Written questions by Hudson.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether zoo animals being transferred between the UK and EU countries will be covered by the new sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.

Our priority is to secure a long-term UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement aimed at reducing trade barriers to enable the safe and efficient movement of goods, including zoo animals. 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. With the principles and framework of a deal agreed, we will now negotiate the detail of an agreement that reduces administrative burden by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of local authorities to enforce regulations on zoo licensing.

The Government published new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on 24 May 2025, which will come into force from May 2027. One of the objectives of updating the Standards has been to make requirements clearer to aid local authority enforcement of the zoo licensing system. The Department will continue to work with the UK Zoos Expert Committee (ZEC), the Animal and Plant Health Agency and local authorities to ensure the Standards are effectively implemented.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Veterinary Surgeons Act.

Defra acknowledges the calls from industry, stakeholders and the general public to update the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA) and its many potential benefits. Currently, Defra officials are actively engaging with key stakeholders, including the BVA (British Veterinary Association), the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons), BVNA (British Veterinary Nursing Association), and the Vet Schools Council to review opportunities for reform of the sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Water Restoration Fund will be continued after the first round of payments have been awarded.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April 2024, was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties back into projects to improve the water environment. Successful applicants have been notified, with a total of £11 million due to be invested into local projects to improve our waterways. A detailed evaluation will be produced following completion of the Fund, assessing the impact of the projects. The Water Restoration Fund will continue as originally planned, with the £11 million of funding based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023. Going forwards, this Government has announced that over £100 million in fines and penalties levied against water companies since October 2023, as well as future fines and penalties, will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters. Further details on the projects and programmes that this funding will go towards will be set out later in the year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduced ring-fenced Water Restoration Fund on local water improvement projects.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April 2024, was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties back into projects to improve the water environment. Successful applicants have been notified, with a total of £11 million due to be invested into local projects to improve our waterways. A detailed evaluation will be produced following completion of the Fund, assessing the impact of the projects. The Water Restoration Fund will continue as originally planned, with the £11 million of funding based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023. Going forwards, this Government has announced that over £100 million in fines and penalties levied against water companies since October 2023, as well as future fines and penalties, will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters. Further details on the projects and programmes that this funding will go towards will be set out later in the year.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62667 on Animal and Plant Health Agency, whether those investments include (a) biosecurity and (b) the redevelopment of the Animal and Plant Health Agency headquarters.

We are making a record investment into the nation’s biosecurity capabilities, and in turn our national security. In June the Government announced over £1 billion in funding for biosecurity over the current parliament from the Spending Review. This includes the necessary funding to make progress with building the National Biosecurity Centre at the Animal & Plant Health Agency’s Weybridge site.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many Equidae were declared as transiting across Great Britain on an intra-EU certificate in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025; and how many of those were declared as originating from (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) the Republic of Ireland and (iii) other EU countries in each year.

The attached table shows the number of Equidae which were declared as originating from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and other EU countries. This information is drawn from external systems not directly controlled by the department.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many Equidae recorded as transiting across Great Britain were declared as being exported from (a) Harwich, (b) Dover, (c) Killingholme, (d) Holyhead, (e) Birkenhead and (f) other ports in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2025.

This data is available on Export Health Certificates (Live Animals and Animal Product Origins) Issued between Great Britain and European Union by APHA - data.gov.uk This dataset contains information on the number of Export Health Certificates issued for exports from GB to the European Union in respect of Live Animals and Products of Animal Origin. It does not show the number of exports for each port but shows the number of Export Health Certificates issued per commodity group by the Animal and Plant Health Agency in a calendar month.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many Equidae (a) were recorded as transiting across Great Britain and (b) had been declared on their paperwork as having been imported via (i) Harwich, (ii) Dover, (iii) Killingholme, (iv) Cairnryan, (v) Holyhead, (vi) Birkenhead (vii) other ports in (A) 2023, (B) 2024 and (C) 2025 to-date.

From 2023 to date, a total of 8346 Equidae were recorded as transiting across Great Britain and had been declared on their paperwork as having been imported by a UK port. The attached table shows the number of Equidae by year and port. This information is drawn from external systems not directly controlled by the department.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraphs 8 and 10 of the National Audit Office’s report entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what plans his Department has to (a) deliver an effective digital identification system for horses, (b) enforce the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 and (c) upgrade the Central Equine Database.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine identification and traceability. The SPS agreement, outlined at the UK-EU Leader’s Summit on 19 May 2025, will establish a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area, aimed at facilitating the safe and efficient movement of trade. The SPS Agreement will cover sanitary rules and the regulation of live animals, including animal health conditions governing the movement and importation of Equidae. Enforcement of Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 lies with within the responsibilities of the Local Authorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the National Audit Office’s report entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what assessment his Department has made of failing to implement the statutory digital equine ID system on the risk of (a) disease preparedness, (b) livestock traceability and (c) biosecurity measures at the border.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra recognises the importance of a robust equine identification and traceability regime. The current paper-based system supports disease outbreak management, public health and biosecurity. Biosecurity is also protected by the UK’s imports requirements and imports health certificates for equines. Defra has no current plans to implement statutory digital equine identification.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report by the National Audit Office entitled Resilience to Animal Diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK's preparedness to respond to a major animal disease outbreak.

Defra and APHA actively assisted the National Audit Office in the collation of the data and information used to inform their report and will carefully work through the findings and recommendations to inform a plan for improvement. The National Audit Office will monitor progress against the recommendations at approximately 6 monthly intervals and we look forward to working with them on this. We are committed to improving biosecurity and resilience to animal diseases.

Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on when the full redevelopment of the Animal and Plant Health Agency headquarters in Weybridge will be completed.

Defra is making good progress with the redevelopment of the APHA Weybridge site. Planning consent is in place, construction of interim science facilities is underway, work is proceeding on the design of the main National Biosecurity Centre and with the appointment of construction partners. The main construction works are expected to begin in 2027, be completed by 2032 with licensing and commission complete by 2034.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) Thames Water and (b) Ofwat since the withdrawal of KKR from discussions on an equity recapitalisation deal.

The Government and Ofwat – the financial regulator for the water sector – are carefully monitoring the situation at Thames Water, and Ofwat is working closely with the company to strengthen its long-term financial resilience within the context of its licence and broader statutory obligations. Thames Water is running an equity raise and has indicated that it will need a new capital structure requiring both more equity and a significant reduction in the level of debt and we are monitoring this process closely.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the collapse of Thames Water.

The Government and Ofwat – the financial regulator for the water sector – are carefully monitoring the situation at Thames Water, and Ofwat is working closely with the company to strengthen its long-term financial resilience within the context of its licence and broader statutory obligations. Thames Water is running an equity raise and has indicated that it will need a new capital structure requiring both more equity and a significant reduction in the level of debt and we are monitoring this process closely.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 10799 on Meat: Smuggling, how much illegal meat was seized (a) from 11 October 2024 to 31 December 2024 and (b) in 2025.

Illegal meat seized figures captured as part of Defra's African Swine Fever Programme:Between 11 October 2024 – 21 December 2024, 49,912kg seized.Between 3 January 2025 – 18 April, 72,872kg seized.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on the environmental impact of disposable vapes.

On 1 June the sale and supply of disposable vapes across the UK was banned, this will remove these harmful products from shelves and reduce the waste cause by their disposal. We will work closely with the Department of Health to ensure that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill continues to consider the environmental impacts of vaping.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the pub and brewing sector on the potential impact of extended producer responsibility on glass packaging since 14 May 2025.

Officials also joined a panel for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association on 21 May, and have met with the Food and Drink Federation and the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of extended producer responsibility on pubs in Epping Forest constituency.

The Government has worked closely with industry, including the pub sector, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging. In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by constituency. We do not intend to do any specific analysis on pubs in the Epping Forest constituency.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) amend and (b) pause the extended producer responsibility scheme to mitigate the impact on pubs.

The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 came into effect on 1 January 2025, PackUK, the Scheme Administrator has been appointed, and producers have started to accrue scheme costs from the 1 April 2025. pEPR has been subject to extensive consultation and stakeholders have had ample opportunity to understand the design of the scheme. We will be consulting on potential amendments to address the issue of dual use packaging.