Written questions by Vickers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support farmers with input costs.

Whilst it may not reflect all agriculture subsectors, Defra’s Agriculture Price Index (API) data show rises in output costs over time outstripping rises in input costs. 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.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate the Department has made of the proportion of agricultural land participating in Environmental Land Management schemes.

50% (4.3m ha) farmed land in England actively managed in schemes, another 14% (1.3m ha) covered by assessments and plans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Department is taking to improve enforcement against illegal waste dumping.

We will reform the waste carriers, brokers and dealers regime and the waste permit exemptions regime. This will make it harder for rogue operators to find work in the sector and easier for regulators to take action against criminals. In addition, our planned digital waste tracking reforms will make it harder than ever to mis-identify waste or dispose of it inappropriately. The Environment Agency’s (EA) total budget for 2025 to 2026 has increased and includes £15.6m for waste crime enforcement. This is a more than 50% increase from 2024/25. Overall, the EA has been able to increase its frontline criminal enforcement resource in the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and area environmental crime teams by 43 full-time staff. This resource will target activities that are waste crime priorities and will make best use of enforcement activity data and criminal intelligence to do so. Activities include tackling organised crime groups, increasing enforcement activity around specific areas of concern such as landfill sites, closing down illegal waste sites more quickly, using intelligence more effectively, and delivering successful major criminal investigations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate the Department has made of the total cost of river restoration projects undertaken in the last financial year.

The Water Restoration Fund was launched in April 2024. It is reinvesting funding based on water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. Natural England supports and advises the Rural Payments Agency and the Environment Agency on administration of funds for river restoration, ensuring we get the greatest value for money in terms of nature recovery and wider societal benefits.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of biodiversity loss over the last 12 months.

Defra does not have data on biodiversity loss covering the most recent 12‑month period. However, a range of official publications and monitoring frameworks provide the latest picture of biodiversity trends and the government’s most recent assessment of progress, such as Indicators of species abundance in England, England biodiversity indicators, and Wild bird and Butterfly statistics.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to accelerate tree planting to meet statutory environmental targets.

The Government is investing £1 billion in tree planting and support to the forestry sector over this parliament. Tree planting in England is at the highest recorded rate in over 20 years, with over 7,100 hectares planted in 2024/25. As part of this investment the government is delivering on the manifesto commitment to create three new national forests and will fund tree planting across England, through Woodland Creation Partnerships and Forestry Commission grants, while also providing wider sector support. This support includes investing in apprenticeships and tree nurseries, ensuring we have the skills and jobs we need and a supply of healthy seeds and trees to create the forests of the future.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Department is taking to expand access to nature-based carbon sequestration schemes for landowners.

Nature-based solutions are essential for tackling the climate and biodiversity crises together. Ecosystems such as forests, saltmarshes and grasslands actively absorb carbon and enhance climate resilience, while England’s peatlands, our largest terrestrial carbon store, play a critical role in preventing emissions when kept in good condition. Protecting and restoring these systems is indispensable for the Government’s net zero pathway and for safeguarding habitats that support native species. The Government is investing significantly in nature’s recovery, including £1 billion in tree planting and support for the forestry sector over this Parliament, alongside funding to improve and restore peatlands to protect and enhance natural carbon stores and sinks. This will make a significant contribution to the Environment Act targets, including improving the quality of water and spaces for wildlife so biodiversity can thrive.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of water companies in reducing storm overflow discharges.

The Government published a report on 11 December which highlights that while progress has been made to reduce spills from storm overflows, the amount of sewage entering our waterways is still unacceptable. This government is committed to transparency around the scale of this challenge and we’re taking decisive action to tackle it. Over £10 billion will be spent in the next five years to upgrade 2,500 overflows in England, alongside more monitoring and inspections than ever before. Our landmark Water (Special Measures) Act will introduce independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows, in addition to storm overflows. Discharges will have to be reported within an hour of the initial spill. This will create an unprecedented level of transparency, enabling the public and regulators to see where, and how often, overflows are discharging, and hold water companies to account. Our Water White Paper will set out long-term reforms to strengthen regulation, tackle pollution, and accelerate the delivery of vital infrastructure.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment the Department has made of the effectiveness of policies to protect pollinator populations.

Following the conclusion of our National Pollinator Strategy in 2024, Defra will deliver a refreshed Pollinator Action Plan, as part of the broader Environmental Improvement Plan. This will set out key actions for pollinators in England. Defra partly funds the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (UK PoMS) providing systematic data on the abundance of key pollinators at a national scale. This data contributes to measuring trends in pollinator populations and targets conservation efforts. The Health and Safety Executive has published updated guidance for emergency authorisations of pesticides. This is the next step in delivering on the commitment the government made in December 2024 to end the use of banned neonicotinoid pesticides in England.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

As of December 2025, around 41% of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) features are in favourable condition across all of England, and the percentage in favourable or unfavourable recovering condition is around 62%. The Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) published on 1 December sets out our ambition to bring 75% of SSSIs into favourable condition by 2042. In the EIP, we have also set an interim target for 50% of SSSI features to have actions on track to achieve favourable condition by December 2030, which will support the achievement of the 2042 ambition.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate the Department has made of the volume of plastic packaging placed on the UK market in the last year.

For 2024, there are two available estimates for the volume of plastic packing placed on the market for the UK. These estimates are based on different methodologies and data sources (PackFlow and Reported Packaging Data) and so produce slightly different figures. PackFlow is a report commissioned by Defra to provide information on the total flows of packaging in the UK and has historically been used to estimate the total amount of material placed on the market. The Reported Packaging Data provides new data on total packaging supplied and placed on the UK market and became available after the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) came into force on 1 January 2025. Table1: Estimates of the volume of plastic packaging placed on the market, UK Data sourcePackaging waste arising estimate for 2024 (thousand tonnes)PackFlow2,265Reported Packaging Data2,149 (provisional) Note: The arisings data sourced from the Reported Packaging Data system is based on data for H1 and H2 for 2024 (as submitted in October 2024 and April 2025). Data as of 2 June 2025 The full methodology and figures relating to previous years, can be found in the UK Statistics on Waste publication.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on the regulation of hazardous waste storage at industrial sites in Teesside.

Industrial sites must only store hazardous waste in accordance with an environmental permit.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reduction in the sheep population over the last three years on wildfire risk.

Defra has made no assessment of the potential impact of the reduction in the sheep population over the last three years on wildfire risk. The sheep sector is an important component of our rural landscape. The size of the flock changes year to year and sheep graze over a wide geographic area across the country, making any assessment difficult to undertake. Each fire and rescue authority is, however, required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan. Since 2024 the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the availability of permitted landfill capacity for industrial waste in the North East.

The Environment Agency publishes data of landfill capacity on an annual basis which can be accessed here: Remaining Landfill Capacity - data.gov.uk

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the implementation Animal (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023, what discussions she had has with travel and tourism sector on preventing UK-based companies from (a) advertising an (b) profiting from low-welfare animal attractions overseas.

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 steps she is taking to raise public awareness of (a) the potential impact of low-welfare animal attractions abroad and (b) encourage responsible tourism through (i) education and (ii) regulation.

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 her Department's timetable is for introducing the activity regulations required to bring the Animal (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 fully into force.

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, whether he has had discussions with animal welfare organisations on tackling the misuse of air weapons against pets.

Defra regularly engage with animal welfare organisations on a range of issues. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare, may be banned from owning animals. They may also face an unlimited fine, be sent to prison, or both.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in air weapon attacks on domestic animals; what steps he is taking to improve data collection of these incidents.

Defra does not hold data on cases of domestic animals being attacked with air weapons. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare, may be banned from owning animals. They may also face an unlimited fine, be sent to prison, or both. The Government keeps animal welfare policy under review and is committed to ensuring that animals are protected from unnecessary suffering.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) support and (b) increase domestic food production.

The Government’s commitment to farming and food security remains steadfast, which is why the Government is investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature’s recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%. Towards a Good Food Cycle, the UK Government food strategy for England, published on 15 July, sets out the Government's plans to transform the food system. A UK government food strategy for England - GOV.UK The food strategy will deliver wide ranging improvements to ensure it is able to feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals. The strategy will build the resilience of national food supply to shocks and chronic risks and will be considering levels of domestic food production as part of this.