Written questions by Moon.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of using the Adaptation Reporting Power to direct reporting authorities on their measures to adapt to climate change.

The Adaptation Reporting Power (ARP), introduced as part of the Climate Change Act 2008, gives the Government the power to direct certain infrastructure operators and some public bodies to produce reports on how they are addressing their current and future climate risks. Participation in ARP has continued to grow. In the fourth round (ARP4), which took place between July 2023 and December 2024, there were 101 reports submitted from over 200 organisations. Excluding the Local Authority pilot from ARP4, ARP4 had a response rate of over 80%, with 40% more reports submitted than ARP3. As we approach the fifth round of reporting, due to begin in December 2026, we will continue to evaluate ways in which to improve the ARP process.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support for the landfill gas to energy sector on methane emissions and landfill gas capture rates.

Defra is working closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to explore how the cessation of the Renewable Obligations Certificates scheme affects the continued operation of landfill gas to energy plants and the potential impacts of this on methane emissions and landfill gas capture rates. With these issues in mind, Defra is working with DESNZ on options, including a potential transition scheme. In turn, Defra is considering options for a long-term alternative to landfill gas capture which would follow the end of this transition. These are in line with the Government’s commitments set out in the Methane Action Plan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK Port Waste Reception Facilities regime in supporting the disposal of fishing gear; and whether he plans to strengthen or standardise requirements across ports.

Defra engages with ports, the fishing sector and Devolved Governments on a range of marine litter and waste issues. Defra has not made an assessment of UK Port Waste Reception Facilities, which are managed by the Department for Transport and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The international Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) sets international regulations covering the various sources of ship-generated waste pollution within individual Annexes of the Convention. To protect the marine environment further and to strengthen the prohibition requirement under the Merchant Shipping Regulations implementing MARPOL, the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Port Waste Reception Facilities) Regulations 2003 set requirement for ports and terminals to provide adequate reception facilities for the delivery of ships-generated waste. The UK is working collaboratively at the International Maritime Organisation to address actions that have been identified under its 2025 Action Plan and 2021 Strategy on marine plastic litter from ships, in particular abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear.

Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria her Department will apply when deciding which organisations are invited to participate in the forthcoming consultation on banning trail hunting; and whether bodies which have disregarded existing hunting law will be ruled out of playing a role in shaping future hunting law.

The Government intends to hold a consultation on its plans to ban trail hunting. Defra will be guided by the Government's consultation principles in shaping the proposed consultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) define and regulate the classification of ocean plastic and related environmental claims and (b) tackle marketing practices where products are marketed as made from ocean plastic or beach clean materials that are sourced from conventional consumer plastic waste or unrelated recycled materials.

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA), businesses are prohibited from misleading consumers and must have evidence to substantiate any claims made. Where a business markets a product as made from ocean plastic or beach clean materials, but either does so falsely, or does not have evidence to substantiate the claim, the business may be infringing the consumer protection provisions of the DMCCA and could be subject to enforcement action. This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out. We will soon publish a Circular Economy Growth Plan that sets out how the Government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy. The plan will set out the biggest opportunities in sectors right across the economy, including chemicals and plastics.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to deliver the commitment in the 2025 Environmental Improvement Plan to legislate to end the sale of horticultural peat; and what her timetable is for bringing forward such legislation.

The Government plans to legislate for a ban on the sale of peat and peat containing products when parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on implementing a ban on the use, sale, and possession of snare traps in England; and whether she has a planned timeline for legislative action.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of adding seals to Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The GB Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (GBCBs) acting through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) have carried out the latest quinquennial review of species afforded legal protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA). JNCC submitted the resultant advice to the previous government. We continue to consider the evidence for making legislative change to protect our endangered species. This includes consideration of the proposals submitted by the JNCC in their advice to amend the lists of species afforded protection by the WCA, to include the grey and harbour seal.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the illegal importation of puppies and kittens.

As outlined in our manifesto, the Government is committed to ending puppy smuggling. That is why we are supporting the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill. The Bill successfully completed its Second Reading in the House of Lords on 5 September 2025. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through the House of Lords as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 as part of the Circular Economy Strategy.

This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. The Circular Economy Strategy will be supported by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government will make on a sector-by-sector basis, supporting government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. We are considering the evidence for sector-specific interventions right across the economy, including for batteries, as we develop our Strategy, including considering international best practices and regulations in other jurisdictions, including the EU.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to maximise critical mineral recovery from (a) Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and (b) lithium-ion batteries.

This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. We have convened a Circular Economy Taskforce, comprising experts from industry, academia, and civil society, to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. To support this transition, the Circular Economy Taskforce will start with six priority sectors including electronics and transport, which includes electric vehicle batteries. Interventions, including on critical minerals, will be considered as part of the roadmaps for these sectors. We are also considering regulatory levers to increase battery collection rates and encourage best practise in end-of-life management. The UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy will set the long-term ambition of secure supply of critical minerals UK and harnessing our competitive advantage in midstream processing and recycling. It will also outline how the ambition will be achieved through optimising domestic production and through strategic international collaboration.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the use of pesticides by (a) local authorities and (b) other public bodies on the environment in public spaces.

The Government recognises the importance of managing public spaces sustainably and its first priority is to ensure that pesticides do not harm human or animal health or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. A pesticide may only be placed on the market following a thorough risk assessment that concludes all safety standards are met. All professional pesticide users must minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public, receive training and register with Defra. They are encouraged to follow the principles of Integrated Pest Management, which aims to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides by making use of lower risk alternatives and promoting natural processes. The UK Pesticides National Action Plan sets out how the Government will continue to promote the sustainable use of pesticides. It is for each Local Authority to decide the best way of delivering effective and cost-effective weed control without harming people or the environment. I recently held a roundtable with local authorities, the Local Government Association and the Pesticide Action Network to share best practice on reducing pesticide use. I am keen to see best practices shared more widely, helping to support effective, innovative and sustainable pesticide use across our public spaces. I am keen to see best practices shared more widely, helping to support effective, innovative and sustainable pesticide use across our public spaces.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of banning snares on animal welfare.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including a farm education option in the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Educational access features as part of the wider Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes and we are developing it further as a new 3-year capital item; we expect this to be available later in 2025. It will be a stand-alone capital item, though applicants must have an agri-environment or woodland agreement with management actions for this capital item. In countryside stewardship, currently eligible visitor groups are school age children and care farming groups only, but in the new educational access capital item, more diverse groups of people will be able to visit and benefit from an educational experience on farms and woodland across England. As part of the development of the new educational access capital item, funding levels were considered, and agreement holders will receive £363 per visit, up to a maximum of 25 visits per agreement year.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he would make it his policy to create exemptions for Extender Producer Responsibility depending on (a) a producer’s sustainability and (b) B-Corp status.

There are no exemptions planned for producers with B-Corp status. While private ESG schemes like B-Corp certification can play an important role in driving sustainability, they are complementary to, rather than a replacement for regulatory measures like pEPR.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) polluted and (b) unsafe (i) beaches and (ii) bathing areas have signage to alert the public.

At designated bathing water sites in their area, local authorities have a statutory duty to display information on a static sign about water quality and pollution sources, and to display advisory notices during pollution incidents. The information on the signage required by the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, consists of: the current classification symbol, with the “advice against bathing” symbol if the bathing water quality classification is Poor; a general description of the bathing water, based on the Environment Agency profile; and the address of a website where more detailed information can be found. If the bathing water is subject to short-term pollution, the notice includes this information, and the number of pollution risk forecasts made during the preceding bathing season. Other signage regarding safety and pollution is a matter for the relevant local authority.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) expedite payments and (b) improve the payment structure of the Rural Payments Agency.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) understands the importance of cashflow for farmers and rural businesses and has in recent years made more payments for the schemes they administer, earlier in the payment window. The agency has also taken steps to improve the flow of payments. This includes making Delinked payments from August in 2024, compared to historically Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments from December, earlier partial payments on Countryside Stewardship, and moving to a quarterly payments structure for the Sustainable Farming Incentive. Schemes will continue to be administered with payment frequency in mind.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help improve data in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment system.

The Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment regulations make producers responsible for the electrical products they place on the market when they become waste. Data is collected on the tonnage of electrical products every producer sells within the UK and the tonnage of waste that they recycle appropriately to ensure they are meeting the requirements of the regulations. Defra is also updating the WEEE Regs to create a separate reporting category for vapes, so vape manufacturers pick up their fair share of recycling costs. We have convened a Circular Economy Taskforce to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy will be supported by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government will make on a sector-by-sector basis, supporting government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. We are considering the evidence for sector-specific interventions right across the economy, including in electronic waste, as we develop our Strategy.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to direct funding from fees through the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme towards recycling (a) infrastructure and (b) awareness campaigns.

pEPR makes packaging producers responsible for the costs incurred by UK Local Authorities in managing household packaging waste, including the fees they pay to recycling facilities. This will provide around 1.5 billion pounds of new funding in the UK in 2025-26, including 1.1 billion in England. This funding will underpin the Simpler Recycling reforms in England and stimulate investment in associated recycling infrastructure. The scheme administrator, PackUK, is also obliged to provide information to the public and to businesses concerning packaging re-use, recycling, recovery, and disposal, as well as the prevention of packaging litter. The cost of providing this information is covered by producer fees.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the classifications of waste to help ensure that critical minerals in (a) used batteries and (b) other e-waste are used as (i) feedstock for connected and automated mobility research and development and (ii) other (A) recycling and (B) circular economy projects.

We will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what further interventions may be needed in the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) sector as we develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England.