Written questions by Onn.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with packaging manufacturers and distributors on the financial sustainability of Extended Producer Responsibility, and what steps she is taking to reflect the concerns of business in her policy.

The Government has engaged extensively with packaging manufacturers, distributors and representative bodies as part of the development of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme. This engagement has included public consultations, technical working groups, bilateral meetings, and ongoing discussions through industry forums. The Government has carefully considered the concerns raised by business. We are aware of industry concerns around producers being charged pEPR disposal fees for the management of packaging that is disposed of in commercial streams. At a roundtable with industry chaired by me on 10 June it was agreed to establish an industry led group to develop approaches to remove dual use packaging that is unlikely to end up in household waste stream from obligation. This work is now well advanced, and my department is carefully reviewing proposed approaches and will seek to balance sectoral ambitions against the operational integrity of the scheme.  We will continue to engage with industry during this process as we seek to establish a final approach.

Food and Rural Affairs, how often physical sampling checks are applied by the Service d’Inspection Vétérinaire Et Phytosanitaire to UK consignments of Category 3 fishmeal and fish oil exported through Calais; how long those checks take; and what representations she has made to her French counterpart on those checks.

The baseline frequency rate for physical checks on consignments of fishery products, is set out in EU legislation, though this may be increased where serious deficiencies are identified on specific goods. The EU regulations also require that for Processed Animal Protein (PAP), which includes fishmeal, the first six consignments of bulk imports are tested and their compliance verified by EU border controls before releasing the consignment.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to meet representatives of the UK fishmeal and fish oil export sector to discuss (a) the impact of delays at EU ports and (b) potential solutions.

Ministers continue to work closely with industry to address immediate challenges to the cross-border trade between the UK and 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, aimed at reducing trade barriers to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of Agri-food Negotiations are expected to begin in the autumn.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support UK exporters of Category 3 fishmeal and fish oil facing delays at EU Border Control Posts.

Defra actively supports GB exporters of Category 3 fishmeal and fish oil to navigate EU Border Control Post processes. To assist exporters, Defra has issued detailed Notes for Guidance outlining the certification process, including specific requirements that must be met to ensure compliance with EU legislation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of (a) UK-flagged and (b) EU member state-flagged fishing vessels were subject to port inspections in the last 12 months.

As of 1 June, there are 4,656 licensed UK fishing vessels. Any of these vessels could be subject to inspection by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) or by an Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority if they come into a port within our administration. MMO is the administrator for all English ports. During the last 12 months the MMO undertook 1,836 in-port inspections. It is not possible to readily identify how many individual vessels were inspected. The majority of these would have been English- registered vessels. 1,545 EU vessels are licensed to fish in UK waters, although the majority do not land their catch to an English port. In the last 12 months, there were 44 landings by EU vessels at English ports of which five were subject to inspection. The inspections were of three individual vessels.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of working with organisations such as the UK Seafood Federation to (a) advocate and (b) promote seafood.

I welcome the creation of the UK Seafood Federation, and I am pleased that Defra officials attended the launch on 15 January 2025. UK seafood businesses play an important role in boosting the growth of local economies by providing jobs, and are a vital part of our food security, bringing a heathy and nutritious source of food to dinner tables across the country. The UK Government is committed to continue working work with industry organisations, such as the UK Seafood Federation, to create a more secure, sustainable, and economically successful seafood sector. My Department looks forward to working closely with the UK Seafood Federation, as it does with other industry bodies, to promote UK seafood both domestically and abroad, boost trade, and deliver the best outcomes for UK businesses.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's paper entitled, A summary of England’s revised draft regional and water resources management plans, published on 21 March 2024, whether he has issued a deadline to water companies for the (a) design, (b) planning and (c) building of new water supplies.

Water companies are required to publish a statutory water resource management plan (WRMP) every 5 years. If the need for new water supplies is identified as a result of the assessments carried out to develop the WRMP, the company will set out the timescales within which the proposed schemes will be delivered in order to meet the forecast need. The detailed design, planning and building of these schemes is managed by the individual water companies to deliver the schemes within the timescales set out in the WRMP. The water companies report on the progress with delivery of their statutory WRMPs to Defra every year via the WRMP Annual Review process.