Written questions by Chowns.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49999 on Holiday Activities and Food Programme, whether she plans to continue the provision of funding for the Holidays and Activities Programme beyond the 2025-26 financial year.

The government remains committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme. We are currently working through the outcomes of the Spending Review and will share further information in relation to the future of the HAF programme in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of land-spreading sewage sludge on soil contamination.

The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 (SUiAR) supported by the Sewage Sludge Code of Practice provide environmental and health protections from sludge spreading. The Government is continuing to work with the Environment Agency to assess the regulatory framework for spreading sludge. We recognise that effective and proportionate regulations are an essential tool to improve the environment. The Government has been working with water companies under their Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP), to improve the evidence base on the behaviour and fate of contaminants in during treatment processes. CIP phase 4 will include a Groundwater, Soil and Biosolids investigation. This will be looking at the fate and behaviour of multiple chemical compounds, including PFAS substances, to establish whether detected substances pose a risk to long-term soil health, groundwater quality ansd the wider environment.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy for all new homes to be built without a gas connection.

The government recognises that we need to move away from fossil fuel heating to meet our commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Future Homes Standard (FHS), to be introduced through the Building Regulations in autumn this year, will effectively preclude the use of gas boilers in new homes. We would therefore expect the majority of new homes to be built without a gas connection. However, the FHS will not set standards for the fuels used, or emissions from, gas cookers or hobs. While most FHS homes are likely to be built with electric cooking (since, as set out above, developments are unlikely to be connected to a gas main), this will ultimately be a choice for individual developers.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish updates to the Farming Rules for Water.

The updated and amended Farming Rules for Water were published on 18 June and we are continuing to support the EA to work with farmers to meet their legal obligations.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support the removal of barriers to keystone species reintroduction projects (a) in England and (b) over devolved boundaries.

The Government supports species reintroductions including keystone species, where there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment. All reintroductions in England are expected to follow the Code for Reintroductions and other Conversations Translocations. The Code states that, while it is specific to England, cross-border co-operation and engagement with relevant authorities and stakeholders is essential where releases occur close to England’s neighbours or involve a reintroduction of a species to Great Britain. We would therefore expect any reintroduction project to carry out cross-border coordination as part of the planning phase of their reintroduction project.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage landowners in river catchments to transition toward nature-led farming.

We are investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature’s recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%. This funding is available to all farmers, includes this in river catchments. We have more farmers than ever in nature friendly farming schemes and are reforming SFI to target funds fairly and effectively towards food, farming and nature priorities. We will announce further details later this year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49999 on Holiday Activities and Food Programme, following the Spending Review 2025, whether the Holiday Activities and Food Programme will continue beyond March 2026; and whether the 500,000 children who are now eligible for free school meals will be eligible for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme.

The government remains committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme to ensure children who are eligible for free school meals can access enriching activities and healthy meals. More than £200 million has been allocated to the programme for 2025/26.We are currently working through the outcomes of the Spending Review, and we will share further information in relation to the future of the HAF programme in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to support the reintroduction of (a) species, (b) elk, (c) water voles, (d) eels and (e) pine martens in river catchments.

The Government supports species reintroductions, where there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment. Taking each species in turn: A) We are not aware of any active proposals for the reintroduction of elk. B) The conservation and recovery of water voles has been supported by a range of projects. The Environment Agency has carried out 279 projects over the last three years, including habitat works, reintroduction or translocation, research and monitoring. Forestry England has also reintroduced water voles to Kielder forest with Northumberland Wildlife Trust and have further plans to reintroduce water voles into Wild Ennerdale in the Lake District. In addition, Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme has invested in three reintroduction projects of captive bred water voles. C) Defra has no current plans to support restocking of eels. D) Forestry England works closely with both active and potential pine marten reintroduction projects across the country and are also partners on the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, and the South Cumbria Pine Marten Recovery Project, both of which released animals last autumn.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to increase the amount of funding available to support (a) rewilding and (b) natural process-led grazing at landscape scale along (i) river and (ii) the river Wye catchments.

This Government is making the largest investment into nature in history, with over £7 billion directed into nature’s recovery. This includes environmental farming schemes (£5.9 billion), tree planting (£816 million) and peatland restoration (£85 million). In a joint initiative worth up to £1 million, Defra and Welsh government will fund comprehensive cross-border research to understand pollution and other pressures and develop plans to tackle these issues in the Wye catchment. This funding will ensure farmers, environmental campaigners, citizen scientists and other local experts, can help us gather essential evidence about what is causing this iconic river to be so polluted, and chart a course towards improving water quality and restoring nature across the catchment. The Landscape Recovery scheme has two projects in development on the River Wye and within the Wye catchment: these are ‘Wye Valley – Ridge to River’, and ‘Wyescapes – Food, Nature and Water’, respectively. The ‘Wye Valley’ vision is for a resilient, multi-functional landscape, where a mosaic of woodlands, parkland, meres, farmland, and floodplains provide food, boost biodiversity and protect water whilst contributing to climate mitigation and social value. It aims to create and connect wildlife rich habitat and to farm regeneratively to increase carbon storage, reduce emissions and nutrient losses. ‘Wyescapes’ aim is to recover priority habitats and species, reduce nutrient runoff, restore hydrological/ecological function and resilience, and reduce CO2e emissions. The project consists of riverside land and adjacent farmland, where the managing farmers will be supported to reduce intensity of existing practices and create new wetlands, floodplain meadow, and woodland.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support restoring (a) natural processes to river corridors within river catchments and (b) (i) native vegetation, (ii) floodplain connectivity and (iii) wetland habitats; and if he will take steps to work on these restoration projects with (A) local authorities, (B) environmental groups, (C) farmers and (D) catchment partnerships.

The England Woodland Creation Offer provides 100% of standard woodland creation capital costs and further incentivises the restoration of native riparian vegetation for water benefits through stackable supplementary payments for woodlands that improve water quality, reduce the risk of flooding, and riparian buffers that improve water habitat. This year (2025/26) Defra have committed £10.9 million of capital Water Environment Improvement Funding (WEIF), administered by the Environment Agency (EA), which is designed to help achieve the Environment Improvement Plan goal of achieving clean and plentiful water. The primary objective is of the fund is to address “orphaned” water environment issues where the polluter pays principle does not apply. Typical WEIF projects include river restoration, wetland habitat restoration and creation, floodplain connectivity, removal of barriers for fish and eel migration. WEIF projects are developed through Catchment Partnerships and are primarily delivered by local delivery partners, including eNGOs and Local Authorities. The EA is also accelerating investment in Natural Flood Management (NFM) through the £25 million NFM fund. NFM protects, restores, or emulates the natural functions of rivers, floodplains, catchments, and the coast to reduce flooding and coastal erosion. Projects being delivered through the fund involve a range of stakeholders including wildlife and rivers trusts, local authorities, landowners, farmers, and local communities. Additionally, the EA also carries out large scale habitat creation projects through its Habitat Compensation and Restoration Programmes. These programmes compensate for impacts to protected sites due to human activity and have created approximately 1,600 hectares of intertidal habitat.

If she will make it her policy to reclassify housing as essential infrastructure.

On 19 June, the government published UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy. This sets out a long-term vision to deliver the infrastructure needed to drive the government’s missions, backed by at least £725 billion in infrastructure investment over the next decade. Social, economic and housing infrastructure underpin the government’s central missions and the Plan for Change. That is why this government’s strategy brings together housing, social and economic infrastructure, aligning planning and delivery over the next 10 years to support growth. The government has made its commitment to housing clear, including through major reforms to the planning system, its 10 year £39 billion investment in the Affordable Homes Programme, and the establishment of a new National Housing Bank backed with £16 billion of financial capacity, on top of £6bn of existing finance to be allocated this Parliament.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, if she will publish a target for social rent housing for (a) each year and (b) the 10 year period of funding for the Affordable Homes Programme.

The new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme that was announced at the Spending Review will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent. We will confirm further details in due course. The government has not set an affordable housing target to date, but we continue to keep the matter under review.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, how much and what proportion of the funding for the Affordable Homes Programme will be used for social rent housing in the next 10 years.

The new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme that was announced at the Spending Review will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent. We will confirm further details in due course. The government has not set an affordable housing target to date, but we continue to keep the matter under review.

Communities and Local Government, to what energy standards homes under the Affordable Homes Programme will be built.

The government will publish the Future Homes Standard (FHS) this autumn to ensure new homes are zero carbon ready, meaning they will require no future retrofit work as the electricity grid fully decarbonises.The FHS will apply to all new homes and will ensure they have low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. We will set out appropriate transitional arrangements for the FHS in due course to ensure a smooth adoption of the new standards.Prior to the implementation of the FHS, we expect new homes to be built to the current 2021 standards. The current standards are set at a high level, ensuring new homes are warm, comfortable and that their energy bills are minimised.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of insurance requirements for companies operating intensive poultry units, in the context of (a) avian influenza and (b) other disease outbreaks.

The UK poultry sector is highly resilient and adaptable and continues to supply healthy and affordable products in spite of the many challenges it has faced in recent years. Compensation is paid by Defra for animals culled the by HM Government for disease control purposes, as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981. In addition to the financial support offered to producers directly affected by outbreaks through compensation, producers can insure privately for losses not covered by Defra’s compensation scheme, this may include consequential losses including business interruption caused by control measures. Following difficult avian influenza seasons in 2021/22 and 2022/23, poultry and egg producers made the department aware of the challenges that some faced in both obtaining suitable insurance products and the increased cost of such insurance. However, we understand that renewal rates have remained high for producers with existing policies, including those companies operating intensive poultry units. Defra continues to monitor the situation and to remind producers that they are responsible for the on-farm management of their flocks. Having strong biosecurity measures in place, and maintaining them year-round, significantly reduces the risk of infection on site.

What proportion of eligible families were in receipt of Healthy Start in North Herefordshire constituency on 9 June 2025.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start and does not currently hold data on the number of people eligible for Healthy Start. The NHSBSA does not hold data on local constituencies. The table below shows the number of people on the digital scheme in the relevant local authorities as of 23 May 2025:Local authorityNumber of people on the digital schemeBlackpool1,434City of Bristol2,778County of Herefordshire736Southampton1,677Worthing348Brighton and Hove1,041East Suffolk1,129

What steps she plans to take to monitor compliance with the updated school food standards; and what support she plans to provide to schools that are not currently meeting those standards.

The department is engaging with stakeholders on revising the school food standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.School governors and trustees have a statutory duty to ensure compliance with the school food standards.To improve understanding of the school food standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account, the department, along with National Governance Association, developed an online training course on school food for governors and trustees.The department is also working with the Food Standards Agency on next steps following the findings of the compliance pilot run by the department and the Food Standards Agency during the 2022/23 academic year.As with all aspects of the school food standards review, the department will keep our approaches to compliance under consideration.​

How many applicants who were (a) responsible for funeral costs and (b) in receipt of a qualifying benefit were denied a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment because of the family tests in the eligibility criteria in each of the last five years.

Table 1 shows the number of applicants who were refused a Funeral Expenses Payment for the below reasons:There is a surviving partnerThere is a closer relativeThey are not a partner, friend or relative Table 1: Funeral Expense Payments- Refusals linked to the Family Test 2020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25Number of Refusals1,1009001,2001,2001,000 Notes:- These figures have been estimated using unaudited internal DWP Management Information which is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics.- These applicants are assumed to have been responsible for funeral costs and to have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit.- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a system for regulating the land market along the lines of the French Société d’Aménagement Foncier et d’Etablissement Rural.

Defra has made no such assessment. The Land Use Consultation explored the functions of land markets in England and the case for new incentives, including regulation to support the Government’s growth, environmental, and food production objectives. The responses to the consultation will inform a Land Use Framework that will be published later this year. The Farming Roadmap will include a vision for our farming sector and set the direction for how we get there, with a focus on delivering our food security and environmental objectives and supporting farms to be resilient and profitable.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to implement the judgement in Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs v Pickering Fishery Association [2025] EWCA Civ 378.

I refer the Member for North Herefordshire to the Minister’s written statement of 6 May 2025.