Written questions by Morello.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to support farmers with changes in agricultural subsidies following the UK's departure from the EU.

As we carry on the transition away from payment for land ownership and towards paying to deliver public goods for the environment, the Government is working with farmers to deliver a profitable farming sector and unlock rural growth. Environment Land Management (ELM) schemes remain at the centre of our offer for farmers and nature, putting us on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector. In the October 2024 budget, we committed £5 billion for farming over two years, including £1.8 billion for our ELM schemes - the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history. More than half of farmers are now in an ELM scheme. At January’s Oxford Farming Conference, the Secretary of State announced a series of reforms to support farmers, delivering on the Government’s New Deal for Farmers. This includes a pledge to use the Government’s own purchasing power to back British produce and a commitment to monitor food currently bought in the public sector and where it is bought from. The Government will also use planning reforms to support food production, help farmers make additional money from selling surplus energy from solar panels and wind turbines by accelerating connections to the grid, protect farmers in trade deals, and boost profitability through fair competition across the supply chain.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce E. coli levels in the River Char.

The River Char is not a designated site, therefore we do not hold any data on E.Coli levels for that river. The Environment Agency (EA) does not routinely monitor for E. Coli, as this is not a measure used to classify the ecological health of our rivers. E Coli monitoring is normally only undertaken at designated bathing waters to provide information to bathers on possible health risks. The Char has no designated bathing waters so is not monitored for E Coli. The nearest designated bathing water site in the catchment is on the coast at Charmouth West. This has been classified as having Excellent Bathing Water Quality.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the cost of living on recent demand for food banks in rural areas.

The latest statistics on food bank usage including data at a national and regional level can be found in the household food security tables located here: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK

What assessment her Department has made of trends in food bank use in rural areas over the last 12 months.

The latest statistics on food bank usage including data at a national and regional level can be found in the household food security tables located here: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK

What recent discussions her Department has had with farming representatives on the potential impact of the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax scheme on farmers who have diversified into holiday accommodations.

The Government will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHLs) tax regime from April 2025. This will equalise the tax treatment of FHL and non-FHL landlords’ income and gains. Draft legislation to abolish the FHL tax regime was published on 29 July 2024, providing farming representatives and other businesses with an opportunity to share their views on the legislation with the Government.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent data his Department holds on E. coli levels in the River Char.

The River Char is not a designated site, therefore we do not hold any data on E.Coli levels for that river. The Environment Agency (EA) does not routinely monitor for E. Coli, as this is not a measure used to classify the ecological health of our rivers. E Coli monitoring is normally only undertaken at designated bathing waters to provide information to bathers on possible health risks. The Char has no designated bathing waters so is not monitored for E Coli. The nearest designated bathing water site in the catchment is on the coast at Charmouth West. This has been classified as having Excellent Bathing Water Quality.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers facing increased veterinary insurance premiums.

Insurance providers are private businesses and are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, we are providing eligible keepers of cattle, sheep and pigs in England access to a series of funded visits by a vet of their choice, the animal health and welfare review and the complementary endemic disease follow-up visit.

What recent estimate his Department has made of the number of NHS dentists accepting new patients in West Dorset constituency.

As of 4 February 2025, in the West Dorset constituency, there were 15 National Health Service dentist practices, with two showing as ‘accepting new child patients when availability allows’ and two showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’.This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website and is matched to constituencies based on the postcode data shown on the website, which is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist

Food and Rural Affairs, what funding is allocated for research into affordable precision agriculture technologies suitable for small-scale farmers.

The Farming Innovation Programme funds research across a range of technologies in agriculture including precision agriculture. Almost £150 million has been committed to projects of which over £84 million has been committed to small businesses. From 2025 / 2026 a further £63 million will be available in innovation grants under the Programme to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) accessibility and (b) maintenance of rural roads.

This Government takes the accessibility and condition of both rural and urban roads very seriously and is determined to help local authorities tackle the maintenance backlog that results from years of underinvestment by the previous Government. The Government has announced a highway maintenance funding uplift of £500 million for the 2025/26 financial year to help local authorities in rural and urban areas to carry out their highway maintenance responsibilities. Dorset County Council is set to receive over £25 million, an increase of over 35% from the current financial year. It is up to each authority to decide how much of this it spends on its rural roads, based on local needs and priorities.The Department also provides Integrated Transport Block funding to local authorities to allow them to carry out accessibility and other improvements to roads in rural and urban areas and hopes to confirm 2025/26 allocations shortly. Active Travel England has also recently announced active travel funding allocations to authorities for 2024/25 and 2025/26 which will allow them to improve the accessibility of footways in both rural and urban areas, and Dorset will receive around £1 million of this funding.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent hunting activities from causing distress to livestock on active farmland.

The Government recognises the distress livestock worrying can cause animals and their keepers. It is an offence under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 for any dog to attack or worry livestock. All reported crimes should be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with appropriate penalties. Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which will amend and update the 1953 Act. 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.

What support is available to farmers to improve the insulation of farmhouses.

The UK Government is committed to ensuring that no-one is left behind in the transition to Net Zero, supplying solutions that work for all buildings, income groups, and housing types such as farmhouses. As part of the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed initial £3.4 billion over the next three years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. There are various schemes currently delivering home energy efficiency improvements including the Energy Company Obligation, the Great British Insulation Scheme, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The new Warm Homes: Local Grant will support low-income homeowners and private tenants with insulation measures, with delivery beginning this year. Households can also use the home retrofit tool on GOV.UK, ‘Find ways to save energy in your home’ (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency) which allows users to get tailored recommendations for home improvements that could make their property cheaper to heat and keep warm.

What the (a) scope and (b) planned timeline is for her Department’s planned benefit reforms in 2025.

We are committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits so that it promotes and enables employment among as many people as possible. The system must also work to support disabled people to live independently. It is also vital to ensure that the system is financially sustainable in the long term.We are working to develop proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits and will set them out in a green paper in the spring.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the symptoms on the Bluetongue virus alongside vaccinations.

Defra’s approach to bluetongue virus (BTV) considers the latest scientific evidence and veterinary advice and aims to limit the spread of infection through proportionate and evidence-based control measures where appropriate, including movement controls on susceptible animals and controls on germinal products. A Restricted Zone is currently in place to help prevent the spread of disease. Alongside this, the Secretary of State authorised the use of three BTV-3 vaccines in 2024 and keepers are encouraged to discuss the use of vaccines with their vet.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of NHS orthodontist appointments available in West Dorset constituency.

The responsibility for commissioning specialised orthodontic services is delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the West Dorset constituency, this is the NHS Dorset ICB. In order to support the ICBs in the execution of their duties, NHS England has published a number of documents, including a clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity, which is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/clinical-standards-for-dental-specialties-orthodontics/ More widely, the Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What steps she is taking to tackle drug-related crime in rural constituencies.

The Government recognises the considerable impact of drug use and dealing on individuals, families and communities in rural and urban constituencies. Tackling this is a vital part of our missions to deliver safer streets and improve health outcomes, and that is why we are taking a collaborative, cross-government approach to drugs at a national level.We expect the police to intervene to tackle illicit drug use, recognising the significant harms it causes. We are dedicated to reducing these drug-related harms through prevention and treatment, while acting quickly and decisively to stop the criminals peddling these harmful substances.County Lines are the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we will continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade.Since July 2024, policing activity delivered through the County Lines Programme has resulted in over 400 deal lines being closed, the arrest and charge of over 200 deal line holders, 500 arrests and 800 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people.As part of the Programme, the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place 25 November to 1 December 2024 and resulted in 261 lines closed, as well as 1,660 arrests, 1,434 individuals safeguarded and 557 weapons seized.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of children attending NHS dental services in West Dorset constituency.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. The most common reason children aged five to nine are admitted to hospital is for tooth decay. We will work with local authorities and the NHS to introduce supervised tooth brushing for children aged between three and five years old in the most deprived communities. These programmes are proven to reduce tooth decay and to boost good practices at home.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For West Dorset constituency, this is Dorset ICB.

What steps she is taking to help reduce levels of rural crime in West Dorset constituency.

Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector. That is why the Government is committed to tackling rural crime.Under our Safer Streets Mission, rural communities will be better protected, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver thousands of neighbourhood police and community support officers, across England and Wales, including in rural areas, to speed up response times and build public confidence.We are also committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 to fend off the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.

Food and Rural Affairs, what consultations his Department has held with farming communities on the potential impact of rural road infrastructure on farming operations.

Rural road infrastructure is not a matter for Defra. The Department for Transport is responsible for providing policy, guidance and funding to local authorities in England to help them run and maintain their road networks. Local authorities are responsible for the management of the local road network under their control, and it is for individual local authorities to decide on how best to maintain its roads based on local needs, priorities and funding. Consultation with rural communities, including farmers, on the subject of road infrastructure would be a matter for the Department for Transport and the relevant local authorities. This Government takes the accessibility and condition of both rural and urban roads very seriously and is determined to help local authorities tackle the maintenance backlog that results from years of underinvestment by the previous Government. Well-maintained roads are vital for the economy and broader factors such as the social wellbeing of communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available to farmers for implementing water-efficient irrigation systems.

We are committed to supporting all farming sectors to increase levels of productivity whilst increasing their sustainability and resilience. We are looking carefully at how to position further investment and support to enable the delivery of this Government's objectives, including on water management. We plan to simplify and rationalise our grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. The forthcoming round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, to launch in Spring 2025, will support the uptake of innovative technology and equipment that is commercially available. The scheme has historically offered grants for water management equipment and will be open to farmers across England. The full list of eligible equipment will be published within the scheme guidance ahead of the scheme launch. We will confirm any further future grant rounds in due course following the forthcoming Spending Review.