Every parliamentary written question tabled by Neil Duncan-Jordan this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 81–100 of 108 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Animal Welfare Committee’s review of responsible sourcing of fur will be published before second reading of the Fur (Import and Sale) Bill on 13 June 2025.
Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. The Animal Welfare Committee’s opinion on the sustainable sourcing of fur is due to complete in 2025 and will be published on GOV.UK thereafter. As with all projects, the precise dates for conclusion and publication are not set.
Food and Rural Affairs, when he will publish the outcomes of his Departments consultation entitled Fairer Food Labelling, which closed in May 2024.
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken between March and May 2024 by the previous Government. This sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling. The consultation also sought views on whether new rules should be introduced on country-of-origin labelling. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce a new Food Bill for England in this Parliament.
Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system. We will consider the need for legislation as we develop the strategy and will seek to make space in the legislative timetable if needed.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the horticulture sector.
The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our agricultural sectors including the fundamental part played by horticulture growers. As part of our mission-driven Government we are currently considering how we can achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for all of our farming sectors. This includes, as the Secretary of state announced at the CLA conference, developing a 25-year Farming Roadmap to create a robust and resilient agriculture sector, capable of meeting current challenges whilst future proofing the sector for generations to come. In addition, the department meets regularly with growers to discuss a range of specific issues facing the sector. These discussions help inform future policy development and help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to establish a cross-government working group on food.
The Government recognises the importance of innovation and technologies in supporting farmers to drive productivity and profitability, boosting Britain’s food security and improving nature’s recovery. The Government is supporting the development of agricultural technologies through a range of policies. Defra has announced the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) Fund which will launch in Spring 2025, enabling farmer-led trials to bridge the gap between new technologies and their real-world application. Legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 will be introduced in Parliament before the end of March. When in force, this will enable farmers to grow crops with higher yields and that are more resistant to drought, pests and diseases. Defra will collaborate closely with industry partners, such as The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture, a professional body established in 2021 that aims to drive greater uptake of professional skills, including in relation to new technologies, among farmers and growers for a more prosperous Sector. Defra will continue to look carefully at how to position future investment and support to enable the benefits of new technologies to be fully realised and integrated into farming practices.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce mandatory reporting by food and beverage companies on nutrition, health and sustainability metrics.
Defra, DHSC and FSA have worked in partnership with food and beverage businesses and academics through the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) to identify approaches to health and sustainability reporting. Minutes from the FDTP’s working groups are available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/food-data-transparency-partnership. The FDTP’s eco workstream, led by Defra, is currently developing an approach to standardise how environmental impacts are quantified and communicated across the food system. This will empower agri-food businesses to make data-driven actions to reduce environmental impacts and meet net zero goals. The Government is not planning to introduce a sector-specific legislative requirement for food and beverage companies to report on sustainability metrics. The Government is currently considering the endorsement of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, led by the Department of Business and Trade, to create UK Sustainability Reporting Standards that include reporting against some sustainability metrics. The Government and Financial Conduct Authority will consider whether to mandate these standards for certain economically significant entities across all sectors. The FDTP’s health workstream, led by DHSC with support from the FSA, was to explore how businesses with more than 250 employees across retail, manufacturing and the out of home (OOH) sector, could report on the healthiness of their sales. Work on the health workstream of FDTP paused for the general election, and DHSC are reviewing FDTP alongside other policies.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans to expand the Government Buying Standards across the wider public sector.
Defra already encourages the wider public sector to use the Government Buying Standards. Using these standards provides one way of tenders achieving value for money and environmental policy priorities, and this will be further supported later this month by the more flexible approach to assessing public procurement introduced by the new Procurement Act.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect blue carbon habitats from damaging human activities.
In England, we have established a comprehensive network of 181 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which cover the majority of our saltmarsh and seagrass habitats. While blue carbon habitats may not always be an explicitly designated feature, MPA protection may still yield benefits. Our focus is now on ensuring that these MPAs are effectively protected to allow the designated features to achieve favourable condition. Three Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMAs) designations in English waters came into force in summer 2023. Two of the three designated sites, Allonby Bay and North East of Farnes Deep, contain blue carbon habitats. Defra set up the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership in partnership with DESNZ and the Devolved Administrations to address evidence gaps around these important habitats. We are funding a multi-year research project to increase our understanding of UK seabed sediment carbon storage and sequestration, the impact of human activities and to model potential management interventions. Initial outputs from this work were published in January 2025.
Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to key recommendation 3 of the Office for Environmental Protection’s report entitled Progress in improving the natural environment in England 2023 to 2024, published on 16 January 2025, if he will set out a timetable for improving management of Marine Protected Areas.
I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Brent West on 10 December 2024 and 6 January 2025, PQs 17500 and 20559.
Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled, Consultation on fairer food labelling, which closed in May 2024, when he will publish the outcomes of that consultation.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Gareth Snell on 19 December 2024, PQ 20692.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will implement a (a) transparent and (b) meaningful method of production labelling.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Gareth Snell on 19 December 2024, PQ 20692.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will introduce a ban on the imports of dogs with cropped ears as soon as possible.
The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by the hon. Member for Winchester. The Bill will give the Government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We will use these powers to prohibit the bringing into Great Britain of dogs with non-exempted mutilations such as cropped ears. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to permit the controlled release of beavers into the countryside.
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra will continue to work with Natural England to develop our approach to beaver reintroductions and management in England. Further information on this will be published in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to reform the marine licensing process.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is responsible for the operation of the marine licensing system. With Defra, the MMO seeks continuous improvement to ensure the system is streamlined, cost effective and proportionate, and supports economic growth and the delivery of environmental benefits. Defra is considering options for future reform which would be subject to stakeholder consultation in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to (a) incorporate marine ecosystems into the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and (b) ensure that (i) land and (ii) sea are integrated into the carbon capture strategy.
Defra is working in partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Devolved Administrations – through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership – to address evidence gaps that currently prevent the inclusion of coastal and marine habitats in the Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Defra Group have funded five flux towers to provide important carbon emissions data for saltmarsh habitats. Alongside investment to deliver a roadmap setting out the steps needed for potential inclusion of saltmarsh in the Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Other marine habitats will be kept in consideration as the evidence base around them develops. Defra is committed to developing nature-based solutions to climate change on both land and sea. As demonstrated by the inclusion of both saltmarsh and seagrass as habitats in our net zero pathway, alongside a commitment of over £400 million of support for tree planting and peatland restoration in the Autumn Budget. Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) will be essential to meeting our climate commitments. CCUS is used for the deep decarbonisation of certain industries – such as cement and chemicals – which have no alternative to decarbonise. In developing its thinking the Government will consider options and implications for delivering CCUS on both land and sea.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support active restoration of coastal ecosystems; and if he will take steps to amend the licensing framework for that restoration.
The Government recognises that protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing coastal and marine habitats – such as saltmarsh, seagrass and native oyster reefs – can provide biodiversity, climate adaptation and climate mitigation benefits. Defra has funded restoration of coastal ecosystems through schemes such as the Water Environment Improvement Fund and the Environmental Land Management Countryside Stewardship scheme. Defra is also funding the development of a Saltmarsh Code to enable saltmarsh carbon to be traded as a carbon offset and help drive private finance towards nature restoration. The Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef initiative is working to restore seagrass meadows, saltmarsh and native oyster reefs. It is working in partnership with environmental non-government organisations, industry, community groups, and academia to identify innovative funding opportunities, streamline regulatory processes, build capacity and share knowledge with partners to facilitate a larger programme of restoration. Defra officials are working with arms-length bodies to understand whether improvements could be made to the marine licensing regime to ensure that it appropriately enables habitat restoration.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish information on food stock-to-consumption ratios in the UK.
Defra publishes a related measure, production to supply ratio, for a range of produce in its Agriculture in the UK publication. The same publication includes stock changes in its supply and use tables for cereals. The department’s UK Food Security Report 2024 also includes global stock to consumption ratios for a range of agricultural commodities.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to reintroduce the use of neonicotinoid as a pesticide.
This Government is clear that we will change existing policies to end the use of neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten bees and other vital pollinators.
Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish a strategic plan for food security.
The Government is currently considering an ambitious food strategy that will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, and in doing so will consider elements of the food system that can contribute towards those outcomes. More details will be made available in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing waste incineration facilities for the next five years.
The Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy, which will support economic growth, deliver green jobs, promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and help us accelerate to Net Zero. There will however still be a need for the safe and sanitary management of residual waste. In accordance with the Waste Hierarchy, sending residual waste that cannot currently be prevented, prepared for reuse, or recycled to Energy from Waste plants is preferable to disposal in landfill. We are clear however that we do not support incineration overcapacity. Before the end of this year, the Government will publish an analysis of residual waste treatment capacity, including waste incineration, in England setting out our future capacity needs to inform future policy directions.