Written questions by Morgan.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Farming Recovery Fund, if he will publish (a) the number of individual payments made by and (b) total costs of those payment to each local authority area for each year since the fund was established.

Farming Recovery Fund payments are made directly to farmers. The Farming Recovery Fund is activated by the Government of the day and has been activated in 2015, 2019, 2020 and again in 2024 depending on the scale and impacts of the flooding, these are detailed below: - In 2015 when Storm Desmond produced 341mm of rainfall at Honister Pass in Cumbria in 24 hours.- In 2019/2020, a flash flood in North Yorkshire affecting a single parish and the collapse of a flood embankment in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, and widescale flooding across central and eastern England.- In 2024 an expanded fund following Storms Babet, Henk and the exceptional wet weather during the six-month period October 2023 to March 2024 Each iteration of the Farming Recovery Fund is different depending on when, where and what the weather conditions were which caused the flooding. Farmers were able to apply for these funds the details of which are set out below. RegionFRF 2015FRF 2019FRF 2020NumberAmountNumberAmountNumberAmountBerkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire1£9,120.00 Cheshire 1£3,948.94Cumbria530£4,647,445.22 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 18£78,834.384£28,006.84East Anglia1£1,530.00 East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire8£34,027.492£5,515.781£1,361.30Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bath/Bristol area1£2,924.201£21,387.5035£241,976.01Greater Manchester7£33,124.52 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 6£52,665.3270£362,580.74Inner London - West1£3,603.00 1£1,730.00Lancashire129£978,167.39 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 1£5,829.50 Lincolnshire1£19,846.0030£165,887.13 North Yorkshire212£1,507,147.2036£266,871.18 Northumberland, and Tyne and Wear60£425,640.21 Shropshire and Staffordshire1£20,000.00 29£120,655.82South Yorkshire1£514.9012£39,280.42 Tees Valley and Durham15£106,270.76 West Yorkshire27£181,071.49 Total payments to English registered businesses995£7,970,432.38106£636,271.21141£760,259.65Paid for land in England but business registered in other UK country4£31,867.98 3£7,368.36Grand total999£8,002,300.36106£636,271.21144£767,628.01 We will publish data for the 2024 Farming Recovery Fund once payments have been finalised. The 2024 Farming Recovery Fund has paid around 12,700 farming businesses £57.5 million, to date. Recovery payments were always intended as an exceptional intervention. Defra is working with the Flood Resilience Taskforce to develop a longer-term solution to the impacts of our changing climate on the agricultural sector. We are also investing in environmental land management schemes which include actions to improve flood resilience and water management on farms.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it compulsory for developers to form agreements with water companies for the adoption of new-build drainage systems.

Section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act has not yet been implemented in England. Should it be implemented, all new sewerage will be built to an agreed standard and automatically adopted. The powers to adopt existing sewerage have now expired. Therefore, new legislation will be required to enable mandatory adoption of this sewerage. Water companies can currently adopt sewerage voluntarily. The Government has included private sewerage in the terms of reference for the forthcoming review of the water sector and will examine how best to address the problems caused by unadopted sewerage. The Government is committed to using legislation to reform the water sector and will continue to do so where necessary. As set out in the written ministerial statement by the Housing Minister, this Government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ estates. We will consult on the best way to achieve this in 2025 and we will include options to reduce the prevalence of private management of these estates - which are the root cause of the problems faced by homeowners.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 20371 on Sewers: Private Sector, tabled on 16 December 2024.

A response to Question 20371 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible. I apologise for the delay in responding to the Honourable Member.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether changes have been made to the criteria of the Farming Recovery Fund since Storms Ashley and Bert.

October 2023 to March 2024 has been recorded as the wettest six-month period ever recorded. The Farming Recovery Fund used data from Environment Agency and remote imagery on high river levels during Storm Babet (October 2023) and Storm Henk (January 2024). These were the two largest storms in this period. Met Office data was used to identify local authority areas in England which experienced exceptional rainfall. These data were used to identify eligibility for the Farming Recovery Fund which has now made one off recovery payments of £57.5 million to over 12,700 farm businesses to help farmers most affected by the exceptional flooding and wet weather. Eligibility for the Farming Recovery Fund does not include Storms Ashley nor Bert.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the eligibility criteria for the Frequently Flooded Allowance on flood risks in low population rural areas.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to their previous question 20325 on 2 January.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of existing (a) culvert and (b) land drainage responsibility legislation.

Defra keeps all legislation under review. Between 2022 and 2024, Defra undertook a review of the statutory powers and responsibilities to map, monitor, inspect and maintain all flood and coastal erosion risk assets, including culverts. This review also considered powers within the Land Drainage Act 1991. The review will be examined by the new Government and likely published in early 2025. We expect those responsible for all assets including risk management authorities, other public and community organisations, the private sector and riparian owners to invest in ongoing maintenance and ensure timely repairs where necessary.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to announce new projects funded by the Frequently Flooded Allowance in the next year.

We are investing £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The list of projects to receive government funding in 2025/26 will be consented in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees with local representation. Longer term funding decisions will be made at the next Spending Review.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect properties in North Shropshire constituency against surface water flooding.

To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The Environment Agency has strategic overview for all flood risk in England, however, it is for Lead Local Flood Authorities to develop local interventions to reduce surface water flood risk for communities. The Environment Agency continues to work closely with Shropshire Council, who are the Lead Local Flood Authority on North Shropshire.

Food and Rural Affairs, what methodologies the Rural Payments Agency uses to determine the set proportion of total eligible farm area provided funding.

The Rural Payments Agency uses both the Environment Agency and Met Office data to establish which farm businesses may be eligible for Farming Recovery Payment. The data on river flooding and exceptional rainfall allows the agency to identify affected land.The full methodology can be found in the link below.Our approach to Farming Recovery payments – Farming.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the methodologies used by the Rural Payments Agency for deciding which areas of farmland are eligible for the Farming Recovery Fund.

The Rural Payments Agency uses both the Environment Agency and Met Office data to establish which farm businesses may be eligible for Farming Recovery Payment. The data on river flooding and exceptional rainfall allows the agency to identify affected land.The full methodology can be found in the link below.Our approach to Farming Recovery payments – Farming.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has produced an impact assessment for projects funded by the Frequently Flooded Allowance.

This Government is investing £2.4bn in 2024/25-2025/26 to improve flood resilience. The 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. We will consult in the new year on a review of the formula that allocates flood defence funding to ensure the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account. The process used to allocate funding to floods projects in the investment programme follows a consistent approach that aims to reduce flood risk and secure benefits. The approach follows Green Book guidance on value for money.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the methodology used to decide which areas are eligible for funding under the Frequently Flooded Allowance.

This Government is investing £2.4bn in 2024/25-2025/26 to improve flood resilience. The 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. We will consult in the new year on a review of the formula that allocates flood defence funding to ensure the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account. The process used to allocate funding to floods projects in the investment programme follows a consistent approach that aims to reduce flood risk and secure benefits. The approach follows Green Book guidance on value for money.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 17283 on Milk, how farmers are able to contribute to the engagement process.

We value input from farmers to inform our plans and appreciate their contribution to ongoing dialogue. Individual farmers are encouraged to engage with the process primarily through their representative groups, with whom we conduct regular discussions, and who serve as an effective channel for collective feedback.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish a consultation on potential changes to the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024.

Defra is committed to enhancing fairness across supply chains, which will support farmers to boost Britain’s food security. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations (2024), which were introduced earlier this year, represent an important step forward in ensuring fairness and transparency for dairy farmers. However, some within the sector have raised concerns about potential unintended consequences of the Regulations, which the Government is seeking to address. To ensure that the Regulations meet their original aims, we are undergoing a process of engagement with industry stakeholders and representatives, as well as the Devolved Governments. The Government will make any changes before the Regulations apply to existing contracts, on 9 July 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure (a) transparency and (b) accountability in dairy supply chains.

Defra is committed to delivering this Government’s ambition to support British farmers to boost Britain’s food security. Central to achieving this ambition will be pursuing the right approach to fairness across the supply chain. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations (2024) came into force for new contracts on 9 July 2024 and will apply to all existing contracts from 9 July 2025. These Regulations will enhance transparency in the dairy supply chain, ensuring that contracts are agreed in writing, are clear on a range of important terms including pricing and termination, and cannot be altered without mutual agreement. The Regulations will be enforced by the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA), who can exercise powers to investigate relevant complaints.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects to agree new phytosanitary arrangements with the EU for (a) agricultural and (b) horticultural businesses.

Following their meeting in Brussels on 2 October, the President of the European Commission and the Prime Minister have agreed to strengthen the relationship between the EU and UK. The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards. The Government has already committed to seek to negotiate a veterinary/sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to help boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. The Government is unable to speculate on timings before we have begun formal discussions with the EU.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on steps to ensure horticultural imports are produced to the same environmental standards as domestic products.

The UK has high environmental standards that underpin the production of fresh fruit and vegetables. As set out in the manifesto, the Government is committed to using our Trade Strategy to promote the highest standards of food production.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending agricultural compensation schemes to horticultural businesses impacted by forestry diseases such as Ash dieback.

Our policy is not to pay compensation for plant health measures. We believe that resources are best directed at detection of pests and diseases, risk management and proactive assessment of emerging threats. We also invest in research programmes that enhance our understanding of plant health issues and provide evidence to inform contingency plans and management responses. Protecting plant health is not an issue for government alone. Many plant importers, nurseries and landowners already play a major role in minimising the risk and spread of pests through practising good biosecurity, including sourcing clean stock and identifying outbreaks on their sites. The current arrangements ensure that everyone (the Government and its agencies, industry, non-governmental organisations, landowners, and the public) shares a common understanding of biosecurity and their role and responsibilities. The UK Government provides other forms of financial and non-financial support to assist with essential management of some of the most devastating tree diseases, including ash dieback.