Written questions by Evans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing enforcement powers for tackling fly-tipping.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. This will build on the sanctions already available which include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution which can lead to a significant fine, community sentence or even imprisonment. Sentencing is a matter for the courts. The Defra chaired National Fly-tipping Prevention Group has produced a guide on how local authorities, and others, can present robust cases to court. This is available at https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are currently seeking powers to provide statutory guidance on fly-tipping enforcement. We have also announced a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the enforcement powers available to enable local authorities to tackle fly-tipping.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. This will build on the sanctions already available which include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution which can lead to a significant fine, community sentence or even imprisonment. Sentencing is a matter for the courts. The Defra chaired National Fly-tipping Prevention Group has produced a guide on how local authorities, and others, can present robust cases to court. This is available at https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are currently seeking powers to provide statutory guidance on fly-tipping enforcement. We have also announced a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on ensuring the continued transportation of milling wheat for food production; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of collaboration with industry and other government departments on this.

Defra maintains regular engagement with industry and other Government departments to monitor potential risks to the food supply. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains. In addition, Defra works closely with the Department for Transport’s Road Haulage team to ensure transport policies fully consider the needs of the food sector, including the critical movement of milling wheat.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the food and drink sector on food labelling in advance of the consultation on that issue.

The Department is engaging with a range of key food and drink stakeholders as part of the development of the food strategy. We will provide further information by the summer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the need for food labelling which allows people with medical needs to effectively monitor their condition.

All food sold on the UK must comply with food labelling rules, which include the requirement for specific information to be presented in a specific way. Information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food. The United Kingdom maintains high standards on the information provided on food labelling to ensure consumer confidence. Defra works with other government departments, including both the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to provide consumers with information to assist with medical needs and ensure that food safety standards are maintained. This includes improving the provision of information for people with allergies and working with food businesses to increase allergen training in the sector. The FSA’s programme on food hypersensitivity is focused on policy, research and evidence to support enforcement and engaging with consumers and businesses. It is mandatory for food and drinks packaging to include a Nutrition Declaration on the back-of-food packaging. At a minimum, this must include information on energy plus the amounts of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt. It can also provide information on other nutrients on a voluntary basis including other fats and vitamins and minerals. This label will help individuals with medical conditions, who need to manage their diets.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason his Department has not yet responded to the 2024 fairer food labelling consultation.

A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. A summary of responses to this consultation is available on GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the 2024 consultation on fairer food labelling.

A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. A summary of responses to this consultation is available on GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will reconvene the Responsible Dog Ownership Working Group.

The Government has reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership Taskforce and looks forward to receiving its findings and recommendations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure the adequacy of the UK's international advocacy role in helping to reduce global deforestation.

The UK strongly supports global efforts to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests, including working with partners to deliver the shared goal of halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, while supporting livelihoods and economic development. Through partnerships, diplomacy and international climate programming, the UK is working to support forest country partners with enhancing forest governance and tackling illegality, accelerating the transition to sustainable production, trade and markets, and to mobilise finance from all sources to support forest protection and restoration. Since 2011, it is estimated that UK ICF programmes have prevented 750,000 hectares of ecosystem loss (over a million football pitches); supported the sustainable management of 4.2 million hectares of land; and reduced or avoided 105 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. We recognise the need to take action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation and we will set out our approach to addressing this in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department last had discussions with industry on taking steps to support the transportation of milling wheat for food production.

Defra maintains regular engagement with industry and other Government departments to monitor risks to the food supply. This involves extensive, ongoing collaboration focused on preparedness for, and response to, potential disruptions in food supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on monitoring the level of UK-produced food bought in the public sector.

Officials are developing a range of proposals to develop public sector food and catering procurement policy, to set the tone for Government ambition, as well as driving net zero, public health and animal welfare outcomes. Further information will be made available in due course. Government is undertaking work to establish a more robust evidence base for the public sector food supply chain.  This will ensure future proposals can be closely aligned with the needs of producers, growers, food suppliers and caterers. Mandating a local procurement target on current evidence of environmental benefit would be unlawful under WTO rules and domestic procurement obligations.The National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for public procurement alongside the Procurement Act, which came into force on 24 February. The NPPS underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, including catering contracts.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU on the transfer of animals between zoos.

We continue to work with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and a wide range of stakeholders, including the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), to address immediate challenges regarding EU trade – such as the availability of Export Health Certificates and Border Control Post capacity. However, our primary focus is on securing a long-term, sustainable solution through a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement with the EU. As announced at the UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on May 19 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area, aimed at reducing trade barriers and facilitating the safe and efficient movement of trade. With the principles and framework of a deal agreed, we will now negotiate the detail of an agreement that reduces administrative burden by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of extended producer responsibility fees on the hospitality sector; and whether hospitality businesses are required to pay fees when a closed-loop waste and recycling system is in place.

In October 2024 the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) scheme on packaging recycling rates. The impact assessment did not look at the specific impacts of the pEPR scheme on individual sectors, such as hospitality. We are considering further improvements to the scheme, including how to treat businesses which run closed loop recycling systems that support the environmental outcomes of the scheme. My officials are reviewing options to bring forward an offset where obligated producers are operating closed loop recycling systems for food-grade plastic at the earliest opportunity.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to monitor the impact of extended producer responsibility fees on the growth of the hospitality industry.

Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) is being evaluated as part of the Resources and Waste Policy Programme Evaluation for England, and the UK-wide elements of the Collection and Packaging Reforms (CPR) Evaluation. This evaluation includes reviewing the impacts on businesses who are obligated packaging producers. The combined evaluation programme is expected to report in 2029. The Government has also committed to a post-implementation review on the impacts of pEPR in 2027/2028 financial year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with industry representatives on taking steps to support the transportation of milling wheat for food production.

Defra regularly engages with industry and across Government to monitor risks to food supply. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37715, which (a) local authorities, (b) police forces and (c) animal welfare groups his Department has had discussions with on responsible dog ownership; and when he last held a meeting on this.

Defra continues to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on the adequacy of the (a) training, (b) registration and (c) regulation of dog (i) trainers and (ii) behaviourists.

Defra is working hand in hand with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to encourage responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog, including considering the role of education and training (for both dogs and their owners).

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2024 to Question 19399 on Dangerous Dogs, what the outcomes were from his discussions on improving data (a) collection and (b) recording on dog attacks; and what recent discussions he has had with (i) police and (ii) local authorities on this matter.

Defra is continuing to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. This includes continuing to consider how we can improve data collection and recording so we are in a better position to take action.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) police forces, (b) local authorities and (c) animal welfare groups on helping to prevent future dog-on-dog attacks.

Defra is continuing to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. This includes continuing to consider how we can improve data collection and recording so we are in a better position to take action.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February to Question 31434 on Animal Products: Labelling, what discussions he has had with (a) statutory bodies and (b) animal welfare campaign groups on including animal welfare labelling in future food labelling regulations.

The Government was elected on a mandate to improve animal welfare and has committed to introducing the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. The Department is engaging with a range of key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more details on this in due course.