Written questions by Wrigley.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much income the Marine Management Organisation have received from charges for (a) harbour revision orders and (b) harbour empowerment order applications in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Sub-part2020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25Total(a) harbour revision order1,447.751,208.751,576.001,515.752,326.508,074.75(b) harbour empowerment order50.0059.25208.50185.004.25507.00 *Total1,497.751,268.001,784.501,700.752,330.758,074.75(a) harbour revision order£24,000.00£20,000.00£44,000.00£74,319.00£46,737.00£209,056.00(b) harbour empowerment order£0.00£0.00£0.00£0.00£0.00£0 *Total24,000.0020,000.0044,000.0074,319.0046,737.00209,056.00(a) Band 24,309.254,590.505,114.504,548.255,211.7523,774.25(b) Band 39,624.5011,339.0010,264.009,861.2513,275.5054,364.25Total13,933.7515,929.5015,378.5014,409.5018,487.2578,138.50 * hours for the empowerment order, the fee was received in 2019 and was £4000.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Environment Agency has spent on (a) mitigation and (b) compensation for flood defence projects in each of the last three years.

The table below shows the amount that the Environment Agency has spent on compensation payments in financial years 2023-24 and 2022-23. This data is based on costs incurred that were classified within transactional data as compensation payments, so may not be fully complete. To establish how much of these costs have been incurred through flood defence projects would fall into disproportionate costs. Data for 2024-25 is not available. Financial year£2023-24947,159.612022-232,158,643.80

Food and Rural Affairs, how many hours the Marine Management Organisation has spent determining (a) Band 2 and (b) Band 3 marine licence applications in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Sub-part2020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25Total(a) harbour revision order1,447.751,208.751,576.001,515.752,326.508,074.75(b) harbour empowerment order50.0059.25208.50185.004.25507.00 *Total1,497.751,268.001,784.501,700.752,330.758,074.75(a) harbour revision order£24,000.00£20,000.00£44,000.00£74,319.00£46,737.00£209,056.00(b) harbour empowerment order£0.00£0.00£0.00£0.00£0.00£0 *Total24,000.0020,000.0044,000.0074,319.0046,737.00209,056.00(a) Band 24,309.254,590.505,114.504,548.255,211.7523,774.25(b) Band 39,624.5011,339.0010,264.009,861.2513,275.5054,364.25Total13,933.7515,929.5015,378.5014,409.5018,487.2578,138.50 * hours for the empowerment order, the fee was received in 2019 and was £4000.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many hours the Marine Management Organisation have spent processing (a) harbour revision orders and (b) harbour empowerment orders in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Sub-part2020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25Total(a) harbour revision order1,447.751,208.751,576.001,515.752,326.508,074.75(b) harbour empowerment order50.0059.25208.50185.004.25507.00 *Total1,497.751,268.001,784.501,700.752,330.758,074.75(a) harbour revision order£24,000.00£20,000.00£44,000.00£74,319.00£46,737.00£209,056.00(b) harbour empowerment order£0.00£0.00£0.00£0.00£0.00£0 *Total24,000.0020,000.0044,000.0074,319.0046,737.00209,056.00(a) Band 24,309.254,590.505,114.504,548.255,211.7523,774.25(b) Band 39,624.5011,339.0010,264.009,861.2513,275.5054,364.25Total13,933.7515,929.5015,378.5014,409.5018,487.2578,138.50 * hours for the empowerment order, the fee was received in 2019 and was £4000.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Environment Agency has spent delivering biodiversity net gain (a) above and (b) below mean high water on projects related to flood defence in the latest period for which data is available.

The Environment Agency has committed to delivering natural flood management schemes and meeting statutory requirements on habitat creation and biodiversity net gain (BNG), as part of its Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Programme. This will leave nature in a measurably better state than before work to deliver flood alleviation schemes commenced, supporting the broader goal of creating more climate-resilient places.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many marine licenses were determined by the Marine Management Organisation for (a) removal of abandoned vessels, (b) firework displays, (c) maintenance of bridges or cantilevered structures, (d) installation of eco moorings and (e) coastal and flood defence works in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Sub-part202020212022202320242025(a) Removal of abandoned vessels000000(b) firework displays000000(c) maintenance of bridges or cantilevered structures141324222210(d) installation of eco moorings010100(e) coastal and flood defence works in each of the last five years for which data is available192348323116

Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of hours Natural England has spent providing advice to the Marine Management Organisation on marine licence applications in each of the last five years.

The table below shows data from Natural England’s Casework Tracker (CWT) for the number of recorded hours spent providing advice to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) from 2020-2025. Both calendar and financial year splits are included. These data include some other types of MMO consultations as well as licenses which will require further analysis that has not been possible in the time available. Marine MMO Consultations closed per year – Total Hours recorded on CWT: Financial Year2020 - 212021 - 222022 - 232023 - 242024 - 25Consultations Closed588554495467588Total Hours Recorded33953353334526053345 Calendar Year202020212022202320242025 (first half of year)Consultations Closed606534525487549282Total Hours Recorded396533253171312130691510

Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of hours the Environment Agency has spent providing advice to the Marine Management Organisation on marine licence applications in each of the last five years.

The Environment Agency (EA) uses Oracle Time and Labour (OTL) compliance recording to record against their various workstreams. There are many different OTL codes that record the type of advice provided to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for marine licence advice, from pre-planning advice to advice on significant infrastructure. The table below shows the number of recorded OTL hours that the EA have spent providing all types of marine licence advice to the MMO from 2020-2025 Year Hours recorded 2020-2113592021-2211032022-2311502023-248462024-251094.5

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 34064 on Export Health Certificates and Pet Travel Scheme, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of regulating the costs of (a) pet passports and (b) Animal Health Certificates for travel between the UK and the EU.

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit on 19 May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area. This will mean taking pets on holiday into the EU will be easier and cheaper. Instead of needing an animal health certificate each time you travel, you will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU. We will provide more information on pet passports valid for travel to the EU in due course. We currently have no plans to regulate the costs of pet passports or Animal Health Certificates. All fees set by veterinary surgeons or veterinary practices are a private matter between individual practices and their clients.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to bring into force paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 17 of the Environment Act 2021 on a due diligence regime for forest risk commodities in advance of the COP30 international climate conference in November.

We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for enacting the due diligence regulations of the Environment Act 2021, in the context of UK efforts to tackle deforestation.

We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course. We are committed to ensuring that any regulatory framework is robust, proportionate and effective in addressing deforestation in UK supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential environmental impact of levels of UK consumption of (a) palm oil, (b) soy, (c) beef and (d) cocoa on global deforestation rates.

The Government recognises that agricultural expansion for commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, and cocoa is a major driver of global deforestation. In 2022, UK consumption of these commodities linked to approximately 16,000hectares of deforestation worldwide, with cattle accounting for approximately 53% of this impact The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course.https://commodityfootprints.earth/#dashboard

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary corporate commitments in preventing deforestation in UK supply chains.

We have not made a comprehensive assessment of the contribution of voluntary corporate commitments in the estimated 22% reduction in UK consumption-driven global deforestation between 2017 and 2022. However, there is some evidence that voluntary commitments are having a positive impact. For instance, in 2022, 86% of palm and palm kernel oil imported to the UK was certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, driven in part by supermarket sustainability pledges. We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation and will set out our approach in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to (a) review and (b) strengthen deforestation-related regulations after their initial implementation under the Environment Act 2021.

We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course. We are committed to ensuring that any regulatory framework is robust, proportionate and effective in addressing deforestation in UK supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Department is taking to implement the due diligence on forest risk commodities provisions in the Environment Act 2021.

We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course. We are committed to ensuring that any regulatory framework is robust, proportionate and effective in addressing deforestation in UK supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of setting high-risk thresholds and monitoring requirements to ensure an effective due diligence for forest risk commodities regime.

We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course. We are committed to ensuring that any regulatory framework is robust, proportionate and effective in addressing deforestation in UK supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to bring forward secondary legislation to establish a due diligence regime for forest risk commodities ahead of COP30.

We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government will set out its approach to addressing UK consumption of forest risk commodities in due course. We are committed to ensuring that any regulatory framework is robust, proportionate and effective in addressing deforestation in UK supply chains.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure UK food supply chains do not (a) contribute to the destruction of high-biodiversity forests and (b) undermine international food security.

The Government is committed to tackling the climate and nature crises. The UK is delivering programmes to improve forest governance, enable sustainable trade and investment and mobilise finance to support forest protection and restoration in developing countries. Since 2011, it is estimated that UK International Climate Finance (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 will continue to work with international partners to support sustainable trade and protect food security.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to regulate dog and cat rescue services.

Rescue and rehoming establishments in England must provide for the five basic welfare needs of the animals set out in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.This Government will introduce the most ambitious plan to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department has initiated a series of meetings with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of an overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more detail of plans in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce legally binding biodiversity targets beyond those in the Environment Act 2021.

There are no plans to introduce legally binding biodiversity targets beyond those in the Environment Act 2021.This Government is committed to delivering the 13 legally binding environmental targets set under the Environment Act 2021, which include water, biodiversity, resource efficiency, marine protected areas, and tree and woodland cover.The Government commissioned a rapid review of the existing Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) to ensure the right policies are in place to deliver our targets. A statement of the rapid review’s key findings was published in January 2025. Later in 2025, we will publish a revised EIP, setting out important delivery information for the ambitious Environment Act targets.