Written questions by Hayes.

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to encourage public bodies to prioritise the purchase of produce from (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

This Government has set a clear ambition for half of all food purchased across the public sector to be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards within legal constraints. The Government is undertaking work to ensure we can deliver on this ambition, including to improve our understanding of what food the public sector currently buys and where it comes from. The Government has already published a new national procurement policy statement which sets expectations for Government contracts to favour products certified to higher environmental standards. The Government believes that high-quality British producers, including those based in South Holland and the Deepings constituency and Lincolnshire, will be well-placed to meet these standards.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce water bills for (a) households and (b) businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Bill payers are understandably concerned that bills have risen. For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population, and climate change. Over the next four years, water companies will deliver substantial and enduring improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector. This investment will accelerate improvements in infrastructure to meet these challenges, secure our water supply, and to meet new environmental requirements. We are working to ensure that both business and household consumers can reduce their bills through decreasing their usage, including by pursuing a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label, smart meter rollout acceleration and a review of water efficiency standards in the Building Regulations. All companies have measures in place for customers struggling to pay for water and wastewater services, and the Government expects industry to keep support schemes under review to ensure customers across the country are supported. It is important that support is targeted at the most vulnerable. We have therefore acted decisively by consulting on reforms to WaterSure, which caps bills for low-income households in England with higher essential water use due to a medical condition or a large family. The Government also doubled compensation payments paid to consumers for service failures through the Guaranteed Standards Scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of food waste in Lincolnshire.

Defra funds the groundbreaking UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste in the supply chain. We also fund a programme of action delivered by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to tackle household food waste and help people buy what they need and use what they buy. Through our Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate fund, we have allocated £13.5 million to food redistribution charities in England to ensure more surplus fresh produce is redistributed to those who need it most. By 31 March 2026, local authorities will be required to collect the core recyclable waste streams from all households in England. This includes introducing weekly food waste collections for all homes, unless a transitional arrangement applies.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many vehicles were seized for fly-tipping offences in Lincolnshire in each of the last five years.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping enforcement actions, including vehicles seized, to Defra, which are published annually here. This data is not available at a constituency level. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is still being collected. The Environment Agency works with local authorities and other partners through the Lincolnshire Environmental Crime Partnership (ECP). The ECP has targeted “days of action” to tackle fly-tipping, with various sanctions available – including vehicle seizure – to prevent, disrupt and tackle waste related offences.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Animal and Plant Health Agency has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) uses an external company to translate some of its correspondence, GOV.UK pages and communication products into Welsh when required. There is a charge for this translation service. Specific details of this expenditure could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Veterinary Medicines Directorate has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate’s spending on translation and interpretation service was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The below table shows the total cost over the past five years. This information is in the public domain. Financial YearTotal VMD CostFunction – All funded by a BMGF project.20/21NilNil21/22£1,913.51Online Translation subscription and workshop interpretation from English to French and vice versa.22/23£19,257.00Online Translation subscription and interpretation service at three regional conferences in Sub-Saharan Africa from English to French and vice versa.23/24£212.54Online Translation subscription24/25£141.19Online Translation subscriptionTotal£21,524.24

Food and Rural Affairs, how much OFWAT has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years.

Ofwat has spent a total of £74,983 on translation and interpretation services in the last five financial years. This expenditure is for translating key documents into Welsh given Ofwat’s role as the water regulator for England and Wales.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that food labelling schemes used by UK retailers provide consumers with (a) clear and (b) accurate information on (i) environmental and (ii) animal welfare standards, in the context of the Advertising Standards Authority ruling on Red Tractor.

The Government supports the objective of preventing misleading labelling. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions. The rules also specify what particular information must be provided and how it must be presented. The Government cooperates with a number of food assurance schemes, which help provide UK consumers and businesses with information about the food they buy. Whilst assurance schemes operate independently of Government, the Food Standards Agency and the Competition and Markets Authority maintain close contact with these organisations and monitors whether communications and claims made by them are accurate. To further support transparency and prevent misleading claims, the Competition and Markets Authority has issued the Green Claims Code. This guidance is particularly relevant for businesses that make environmental claims or rely on certifications and accreditations.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities her Department provides in its Whitehall premises.

The Department’s main Whitehall building, 2 Marsham Street, has (a) four single sex bathroom facilities on its five floors, consisting of three cubicles that contain a toilet, and a shared station of three washbasins and hand-drying facilities. 2 Marsham Street has (b) ten gender neutral/accessible bathroom facilities that are individual self-contained lockable toilet rooms with a toilet, washbasin and hand-drying facilities. These are also wheelchair accessible.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in his Department since 2017.

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of grants for farmers to support (a) sustainable and (b) regenerative agricultural practices in Lincolnshire.

The Government has allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production across the country, including Lincolnshire, over this Parliament. All our Environmental Land Management schemes will continue, and we will continue to evolve and improve them in an orderly way. We have committed nearly £250 million in funding up to 2030 to improve productivity, trial new technologies and drive innovation in the agricultural sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to reverse the decline of the swift population in England.

The decline in swifts is likely due to the lack of insect food for chicks, poor weather, and lack of nesting spaces. However, to better understand and develop solutions to address the causes of decline, we have funded projects through Natural England's Species Recovery Programme. Additionally, The National Planning Policy Framework explicitly promotes features which support priority and/or threatened species such as swifts. As part of our work to develop a set of national policies for decision making, we intend to consult on changes which require swift bricks to be incorporated into new buildings unless there are compelling reasons which preclude their use, or which would make them ineffective. As an interim step ahead of the consultation we have published updated Planning Practice Guidance setting out how swift bricks are expected to be used in new development, and signposting to further guidance including the British Industry Standard, Part 2 of the National Model Design Code, the Future Homes Hub Homes for Nature Guidance, and the RSPB’s Guide to Nestboxes.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the National Fire Chief's Council consultation response to her Department’s policy on (a) wildfires and (b) risks to firefighters.

The National Fire Chiefs Council’s response to Defra’s consultation on heather and grass burning in England is already in the public domain. This can be found on their website here: 250523-Heather-and-Grass-Burning-in-England-Consultation-Response-FINAL.pdf