Written questions by Wilson.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support research into natural defences against unwanted vegetation in public places.

One of the actions Defra introduced in the recently launched UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP) is to gather more data on pest, weed and disease management in the amateur and amenity sectors. This will allow for a better understanding of pesticide use, the sectors’ contribution to overall pesticide load on the environment, and how widespread integrated pest management (IPM) approaches are currently. IPM aims to reduce reliance on pesticides by making use of lower risk alternatives and promoting natural processes. Last year Defra completed an evidence review to understand better the barriers to IPM uptake in the amenity sector. In the wake of this review, Defra recently funded an update to the Integrated Weed Management guide produced by Parks for London. This will be published this year and will be available online, providing access to key tools to help amenity managers control weeds effectively and sustainably.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the UK Repair and Reuse Declaration.

The Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy and has convened a Circular Economy Taskforce to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England with a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Circular Economy Taskforce will start with five sectors: agrifood, built environment, chemicals, and plastics; textiles and transport. We recognise that reuse and repair are fundamental tenets of any circular economy and will consider the evidence for appropriate action from right across the economy as we develop our strategy.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of testing water quality under the water framework directive annually instead of every three years.

The Environment Agency (EA) samples and analyses local water body information continuously throughout the year. Under the Water Framework Directive, the EA must publish the sample results at least every six years as a national classification inform River Basin Management Plans. The EA also publishes an interim updates every three years. This is the best use of resources given the natural environment takes time to respond to changes. We are making significant improvement to our monitoring to give a fuller, more accurate picture of our water bodies. The flagship Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment programme will provide a statistically robust baseline assessment of the health of waters at a national scale.The independent commission into the water sector regulatory system was launched by UK and Welsh Governments in October 2024. The commission is reviewing the Water Framework Directive and the associated monitoring system. The Commission will report to the UK and Welsh Governments by the end of June 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to reduce the timeframe for the authorisation of new electric vehicle battery recycling facilities.

Environmental permits enable Government missions on economic growth, green innovation and net zero. To protect the environment and the public, all environmental permits require appropriate assessment to prevent harm. All environmental permitting is subject to statutory timeframes. Defra and the Environment Agency are constantly reviewing and improving Environmental Permitting services to make them efficient and reactive to customer needs. The Environment Agency will consider prioritising applications, if they meet specific criteria that include supporting economic growth or are for nationally significant infrastructure projects. The Environment Agency encourages applicants to contact them as early as possible in any project plans and take up pre application advice (Get advice before you apply for an environmental permit), particularly for complex permits for new and novel technologies such as vehicle battery recycling facilities.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of banning sky lanterns.

An assessment of sky-lanterns was carried out in 2023.The research examined the risks that sky lanterns, and other items including helium balloons, pose to the environment. The research suggests the risks posed by sky lanterns and helium balloons remain low. It also explored a ban on the sale of sky lanterns and indicated this would result in lost economic activity. The research report is available at: https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=21420. Based on this assessment, we therefore consider existing controls to be sufficient. Local authorities already have powers to apply local controls to restrict or ban the use of sky lanterns or balloons on council or public land and, according to stakeholders, around 150 councils have already introduced a ban. We also support voluntary initiatives aimed at minimising the risks associated with sky lanterns. Initiatives include a voluntary Code of Practice for sky lanterns developed by industry with Government support to ensure that they are manufactured to be safe and are sold responsibly.