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 (perfluorohexanesulphon...

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)....

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 1

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 acro...

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 detaili...

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 i...

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 seri...

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 seri...

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 econo...

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department plans to spend on flood defences in each of the next three financial years.

This Government is committed to protecting communities across the country from the dangers of flooding. We will launch a Flood Resilience Taskforce to turbocharge the delivery of flood defences, drainage systems and natural flood management schemes. We have inherited a floods investment programme which is behind schedule. Since 2021, around 300 flood defence schemes have been completed, investing £2.3bn to protect more than 88,000 properties. In addition, an aging asset base, inflation and last winter’s storms have affected the condition of our existing flood defences. Where a flood defence is below the required condition, the Environment Agency take measures to ensure that communities are not put at risk of flooding. Moving forwards, we will be reviewing the programme with a view to ensuring flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future within the constraints of an economically tight outlook.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the (a) hon. Member for Lowestoft and (b) Coastal Partnership East on flood protection at (i) Pakefield Cliffs and (ii) Lowestoft town.

I am replying as the Minister responsible for this policy area. I would be happy to meet and discuss these matters further. My office will be in touch to make suitable arrangements.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a cost estimate of the potential economic damage of a future flooding event in Lowestoft.

Coastal Partnership East is partnership of three local authorities responsible for part of the Norfolk and Suffolk coastline (East Suffolk Council, North Norfolk District Council and Great Yarmouth Borough Council), including Lowestoft. Coastal Partnership East made an estimate of the potential economic damages from future flooding events in Lowestoft. This was completed as part of a business case for a new barrier at Lowestoft submitted in April 2023, prepared by Coastal Partnership East using standard Environment Agency guidance and methodologies. This estimated the future economic damages from tidal flooding, without the investment proposed in the business case, to be approximately £150m over the next 100 years. The economic damages from river and surface water flood risk was approximately £50m over 100 years.