Written questions by Davies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the government is taking to (a) promote the use of recycled water, (b) support water companies to harvest the benefits of recycled water and (c) increase public awareness that recycled water may be a way to reduce demand on the supply of potable water.

The Government recognises the benefits of water reuse, specifically greywater and rainwater recycling play a key role in ensuring our homes and businesses can be water efficient. This was set out in the Water White Paper, which committed to facilitating the adoption of reused water and review the right to connect to water supply for domestic and non-domestic purposes, freeing up potable water supply for growth. The Government is also exploring how water-efficient technologies, including greywater and rainwater reuse, can be supported through the review of the Building Regulations (2010). The Government will continue to work with Ofwat, water companies and developers to encourage and support their delivery of water and wastewater efficiency and reuse measures.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the estimated timeframe is for the publication of the Department's TB eradication strategy.

The current plan is to publish a refreshed bovine TB strategy in 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, when the results of the forthcoming badger population survey will be published.

The first major badger population survey in a decade began in February 2025 to estimate badger abundance and population recovery. Surveying work will take place over the next two winters and a report will be published once that has concluded.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support local authorities to (a) reduce and (b) replace their use of pesticides.

The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or animal health or pose unacceptable risks to the environment.There is a legal requirement to minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public. It is for each Local Authority to decide the best way of delivering effective and cost-effective weed control in its operations while protecting people and the environment.Earlier this year, I met with local authorities to hear about their experiences implementing sustainable practices in urban environments. This highlighted the importance of peer-to-peer learning, and Defra will continue to strongly encourage local authorities to share knowledge to promote best practice.Defra also funded the recent publication of Parks for London’s Integrated Weed Management guide.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to increase transparency around use of pesticides by local authorities.

The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or animal health or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. There is a legal requirement to minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public. It is for each Local Authority to decide the best way of delivering effective and cost-effective weed control in its operations while protecting people and the environment.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of potential impact of pet pesticide products on the environment.

The Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) 2013, as amended, ensure that all veterinary medicines undergo rigorous scientific assessment, including environmental risk assessments, before being authorised for use. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate has formed the Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE) Group as a UK cross-government platform to enable discussion and knowledge exchange relating to pharmaceuticals in the environment from human, veterinary and, where there is cross over, agricultural and non-agricultural sources. They have recently set out a roadmap of activities to address the levels of fipronil and imidacloprid detected in UK waterways.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the average length of time was between the Environment Agency receiving a flood risk activity permit application and starting the determination process for the approval of said permit in the latest period for which data is available.

Flood risk activity permit applications are currently being allocated for assessment a maximum of 14 weeks from receipt. For time critical applications that pose a significant risk to people or the environment, or where required for national infrastructure projects, we prioritise the assessment of the application. Currently about 40% of applications are prioritised. A number of initiatives are underway to reduce application processing timelines, such as additional resourcing and streamlining our regulatory approach.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the value-for-money of levels of abstraction license fees for hydropower schemes in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) other countries.

Determining abstraction licences for hydropower projects is a complex activity due to the risks to the environment and water users. Hydropower application charges are based on a scheme’s output power and its risk rating. Annual subsistence charges cover costs to protect the environment and the rights of licence holders. There is no annual fee for hydropower licences for electricity production of up to 5 megawatts. The Environment Agency (EA) does not receive any government funding to subsidise application or annual charges. The EA charging scheme sets out the charges for hydropower schemes.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency is taking steps to streamline the (a) application and (b) determination process for (i) abstraction and (ii) impoundment licenses for new hydropower projects.

Determining abstraction and impoundment licences for hydropower projects is a complex activity due to the wide-ranging risks to the environment and water users. The Environment Agency has implemented several steps to streamline and improve its permitting process through a wide-ranging transformation programme across all its work areas from application acceptance through to assessment. These benefit hydropower projects and create efficiencies for the benefit of all applicants. Specifically for water resources and hydropower, a new validation process has been introduced to quickly assess if an application is technically valid once received. The aim is for the initial assessments to be completed within 4 weeks and applicants are told if more information is required. New efficient assessment processes for staff, significantly reducing the time taken to assess applications, are being continually introduced. Delays to the process are often caused by incorrect payments and applications with missing information. Applicants are urged to make use of the enhanced pre-application service which reduces the risk of delays and support applicants to apply for the right type of licences with the correct supporting information.

Food and Rural Affairs, what enforcement mechanisms his Department plans to introduce for the ban on trail hunting.

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only. The Government made a manifesto commitment to ban Trail Hunting as part of a set of measures to improve animal welfare. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing. Details on the implementation and enforcement of the policy are part of this policy development. Announcements will be made in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for introducing legislation to ban (a) trail hunting and (b) the import of hunting trophies.

Trail Hunting is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only. The Government made a manifesto commitment to ban Trail Hunting as part of a set of measures to improve animal welfare. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing. Announcements will be made in due course. The Government also committed to a hunting trophy import ban in its manifesto and we intend to deliver on this. We are currently engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver on this commitment in the most effective way.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of food procured by the public sector in Derbyshire is from British farmers.

As part of the Government’s New Deal for Farmers, it was announced that, where possible, we will back British produce, including that grown in Derbyshire. Over the next year, 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 capitalise on the Government’s purchasing power: informing any changes to public sector food procurement policies in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the UK's biosecurity resilience against (a) invasive species, (b) plant diseases, (c) animal diseases and (d) other emerging threats; and what steps he is taking to help mitigate the potential impact of climate change on agricultural ecological systems.

Our biosecurity is paramount – it underpins safe food; protects human, animal and plant health; and supports a prospering economy and trade. We have in place robust measures to maintain and improve our ability to understand, detect, prevent, respond and recover from outbreaks, both those that affect animals and those that affect plants. The government has announced it will set up a new National Biosecurity Centre, which will strengthen the UK's defences against animal diseases that threaten farming, food security, trade and public health. As the Chancellor announced in the Autumn 2024 budget, there is £208 million in funding over 2024-2026 to transform the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) animal health facility at Weybridge. Defra is playing its part in responding to the recommendations of Module 1 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. We have been reviewing our plans and processes within the department which will be tested through the upcoming national pandemic response exercise.