Written questions by O'Brien.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the (a) number of staff and (b) and operating expenditure have increased at the Environment Agency since April 2017.

The increase in both staffing levels and operating expenditure at the Environment Agency since April 2017 reflects the expansion of its responsibilities, operational activity, and its role in supporting the Government’s growth agenda. Staff numbers have grown to support increased flood and coastal erosion risk management, strengthened environmental regulation and enforcement, and delivery of additional functions following EU Exit.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the (a) number of staff and (b) operating expenditure have increased at the Animal Plant Health Agency since April 2017.

The increase in expenditure is mainly due to variable costs for the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) response to exotic disease outbreaks, principally avian influenza. When the UK left the EU, staff and costs increased in APHA to resource additional trade and border responsibilities including the management of Sevington which transferred from Defra to APHA in 2025. APHA required additional operational resource to support the introduction of the new ‘green lane’ schemes, as part of the Windsor Framework in 2023, to simplify requirements for moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the incomplete Answer her Department provided to Question 97203 on 6 January 2026.

The incomplete answer to Question 97203 on 6 January 2026 was due to a processing and formatting error on the Written Parliamentary Questions website. This error has been corrected and the complete answer to Question 97203 is below: In core Defra, high performance substantive senior civil servants are those with an end-year performance rating of “Exceeded”. The headcount and proportion of each grade for those employed during the period November 2024 – October 2025 were: Grade*Number of employeesProportion of Grade who achieved ‘Exceeded’ as their end-year performance decisionSenior Civil Servant Pay Band 116 c.Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 2c.c. * Where individuals changed substantive grade during the period, they are reported against their earliest substantive grade.c. These numbers are suppressed in accordance with the Defra data protection policy. End-year performance decisions were removed from the performance management framework for delegated staff grades in April 2023. Delegated staff grades are recognised through continuous recognition awards.

Food and Rural Affairs, as of 1st October 2025 how many SFI agreements included actions SAM1, NUM1, HRW1 and IPM1 broken down by individual action.

As of 1st October 2025, there were 32,405, Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements which included actions (C)SAM1, (C) NUM1, (C)HRW1 or (C)IPM1. The number of agreements containing these actions and the value of these actions broken down by individual action are shown in the table below. option codeNumber of AgreementsTotal Value of Action within Agreement (£)CHRW15,7668,754,000CIPM17,16224,258,000CNUM17,59314,852,000CSAM19,17917,963,000HRW110,19121,709,000IPM115,65653,025,000NUM116,58332,435,000SAM118,42151,638,000 To Note: An Agreement can have multiple options so for example may have NUM1, SAM1 & IPM1 so may be counted multiple times under number of agreements in the table above.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the total annual payments made to businesses under the SFI for actions SAM1, NUM1, IPM1 and HRW1 (broken down by individual action) were at 1 October 2025.

As of 1st October 2025, there were 32,405, Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements which included actions (C)SAM1, (C) NUM1, (C)HRW1 or (C)IPM1. The number of agreements containing these actions and the value of these actions broken down by individual action are shown in the table below. option codeNumber of AgreementsTotal Value of Action within Agreement (£)CHRW15,7668,754,000CIPM17,16224,258,000CNUM17,59314,852,000CSAM19,17917,963,000HRW110,19121,709,000IPM115,65653,025,000NUM116,58332,435,000SAM118,42151,638,000 To Note: An Agreement can have multiple options so for example may have NUM1, SAM1 & IPM1 so may be counted multiple times under number of agreements in the table above.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the mean and median total income per business for the Sustainable Farming Incentive was in the year to October 2025.

Farm businesses can hold multiple Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements under the SFI scheme. As of October 2025, there were 44,474 Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements including SFI 23 and SFI 24. Over the full term of the agreement the mean value of these agreements was £57,000 and the median value of these agreements was £32,000.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the mean size in hectares was of businesses ranked in the top 4% of SFI annual revenue payments by October 2025.

The mean size of a businesses ranked in the top 4% of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) annual revenue payments as of October 2025 is 803 hectares.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Forestry Commission's annual reports for 2017-18 and 2024-25, which teams and roles within the Forestry Commission have expanded since April 2017; and for what reason the body's (a) overall headcount and (b) headcount of senior civil servants has increased in that time.

2017/20182024/2025Forestry Commission Staff310560Directors & Senior Civil Servants54Forest Research Staff230417Directors & Senior Civil Servants13Total Staff540977Directors & Senior Civil Servants67Total546984 The information on headcount for individual teams and roles is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs. Headcount changes within the Forestry Commission are a direct result of responding to the Government’s increased ambition for woodland creation alongside ensuring England’s woodlands remain resilient to the challenges associated with climate change and the impacts of pests and diseases. Forest Research has increased its headcount in a range of scientific disciplines from silviculture to wind modelling and tree breeding. The focus on improving UK biosecurity has also led to an increase in the number of pathologists and entomologists. The Senior Civil Service headcount in Forest Research has increased by two following independent regrading of two existing posts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) her Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.

In relation to the average number of working days lost to sickness absence, as of year ending 31 October 2025, Defra can confirm the following: Department/AgencyAverage Working Days Lost Core Defra4.4APHA5.7RPA7.6VMD2.4Cefas3.83 The Cabinet Office publishes statistics on Civil Service average working days lost in regular reports, which can be found here: Sickness absence in the Civil Service - GOV.UK. The next update will be for the year ending 31 March 2025. These figures are published for core Defra, but not for the other organisations. The data requested regarding ‘formal performance warnings’ is not captured centrally for Defra so it is not available for reporting here.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in the last year.

For the last financial year, the total cost to Defra of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in pg. 167 of Annual Report and Accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

In core Defra, high performance substantive senior civil servants are those with an end-year performance rating of “Exceeded”. The headcount and proportion of each grade for those employed during the period November 2024 – October 2025 were: Grade*Number of employeesProportion of Grade who achieved ‘Exceeded’ as their end-year performance decisionSenior Civil Servant Pay Band 116 Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 2 * Where individuals changed substantive grade during the period, they are reported against their earliest substantive grade.c. These numbers are suppressed in accordance with the Defra data protection policy. End-year performance decisions were removed from the performance management framework for delegated staff grades in April 2023. Delegated staff grades are recognised through continuous recognition awards.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.

With regards to a) the in-grade promotions: We are unclear how “in-grade promotion” should be defined in relation to the data we do hold. Information on b) promotions to a higher grade is not held centrally. In particular, the information held centrally on outward secondments and loans does not record whether the secondment/loan is a promotion or whether it would be in-grade or not. Collation and presentation of this data could potentially require significant manual work and data linking across departments and would come at a disproportionate cost and we are, therefore, unable to provide the information requested.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) the Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct in the past 12 months.

In the last 12 months the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs concluded 51 disciplinary cases. All 51 disciplinary cases were conduct related and not performance related. Outcomes from these cases were: DismissalFinal written warningInformal actionWarningWithdrawnNo action In the last 12 months the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Rural Payments Agency and the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science concluded a total of 48 disciplinary cases. All 48 disciplinary cases were conduct related and not performance related. Outcomes from these cases were: DismissalWritten warningInformal actionOral warningNo actionWithdrawnFinal written warningMediationOther/not recorded

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 45822 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Equality, if she will publish the Freedom of Information Act response with reference FOI2025/24724, disclosed on 2 December 2025.

The Freedom of Information Act response has been published and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staff-numbers-in-the-hr-equality-diversity-and-inclusion-edi-team-foi202524724.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) Equality Impact Assessments and (b) equality screenings have been produced by her Department in the last three months.

In line with the Equality Act 2010, Defra encourages and promotes the completion of Equality Impact Assessments to ensure our policies and decisions consider impacts on protected groups. Defra does not hold information centrally on Equality Impact Assessments that have been produced by the department and is therefore unable provide details on the number produced. We do not carry out Equality Screenings, instead requiring teams to always demonstrate due regard to the aims of the Act and use the Equality Impact Assessment form. To provide the information requested Defra would be required to contact all teams and this would incur disproportionate costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 45822 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Equality, for what reason her Department no longer holds that information centrally.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs does not hold information centrally on job titles and has not done so in the past. Collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been employed by (a) Natural England, (b) the Environment Agency, and (c) the Office for Environmental Protection in each year since 2005.

Information on the number of people employed in Government organisations including Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Office for Environmental Protection is published monthly on gov.uk as part of Government transparency commitments. Information can be accessed for 2017 through 2025 at the following web address:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/defra-workforce-management-information

Food and Rural Affairs, what the annual budget was for the (a) Water Services Regulation Authority and (b) Forestry Commission in each year since 2005.

The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) publishes figures on staff numbers and budget in its annual report and accounts. These can be found listed on GOV.UK or among Ofwat’s other publications on its website. The sharp rise in both budget and staffing from 2023 reflects Ofwat’s expanded regulatory role, including oversight of water companies’ commitments for 2025-2030. The Forestry Commission publishes figures on staff numbers and budget in its annual report and accounts. These are publicly available on GOV.UK. Forestry England, an agency of the Forestry Commission, self-generates a significant proportion of its income.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been employed by (a) the Water Services Regulation Authority and (b) the Forestry Commission in each year since 2005.

The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) publishes figures on staff numbers and budget in its annual report and accounts. These can be found listed on GOV.UK or among Ofwat’s other publications on its website. The sharp rise in both budget and staffing from 2023 reflects Ofwat’s expanded regulatory role, including oversight of water companies’ commitments for 2025-2030. The Forestry Commission publishes figures on staff numbers and budget in its annual report and accounts. These are publicly available on GOV.UK. Forestry England, an agency of the Forestry Commission, self-generates a significant proportion of its income.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the annual budget was for (a) Natural England, (b) the Environment Agency, and (c) the Office for Environmental Protection in each year since 2005.

The annual budget figures for Natural England, the Environment Agency, and the Office for Environmental Protection in each year since 2005 can be found as follows. Natural England’s actual spend data can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts, which are published here: Natural England annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK. Environment Agency’s actual spend data can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts, which are published here: Environment Agency annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK. The Office for Environmental Protection’s actual spend data can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts, which are published here: Our reports and publications | Office for Environmental Protection.