Written questions by Chope.

Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of total global carbon emissions is attributable to (a) wind turbines imported into the UK, (b) solar panels imported into the UK, (c) biomass imported into the UK and (d) all other forms of renewable energy imported into the UK.

Defra does not hold information on total global carbon emissions and as such Defra does not hold information on the amount of UK consumption carbon emission attributable to these sectors however these emissions are considered within our UK Carbon Footprint statistics.

Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of total global carbon emissions are attributable to UK consumption, including consumption relating to (a) domestic production and (b) imports.

Information about the Carbon footprint for the UK is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uks-carbon-footprint. Data are available up to 2022. Defra does not hold information on total global carbon emissions.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many complaints OFWAT has received about the increase in water and sewerage rates since 1 March 2025; and to how many complainants have substantive responses been given.

Ofwat has received 359 customer contacts since 1 March 2025 regarding the increase in water and sewerage rates. 25 of these have received a substantive response. An additional 453 contacts have been received since 21 March 2025 which are being reviewed to determine if they relate to increases in water and sewerage rates. Due to the current large amount of customer queries there has been significant delays in providing substantive responses to them. Customers are very important to Ofwat, and Ofwat recognises the need to improve its response rate, that is why it continues to work to improve its capacity and processing time and will process outstanding queries as quickly as possible. Customers are of the utmost importance to this government. The Independent Water Commission, launched by UK and Welsh governments in October 2024, aims to build consensus for a resilient and innovative water sector that ultimately serves both customers and the environment. The Commission will report to the UK and Welsh governments by the end of June 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason Natural England's annual report and accounts for 2023/24 have not yet been presented to Parliament; and what his planned timetable is for its publication.

Natural England are working with external auditors to ensure that their Annual Report and Accounts are true and fair. The process has taken longer this year due to ensuring that new accounting judgements are robust. We are in the final stages of the audit and intend to publish within the next month.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Environment Agency and Natural England have made on facilitating reinstatement of the Avon Valley footpath between Christchurch and Burton.

The closure of the footpath in this location is because there are breaches in the banks of the Hampshire Avon along Winkton Common upstream of Christchurch. These breaches have worsened over the last 6 months because of the exceptionally high-water levels in the river. The Environment Agency (EA) is working with the Meyrick Estate, South West Water (SWW), Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) and Natural England (NE) to understand and mitigate the long-term implications. We are jointly exploring potentially significant environmental benefits in the form of new wetland habitat, but there are a number of important considerations, such as assets owned by SWW which run across the common. While the EA is neither responsible nor funded to maintain the banks of the river in this location, we are supporting Natural England in their work with the Meyrick Estate to identify a long-term alternative route for the footpath. NE have worked with the Meyrick Estate on a Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier application which will include a review of public access in this area and aim to identify a new sustainable route for the footpath. We recognise that the situation is frustrating for those who want to access the Avon Valley footpath, but changes in river levels associated with climate change do mean that the historic route is likely to be unsustainable.