Every parliamentary written question tabled by Jim McMahon this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 31 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with waste disposal plant operators on the risk of fire in facilities from disposable items with batteries, such as vape products.
We remain engaged with industry, including waste disposal operators on the risk of waste battery fires. The Government have already acted quickly to reduce one of the main causes of waste batteries fires, by banning disposable vapes earlier this year.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the medium term viability of Thames Water.
Our current assessment is that the company remains stable. The Government will continue to work with the economic regulator of the water industry Ofwat to help support a market-led solution to the company’s issues of financial resilience and operational delivery, which is in the interests of customers and the environment. The Government has stepped up preparations and stands ready for all eventualities, including applying for a SAR if that were to become necessary.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of commercial energy costs on Zoos in England, such as Chester and Blackpool Zoos.
Defra is responsible for the welfare and management of animals kept by zoos and aquariums, as well as the conservation work zoos and aquariums are required to undertake. However, we remain engaged on cross-cutting matters where relevant and the government is taking decisive action to protect and support businesses, facing difficulties with their energy costs, on multiple fronts.
Food and Rural Affairs, what plans does the Government have to reduce food waste in the public sector.
Defra's Food and Drink Waste Hierarchy outlines how all businesses, including those which supply the public sector, should deal with food surplus and waste, preventing food surplus where possible and redistributing any surplus should it arise. Defra funds the groundbreaking UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste, managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Through the Pact, we support the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which provides a toolkit to help businesses identify their food surplus and waste and take steps to reduce it.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of plans to reduce vehicle generated air pollution in Greater Manchester as an alternative to the now cancelled charging Clean Air Zone proposal.
We agreed in January 2025 an £86m plan for Greater Manchester to help reduce pollution from vehicles and clean up the region’s air. The plan includes support for cleaner buses, local traffic measures and moving Greater Manchester’s taxi fleet to cleaner vehicles. The plan was agreed by Government following assessment of evidence provided by Greater Manchester authorities that it was likely to achieve compliance with legal nitrogen dioxide limits in the shortest possible time, including in comparison to the alternative of a Clean Air Zone.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for canal maintenance.
Canal maintenance, and ensuring funding for it, is the responsibility of navigation authorities. The Government provides the largest navigation authority, the Canal and River Trust, with an annual grant of £52.6 million to support the Trust’s network maintenance programme. This represented 22% of the Trust’s total income of £232 million last year.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of invasive weed removal from publicly owned land in England.
Various public bodies and local authorities undertake removal activities for invasive non-native weed species as part of their land management responsibilities. Natural England investigates complaints about the threat of injurious weeds spreading to agricultural land. An assessment of the effectiveness of these interventions on publicly owned land has not been made.
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ofwat on its effectiveness at regulating (a) bonuses (b) dividends (c) inter company management charges (d) company debt (e) consumer bills for water customers in England.
The Secretary of State regularly meets with stakeholders including Ofwat to discuss a range of issue, all of which is published on gov.uk.
Food and Rural Affairs, what measures has the government taken to help ensure the free flow of livestock between NI and GB.
Defra has maintained longstanding arrangements to safeguard animal health while supporting the movement of livestock between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. These measures recognise the separate epidemiological statuses of GB and NI and the need to protect against disease risk while supporting trade within the UK internal market. Defra has agreed technical easements to enable the flow of livestock. For example, livestock moving from NI to GB are not subject to residency requirements, if hosted at an APHA approved centre and returned to NI within 15 days. We will continue to work closely with the livestock sector and with Devolved Governments to facilitate movement and market access between UK nations.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many physical compliance checks on farming, food and drink related goods were made at ports on routes between NI and GB for each year from 2015 to date.
In line with the commitments we have made, we will ensure that the only checks when goods move within the UK are those conducted by UK authorities as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach to tackle criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks. But in order not to undermine that approach, as is the case across the UK we do not disclose the specific number or nature of interventions made by UK authorities.
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, (b) developers and (c) local government on the adequacy of tree planting and open space provision in housing developments in England.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 25 November 2025 to Question 91614 by the Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government). The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate has been made of levels of glass house food growing capacity for each year from 2015 to date.
Defra’s statistical estimate of the total glasshouse area used for growing food (vegetables, salad and fruit) in England on 1 June 2025 is 549ha, down from 671ha on 1 June 2015. The complete timeseries is below and available at Agricultural land use in England - GOV.UK. 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025Glasshouse area on 1 June used for growing vegetables, salad or fruit (ha)671733697680684661652603591566549
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of unlicensed dumping of commercial waste in England for each year from 2015 to date; and what steps she is taking to help tackle it.
Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents, including commercial waste, to Defra, which the department has published annually since 2012. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is still being collected. The Government has announced plans to move the regulation of waste management and transport from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. Reform will mean those transporting or making decisions about waste will have to demonstrate they are competent to make those decisions to obtain a permit, rather than simply just registering, ensuring waste is managed by authorised persons only and in a safe manner. The environmental permitting regime gives the Environment Agency more powers and resources to ensure compliance and hold operators to account. Mandatory Digital Waste Tracking will help to reduce waste crime, including fly-tipping, and this service will be in place from April 2026. Defra is also conducting a review of local authority powers to seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping, to identify how we can support them to make better use of this tool.
Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Education to encourage schools in urban areas to visit farms and learn about farming, food and the environment.
There are clear benefits of schools in urban areas arranging farm visits for their students to learn about farming, food and the environment. With our educational access actions, farmers and land managers can be funded to host educational visits to their farms and woodland at a rate of £363 per visit, subject to a maximum number of 25 paid visits per year. Officials will continue to engage with Department for Education, including on how we can support schools and farms to promote this. Between 2022 and 2024, the Rural Payments Agency paid for 11,404 instances of educational visits across 1,754 agreements under Countryside Stewardship.
Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of pets by type that were placed with animal shelters as a result of (a) pet ownership affordability and (b) tenancy restrictions in each of the past three years.
The Department does not hold information on the number of pets placed with animal shelters as a result of the affordability of pet ownership or tenancy restrictions. This information may be collected by individual animal welfare organisations.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the security of the fertiliser and CO2 supply chain.
The Ensus CO2 plant went offline for routine maintenance in September, and the Government is in discussions with the company about its future. The UK imports a significant share of its CO2, so most users should remain supplied, though some sectors may face pressure at peak demand. Food businesses are encouraged to engage early with distributors. The Government continues to monitor CO2 availability and maintain contact with suppliers and consumers. Ensuring a stable fertiliser supply is also critical, and Defra monitors prices and supply chains through engagement with manufacturers and stakeholders. In addition to domestic production, the UK imports fertiliser from many countries. Established ports support flexible sourcing and a diverse nutrient supply. Sustainable fertiliser use is important for environmental outcomes and long-term resilience. Defra supports approaches that improve nutrient efficiency, expand greener production routes, and diversify fertiliser types and sources.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the effect of local authority fees and charges for pest control services on the reporting of infestations by members of the public since 2015.
Defra has not made an assessment of local authority fees and charges for pest control services on the reporting of infestations by members of the public since 2015. Where rats and mice are concerned, under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949, local authorities have a duty to deal with infestations regardless of any local fees and charges imposed. The Act makes local authorities responsible for ensuring that their districts are kept so far as practicable free from rats and mice.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of total length and number of ancient and historic rights of way not yet added to the national database; and what progress is expected to be made on recording them.
The Government intends to repeal the 2031 cut-off date for recording historic rights of way. The legislative change to repeal the cut-off date will be enacted when parliamentary time allows. This will ensure that historic routes are not extinguished simply because an authority has not processed them in time and will give councils greater flexibility to deal with applications. It will also help prevent unrecorded public rights of way from being lost as a result of delays or backlogs.
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate has been made of the average time to clear fly tipping by local authorities in England from 2015 to date.
Local authorities are not required to provide data to Defra on the average time to clear fly-tipping, therefore no estimate has been made.
Food and Rural Affairs, what the average value of fines issued for fly tipping offences in England was for each year from 2015 to date.
For 2023/24, the average value of fly-tipping fixed penalty notices was £520, based on information provided by 139 councils. This is the first year such information was collected. The average court fine was £530 in 2023/24. Data on court fines in previous years are available here.