Written questions by Vickers.

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 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 recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of measures to reduce agricultural ammonia emissions.

The latest UK projections of air pollutants were published in the informative inventory report 2025 in March this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment the Department has made of potential food security risks arising from supply chain disruption.

The UK has a resilient food supply chain that is well equipped to deal with situations that have the potential to cause disruption. Defra works closely with industry and across Government to identify and monitor food security risks. In compliance with the Agriculture Act 2020, the United Kingdom Food Security Report (UKFSR) is presented to Parliament at least once every three years, most recently in 2024. This examines past, current, and future trends relevant to food security and presents a full and impartial analysis of UK food security. In the intervening years, the UK Food Security Digest (UKFSD) is published containing a selection of summary statistics on issues relevant to a range of aspects of food security, drawn from national and international sources. This year’s report was published on 11 December 2025.

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 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 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 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.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of Armed Forces families affected by delays in allocating service accommodation.

In November 2025, the Ministry of Defence’s Industry Partner, Pinnacle, allocated 98.52% (532) of applications made by Service personnel entitled to Service Family Accommodation within 15 working days. 1.48% (8) applications fell outside of this target. Pinnacle’s performance far exceeds their Key Performance Indicator which requires them to process and allocate 90% of housing applications for entitled Service personnel within 15 working days.

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 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.

What steps his Department is taking to improve energy efficiency across the defence estate.

Improving energy efficiency means more money to spend on warfighting readiness. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is improving energy efficiency across the Defence Estate through targeted energy management initiatives, behavioural campaigns, the Utility Savings Challenge, LED lighting upgrades, and water-saving measures. New build assets are designed with energy-saving features, while recognising that much of the estate consists of older infrastructure not built to modern standards. The MOD has secured £9 billion over 10 years, some of which will be for enhancing energy efficiency in Service Family Accommodation. This includes installing solar panels, heat pumps, energy-efficient lighting, and improving thermal insulation

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.

What steps his Department is taking to expand opportunities for veterans to transition into civilian employment.

This Government is fully committed to renewing the nations contract with those who serve and who have served and to ensure veterans and their families have access to the employment support they need. A range of programmes are in place to support those leaving service, which make full use of their skills and experience in finding fulfilling and sustainable careers. The Career Transition Partnership is the initial point of employment provision for those transitioning into civilian life, with employment assistance available for up to two years before and two years after leaving service. For veterans who are more than two years post-service, as well as their families, additional support is provided through Op ASCEND. This initiative has already engaged with over 420 employers to create employment opportunities and successfully supported 5,000 veterans and family members. In addition, the new Veterans Strategy outlines specific and targeted interventions to connect veterans with strategically important industries. This includes a 12-month Clean Energy Jobs pilot in partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to connect veterans with high-skilled careers in the high demand clean energy sector. The recent Budget confirmed that the Employer National Insurance contributions relief for veterans will be extended to April 2028.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the waiting times for Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claims.

I refer the hon. gentleman to the answer I gave to Question 77236 on 15 October 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the UK’s ability to counter emerging drone-based threats.

The Strategic Defence Review announced an investment of £1 billion to enhance our homeland air and missile defence. Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Review recommendations, including on emerging drone based threats, will be prioritised appropriately against the assessed threat picture as part of the future Integrated Force and set out in the Defence Investment Plan to be published this year.

With reference to the British Transport Police's crime-screening policy introduced in August 2024, if she will publish the formal guidance for pedal-cycle theft (J13) and the operational factors used to determine when an offence is progressed to investigation; and if she will publish quarterly data showing the number of (a) pedal-cycle thefts reported, (b) investigated, and (c) closed without investigation, broken down by (i) cycle value and the (ii) availability of (A) CCTV and (B) witness evidence.

The British Transport Police (BTP), like their Home Office force counterparts, are operationally independent and decisions on whether to release guidance are for the Chief Constable to make. Crime figures for the BTP are collated by the Home Office and published on the Office for National Statistics website.

What steps his Department is taking to expand mental health support services for (a) serving personnel and (b) veterans.

All Service personnel have access to mental health support throughout their career, including medical and non-medical services. This includes, but is not limited to, preventative support such as wellbeing services, digital content, access to interventional support, and appointments with clinical staff. For Armed Forces personnel requiring dedicated mental healthcare, the Defence Medical Services (DMS) provides a responsive, flexible, accessible, and comprehensive treatment service. DMS has established Defence Mental Health Networks (DMHNs) across the UK to improve access to mental health services for Service personnel. These specialist community mental health services provide enhanced access to expert assessment and treatment for service personnel experiencing mental health disorders. By introducing new single points of access, enabling the sharing of specialist skills across network locations and consolidating clinical and governance processes, DMHNs are reducing wait times to enhanced assessments and core treatment therapies. DMS has further introduced standardised training for primary care clinicians to ensure that service personnel can access initial mental healthcare at any Defence medical centre and to strengthen the initial management of mental health disorders within primary care settings. Where personnel leaving the Armed Forces have an enduring need for mental healthcare, DMS works in partnership with the NHS to ensure continuation of care. Personnel who have been assessed and diagnosed with a mental health need are able to access Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMH) for up to six months after discharge to provide continuity of care during the transition period until appropriate handover to other services can be completed as required. In some circumstances a DCMH Mental Health Social Worker will undertake a full assessment of transition needs, including onward referral to NHS and third sector services for continued mental healthcare. Throughout the UK, the MOD Veterans’ Welfare Service (VWS) provides advice and support to veterans, anyone supporting a veteran, their families and dependants. The VWS works with the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force, local authorities, voluntary organisations and service charities and will routinely assign a case manager and assist with engagement with other services where needed. In England, Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE provide a broad range of specialist mental health, physical and wellbeing care services to veterans, with similar services available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The VWS and Defence Transition Service deliver additional support to service leavers and their families who are most likely to face challenges as they leave the Armed Forces, including facilitating access to NHS services. Support will also be delivered through the VALOUR programme will make it easier for veterans across the UK to access the care and support they deserve. It will connect services to help ensure veterans receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. One of the key component parts of VALOUR is a new network of VALOUR Recognised Centres. These centres will be located across the UK and welcome veterans and the wider Armed Forces community to provide support and guidance in key areas, including health, housing and employment. Over £27 million will be available for funding to support this initiative and the first round of funding opened to applications on 10 November 2025 and closes on 14 January 2026. The through life mental health support now provided to Service personnel will have a positive impact on the veterans of the future; we are ensuring that Armed Forces personnel have the psychological resilience training they need to recognise mental ill-health in themselves and those around them and know how to manage it.