Written questions by Baldwin.

Food and Rural Affairs, which farming areas in West Worcestershire constituency would qualify for the Farming in Protected Landscapes Fund.

The Farming in Protected Landscape programme funds projects in National Parks and National Landscapes. The programme is also open to farmers and land managers on land outside these protected landscapes where projects benefit these areas. In the West Worcestershire constituency, these areas include parts of the Malvern Hills and Cotswolds National Landscapes.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 96648, if she will set a target date for announcing the split between capital and revenue funding.

The detailed split of the Floods budget into resource and capital budgets is agreed during departmental business planning.

Food and Rural Affairs, further to her answer to Q92990 if she can break down the annual expenditure and the total £4.2 billion into capital and revenue.

As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, we are investing £4.2 billion over three years (2026/27 to 2028/29) to construct new flood and coastal erosion schemes and maintain and repair existing defences across the country.This is £1.4 billion on average each year – a 5% increase on the current average of £1.33 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26.Further details will be published in due course, including the split between capital and revenue funding.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to extend the Fruit and Vegetable Growers Scheme beyond December 31st 2025.

Legislation introduced in July 2023 permanently closes the legacy EU Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in England at the end of December 2025, The scheme was designed to help fresh fruit and vegetable growers increase their power in the supply chain, but it was only available to Producer Organisations, with around just over 20% of the sector accessing it and the vast majority not benefitting. Future support for the sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer. The Government is committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Wider Government support that we are providing for horticulture includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will break down the total £4.2 billion to flood defence spending in the Spending Review 2025 into capital and resource spending.

As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, we are investing £4.2 billion over three years (2026/27 to 2028/29) to construct new flood and coastal erosion schemes and maintain and repair existing defences across the country.This is £1.4 billion on average each year – a 5% increase on the current average of £1.33 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Deprived communities to get new flood defences faster further to the announcement, published on 14 October 2025, how much funding her Department will allocate under the (a) new and (b) previous approach to (i) England (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) Worcestershire in 2025-26.

On 14 October, following consultation, the government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. These changes will be used for the next flood programme starting in April 2026. The new funding policy will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment. We will use government funding to unlock investment from public, private and charitable sources, making every £1 of government investment go further. We will also invest at least £300 million in natural flood management over ten years – the highest figure to date for the floods programme. The specific projects to receive funding in each year will continue to be decided through the Environment Agency's annual refresh process, which will be consented by Regional Flood and Coastal Committees. For 25/26 our programme of investment was published here: Programme of flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) schemes - GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK–India Free Trade Agreement on his Department.

We are delivering our Plan for Change by striking a new trade deal with the fastest-growing economy in the G20. This comprehensive deal is expected to increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion, and boost wages by £2.2 billion each and every year in the long run. Once the deal is signed, we will publish an Impact Assessment as part of the UK’s standard treaty scrutiny process. This will offer a breakdown of the deal’s impact across sectors and regions. This landmark trade deal is a major boost win for our world-class food and drink industry. British farmers and producers of lamb, salmon, whisky and gin can now benefit from lower tariffs and exciting new opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing markets. The deal also protects sensitive sectors such as sugar, milled rice, pork, chicken, and eggs by excluding them from liberalisation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that livestock can move freely between land in England and Wales.

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, which is a UK-wide policy decision making group. Defra and the Devolved Governments also engage closely with industry to inform policy development and implementation through the Livestock Core Group. Nevertheless, disease control 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. From 1 July 2025 the restricted zone (RZ) for bluetongue will be extended to include all areas of England and the current movement restrictions for live animals within England will be lifted. Given the availability now of safe and effective BTV-3 vaccines, low prevalence of severe clinical signs in affected domestic animals, and the impact of restrictions, sustaining or increasing controls on BTV-3 into the future is neither sustainable nor proportionate. The Welsh Government will allow livestock to be moved from England to Wales subject to licences, qualifying vaccination and pre-movement tests at the keeper's expense. Farmers will need to make commercial decisions regarding the costs associated with this.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the (a) environment and (b) food sectors.

On 8 May, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump.  This delivers on the commitment by the Prime Minister and the President on 27 February to agree an economic deal in our respective national interests. This deal has created a reciprocal agreement to lower tariffs for British beef exporters to the US, while acting in the UK’s national interest by ensuring that we uphold our rigorous food standards while protecting our farmers. The agreement on beef means that around 1.5% of the UK beef market could come from the United States, and the same quantity of British beef can be exported to them. We have always been clear that this Government will protect British farmers, secure our food security and uphold our high food, animal welfare and environmental standards in trade deals. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the capital budget for flood defences was in each of the last three fiscal years; and what the capital budget for flood defences is for each year of the 2025 Spending Review period.

We are investing £2.65 billion over two years in 2024/25 to 2025/26 maintain, repair, and build flood defences. As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, the Spending Review settlement committed a further £4.2 billion total investment over three years (2026/27 to 2028/29) to construct new flood schemes and maintain and repair existing defences across the country. This is £1.4 billion on average each year – a 5% increase on the current average of £1.33 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26. Further details will be published at Main Estimates. Information on previous years spend is published as part of the Environment Agency Section 18 reports which can be found here Flood and coastal erosion risk management annual report - GOV.UK. We are consulting on proposals for reforming flood defence funding, protecting all communities including rural, coastal, and poorer areas.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 25193 tabled by the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on 21 January 2025.

A response to Question 25193 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 25193 tabled by the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on 21 January 2025.

A response to Question 25193 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's National Assessment of Flood Risk, published in December 2024, whether he plans to request an 88% increase in the budget for flood defences for the Comprehensive Spending Review.

The Environment Agency’s (EA) National Assessment of Flood risk report is not directly comparable with previous assessments due to improvements in modelling. Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. This Government will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. Longer term funding decisions will be made at the next Spending Review.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

No. The Civil Service Management Code sets out that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave.’ However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular department because they already have service with another department. As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Food and Rural Affairs, what funding is available for individual property-level flood protection for frequently-flooded communities.

We are investing £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. Property level flood resilience measures can be funded as part of wider flood alleviation schemes. The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be consented over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees with local representation. Build Back Better offers householders up to £10,000 to add property level resilience measures, where it can be offered as part of a flood insurance claim, over and above work to repair damage and loss caused by a flood. We want to see 100% of the UK domestic insurance market offering Build Back Better.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much he plans to allocate to the Farming in Protected Landscapes Fund in (a) 2025/26 and (b) 2026/27.

We will confirm plans for Farming in Protected Landscapes in 2025/26 in due course. The budget beyond 2025/26 is to be settled in phase 2 of the Spending Review.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much he plans to allocate to the Rural England Prosperity Fund in (a) 2025/26 and (b) 2026/27.

The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes for the next financial year will be determined in upcoming months through the department’s business planning exercise. The department is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and will update on the Rural England Prosperity Fund in due course.