environment Agency recently published its updated National Assessment of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk. It shows that 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are at risk of flooding, which could increase to 8 million by the middle of the century. Combined with the fact that this Government inherited flood defences in their worst condition on record, it is vital we invest in protecting our communities. That is why we have committed £2.65 billion over the next two years to maintain, repair and build flood defences.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Wild release and management of beavers in England, published on 28 February 2025, whether he has plans to take steps to release beavers in Bedfordshire.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. On 28 February 2025, Defra announced its new approach to beavers, including opening a licensing scheme for beaver wild release. A licence is needed to release any beavers into the wild. Applications will be considered against comprehensive wild release criteria. These criteria have been designed to ensure only high-benefit, low-risk projects are licenced, and that beavers are reintroduced at a measured pace in a well-managed way. Any project proposing wild beaver reintroductions in Bedfordshire must therefore meet the criteria.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 30413 on Farmers: Income, if he will make an estimate of median income for farmers in the 2023-24 financial year.

Published data for England 2023/24 are based on mean average incomes, rather than medians and are available at: Farm business income - GOV.UK. These show that, in 2023/24, average (mean) Farm Business Income (in simple terms, the output generated by the farm business minus total farm costs) across all farm types was £45,300.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Flood Resilience Taskforce Model to consider wider resilience challenges.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five priorities. That’s why we set up a Floods Resilience Taskforce which is a new approach to preparing for flooding. It brings together representatives from national, regional and local Government, the Devolved Governments, emergency services, businesses and environmental interest groups. The Floods Resilience Taskforce is working on a range of actions including warning and informing and vulnerable groups. The Government has robust governance in place for improving the UK's national resilience. The Prime Minister established a dedicated Cabinet Committee on resilience, chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and the Cabinet Office is responsible for the coordination of resilience, civil contingencies planning, and crisis management working with Lead Government Departments like Defra and the Devolved Governments. Defra is responsible for a range of resilience challenges including flooding, water supply, animal and plant health, and food supply. There is frequent sharing of experience across Defra including on the model of the Floods Resilience Taskforce.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the recruitment of additional ecologists in local government.

Since November 2021, the Government has committed over £35 million to Local planning authorities (LPAs) to help them prepare for and implement biodiversity net gain. Defra has confirmed funding up to the end of 2024/25 and will confirm for 2025/26 shortly. Information on funding beyond 2025/26 will be provided following the spending review. Individual LPAs are best placed to decide how to use the funds in the most effective way, but recruitment of ecologists is one of the areas they could choose to allocate money to.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Forest of Marston Vale community forest to the south.

Any assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Forest of Marston Vale would be made by the Forest of Marston Vale Trust and its local partners. This is one of a national network of fifteen Community Forests funded by Defra to plant thousands of hectares of new trees and woodland. Suitable sites for woodland creation are identified within agreed boundaries that encompass 61 square miles between Bedford and Milton Keynes.