Written questions by Thomas.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to give local authorities more power to deal with flooding.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure the Environment Agency has adequate powers to pre-emptively tackle flooding in areas of high risk.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Environment Agency deals with issues causing flooding in a timely manner.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support homeowners with insurance costs in areas deemed to have high flood risk.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is she taking to reduce the harmful impacts of long lining.

Longlining is a method of fishing used in parts of the UK. It is recognised that bycatch can occur in this fishery. To address this, Defra funds the Clean Catch programme, a research programme dedicated to better monitoring and reducing bycatch of sensitive species in the UK, and the Bycatch Monitoring Programme (along with Scottish Government, given the devolved nature of fisheries management). Defra also commissioned the ongoing Bycatch Risk Prioritisation Framework, which assesses species vulnerability to bycatch in all fisheries in England and the UK. The Department also plays a role internationally, for example, in tabling a proposal to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to recommend the use of hook-shielding devices to reduce seabird bycatch in longline fisheries to help protect albatrosses and petrels in the South Atlantic and securing agreement at ICCAT to prohibit the retention of several vulnerable shark species.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the ongoing impact of large scale industrial bottom trawling on the small-scale inshore fishing fleet.

No assessment has been made of these impacts. However, the activities of all vessels fishing in our waters, including large scale industrial vessels, are monitored by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). If it is considered that the activities of one sector are harming another, such as the small-scale inshore fleet, Defra can restrict those activities by using licence conditions and byelaws to introduce management measures. Last year, the MMO also consulted on prohibiting the use of bottom towed gear in 41 of England’s Marine Protected Areas for conservation purposes. Work on this issue is ongoing.

Food and Rural Affairs, when does her Department plan to announce the results of the Marine protected areas Stage 3 Consultation.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire on 13 November 2025, PQ 88509.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2025 to question 91566, on Fishing Vessels: Monitoring, what progress has been made on the volunteer early adopter phase for Remote Electronic Monitoring of fishing vessels.

In December 2025 Defra successfully completed the first Remote Electronic Monitoring early adopter project with a volunteer vessel from Fishery A, pelagic trawls over 24m. Defra is seeking volunteers for further fisheries.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment has she made of the benefits of a complete ban on bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas.

Bottom trawling in our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) needs to be managed appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protected seabed habitats. Fisheries regulators make detailed assessments of the impact of all fishing activities on the protected species and habitats in our MPAs, based on advice from the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies. Regulators then develop byelaws to restrict fishing when it has been assessed as damaging. Some MPAs, such as those designated for highly mobile species, may not need protection from bottom trawling. A consultation on the latest round of proposed fisheries byelaws, which proposes further restrictions on bottom trawling, closed on 29 September 2025. The Marine Management Organisation is now carefully considering all responses received, and decisions will be made in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is she taking to improve marine conservation efforts.

The Government is committed to strengthening marine conservation both at home and overseas. The UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) commits the UK, in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to effectively conserving and managing at least 30% of our seas by 2030. In England, we have a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) covering 40% of our waters, and we are focusing on making sure they are effectively managed. We are delivering the UK Marine Strategy to restore marine ecosystems and support the recovery of habitats and species. Internationally, the UK plays a leading role in marine conservation efforts by working with international partners to address marine pollution, protect vulnerable ecosystems, and promote sustainable ocean governance, delivering commitments under the Kunming‑Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We are completely committed to ratifying the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, and we are a contracting party to the Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR).

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has her Department made of the potential merits of amending the Hunting Act 2004 to allow only for the retrieval of a dead or wounded animal by a single dog.

The Department has not made any such assessment of the potential merits.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent modelling has her Department made of the impact of the Hunting Act 2004 on fox populations and welfare.

The Department has not undertaken any recent modelling of the impact of the Hunting Act 2004 on fox populations or welfare.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department made of the potential impact of deer populations on rural environments.

Defra supports survey programmes that assess the ecological condition of woodlands in England. This includes the National Forest Inventory woodland ecological condition assessment, which indicated in 2020 that 40% of woodland habitat in unfavourable condition due to herbivore damage, including from deer. A further large-scale woodland survey, known as the Bunce survey, reported in 2024 that 33% of English woodlands are impacted by deer. Defra funded an assessment of the cost of invasive non-native species to Great Britain in 2023 as part of the GB Invasive Non-native Species Strategy. This included invasive non-native species of deer and indicated that their impacts result in costs to society of around £47.7 million annually. Defra provides a range of support to help manage deer impacts on woodlands. This includes grants for deer management, projects and capital items such as fencing, and funding a dedicated team of Deer Officers within the Forestry Commission to provide advice.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on raising the cap for 100% Agricultural Property Relief to £5 million.

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

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on the (a) physical and (b) mental health of (i) farmers and (ii) the agricultural sector.

We regularly liaise with farming welfare charities and industry stakeholder groups to understand the issues affecting farmers mental health and any impacts resulting from poor mental health. Since 2024, Defra has funded the Farmer Welfare Grant, which supports projects that improve the mental health and wellbeing of farming people in England. The projects are all designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families as well as prevent further cases of poor mental health by helping to build resilience within farming communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing overproduction czars at the local government level that would (a) assess local overproduction of produce and (b) offer it to hospitals and schools.

Both the Secretary of State and the food minister meet routinely with Parliamentary colleagues and key food organisations to discuss matters relating to the sector. The Government is taking action to deliver effective management of food production, and we recognise the environmental, economic and social benefits of redistributing surplus food to organisations who can use it. Defra funds and engages a working group of industry and redistribution sector organisations to develop best practice on how to redistribute surplus food quickly and safely, and through our new £15 million farm surplus fund we are working with food producers and charities to ensure more produce gets to those who need it most. The total amount of surplus food redistributed in the UK in 2023 was 191,000 tonnes, this equates to nearly 456 million meals with a value of around £764 million.

Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to announce the opening of applications for the relaunched 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target the SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Information and plans for the next iteration of the scheme will be published in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what does she plan to set the spending cap at for the relaunched 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target the SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Information and plans for the next iteration of the scheme will be published in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to secure long-term public budgets for nature recovery.

We are prioritising investment that supports the Government’s Plan for Change and builds work to reform Defra to drive growth, while maintaining our commitment to farming, food security, and nature’s recovery. This Government has committed a record £11.8 billion allocation to deliver sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. This includes increasing spend on nature-friendly farming including Environmental Land Management schemes to £2 billion by 28/29.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on integrating nature risks into broader security and risk planning.

Nature risks are recognised in the Government’s National Security Strategy 2025: Security for the British People in a Dangerous World. Its implementation will ensure these risks inform security and risk planning across Government. Together with my Cabinet colleagues the Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband, I was pleased to attend the recent Countdown to COP30: mobilising action for climate and nature event hosted by the Natural History Museum. My ministerial team and I look forward to continuing cross- government discussions as we prepare for the 30th United Nations climate change conference in Bélem, Brazil.