Written questions by Asato.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has (a) implemented a domestic abuse policy for staff and (b) trained line managers to effectively respond to staff who are experiencing domestic abuse.

Defra has implemented employee and manager guidance for domestic abuse. The guidance offers support for those experiencing domestic abusethose who may have witnessed, or who may be supporting or managing a colleague affected by domestic abusethose who may have been accused of domestic abuse All employees and managers must hold regular one-to-one meetings to ensure personal and wellbeing needs are met and that access to the Employee Assistance Programme is clear and available. Additional training is available on the internal Learning Hub and covers key leadership and management skills such as effective communication, handling sensitive conversations, supporting wellbeing, and managing people issues. Once available, we will promote the take-up of the training product for managers currently being developed by the Cabinet Office.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to prevent the proliferation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the marine environment.

Action has already been taken to ban or highly restrict specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) both domestically and internationally, including PFOS (perfluoro-octane sulfonate), PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFHxS (perfluorohexanesulphonic acid), the use and production of which was prohibited in 2023. Internationally, PFAS was added to the OSPAR List of Chemicals for Priority Action in 2023. This list identifies substances considered to be a threat to the marine environment and the actions that OSPAR Contracting Parties (including the UK) should take to minimise those threats. The UK Government is also working closely with domestic regulators and key stakeholders to improve wider understanding and approach to managing the risks from PFAS. This includes working with the Environment Agency (EA) to assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources, and potential risks to inform future policy and regulatory approaches. The EA monitors for PFAS in England. Additional PFAS are being added to those measured as the scientific capabilities and reference standards improve. The EA analyses PFAS in freshwater and saline fish. PFAS are also monitored in the marine environment by Centre for Environment, Fish and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), using samples from fish and cetaceans.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances where alternatives are available.

The Government has launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan to deliver on our legally binding targets to save nature. This includes how best to manage chemicals, including the risks posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). A Regulatory Management Options Analysis (RMOA), published in April 2023, made a detailed assessment of the range of hazards and risks from PFAS identified in Great Britain, as well as a preliminary analysis of the availability of alternatives for a range of applications. The RMOA recommended a range of actions including the development of UK REACH restrictions for a wide range of PFAS uses. We have started work on a UK REACH dossier investigating whether to restrict PFAS in fire-fighting foams, and we are scoping further action across a wide range of industrial and consumer PFAS uses.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to require retailers to publish data on microplastics used in their clothing.

The Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a Taskforce of experts from across the Government, industry, academia and relevant NGOs. The Taskforce will help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Taskforce will consider the evidence for action right across the economy, and as such the Taskforce will evaluate what interventions may need to be made in the textiles sector as it helps to develop the Circular Economy Strategy. In the meantime we have no plans to require clothing producers or retailers to publish additional data.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the sixteenth report of session 2017-19 of the Environmental Audit Committee entitled Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability, HC 1952, published on 19 February 2019, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of accepting the recommendation to impose a charge on clothing garments to fund clothing collection and sorting services.

No recent assessment has been made of the Environmental Audit Committee’s recommendation for a charge on garments to fund collection and sorting services. However, the Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a taskforce of experts from across the Government, industry, academia and relevant NGOs. The Taskforce will help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Taskforce will consider the evidence for action right across the economy, and as such the Taskforce will evaluate what interventions may need to be made in the textiles sector as it helps to develop the Circular Economy Strategy.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussion with his counterparts in (a) France, (b) Germany and (c) Sweden to learn on steps to reduce plastic waste.

Defra officials have had discussions with their counterparts in other countries to learn lessons on tackling waste, including plastic waste. For instance, officials have had discussions with the German Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) administrator to assist in developing the DRS in the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has targets for the (a) recycling and (b) reuse of textiles.

The Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a taskforce of experts from across Government, industry, academia and relevant non-governmental organisations. The Taskforce will help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Taskforce will consider the evidence for action right across the economy, and as such the Taskforce will evaluate what interventions may need to be made in the textiles sector as it helps to develop the Circular Economy Strategy. In the meantime, we continue to fund action in this area through the Textiles 2030 voluntary initiative which supports businesses and organisations within the fashion and textiles industry to transition to more sustainable and circular practices.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to reduce the amount of post-consumer textiles discarded annually.

The Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a taskforce of experts from across Government, industry, academia and relevant non-governmental organisations. The Taskforce will help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Taskforce will consider the evidence for action right across the economy, and as such the Taskforce will evaluate what interventions may need to be made in the textiles sector as it helps to develop the Circular Economy Strategy. In the meantime, we continue to fund action in this area through the Textiles 2030 voluntary initiative which supports businesses and organisations within the fashion and textiles industry to transition to more sustainable and circular practices.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has targets for the elimination of post-consumer plastic waste.

The Government is committed to moving to a circular economy for plastics - a future where we keep our resources in use for longer; waste is reduced; we accelerate the path to net zero, we see investment in critical infrastructure and green jobs; our economy prospers; and nature thrives. As a part of this transition, managing and reducing plastic waste will be crucial. While the Government has not yet set targets for the elimination of plastic waste, we will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/or materials to take a systematic approach, in line with circular economy principles, to reducing the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products and encouraging reuse solutions.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish a strategy for the promotion of a circular economy.

The Secretary of State has asked his Department to prioritise the development of a Circular Economy Strategy for England, to be published in 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote a circular economy.

To enable delivery of a Circular Economy Strategy for England, the Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a taskforce of experts from industry, academia, civil society, and the civil service.