Written questions by Shannon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to help support the maritime sector.

Defra, including arms length bodies such as the Marine Management Organisation, supports maritime industries through a range of policy and operational activities. This includes the marine licensing system, work to support growth in offshore wind, our Marine Spatial Prioritisation programme and other marine, fisheries and environmental policies. In doing this we work closely with other Government Departments including Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Department for Transport, Department for Business and Trade.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many confirmed cases of avian flu has there been in the last 12 months.

Between 5 December 2024 and 4 December 2025, there were 143 confirmed cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in poultry or other captive birds in the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many confirmed cases of blue tongue there has been in the last 24 months.

The first cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3) of the current outbreak (2025/2026 vector season) were confirmed on the 11 July 2025. As of 5 December 2025, there have been 238 cases of bluetongue in GB since July 2025, with 223 cases in England and 15 cases in Wales. Prior to this, Defra confirmed 160 BTV-3 cases in England and 2 in Wales between 26 August 2024 and 31 May 2025. One case of bluetongue virus serotype 12 (BTV-12) was confirmed in England on 7 February 2025. Between November 2023 and March 2024 Defra confirmed 126 BTV-3 cases in England.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of safe bathing water across the UK.

To protect our waterways and the health of bathers, the Environment Agency monitors the water quality at over 400 designated beaches and inland waters across England during the bathing season. This is achieved through a robust sampling programme – as set out in law in the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025. On 25 November, the Environment Agency published the 2025 bathing water classifications for designated bathing sites in England. 93% of sites sampled were deemed “Sufficient” of better, with 87% meeting the standards for ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ classification. This is an improvement on 2024, meaning swimmers can benefit from a higher number of better-quality bathing sites compared to last year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to promote social inclusion for pensioners in rural areas.

The Government is committed to supporting people to have the social connections they need. This is a key part of achieving wider government priorities across health and community cohesion. The Government funds the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online forum for people working on loneliness to come together and share insights, research and best practice, with the aim of addressing loneliness and strengthening social connections across our communities. Defra also funds Action with Communities in Rural England to support local action, which includes actions related to social inclusion activities with older people.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of global milk demand.

The Uk Agricultural Market Monitoring Group which was established by Defra and the Devolved Governments under the Devolution Framework is responsible for the oversight and monitoring of the UK agriculture market. This includes a review of prices, production, inputs and trade covering an assessment of current and future global demand for dairy products. The current position indicates broadly stable demand for dairy across the world alongside continued rising supply and falling prices.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve mental health awareness training for the agricultural sector.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra funds the Farmer Welfare Grant that includes a recipient consortium led by The Farmer Network that is delivering mental health first aid training to those who interact with farmers. Participants reported an almost 100% increase in their knowledge and confidence in discussing mental health. Another recipient, the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network are also delivering farmer specific mental health awareness and first aid sessions to the sector. Furthermore, the department is also increasing awareness of mental health training opportunities by signposting resources to our customers and supporting the rollout of training for our staff who directly engage with individuals in the sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Northern Ireland on Asian hornets.

The British Irish Council (BIC) has an Invasive Species Work Sector which shares expertise and learning across the eight BIC administrations and makes decisions on common policies and approaches with respect to Invasive Species. Members include the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. There is a Work Plan for this Work Sector and Asian hornets are one of the five key areas of focus.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in Northern Ireland on the adequacy of the Noise Act 1996.

The Noise Act 1996 gives local authorities powers to serve warning notices to deal with noise from dwellings and licensed premises that exceeds a permitted level between 11pm and 7am. There have not been any recent discussions on the adequacy of the Noise Act 1996 between Defra and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of blue-green algae on water quality in UK rivers.

The Environment Agency (EA) works with others including local authorities and Public Health England to manage waterbodies affected by blue-green algae and the risks they pose. The EA does not routinely monitor for blue-green algae but attends incidents and analyses samples where appropriate, assessing the risks and notifying water body owners, abstractors, Environmental Health Officers, as necessary. Excessive nutrient enrichment is a major cause of algal blooms. The Government recognises this and is taking action to reduce nutrient pollution. The Environment Act 2021 sets legally binding goals to cut agricultural nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment entering water by 40% by 2038 (compared to a 2018 baseline), and to reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater by 80% by 2038 (compared to a 2020 baseline). We have also committed to a review of the Environmental Improvement Plan, which will outline how Defra will meet these targets.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help support the game keeping industry.

We do not currently have specific policies that support the gamekeeping profession. However, in addition to our work to support the farming sector, Defra works across Government to ensure policies are rural proofed with the aim of supporting rural businesses and communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of recent trends in levels of water pollution in England.

Defra publishes an annual suite of indicators that assess progress on protecting and improving the water environment. These reports are publicly available at GOV.UK. The latest report has several trend assessments, each one is useful for understanding different parts of the water environment and for understanding trends from different pressures, such as those from the water industry. One of the trend assessments, covering data from 1990 to 2023, shows a generally improving national situation for many pollutants over that time, though some exceptions remain. The Environment Agency and Defra are working hard with many partners to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas and won’t change our focus until reductions in pollution are observed across the board.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on new dog breeding laws.

Animal welfare is a devolved matter in the UK. This means that responsibility for animal welfare policy in each of the nations, including the regulation of dog breeding, is the responsibility of the relevant nation’s Ministers. Defra works closely with the devolved Governments on a range of shared priorities, including animal welfare, and will discuss any relevant matters as necessary, including at meetings of the Interministerial Group (EFRA).

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on trends in the level of avian influenza outbreaks.

Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, each of the four UK administrators are an integral part of the decision-making process and are represented at the National Disease Control Centre ‘bird table’ meetings. Representatives of each devolved administration also sit on both the Animal Disease Policy Group (a UK wide policy decision making group) and the joint Government – Industry Avian Influenza Core group. Further information on the avian influenza situation and controls in Northern Ireland can be found on the DAERA-NI website at https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/avian-influenza-ai.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on improving water safety.

Defra works closely with the devolved Governments on a range of shared priorities and will discuss any relevant matters as necessary, including at meetings of the Interministerial Group (EFRA).

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of local authorities' Local Flood Risk Management Strategies.

We are committed to supporting communities and ensuring flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.  Local flood risk management is a devolved matter, but we will work to improve resilience and preparation across central government and local authorities to better protect communities across the UK. Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That is why we set up a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.  This marks a new approach to preparing for flooding and working between national, regional and local Government, including the devolved administrations, and flood risk partners.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of food security.

The second United Kingdom Food Security Report (UKFSR) was published in December 2024. The UKFSR sets out an analysis of statistical data relating to food security in the UK, fulfilling the duty in the Agriculture Act 2020 to present a report on food security to Parliament at least once every three years.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle instances of drought.

Drought plans must be produced by Water Companies every 5 years. A drought plan is a tactical plan that shows how a secure water supply is maintained, while minimising impacts on the environment during dry weather and drought. There are a range of actions/tools that can be utilised in a drought plan. These range from Temporary Use Bans (known as 'hosepipe bans'), drought permits-which enable companies to take more water from environment (as prescribed in the Water Resources Act 1991 (WRA91)). In addition, there are also Drought Orders which enable companies to take further water from environment and/or other abstractors and implement water restrictions or restrict other non-essential use. Defra Minister Hardy attended the National Drought Group, chaired by the Environment Agency, held on 5 June, to ensure actions are being taken to secure water supplies, should recent dry weather continue. We continue to monitor the situation and further National Drought Group meetings are planned, should the dry weather continue.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the level of the butterfly population across the UK.

This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature, including pollinator species such as butterflies. The most recently published statistics on butterflies in the United Kingdom and in England for 2023 provides information on UK butterfly abundance as well as the major drivers of decline. In summary, on average the abundance of butterflies across the UK continues to show a long-term decline. This is due to a range of factors including weather patterns, habitat loss, pollution and the use of pesticides. Defra partly funds the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (UK PoMS) which is the first scheme in the world to have begun (since 2017) generating systematic data on the abundance of bees, hoverflies and other flower-visiting insects at a national scale. Data collected through PoMS insect surveys contribute to providing an invaluable resource from which to measure trends in pollinator populations. PoMS complements longer-running insect monitoring carried out by citizen scientists including the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) and the Big Butterfly Count that runs from July into August.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage supermarkets to stock more locally, homegrown fruit and vegetables.

Defra officials regularly engage with stakeholders across the food supply chain to understand their work to promote British produce in-store and online. We strongly support efforts to promote British food and back our farmers, who produce some of the best food in the world. This is why the food strategy will set the food system up for long-term success and ensure that our food system can feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals, now and in the future.