Written questions by Dillon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle deliberate harm to wild birds and animals in rural areas.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact on small farms of the Sustainable Farming Incentive application window opening after the previous scheme has closed.

To date small farms have been less likely to be in SFI. SFI26 will have two application windows, to ensure as many farmers as possible can benefit from a SFI agreement. Window 1 will open from June 2026 for small farms with between 3 and 50 hectares and also farms without an existing Environmental Land Management agreement. The Government is specifically targeting these two groups (before opening to applications from all farmers) because it wants to bring more of them into SFI. This will make a major contribution to Defra’s EIP target to double the number of farms providing for farm wildlife by December 2030 (compared with 2025). Window 2 will open from September 2026 for all farms.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will undertake a review of the Sustainable Farming Incentive application system; and whether she will make it her policy to enable smaller farmers to apply for the next funding round before their current agreement ends.

As announced at the recent NFU Conference, a range of improvements will be introduced to make SFI26 a simpler, more streamlined offer and easier to navigate. One change is the introduction of two application windows, to ensure as many farmers as possible can benefit from a SFI agreement. Small farms with existing agreements will be able to apply in either Window 1 or Window 2. Farms over 50 hectares with existing agreements will be able to apply in Window 2.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce fly-tipping in Newbury constituency.

Local councils are responsible for tackling fly-tipping in their area and have a range of enforcement powers to help them do so. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 and prosecution action. We have published best practice guidance and case studies on the website of the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, which will support councils to make better use of their power to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping.We committed in our manifesto to force fly-tippers and vandals to clean up their mess. Defra will consult on giving local councils the powers to issue fly-tippers with conditional cautions, one of a range of pre-court community-based sanctions. These cautions could see offenders complete up to 20 hours of unpaid work, cleaning our streets or parks, and pay back the cost of cleaning up the waste that they have dumped on public land. If an offender admits to the crime, agrees to the caution and complies with the conditions, they will not face prosecution.We are looking at measures to award penalty points on driving licences for those found guilty of fly-tipping – which could lead to them losing their licences altogether. This would make it harder for offenders to continue dumping illegally if they are disqualified from driving and send a clear warning that fly-tipping is not tolerated.Currently within the Newbury constituency, there are no reports of large-scale fly tips being investigated by the Environment Agency. There is one major Environment Agency investigation that includes (but isn’t limited to) an illegal waste site in the constituency.Depositing of new waste to this illegal site has been stopped since 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she is making towards meeting international nature recovery targets.

The UK’s 7th National Report was published in February 2026 and sets out our progress towards meeting the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) by 2030. We are on track to meet 3, with the remaining 19 showing real improvements, including advances in marine protection, sustainable fishing, and biodiversity finance. We are accelerating nature recovery, building on the steps we have already taken through our strengthened Environmental Improvement Plan. This includes: delivering the largest nature friendly farming budget in history, with £11.8 billion to be spent across this Parliament; enabling the return of lost species and habitats such as the first wild beaver releases since they were hunted to extinction around 400 years ago; investing £1 billion in tree planting and the creation of two new National Forests with a third to follow; and driving forward waste reforms which will see £10 billion invested in new recycling facilities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to accelerate WINEP/AMP upgrades for chalk stream catchments given their protected status.

Chalk streams are incredible source of national pride. As one of Britain’s most nature-rich habitats, they support some of our rarest wildlife. Water companies will invest £2 billion over the next 5 years to deliver more than 1,000 targeted actions for chalk stream restoration through the Price Review 24 (PR24) Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP). Additionally, chalk streams will be prioritised as part of the record £10.2 billion of investment to improve over 2,500 storm overflows in England.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her department has plans to mandate real time, publicly available MCERTS certified data for all storm overflow and treatment flows by Thames Water.

The Environment Act 2021 requires all water companies, including Thames Water, to publish near real time Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) data for all storm overflows. EDM installation follows specifications set out in the CIWEM (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) Event Duration Monitoring Good Practice Guide to ensure robust data quality.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential compliance risks caused by erroneous monitoring data at Thames Water sewage treatment works, including East Shefford, Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall, and Hungerford.

The Environment Agency (EA) has undertaken inspections of Thames Water sewage treatment works at East Shefford, Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall and Hungerford. It has also assessed Event Duration Monitoring data from these sites and completed Event Duration Monitoring flow data assessments. Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall and Hungerford sewage treatment works had no permit breaches caused by erroneous flow monitoring data. East Shefford sewage treatment works had a breach relating to flow monitoring systems and missing flow data which will be enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken in response to spills into the Kennet, Pang, and Lambourn chalk streams from Thames Water sewage treatment works between 2021 and 2025.

The Environment Agency (EA) has led the Water Industry National Environment Programme, which sets out a wide range of improvement schemes that Thames Water must deliver, including investigations and actions to reduce discharges from storm overflows, with priority given to sensitive sites such as chalk streams. Groundwater infiltration into the Thames Water sewer system is a leading cause for storm overflow spills in the Kennet, Lambourn and Pang catchments. The EA has required Thames Water to produce Groundwater Impacted System Management Plans to set out how the company plans to reduce groundwater infiltration. Since April 2025, the EA has completed inspections of sewage treatment works on the Rivers Kennet, Pang and Lambourn as part of its increased programme of inspecting over 800 Thames Water wastewater assets. Any permit breaches identified are assessed on a case-by-case basis for their environmental impact. Confirmed serious permit breaches are investigated and enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Thames Water on preventing early and dry discharges at Newbury, Hungerford, East Shefford, Compton, and Hamstead Marshall sewage treatment works.

The Secretary of State meets with water companies to discuss a range of issues, including the need to reduce sewage discharges into our rivers, lakes and seas. The Environment Agency (EA) has had regular engagement with Thames Water on the issue of early and dry discharges. In the Rivers Kennet, Lambourn and Pang catchments, a leading cause is groundwater infiltrating the Thames Water sewer network. The EA requires Thames Water to produce Groundwater Impacted System Management Plans to set out how the company plans to reduce groundwater infiltration. Across all water companies, the EA continues to progress its largest ever national criminal investigation into potential breaches of environmental permit conditions at wastewater treatment works. When its investigation is complete, the EA will consider all available options under its Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, State what assessment she has made of the potential environmental impact of Thames Water’s decision to defer upgrades at sewage treatment works impacting the River Kennet, Pang, and Lambourn until 2030.

The Environment Agency (EA) is clear that delays to any water company schemes, required under the Water Industry National Environment Programme are unacceptable as they will delay environmental improvement and risk failure of statutory requirements. The EA is issuing new environmental permits in line with regulatory deadlines and is assessing compliance against these. The EA has completed inspections of sewage treatment works on the Rivers Kennet, Pang and Lambourn as part of its increased programme of inspecting over 800 Thames Water wastewater assets since April 2025. Any permit breaches identified are assessed on a case-by-case basis for their environmental impact. Any confirmed serious permit breaches will be investigated and enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to address the decline in populations of British wild birds.

We are committed to delivering our statutory biodiversity targets which will support the recovery and conservation of native wild birds. Nationally, Government actions to restore and create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042, along with projects funded through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, will support the conservation and recovery of a wide range of bird species. Within the farmland environment, Environment Land Management schemes include actions that provide food, shelter, and nesting habitat for a range of bird species. In addition, to support delivery of our statutory species targets, Defra is developing a detailed Threatened Bird Recovery Plan which aims to improve the coordination, and drive the delivery, of actions to recover our most threatened bird species.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the proposed hydrofluorocarbon phasedown reforms will include mandatory training requirements for the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump workforce.

The regulatory phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons has been in place since 2015, with the gradual transition of industry to alternative refrigerants occurring as the phasedown has continued. As stated in last year’s consultation document, the proposal put forward only covered reform of the phasedown. Other changes to the fluorinated gas regulatory framework may be considered in the future. The UK Government, in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, is committed to further exploring areas for fluorinated gas regulatory reform considered out of scope of the consultation, which could for example include training and certification relating to alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons. The current regulatory framework already sets minimum training and certification requirements for handling hydrofluorocarbons as regards refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump engineers receive training in handling flammable and toxic alternative refrigerants before the proposed hydrofluorocarbon phasedown adjustments take effect.

The regulatory phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons has been in place since 2015, with the gradual transition of industry to alternative refrigerants occurring as the phasedown has continued. As stated in last year’s consultation document, the proposal put forward only covered reform of the phasedown. Other changes to the fluorinated gas regulatory framework may be considered in the future. The UK Government, in collaboration with the Scottish and Welsh Governments, is committed to further exploring areas for fluorinated gas regulatory reform considered out of scope of the consultation, which could for example include training and certification relating to alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons. The current regulatory framework already sets minimum training and certification requirements for handling hydrofluorocarbons as regards refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce animal welfare standards for imports to ensure that products produced in ways that are illegal in the UK cannot enter the UK market.

All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market. This includes ensuring imported meat products have been slaughtered to animal welfare standards equivalent to our domestic standards. The Government shares the public’s high regard for the high welfare standards we have in this country. As set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, Defra will not lower food standards and will uphold high animal welfare standards. Defra recognises concerns about methods of production which are not permitted in the UK. While production methods vary in line with different climates, diseases and other contextual reasons, Defra will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage and any impact that may have. Where necessary, the Government will be prepared to use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the maintenance of bridleways to reduce the number of horses using public roads.

The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on the maintenance of bridleways in relation to reducing the number of horses using public roads. Local highway authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way, including bridleways, and for ensuring they are kept free from obstructions. They are required to prepare and maintain a Rights of Way Improvement Plan. These plans include assessments of local network conditions and plans to improve these for all users and are publicly available on local authority websites.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recreational shooting on the economies of rural areas.

Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are important to our economy, contributing over £259 billion a year to England alone. Defra has not made a formal assessment on contribution of recreational shooting to the rural economy; however, we know the rural economy is diverse with 86% of rural businesses unrelated to agriculture, forestry or fishing.

Food and Rural Affairs, what mechanism is in place to funnel Biodiversity Net Gain funding from developers into county-wide nature recovery partnerships, such as the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Partnership.

Land managers, including Local Nature Recovery partnerships (LNRPs), can sell biodiversity units to those developers who cannot achieve 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) onsite and need to go off-site. The BNG metric also provides an incentive to achieve off-site biodiversity gains in areas of strategic significance, as set out in the relevant Local Nature Recovery Strategy. The Local Investment in Natural Capital programme, funded by Defra and delivered by the Environment Agency, has provided grants of over £1 million to five local and combined authorities to create a pipeline of investable projects and develop capacity and capability to crowd in finance from private sources, including from developers. Learnings from this programme will provide guidance to Local Nature Recovery Strategies in these areas on how best to attract and allocate BNG funding and will be available to all LNRPs upon the conclusion of the programme in 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what funding the Government has allocated to a) implement the Local Nature Recovery Strategy in Berkshire for financial year 2025-2026 and b) what proportion of that funding is assigned for delivery in West Berkshire.

As responsible authority for the Berkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS), Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council has been allocated £135,500 in financial year 2025-26 to support their transition to delivery of their LNRS. Government has not prescribed how this funding will be distributed geographically within the area covered by the LNRS.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government provides a) grants or b) matches-funding to encourage private businesses, landowners, and farmers in West Berkshire to participate in habitat creation and restoration.

On 1 December, the Government published our revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP25) – a clear roadmap for restoring nature. This is our long-term plan for improving the natural environment and enjoyment of it. EIP25 includes prioritised actions to help meet the ambitious Environment Act targets and sets an interim target to create or restore 250,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites by December 2030. The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund, funded by Defra and delivered by the Environment Agency, has provided grants to over 130 projects across England to attract private investment for nature recovery. These projects are plotted on an interactive map available on the Ecosystem Knowledge Network’s website: https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/neirf/neirf-project-directory-2/.