Written questions by Hayes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support young people in Lincolnshire entering the farming sector.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK–EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement on the farming sector in Lincolnshire.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support farmers in Lincolnshire with the increase in diesel prices.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

While no artificial intelligence (AI) tools are being used to draft legislation or policy at present, the Department has conducted exploratory initiatives for AI alongside other digital tools to assist drafters within legislation and policy domains. Defra has investigated AI opportunities to assist with statutory guidance and comparative analysis between the UK and partner jurisdictions. Further work has examined the potential of AI to support briefing and correspondence within technical policy areas. These tools are designed strictly to check and critique drafts, rather than replace expert drafters who maintain full responsibility and oversight. More generally, AI productivity tools have been deployed across Defra to assist in day-to-day tasks. This is supported by cross-government guidance and training for civil servants supporting the safe and responsible use of AI, such as through the AI Knowledge Hub, Data & AI Ethics Framework and Model for Responsible Innovation.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a list of training programmes used by civil servants in her Department since 2020.

A list of training undertaken via the Civil-Service Learning Frameworks from January 2023 to March 2026, and course descriptors, are available via the Prospectus Online. Training data relating to the period prior to January 2023 is not accessible to the department. Training delivered internally or procured by the department outside of the Central Government Learning Frameworks over the last five years is not centrally available, and to obtain this information would result in disproportionate cost to the department; therefore this will not be published.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has used artificial intelligence to assist with drafting (a) legislation and (b) policy in the last 12 months.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to boost flood defences in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The Government is investing in flood risk management across South Holland and the Deepings through a combination of Flood Defence Grant in Aid and maintenance funding delivered by the Environment Agency and local partners. This funding supports the maintenance, repair and improvement of flood defence assets across the constituency. In 2026/27, £1.6 million of Flood Defence Grant in Aid was provided to the South Holland Internal Drainage Board for capital maintenance works to the Exeter Drain pipeline and channel in Spalding, and for improvements at the South Holland Main Drain outfall at Sutton Bridge Sluice. The Environment Agency continues to maintain flood defence infrastructure, including Surfleet Sluice, and is reviewing flood storage areas such as the Crowland and Cowbit Washes. In addition, Lincolnshire County Council received £7.18 million through Defra’s Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme to lead Project Groundwater, improving understanding of groundwater flood risk and community resilience.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Land Use Framework on Best and Most Versatile farmland in Lincolnshire.

The National Planning Policy Framework safeguards the best and most versatile land, which is the land most valuable for food production. Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.

The department has not paid for followers on its social media platforms.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help tackle illegal waste sites in Lincolnshire.

The Waste Crime Action Plan is the toughest ever crackdown on illegal waste. We will tighten regulation to close the loopholes criminals exploit, enable tougher enforcement to disrupt and punish them, and direct action to clean up the damage they leave behind. The Environment Agency (EA) takes a proactive, intelligence led approach to preventing illegal waste activity in Lincolnshire. Through the Lincolnshire Environmental Crime Partnership – which includes 24 partner organisations - the EA builds a comprehensive picture of waste crime risks across the county. This early intervention model enables the EA and its partners to identify emerging threats, disrupt criminal behaviour at an early stage, and prevent many potential illegal waste sites from becoming established. Where the EA is made aware of an active illegal waste site, it acts swiftly to halt the activity and, where necessary, put measures in place to mitigate environmental harm. Officers then compile a detailed evidence base, which may include surveillance, document seizure, witness statements and digital or financial analysis, before determining the appropriate enforcement action. Thanks to this proactive approach, only 27 illegal waste sites in Lincolnshire required enforcement action in 2024/25; without it, this figure would almost certainly have been significantly higher.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support younger people into agricultural careers in Lincolnshire.

Young people are essential to the long-term resilience of UK agriculture, and Defra works closely with industry bodies, including the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC), to promote careers in the sector and to understand the challenges facing new entrants. Defra provides funding to NFYFC, enabling up to £30,000 per year for specific project-based activity. This supports capacity building within the NFYFC membership and helps to engage the next generation of farmers in the development of agricultural policy and resilient land-based businesses. Through its agricultural reform programme, Defra is investing £2.7 billion a year to support a productive, sustainable farming sector. This includes measures to improve business resilience, productivity and skills development, which help make agriculture a more accessible and attractive career option for young people, including those in Lincolnshire.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on trends in levels of fly tipping in Lincolnshire.

Local authorities are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which we publish annually at: Fly-tipping statistics for England, 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK. It covers trends in the number of fly-tipping incidents, with a breakdown by land type, waste type and size. It also covers enforcement and prosecution actions undertaken for fly-tipping incidents. This data is available at local authority, regional and national levels, but not at county level. The Environment Agency (EA) is working with local partners in Lincolnshire to monitor and address trends in fly‑tipping and wider waste crime but does not hold trend data. The EA works through the Lincolnshire Environmental Crime Partnership, established in 2020 and recognised nationally as best practice to prevent, disrupt and investigate waste offences in Lincolnshire. The EA also plays an active role in the Lincolnshire Multi‑Agency Intelligence Network, chaired by Lincolnshire Police, on live fly‑tipping investigations and joint actions to support Local Authority enforcement. The Government welcomes this strong partnership approach and the continued efforts to strengthen it further.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect hare populations in Lincolnshire.

Defra has supported Lincolnshire in preparing its Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which is expected to be published shortly. This strategy will set nature recovery priorities and map specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement that will support many species, such as hares. Nationally, protection of the brown hare population is provided through hare‑coursing legislation introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Together with improved police tactics, intelligence, and information sharing, it is reasonable to assume that these measures are reducing levels of hare coursing, which will play a part in the recovery of the species. In addition, the Government’s recently published Animal Welfare Strategy contains a commitment to consider introducing a close season on shooting brown hares.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect seabirds from offshore energy infrastructure.

Offshore wind developers must show how they will avoid and mitigate impacts on protected seabirds, and provide compensatory measures where impacts remain. Within this context, the government is delivering the Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package to de-risk and accelerate offshore wind consenting whilst protecting marine habitats and species, including seabirds. The package includes developing environmental standards, establishing a Marine Recovery Fund to deliver compensation at a strategic level and a strategic, ecosystem- based monitoring framework to strengthen understanding of environmental impacts on vulnerable bird species. We have also established a Seabird Conservation Coordination Group, comprising government, experts, environmental NGOs and industry representation. This group is helping to coordinate, monitor and drive delivery of actions for seabirds across our programmes of work in England. We are working with devolved governments on next steps, as they implement their respective seabird conservation strategies.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether any civil servants hired by her Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010, which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition. Compliance with CRaGA is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission, which publishes Recruitment Principles setting out the detailed rules departments must follow. For departments who use Civil Service Jobs to manage their recruitment, applicants are asked to provide diversity data on a voluntary basis only and no details are shared with hiring managers. The positive action measures in the Equality Act 2010 allows employers to take proportionate action that aims to reduce disadvantage, meet different needs and increase participation. More information on this can be found on gov.uk. Employers who choose to use positive action can help people who share a particular protected characteristic to overcome certain barriers under the measures. However, employers need to ensure they do this in a way which does not unfairly disadvantage other groups as this could amount to ‘positive discrimination’, which is unlawful.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.

The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent support the Government has provided for habitat creation initiatives in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Lincolnshire County Council is the responsible authority for the preparation of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy. The Strategy will agree priorities for nature recovery in the area and identify and map the best locations for habitat to be created or improved to benefit nature and the wider environment. Natural England works with local planning authorities to secure Biodiversity Net Gain through development. There are two sites in Lincolnshire on the Natural England Biodiversity Net Gain Register, one of which is in South Holland and The Deepings. Together these sites have committed 85 hectares of land to nature recovery. Private sector investment into these sites will create and enhance a mosaic of habitats including species-rich grassland, woodland, scrub and wetland. Natural England supports Landscape Recovery Projects in Lincolnshire, including the Greater Frampton, Doddington and Boothby Wildlands schemes, which create joined-up habitats that benefit local wildlife and ecosystems. The Lincolnshire Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve, declared in September 2023 as the first in the new King's Series, added 2,350 hectares of land managed for nature conservation. This expanded reserve supports habitat creation across sand dunes, salt marshes, mudflats and freshwater marshes of international importance. Natural England maintains numerous Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreements and Higher Level Stewardship agreements across Lincolnshire, working with farmers on projects that enhance nature recovery and create habitats for wildlife.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many full time equivalent staff in her Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the past three years.

Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.

Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2025 Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report for Defra FY 2024/25 can be found at the following web address:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025.