Written questions by Morello.

Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish the consultation on access reform; and whether it will include provisions for enhancing public rights of way.

The Government recognises the importance of access to nature for health and wellbeing and is committed to ensuring it is safe, inclusive, and appropriate. We’re delivering on our ambitious manifesto commitment to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England.Further details on the next steps will be provided later this year, following the outcome of the Spending Review and the publication of the revised Environmental Improvement Plan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that appropriate biosecurity checks are conducted on (a) vehicles and (b) goods arriving in the UK from France, following the introduction of restrictions on personal imports of meat and dairy products.

This Government has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD), following a further confirmed case in Hungary, close to the Austrian border. The Government has already banned personal imports of cattle, sheep and other ruminants and pig meat as well as dairy products, from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria earlier this year in response to confirmed outbreaks of FMD in those countries. We recognise the risk posed by illegal imports via personal imports. Border force officers are responsible for detention and seizure of any illegal Products of Animal Origin (POAO) goods at points of entry and Defra is working closely with authorities at points of entry to help control the illegal movement of POAO into Great Britain in personal imports. Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has raised concerns with his French counterpart on the lack of visible (a) controls and (b) public information at French ports of departure on the new import restrictions.

The Government communicated the ban on personal imports of meats and dairy products from EU countries introduced on 12 April 2025, via a press release and information on social media and on GOV.UK. It has also published updated posters for operational partners to display. As part of our national mission to protect our food sector and farmers, Defra has written to ports, airports and travel operators requesting that they take further steps in communicating the new rules to travellers as a matter of urgency. Defra has also written to Ministers from the Department for Transport, Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers asking for their help with making travellers aware of the new rules.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Rural Payments Agency has a schedule for issuing payments to applicants with approved Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements submitted prior to 11 March 2025.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme payment schedule is in line with the agreement start date. Agreement holders will normally receive payments quarterly, the first payment will be four months after their SFI agreement starts. After that, payments are scheduled to be paid every three months, to ensure there is a regular, reliable income.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to communicate expected (a) processing and (b) payment timelines to applicants who submitted Sustainable Farming Incentive applications before 11 March 2025.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is (a) working through and will communicate with applicants individually through the application process. The RPA expects to complete all required checks and activity for the majority of eligible applications by late June. (b) The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme payment schedule is in line with the agreement start date. Agreement holders will normally receive payments quarterly and the first payment will be four months after their SFI agreement starts

Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive were pending a decision on 11 March 2025.

As of 11 March, of the applications that had been submitted for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer, there were 4,225 that had not yet received an agreement offer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that eligible application to the Sustainable Farming Incentive submitted before 11 March 2025 are (a) processed and (b) agreements offered in a timely manner.

As of the 30 April 2025, of the 4225 submitted Sustainable Farming Incentive applications outstanding an offer on 1 March, there are 872 that have not yet received an agreement offer. The Rural Payments Agency are continuing to work at pace to assess the eligibility and process applications which were submitted prior the closure of the scheme and expect to have completed this for the majority of eligible applications by late June.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the expected timeframe is for (a) processing and (b) decision-making on Sustainable Farming Incentive applications.

As of the 30 April 2025, of the 4225 submitted Sustainable Farming Incentive applications outstanding an offer on 1 March, there are 872 that have not yet received an agreement offer. The Rural Payments Agency are continuing to work at pace to assess the eligibility and process applications which were submitted prior the closure of the scheme and expect to have completed this for the majority of eligible applications by late June.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of when applicants to the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme who submitted applications before its closure on 11 March 2025 will receive payments.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme payment schedule is in line with the agreement start date. Agreement holders will normally receive payments quarterly, the first payment will be four months after their SFI agreement starts. After that, payments are scheduled to be paid every three months, to ensure there is a regular, reliable income.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of Gladis' Law.

The Countryside Code already provides comprehensive guidance for dog walkers and highlights that it is best practice to keep dogs on a lead around livestock. Although it is not mandatory under The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 for a dog to be kept on a lead around livestock, a person will be committing an offence under the Act if a dog attacks or worries livestock on agricultural land.The Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which will introduce new measures to tackle the serious issue of livestock worrying in England and Wales. The Bill will modernise definitions and scope, strengthen police powers, and increase the maximum penalty from a fine of £1,000 to an “unlimited” fine to act as a deterrent.

Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) support and (b) resources his Department has provided to farmers to protect livestock from dog attacks.

The Government recognises the distress livestock worrying can cause animals and their keepers. All reported crimes should be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with appropriate penalties. The Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which will introduce new measures to tackle the serious issue of livestock worrying. The Bill will modernise definitions and scope, strengthen police powers, and increase the maximum penalty from a fine of £1,000 to an “unlimited” fine to act as a deterrent.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he had made of the potential impact of organophosphate exposure from sheep dip on the health of (a) farmers and (b) agricultural workers.

The Government has commissioned a considerable amount of research to investigate whether there is a link between the use of organophosphate sheep dips and chronic ill-health. The outcome of this research was provided to the independent Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment who have published two statements in 2009 and 2014. The independent scientific advice is that the research evidence does not support a link between the use of sheep dips and chronic ill-health.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to implement penalties for dog attacks on livestock; and when those penalties will be enforced.

The Government recognises the distress livestock worrying can cause animals and their keepers. All reported crimes should be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with appropriate penalties. The Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which will introduce new measures to tackle the serious issue of livestock worrying. The Bill will modernise definitions and scope, strengthen police powers, and increase the maximum penalty from a fine of £1,000 to an “unlimited” fine to act as a deterrent.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help increase levels of public awareness of the responsibilities of dog owners to prevent livestock worrying incidents.

The Countryside Code highlights best practice for signage for livestock keepers, and comprehensive guidance for dog walkers. We encourage livestock keepers to adhere to this, raising public awareness by indicating the presence of animals with signs on walkways or field entrances. The Countryside Code also promotes messages on its social media pages and campaign web pages to raise awareness. The Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which will introduce new measures to tackle the serious issue of livestock worrying in England and Wales. The Bill will modernise definitions and scope, strengthen police powers, and increase the maximum penalty from a fine of £1,000 to an “unlimited” fine to act as a deterrent.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing compensation to people affected by exposure to organophosphates in sheep dip.

Whilst the Government is sympathetic to those who are ill, the Government is neutral on the issue of compensation claims between those who believe that their health has been affected by exposure to organophosphates and the manufacturers of those products.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help provide (a) support and (b) resources to farmers to protect their livestock from dog attacks.

This government recognises the distress livestock worrying can cause animals and their keepers. This Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which will amend and update the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953. The Bill will modernise definitions and scope, strengthen police powers and increase the maximum penalty from a fine of £1,000 to an “unlimited” fine to act as a deterrent.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to review funding for the (a) conservation and (b) management of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to increase their (i) environmental and (ii) recreational value.

National Landscape teams are powerful delivery partners, bringing together outcomes for nature, climate and communities. We understand resourcing remains a challenge and recognise that the Defra core grant is an essential foundation for National Landscapes’ work. We want to work closely with National Landscape teams to support their proven ability to innovate, drawing on their expertise, knowledge and partnerships with farmers, businesses and communities across England. We are committed to working with National Landscape organisations to ensure they are sustainably resourced to fulfil their statutory role and we will shortly begin a wider discussion about how we fund these places and organisations.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will meet with the hon. Member for West Dorset to visit the West Dorset Wildings Brit Valley Project.

The Secretary of State’s private office handles all meeting requests. Please contact them directly to request a meeting.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) monitor and (b) help reduce microplastic pollution in West Dorset constituency.

The Environment Agency is collaborating with the water industry on a suite of investigations into microplastics. This began in 2020 as part of the Chemical Investigations Programme and is continuing into the next phase of the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP). These investigations will enable a greater understanding of how microplastics enter the environment and what can be done to minimise this. The Environment Agency also recognises that tyre and road wear particles are a significant source of microplastics for the environment and are collaborating with National Highways on research into these sources.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve the (a) transparency and (b) public accessibility of water quality data for (i) rivers and (ii) lakes.

The Environment Agency’s Water Hub is a dedicated, easily accessible space bringing together publicly available guidance, data and news relating to water. The Environment Agency processes and publishes vast amounts of data, including bathing water data, storm overflows, catchment data, water quality data, which can be accessed via the Water Data Explorer. This government believes that it is important that we invest in the most appropriate type of monitors to ensure we gain valuable information on sewage discharges. Since 1 January 2025, water companies have been 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, it will take appropriate enforcement action. In addition to this, the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has introduced an equivalent 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. During the bathing water season, 451 designated bathing waters benefit from water quality monitoring by the Environment Agency (EA) – enabling the public to make informed decisions about where to swim. This data is published on the EA’s Swimfo bathing waters website so that the public can make an informed decision before swimming here. The Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment programme (NCEA) is producing a statistically robust baseline assessment of the health of England’s rivers and lakes. The baseline data and outputs will be made publicly accessible, enabling the private sector, central and local governments, and third sectors to use these products to understand the condition of our ecosystems and put nature at the heart of decision-making.