Written questions by Hudson.

How much illegally imported meat coming has been seized in 2025.

Due to the way in which meat seizures are recorded, the data requested is not available in an accessible format.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her economic policies on inflation for food and drink.

HM Treasury does not produce forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasting the economy, including the impact of Government policy decisions, is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 March 2025. The OBR does not publish estimates of the impact of policy decisions on levels of food and drink inflation. The Chancellor has asked departments to prioritise reducing inflation when developing policies for the Autumn Budget, ensuring decisions support stability and long-term growth.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of inflation on (a) businesses, (b) farmers and (c) consumers in Epping Forest constituency.

The Office for National Statistics does not publish inflation statistics at the level of individual constituencies such as Epping Forest. However, the Government understands that inflation remains a challenge for businesses, including farmers, and consumers. This is why the Chancellor has asked departments to prioritise reducing inflation when developing policies for the Autumn Budget, ensuring decisions support stability and long-term growth.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reducing inflation of food and drink.

Over the past year, Defra Ministers have regularly engaged with HM Treasury Ministers on cost-of-living pressures, including the inflationary impacts on food and drink. The Child Poverty Taskforce provides a helpful cross-Whitehall forum for ministers across departments, including HM Treasury, to discuss and align measures to reduce household costs and improve access to affordable essentials. In parallel, Defra’s food strategy is developing policies to ensure that individuals across the country have access to affordable, nutritious food. As a Government, we have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, but we recognise there is more to do to ease cost-of-living, which continues to place pressure on working households. That’s why we’ve raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and are rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country. Our commitment to the Triple Lock means that 12 million pensioners will receive an increase of up to £470 a year, worth £1,900 over the Parliament. Through our Plan for Change we’re going further and faster to put more money in people's pockets.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent trends in the level of inflation for food and drink on food security.

UK consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Changes in food prices are dependent on changes in one or more of these factors. The latest available data (up to 2023) show that food prices in the UK remained lower than in most advanced economies and the lowest among G7 countries (OECD). After the USA, UK households spend the lowest share of their expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks in the G7 (OECD). In FYE 2024, households spent 11.3% of their spend on food, rising to 14.3% for the lowest 20% by income. Over the last 10 years these figures have been relatively stable, barring the impact of coronavirus in 2020-22. We have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, but we know there’s more to do to ease the cost of living – which working people face the brunt of. That’s why we’ve raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and are rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country. The Government has also extended Free School Meals to over half a million more children. That policy alone will lift 100,000 children out of poverty. And our commitment to the Triple Lock means that 12 million pensioners will receive an increase of up to £470 a year – worth £1,900 over the Parliament. Through our Plan for Change we’re going further and faster to put more money in people's pockets.

What steps her Department is taking to provide mental health support in schools in Epping Forest constituency.

The government is providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs). 53% of schools and colleges in Epping Forest constituency were supported by an MHST in March 2025. Further data for 2024/25 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision. This has been available since 16 May 2025 at national, regional and local authority level and since 10 July 2025 at constituency level. Around six in ten pupils nationally are expected to have access to an MHST by March 2026. Under government plans, all pupils will have access to mental health support in school by 2029/30.

What steps her Department is taking to support pupils with SEND in Epping Forest constituency.

This government’s ambition is that every child or young person receives the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child or young person feels like they belong and that sets them up for life and work.As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore parents’ trust by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate to crisis point.We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight. There will always be a legal right to the additional support that children with SEND need.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the process of applying for an ECHP.

This government inherited a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that has failed to meet the needs of families for far too long.We want to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments are progressed promptly and, if required, high-quality EHC plans are issued in line with statutory deadlines.The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help to identify the problems and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, providing specialist SEND Advisor support to help identify the barriers to carrying out the EHC plan process in a timely way and put in place practical plans for recovery.We are working closely with experts, including parents, local authorities, SEND organisations and education settings across the country, as we consider the next steps for SEND reform.

Whether she plans to hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential impact of measures in the Autumn Budget 2025 on the farming sector.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer holds regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on a range of issues.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to hold discussions with the Animal and Plant Health Agency on their ability to respond to category five animal disease outbreaks.

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency regularly discuss capacity and capability to manage disease outbreaks at a variety of governance boards including the Outbreak Readiness Board and the Disease Emergency Response Committee. APHA has dealt with multiple disease incidents in 7 of the last 10 years, including concurrent outbreaks of bluetongue and avian influenza since 2023. In the Public Accounts Committee hearing on 4 September, Defra acknowledged that a category 5 outbreak would pose challenges and explained that there are contracts and agreements in place that would enable draw down of additional veterinary and administrative capacity. Outbreak structures and governance are set out in the ‘Contingency Plan for Exotic Notifiable Diseases of Animals in England’ published on GOV.UK. This is reviewed annually.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department are taking to help increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of vets in the public sector.

Defra is aware of the numerous challenges facing recruitment and retention of qualified veterinary surgeons into Government roles. The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Food Standards Agency have been looking at ways to increase recruitment into Government and Defra has been working with the vet sector at blockers and options to support recruitment and retention.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many times the Floods Resilience Taskforce has met since September 2024; and on what dates.

The Flood Resilience Taskforce meets quarterly to coordinate and drive forward work on national flood resilience by national and local government and partners including the emergency services, environment and farming sectors and community groups. Since its launch, it has met four times: on 12 September 2024, 5 February 2025, 21 May 2025, and 8 September 2025 and discussed matters including preparations for autumn and winter flooding, flood insurance and reform of the floods funding formula. The fourth meeting is scheduled for 8 September 2025. Taskforce members also meet frequently on specific issues. Examples include events on flood forecasting and warning, held on 19 December 2024, a briefing on the National Flood and Erosion Risk Assessment on 17 January 2025, and a roundtable on 20 January 2025 on delivering natural flood management.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding has been issued from the Smaller Abattoir Fund since July 2024.

Since July 2024, the Rural Payment Agency has paid £406,545 to customers of the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding is remaining in the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

The total funding remaining for the Smaller Abattoir Fund is £704,928.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support responsible dog ownership.

Defra is working with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to encourage responsible dog ownership, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and to make sure the full force of the law is applied. As part of this work, we have reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce to explore measures to promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. The taskforce is considering four themes: education, training for both dogs and their owners, enforcement, and improving data on dog attacks. We look forward to receiving the findings and recommendations from the taskforce in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle the designer breeding of (a) brachycephalic cats, (b) bully cats, (c) hybrid cats and (d) other cats.

Defra commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) to examine the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. The report can be found here. The Government is carefully considering its recommendations.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in Food Security Agency charges for the 2025/26 financial year on small and medium-sized abattoirs.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducts and charges for official controls, inspections, in abattoirs, which help to ensure that food hygiene and animal welfare standards are met. The controls are an intrinsic component in our food system which provide reassurance for the wider food industry and consumers, as well as trading partners to facilitate meat exports. Information on the 2025/26 charge rates is available on the FSA’s website at the following link: https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/charges-for-controls-in-meat-premises As in previous years, the impact of charges is offset by a taxpayer-funded discount which provides the greatest proportional support to smaller businesses. The impact of the support on different sized food businesses in England and Wales for 2025/26 is set out in the Cost Data Slides which the FSA has published at the following link: https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/Meat%20hygiene%20cost%20data%202025-2026%20_1.pdf The FSA is currently conducting an evaluation of the support provided via the discount and will assess the impact of any changes it might propose in the light of this evaluation.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will confirm whether it plans to maintain the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

Defra recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs play in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient and competitive food supply chain. The Government will continue to work to simplify and rationalise our grant funding from 2026 onwards following the Spending Review and subsequent business planning to ensure our grants are targeted towards those who need them most and where they can deliver the most benefit for food security and nature.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the welfare of farm animals transported within the UK.

All farm animals transported in the UK are protected by comprehensive legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare. These include the provision of sufficient space, feed and water, ensuring that vehicles used are fit for purpose and secure and that all drivers/attendants are appropriately trained to maintain the welfare of animals in their care. Animals must be fit for transport, and all transporters are required to ensure that, when transporting animals, they do so in a way that avoids causing pain, suffering or distress. The legislation is supplemented by guidance on GOV.UK, including specific advice on transporting animals in extreme weather.

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the Renters Rights Bill on the number of renters who will not be able to request a pet.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will give all private rented sector tenants the right to request a pet, which landlords will not be able to unreasonably refuse.