Written questions by Brown-Fuller.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the (a) Marine Management Organisation, (b) Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities and (c) Environment Agency in tackling (i) illegal fishing and (ii) unsustainable fishing practices.

Defra works closely with the Marine Management Organisation, Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities, and other organisations to make sure the appropriate arrangements to enforce fisheries regulations are in place to protect our waters. Building upon the vision for future technologies, outlined by the Government Office for Science, Defra is exploring continually how technology can innovate and enhance fisheries monitoring and surveillance methods to tackle illegal fishing and unsustainable fishing practices. A range of individual evaluations and policy documents regularly published online, such as at the .GOV.UK and IFCA websites, highlight each body's contributions, successes and challenges in these areas.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take (a) legislative and (b) other steps to reduce levels of (i) environmental planning conditions and (ii) biodiversity net gain requirements to help support horticulture businesses.

The Government has stated its intention to consult on changes to the planning policy framework later this year. On BNG, the Government recently consulted on options to improve the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development. Responses are being analysed, including from Horticulture stakeholders, and the outcome of the consultation will be published in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will consider appointing a cross-departmental Minister for Rural Communities.

Defra has responsibility for rural communities and leads on rural proofing, but individual departments are responsible for ensuring that their policy decision-making is rural proofed.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to improve data processing at the Marine Management Organisation.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is working with Defra and the Government data community to improve the overall data management and governance of all data it holds. This work is guided by the Data Maturity Assessment for Government Framework and underpins the efficiency and quality of data processing by the MMO. More specifically, MMO is currently reviewing its Fisheries data and IT estate, and defining a longer-term strategic vision in order to drive investment in improving services for our customers, and the underpinning data quality which is vital in order to manage fisheries sustainably.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to confirm the number of Seasonal Worker visas that will be available for picking and packing fruit and vegetables in 2026.

The Government recognises that its vital farms have the labour they need to harvest their great British produce and grow their businesses. We’ve announced a 5-year extension to the seasonal worker visa route to provide stability and certainty to the horticulture sector and will set out the allocation for 2026 shortly.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of basing the calculation of Extended Producer Responsibility fees on volume.

The Government is not considering the adoption of a units-based metric. In accordance with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, Extender Producer Responsibility disposal fees for packaging are calculated in £ per tonne of household packaging placed on the market. Producers report the packaging they supply on a weight basis, and the costs for managing different material types, such as glass, are apportioned according to relevant cost drivers for their collection and management, including the volume of the container in bins and collection vehicles. This ensures the fair apportionment of costs between material types in line with the regulations.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the rates for Extended Producer Responsibility fees for more recyclable materials.

The RAM has been used by producers to assess packaging recyclability from January 2025.  The RAM is an important aspect of pEPR as it will determine the modulation sub-category, and therefore the level of fees applicable to that material, with higher fees applied to less sustainable packaging. Fee modulation will begin from year two of the scheme for payments in the 2026/27 financial year, based on 2025 producer data. We have made a full impact assessment of implementing packaging extended producer responsibility will have which we published when The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 were laid before parliament. The Government will continue to monitor modulation to ensure fees reward improved recyclability.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for the publication of the chalk stream recovery pack.

Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health must be part of our holistic programme of reforms for the water sector, including: The Government’s wider agenda to reset the water sector and fix the systemic issues in the water framework, continued investment in actual projects at the catchment level, committing to end damaging abstraction of water from rivers and groundwater, driving home the responsibilities for responsible authorities around protected landscapes, many of which feature chalk streams.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to enable (a) local authorities and (b) the police to effectively (i) target and (ii) prosecute (A) individuals and (B) businesses engaged in illegal fly-tipping on (1) private and (2) public land.

Local councils are responsible for taking enforcement action in most fly-tipping incidents. Their powers include issuing fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, prosecution action and seizing vehicles. We encourage councils to make good use of their powers, and we are taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance. We have also announced a review of local authority powers to seize and crush the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool. We also committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course. Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local authorities and the National Police Chiefs Council to promote good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping, including on private land. Various practical tools, such as a guidance on how local authorities can present robust cases to court, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of (a) Smoke Control Areas and (b) Ecodesign regulations, in the context of the impact of domestic log burners on air quality.

Since the introduction of Smoke Control Areas in 1956 emissions from domestic combustion have reduced significantly. However, domestic combustion is a major source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions in the UK, and wood stove ownership is increasing. Whilst we are not required to carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of Smoke Control Areas or Ecodesign regulation we have commissioned reports in both areas. Kantar prepared a report on Burning in UK Homes and Gardens for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in 2020. This report included an analysis of burning in Smoke Control Areas, and can be found at Report: Burning in UK homes and gardens (plus a number of annexes) - Defra, UK Ricardo prepared reports on Emission Factors for Domestic Solid Fuels Project which for Defra in 2024. These include details of emission factors using Ecodesign-compliant stoves compared to other types of stoves. These can be found at WP1 - Report: Emission Factors for Domestic Solid Fuels Project - Work Package 1 Report - Defra, UK and Ricardo report template The final report in this series is due to be published shortly on Air Quality Library - Defra, UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the conclusions within his Department's Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 Post Implementation Review 2024, published in December 2024; and whether he plans to introduce regulatory requirements and conditions relating to cat breeding.

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations), anyone in the business of breeding and selling cats as pets needs to have a valid licence issued by their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse, vary or revoke licences. The Government is considering the findings of its post-implementation review of the 2018 Regulations and will be outlining more detail on next steps in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to regulate cat breeding.

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, anyone in the business of breeding and selling cats as pets needs to have a valid licence issued by their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse, vary or revoke licences. Defra has been working on a post-implementation review of the Regulations which considers whether the objectives further improve the protections they provide. We are also carefully considering recommendations in the EFRA select committee’s report into pet welfare and abuse and the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on feline breeding, which will be published shortly.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of restricting the use of treble barbed fishhooks in England and Wales.

The use of barbed hooks is currently restricted by several byelaws covering specific fisheries in areas throughout England and Wales. The suitability and need for these restrictions will continue to be monitored and may inform changes if appropriate, however there are currently no plans for a wider assessment to be made.