Written questions by Babarinde.

Food and Rural Affairs, what data she holds on (a) which animals are currently affected by the current legal noise level of fireworks and (b) how are they affected.

The Department does not hold data on which animals are affected by the current legal noise level of fireworks or how they are affected. However, the Government is continuing to engage with animal welfare stakeholders, businesses, consumer groups and charities on the impacts of fireworks, to inform any future action. On 20 January, Baroness Hayman of Ullock, the Minister responsible for animal welfare, met with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade, Minister Kate Dearden (Halifax) who is responsible for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection, to discuss lowering the decibel level of fireworks.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support investment in water infrastructure to improve water resilience in Eastbourne constituency.

The Government takes resilient water infrastructure seriously. Eastbourne, supplied by South East Water, is in a ‘Water Stressed’ area. To ensure future resilience, water companies must invest in new water supply infrastructure as set out in their Water Resources Management Plans, while reducing outages and leakage, and helping people use water more efficiently. These plans consider housing growth and drought risk. We will hold water companies accountable to ensure sufficient water for people, the economy, and the environment – now and for future generations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support Eastbourne residents with food prices.

ONS September 2025 CPI food price inflation was 4.5%, down from 5.1% in August. This was the first reduction in the annual rate since March 2025. We continue to monitor all key agricultural commodities and work with the food industry. The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments. The Government monitors consumer food prices using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Some of these factors are influenced by our trading arrangements with other countries. Change in food prices are dependent on changes in one or more of these factors. Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers on a range of food supply matters. However, it is not for the Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions taken by businesses.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities in dealing with abandoned vehicles.

Councils have a duty to remove abandoned vehicles from land in the open air and roads (including private roads). Guidance to help councils comply with this duty is available here: Abandoned vehicles: local authority responsibilities - GOV.UK Councils can take enforcement action against people who abandon vehicles by issuing a fixed penalty notice or prosecuting them.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support the farming industry in Eastbourne.

The Government is backing British farming. We are prioritising investment that supports the Government’s Plan for Change and building on the Secretary of State’s work to reform Defra to drive growth while maintaining a steadfast commitment to farming, food security, and nature’s recovery. We are investing more than £2.7 billion a year in farming and nature recovery. Funding for the Environmental Land Management Schemes paid to farmers will increase by 150% from £800 million in 2023/24 to £2 billion by 2028/29. Overall farmers and land managers will benefit from an average of £2.3 billion a year through the Farming and Countryside Programme, and up to £400 million from additional nature schemes, including those for tree planting and peatland restoration. We do not hold that information at a constituency level.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase funding for National Parks in England.

Protected Landscapes are our most iconic and inspiring places, underpinning our health, economy and climate. That’s why this government will empower Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder and more accessible. The Government is providing £45.2 million of core funding to the 10 National Park Authorities, with a capital uplift of up to £15 million to support their contribution to protecting 30% of land by 2030. In challenging financial circumstances, this uplift in capital investment is recognition of the vital importance of National Parks to government priorities. We have also extended programmes such as Farming in Protected Landscapes, providing £30 million to support projects in our National Landscapes and National Parks, until March 2026. We understand resourcing remains a challenge and recognise that the Defra core grant is vital to support England’s Protected Landscapes. Given the pressures on public finances, we are also committed to working with Protected Landscapes organisations to unleash other income sources and foster innovation. For example, are we seeking to accelerate private investment in Protected Landscapes and introducing a general power of competence for National Park Authorities which will remove barriers to a more entrepreneurial approach.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce the levels of air pollution in Eastbourne constituency.

Local authorities review and assess air quality in their areas and publish an annual report on their actions to improve local air quality including local monitoring data which is assessed by Defra. In their most recent report, Eastbourne Borough Council indicated they were monitoring NO2 levels at 21 sites with additional monitoring of particulate matter at 2 sites. No exceedances of the Air Quality Objectives set by Defra for nitrogen dioxide or particulate matter were recorded at any monitoring location. Decrease in NO2 concentrations were seen at all 21 monitoring locations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help (a) protect and (b) support the South Downs National Park.

This Government has committed to empower all Protected Landscapes, including the South Downs National Park, to be greener, wilder and more accessible. In the 25-26 financial year, we are providing £9.6 million of core resource funding to South Downs National Park Authority, alongside £2 million capital investment. We have also extended programmes such as Farming in Protected Landscapes, providing £30 million to support projects in our National Landscapes and National Parks, until March 2026. In 25-26, the overall Farming in Protected Landscapes allocation to the South Downs National Park is £756,488. On the 16 December we committed to strengthen their underpinning legislation and governance. We will co-design the new legislation with partners but intend to strengthen the statutory purposes of National Landscapes and National Parks to give them a clear mandate to recover nature. Through this recovery, Protected Landscapes will fight climate change, foster a thriving green economy, and support the mental and physical health of the nation. The legislation will also update their governance to ensure it creates the conditions for success, innovation and collaboration. This will include providing National Park Authorities with a general power of competence – which will clarify their legal framework and remove barriers to integrated delivery. We have also published guidance for relevant authorities to make expectations clear in relation to their duty to seek to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the water quality on beaches in Eastbourne constituency.

The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for monitoring the water quality of designated bathing water sites, reporting bathing water quality, informing the public of pollution which could affect bathing waters and investigating and identifying actions to improve bathing water quality. Throughout the bathing season (May to September), the EA takes up to 20 water samples at each of England's designated bathing waters and tests them for two bacteria, E. coli and intestinal enterococci, which can indicate pollution that can pose a risk to bathers' health. There is one designated bathing water in the Eastbourne constituency – Eastbourne bathing water, which is currently classified as ‘Good’. The EA SWIMFO website, shows the latest water quality sample results for all the bathing waters in England. So far this season, all results have been within the excellent threshold for Eastbourne bathing water.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect seaside towns from coastal erosion.

We are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, this Government is investing a record £2.65 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 for the construction of new flood schemes, and the maintenance and repair of existing ones.With this funding, 1,000 flood schemes have been or will continue to be supported, better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026. The Government launched a consultation 3 June on proposals to reform the way we fund flood and coastal defences. We want to ensure funding for flood defences is distributed more effectively across the country – to protect properties across all communities including in rural, coastal, and poorer areas. The 8-week consultation is open to everyone and all stakeholders, including organisations that play a role in flood resilience, community groups and members of the public, are invited to be part of the consultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to produce an animal protection strategy detailing steps to (a) increase animal welfare standards and (b) end the use of cages for farm animals.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department has initiated a series of meetings with key stakeholders as part of the development of an overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more detail in due course. The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with representatives from the agricultural industry on (a) animal welfare and (b) ending the use of cages for farm animals; and if he will take steps to publish a strategy for animal protection until 2029.

We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully. We are engaging with key stakeholders as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more details on this in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban animal snares in England.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to accelerate the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.

This Government remains committed to delivering the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers in October 2027, as agreed with the devolved Governments of the UK, and in accordance with the Joint Policy Statement published in April 2024. There are no plans to accelerate this work – industry have been clear that this is the time they need to launch the scheme. Defra intenda to lay the DRS regulations for England and Northern Ireland before Parliament later this year, assuming Parliamentary time allows. If so, the regulations would come into force in early 2025, before the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO), (who will run the scheme), would be appointed in April 2025.