Written questions by Campbell.

Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions in the past six months have discussions taken place with the EU Commission on increasing the number of plant species that can be traded between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

There have been three exchanges of emails with European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the last six months, regarding UK submissions of additional information for three prohibited high-risk plants: Castanea sativa, Hamamelis mollis and Robinia pseudoacacia. This allowed EFSA to publish scientific opinions for these species on 22 December 2025, 6 January 2026 and 22 April 2026 respectively. There is usually a delay of a few weeks/months whilst the EU Commission drafts new legislation based on published EFSA opinions, but progress continues at pace. In the last six months the EU has lifted prohibitions, subject to conditions, on a further five species of Prunus (3 October 2025) Only seven of the 45 High Risk Plant species that the UK has requested market access for, remain prohibited for export to the EU/Northern Ireland.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the predominance of the grey squirrel population during this Parliament.

The Grey Squirrel Policy Statement was published in January 2026. This policy statement sets out the actions we will take over the next five years to manage the impact of grey squirrels. Actions include encouraging landowners to take greater action through financial incentives and advice through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier. The Government is paying £60 per hectare to manage and reduce the impact of grey squirrels. We are backing our nation’s conservation volunteers and landowners, by leading communication on the impacts of grey squirrels and providing support for training in grey squirrel management. We are also working with UK Squirrel Accord to support research into immunocontraception.

Food and Rural Affairs, what has been the change in the number of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza cases between January 2021 and January 2026.

The number of confirmed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) cases in Great Britain for each calendar year between January 2021 and January 2026 is shown in the following table. Year HPAI cases20217420222372023572024172025138202612

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of a recent report from COELIAC UK indicating that sufferers spend in excess of a third more on food purchases than the average consumer.

The Government recognises the increased costs incurred by people with coeliac disease because they must buy gluten-free options, which are often more expensive. The current position in England that gluten-free bread and mixes can be provided to coeliac patients on NHS prescription, based on a shared decision between prescriber and patient, while being mindful of local and national guidance. However, local Integrated Care Boards can restrict or end the prescribing of gluten-free food locally as they retain the right to make prescribing policies meeting the needs of their local population within allocated resources. Food prices depend on a range of factors including import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and exchange rates. Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers on a range of food supply matters. However, it is not for Government to set retail food prices or to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions taken by businesses.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) supermarkets and (b) other retailers on the potential impact of the closure of the Movement Assistance Scheme on those businesses.

The Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS) was always intended to be time limited. It was originally scheduled to close in December 2023. The decision to extend MAS until June 2025 was made public on 10th October 2023 and there was never a suggestion it would extend beyond this date. However, the Department remains committed to ensuring the smooth flow of trade within the UK internal market, as demonstrated by the ongoing support for traders moving goods to Northern Ireland and the work to reach an SPS agreement with the EU. Last year, retailers and trade representative bodies were reminded that the scheme was closing as planned and large retailers were offered 1:1 meetings.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on how best practice across the UK can be utilised to help with green blue algae problems in Lough Neagh.

Baroness Hayman visited Lough Neagh with Defra officials and Minister Muir in March 2025, to see first-hand some of the shared challenges. Subsequently at the November 2025 meeting of the Interministerial Group for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministers from across the UK, including the Northern Ireland Executive, discussed water quality issues and how to share best practice. Ministers agreed to establish an officials’ group to enhance the sharing of research data and behavioural change evidence to support policy making and delivery across the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive to develop the Circular Economy Growth Plan.

The Circular Economy Growth Plan will be England only in scope (aside from policy areas that are reserved matters), but we recognise that the Devolved Governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive, either have or are developing similar circular economy plans. The Growth Plan will set out the biggest opportunities to support growth in sectors right across the economy, including: agri-food; built environment; chemicals and plastics; electrical and electronic equipment; textiles; and transport. We recognise the overlap between these sectors and the circular economy packages being taken forward by Devolved Governments. Ministers have engaged with their counterparts in Northern Ireland on areas of shared interests and opportunities for collaboration through both the Inter-Ministerial Group and the British-Irish Council. This engagement has been further continued at official level too in order to support alignment. The Secretary of State will continue to discuss the progress of our Circular Economy agenda with the Northern Ireland Executive and all devolved governments, as we are actively looking to work collaboratively and closely across the four nations, recognising that consistency throughout the UK also has benefits for industry and other stakeholders.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her European Commission counterparts on border controls for the import of high-risk plants in the context of the 10 remaining species of plants on the EU's prohibitions list.

Since 2021 Defra has worked with the horticultural industry to submit 48 market access applications (including multiple species within the same genera) for the most widely traded High-Risk Plants, 40 of which have now resulted in the adoption of EU import requirements allowing the export of these species to resume to the EU. The industry has been consulted on a regular basis to ascertain the species of interest, as industry’s cooperation and input have been paramount in completing the relevant applications. Following the announcement of the intention to negotiate an SPS agreement with the EU and after consultation with the industry, work has been paused on further applications, in the expectation that under the agreement the High-Risk Plant prohibitions for third countries would no longer be applicable to the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, when did the Inter Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last meet: and what agenda items were discussed.

The Inter-Ministerial Group for EFRA met on 24 November. The group discussed the following agenda items: water quality and collaboration on nutrient management; the Fisheries and Coastal Growth Fund; funding; the EU-UK SPS agreement; CO2 Supplies and Defra Food Strategy. A communique will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the tonnage of (a) recycled and (b) incinerated waste between 2019 and 2024.

The most comprehensive waste treatment data Defra hold for the period from 2019 to 2024 cover the management of local authority collected waste in England for the financial years 2018/19 to 2023/24. The data are available in the Local authority collected waste management - annual results - GOV.UK publication. Over this period, the total tonnage of waste collected by local authorities has fallen by 534,000 tonnes, from 25.6 million tonnes in 2018/19 to 25.1 million tonnes in 2023/24. Tonnages of waste recycled have fallen by 560,000 tonnes, while tonnages of waste sent for incineration with energy recovery have increased by 1.5 million tonnes and tonnages incinerated without energy recovery have fallen by 88,000 tonnes. Data are available on the final treatment of all waste in the UK in the UK statistics on waste - GOV.UK publication, the most recent data are for 2020. Equivalent England-level data are also available for 2022 in the same publication. Both the UK and England data sets are updated biennially.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Veterinary Medicine Working Group plans to meet in January 2026.

The Veterinary Medicine Working Group last met on 9 December 2025 and plans to meet next in the early new year when the two schemes that the Government is introducing will be in effect.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with devolved Administrations on ensuring best coordination to restrict the spread of Bluetongue in cattle and sheep.

Disease control policy is a devolved matter and it is for the Devolved Governments to assess the disease risks and impacts in relation to their national herds, alongside the impacts of controls, and respond accordingly. Defra works closely with the Devolved Governments with the aim of providing, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response across the UK. A key forum for this is the Animal Disease Policy Group (ADPG), which is a UK wide policy decision making group. Defra and Devolved Governments also engage closely with industry to inform policy development and implementation.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her policy to provide full access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland via the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme from 1 January 2026.

The Veterinary Medicine Internal Market Scheme allows for products from Great Britain (GB), that are not vaccines, to be moved without the need for a Special Import Certificate, respecting Northern Ireland’s integral part in the UK’s internal market. The scheme will provide vets, who have a clinical need under the cascade, access to GB medicines without additional administrative burden. Additionally, under the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme, vets do not need to wait for a medicine shortage to arise before they can source a product. Both vets and wholesalers may hold stock of medicines including products from GB, other than vaccines, that may need to be used in the future. The Government’s current assessment does not expect any significant disruption to the supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland; therefore, most medicines will continue to be supplied as they are now.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to WPQ 91307, whether she plans to reduce the number of grey squirrels and increase the number of red squirrels by the end of the current Parliament.

To deliver against the statutory targets for biodiversity, in England, we are acting at scale to create, restore, manage, and protect wildlife-rich habitats, reduce pressures on biodiversity, and take targeted action for species including red squirrels. Effective management to reduce grey squirrel populations supports the conservation of red squirrels. To help achieve this, the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme provides payments of £60 per hectare to manage and reduce the impact of grey squirrels. Additionally, Defra continues to explore non-lethal and passive control methods to reduce grey squirrel populations and has contributed funding to the fertility control research led by the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the UK Squirrel Accord.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 89387 on Veterinary Services: Northern Ireland, with whom consultations took place on the estimate of the proportion of veterinary medicine products that are expected to be discontinued after January 2026.

Following on from PQ 89387, our assessment that most products currently on the Northern Ireland will remain available is built on extensive assessment with industry stakeholders. In particular, we contacted all the Marketing Authorisation Holders that had products with a valid Marketing Authorisation for Northern Ireland and asked them their supply intentions for after the end of the grace period. We first started this survey in 2022 and have followed up on a regular basis. The Department continues to engage with industry to help ensure a smooth transition into 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the numbers of (a) grey squirrels and (b) red squirrels in England.

A 2018 report by the Mammal Society estimates there are 1.94million grey squirrels and 38,900 red squirrels in England.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is having discussions with counterparts in the devolved Administrations on the circular economy strategy.

Yes. This government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out. This systemic change, with investment in green jobs and vital infrastructure, builds a path to economic growth, progress towards Net Zero, restoration of nature, and a more resilient economy. The Government convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help map that transition; in the new year we will publish a Circular Economy Growth Plan that sets out how government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy. The Government will maintain this collaborative approach as the Circular Economy Growth Plan is finalised, with further joint working and mutual learning scheduled to ensure coherence across the United Kingdom.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will commission an independent assessment of the effectiveness of the (a) Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme and (b) Veterinary Medicine Health Situation Scheme since those schemes were established.

Continued access to veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period is a government priority. We continue to engage extensively with stakeholders and have updated the guidance following their feedback, including on the two schemes. The two schemes will take effect from 1 January and we will monitor their effectiveness and consider further reviews, which could include an independent assessment by the Veterinary Products Committee, if needed. We remain confident that the schemes can address supply gaps if they emerge.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the EU on the movement of veterinary medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after 1 January 2026; and when she plans to communicate relevant decisions to veterinary practices.

The Government continues to engage with the EU on a range of issues relating to the Windsor Framework, including veterinary medicines. We continue to engage extensively with industry including veterinary bodies and other veterinary experts and will use this information to inform and calibrate the guidance and measures we are taking.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to ensure that veterinary medicine supply via suitably qualified persons to Northern Ireland will continue on the same basis as now from 1 January 2026.

Suitably Qualified Persons (SQPs) are unique to the UK, and the Government is committed to supporting them and the vital role they play in supporting the UK’s farming and companion animal sectors. Continued access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period is a Government priority. After extensive stakeholder engagement, our current estimate is that 10-15% of products are expected to be discontinued. Many of these authorisations are dormant or sold in very low volumes and we do not anticipate significant animal health or welfare issues as a result of these discontinuations. Where there is, or likely to be, a significant animal health issue, and it is appropriate to do so, products under the Veterinary Medicines Health Situation Scheme could be made available for prescription and supply by SQPs who would be able to supply veterinary medicines as they do now.