Written questions by Morris.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his Departments planned timeline is to ensure that at least 50% of all food purchased by the public sector is (a) locally produced and (b) sustainable; and what progress he has made on this.

At last month’s Oxford Farming Conference, as part of the government’s New Deal for Farmers, the Government announced a series of reforms, including, where possible, backing British produce. It was also announced that for the first time ever, the government will review food currently bought in the public sector and where it is bought from. This work will start right away and be a significant first step in understanding how to capitalize on the Government’s purchasing power: informing any changes to public sector food procurement policies in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which farmers will contribute towards natural flood defence measures.

Environmental Land Management schemes and other Government grant payments create incentives for land managers to adopt sustainable farming practices, which provide benefits for agricultural productivity, biodiversity and resilience to climate events. For example, we are providing funding for farmers to implement natural flood management measures on their land, boosting resilience and supporting flood preparedness. Funding for soil health actions can help reduce the impacts of drought and flooding. The record £2.65 billion floods investment programme also delivers natural flood management, with the impact of a project on agricultural land included as part of the funding calculator. In addition, the government published a rapid evidence assessment in 2024 of flooding and coastal erosion on agricultural land and businesses, and this discusses the evidence for agriculture as a provider of natural flood management.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the National Food Strategy will account for the role of biodiversity in underpinning the food system.

Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, and in doing so will consider elements of the food system that can contribute towards those outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of biodiversity net gain in delivering for biodiversity as intended.

Mandatory biodiversity net gain is an important means of ensuring development makes a net positive contribution to nature. It is in the early stages of implementation. The policy has been designed to achieve long-term benefits for biodiversity, with major biodiversity gains secured by legal contract for a minimum of 30 years. Because biodiversity net gain applies as a ‘post-permission requirement’, we are only now seeing the first permissions granted with the mandatory biodiversity gain condition. Defra officials are monitoring the implementation of mandatory biodiversity net gain closely and regularly meet with local planning authorities, developers, and the land management sector, to ensure biodiversity net gain works effectively and proportionally.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress he has made with Cabinet colleagues on ensuring that at least half of all food purchased by the public sector is locally-produced and sustainable.

The Government continues to have an ambition for half of all food supplied into the public sector to be sourced locally or certified to higher environmental standards, whilst being in line with WTO and domestic procurement obligations. Defra continues to engage across Government Departments to develop proposals which support this ambition, as well as driving net zero, public health and animal welfare outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the National Food Strategy will include the role of biodiversity in the food supply.

Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, and in doing so will consider elements of the food system that can contribute towards those outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the financial resilience of farms in the wake of increasing extreme weather.

The Government’s commitment to British farmers, including family farms, remains steadfast. We will always champion British farming to boost rural economic growth, strengthen food security and improve the environment. Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8bn for environmental land management schemes. This funding will deliver improvements to food security, biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality and flood resilience. Additionally, across England, we will invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. We are prioritising investment in repairing and restoring critical assets, including investing an additional £36 million into maintaining key strategic assets in 2024-25 and £72 million in 2025-26. All this funding enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector. We will work with the sector to continue to roll out, improve and evolve these schemes, to make them work for farming and nature.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the resilience of farm businesses by improving biodiversity.

The Government’s commitment to British farmers, including family farms, remains steadfast. We will always champion British farming to boost rural economic growth, strengthen food security and improve the environment. Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8bn for environmental land management schemes. This funding will deliver improvements to food security, biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality and flood resilience. Additionally, across England, we will invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. We are prioritising investment in repairing and restoring critical assets, including investing an additional £36 million into maintaining key strategic assets in 2024-25 and £72 million in 2025-26. All this funding enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector. We will work with the sector to continue to roll out, improve and evolve these schemes, to make them work for farming and nature.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of restrictions on the use of single-use plastic.

Defra officials are in the process of conducting a Post Implementation Review of the Environmental Regulations 2020, which includes the bans and restrictions on plastic straws, stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. This is due to be published in October 2025. The department has also commissioned a report to evaluate the policies under the Environmental Regulations 2023. Defra officials are working with trading standards officers in local authorities, online platforms, and relevant businesses to ensure restrictions are effective and that any breaches of the legislation are being enforced. Breaches in legislation are the responsibility of local authorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of single-use plastic.

This 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. This is why we have a number of restrictions on unnecessary single use plastic products, and why it is important that any alternatives to conventional plastics consider the waste hierarchy and support a circular economy for plastics. The Government is currently considering the actions that can be taken to address the challenges associated with single-use plastic products. 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 reduce the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products and encourage reuse solutions.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of current payment schemes for upland farmers.

Upland farmers have a key role to play in the future for delivering sustainable food production and our environmental targets. The Government has committed to support farmers through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years, including £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes in 2025/26. Environmental Land Management schemes will remain at the centre of our offer for farmers, with the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery all continuing. These offer funding streams for farmers to make their businesses more sustainable and resilient, including those who have been often ignored such as upland farmers. We recognise the unique challenges that upland farmers face. We will work with the sector to continue to roll out, improve and evolve these schemes and ensure they work for everyone, including upland farms.