Written questions by Wrigley.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish further information on a re-designed scheme to replace the Sustainable Farming Incentive, including; a) eligibility, b) payment rates, c) environmental/biodiversity and, d) water-quality requirements, as well as the application windows.

At the CLA Conference in November, the Secretary of State set out her ambition to open an improved Sustainable Farming Incentive in the first half of 2026. The Government will publish scheme details, including timings and eligibility criteria, before the scheme opens giving farmers time to plan.

Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will publish a consolidated timetable for forthcoming environmental, biodiversity, water-regulation, land-use and planning-related legislation and statutory instruments for 2025–2028.

The Department will continue to bring forward legislation when parliamentary time allows. Any public commitments to legislate will follow the procedures set out by the Parliamentary Business and Legislation (PBL) Cabinet Committee.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish implementing regulations and updated statutory guidance for water-company regulation, governance changes and environmental monitoring under the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025.

Guidance is being developed by Defra and the regulators and will be published in due course, as will any enacting implementing regulations, as needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will commission a National Audit Office evaluation of the implementation, effectiveness and value-for-money of (a) statutory Biodiversity Net Gain and (b) the re-designed Sustainable Farming Incentive.

The National Audit Office (NAO) undertook a review of statutory biodiversity net gain (BNG) in May 2024 and the Government is implementing many of the recommendations. The Government also recently consulted on options for improving BNG for small, medium and brownfield sites and will publish a response in due course. The NAO also undertook a review of the Farming and Countryside Programme in June 2024, which considered a previous version of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). Ministers are considering how to change the SFI scheme so that it better supports sustainable farming and drives growth. We will introduce improved budgetary controls to help money reach more farmers and focus on the most impactful actions to benefit the environment and which work alongside farm business. Full scheme details including the budget, timing and eligibility will be published well ahead of launch in the first half of 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82809 on Water Companies: Risk Assessment, what steps she is taking to help ensure compliance by local authorities with statutory reporting duties on private water supply risk assessments; and if she will provide an update on progress made in responding to the recommendations of the 2024 research project: Impact and future of the regulatory model and legislative framework surrounding private water supplies in England and Wales.

Reporting duties return rates by local authorities will be raised by officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government through their regular liaison meetings with the Local Government Association.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82811 on Water Supply: Standards, whether she has assessed the adequacy of issuing non-mandatory guidance for private water supply risk assessments.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) publishes and maintains a suite of risk assessment tools on its website. Risk assessments must meet the requirements of European standard EN 15975-2 entitled "Security of Drinking Water Supply - Guidelines for Risk and Crisis Management – Risk Management" which provides further guidance and if local authorities have any questions on performing risk assessments, they can contact the DWI who provide technical and scientific advice.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82810 on Water Supply: Standards, what further information her Department holds on the reasons for these improvement notices, and what processes take place once such notices are received by central Government.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate receives, records, and reports on the number of information notices each year. This information is provided in the Chief Inspector’s annual report on Private Water Supplies in England. Acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, the Chief Inspector of Drinking Water can confirm notices issued under Section 80 of the Water Industry Act 1991 if they are appealed, but no action is taken by Defra or the DWI on notices issued.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82808 on Water Supply: Newton Abbot, what assessment her Department has made of the capacity of Teignbridge District Council to meet its statutory duties for private water supplies, in light of the number of registered supplies and the associated workload for risk assessments and sampling.

Local authorities can recover costs incurred from their work on private water supplies from the relevant person for the supply. Defra expects all local authorities to undertake their statutory duties.

Food and Rural Affairs, what investigations her Department has made into alternative to the culling of healthy flocks of caged birds in areas of wider avian flu outbreak.

Culling is the most effective means of controlling and stamping out an avian influenza outbreak together with movement restrictions, high standards of biosecurity, separation of poultry from wild birds and surveillance. Preventative vaccination for avian influenza may be an option for the future but will not be viable for the 2025/2026 risk season. Defra has established a cross government and industry taskforce to explore future vaccination options. The taskforce published its initial report on 24 July. The report recommends a series of actions, including a vaccination trial in turkeys, before a final recommendation can be made. Currently, vaccination of poultry and captive birds against avian influenza, excluding those in licensed zoos in England, is not permitted. Defra continue to invest in avian influenza research, and we continue to monitor vaccine usage both in Europe and globally, as well as the effectiveness of other disease control measures taken. Any future decisions on disease control measures, including the use of vaccination, will be based upon the latest scientific, ornithological, and veterinary advice.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to reduce the number of animal crates used for (a) pigs and (b) chickens in Devon.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 April 2025 to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, PQ UIN 47556.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 October 2024 to Question 6887 on Plastics: Pollution, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the plastic waste export regime in promoting domestic recycling.

Defra is reviewing the role of plastic waste exports as part of the Government’s wider efforts to improve management of this waste. Our focus is on ensuring a level playing field for domestic recyclers whilst realising our environmental objectives, and any future action will aim to help drive investment in UK reprocessing infrastructure and promote domestic recycling.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 86440 on Deposit Return Schemes, if she will take steps to ensure the deposit return scheme allows (a) bottles and (b) other deposit items (i) purchased in the UK to be returned in other European countries and (ii) vice versa.

Thank you for your interest in the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). The objectives of DRS include boosting recycling levels, reducing littering, and offering greater opportunities to collect higher quality, uncontaminated materials in greater quantities. In practical terms, DRS regulations allow UK Deposit Management Organisation (Ltd), who has been appointed to operate the scheme in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, to work jointly and in cooperation with other scheme administrators, including those operating an overseas scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made towards the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme in 2027.

The Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers will launch in October 2027 across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Earlier this year, the UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd were appointed to operate the schemes in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and they are continuing to progress at pace with delivery of the scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce regulations under the Animal (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 on the domestic (a) sale and (b) advertising of low welfare animal activities taking place abroad.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire, Pippa Heylings on 23 September 2025, PQ UIN 73101.

Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on private water supply risk assessments to ensure consistency.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate publishes and maintains a suite of risk assessment tools on its website. These tools are designed to meet the risk assessment requirements of the Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016 (as amended). It is not mandatory to use the tools.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require private water supplies to be registered with a local authority who can (a) test them and (b) risk assess them.

Local authorities need only risk assess and monitor private water supplies that they are aware of that are large, shared, or where the water supply is used as part of a commercial or public activity. Supplies to single domestic dwellings need only be risk assessed and monitored if the owner or occupier of the dwelling requests it, and they may monitor at their discretion.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to increase the number of local authorities providing Ministers with results from risk assessments of private water supplies.

Local authorities have a regulatory duty to provide the Secretary of State (in practice, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI)), with a summary of the results from the risk assessment no longer than 12 months after the day on which it was carried out. Local authorities are regularly reminded of their duties, and where they may not be being complied with, in DWI’s annual report on the quality of private water supplies in England. We would expect local authorities to comply with their statutory duties.

Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of recommendations for improvements to private water supplies have been issued as a result of risk assessments in the last year.

231 notices were served in England. 114 were received by central Government.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to enforce the ban on piglet thumping.

Any allegations of poor animal welfare are investigated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action is taken. The local authority, as an appropriate enforcement agency, may initiate prosecution action for animal welfare offences where there is sufficient evidence. Due to serious concerns about the welfare consequences of a manual percussive blow to the head, it is not a permitted method for killing piglets. In 2022, animal welfare regulations were amended to permit the use of a non-penetrative captive bolt device as a killing method for neonate piglets, kids and lambs, within certain parameters. This has provided a method of killing on farm for these species that is practical and humane.

Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of private water supplies registered in Newton Abbot constituency.

In 2024, Teignbridge reported 598 private water supplies on their register. In the Newton Abbot area specifically, one private water supply is registered.