Written questions by Moore.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to assess the potential (a) employment, (b) tourism, (c) wider supply chains and (d) other (i) economic and (ii) conservation losses for rural economies of

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department had with (a) rural groups and (b) the shooting sector ahead of announcing her intention to explore licensing for gamebird shoots in England.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for (a) evidence gathering and (b) consultation around licensing for gamebird release; and what steps the Department plans to take ensure that the process

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential (a) economic and (b) employment impact of Natural England’s current approach to licensing gamebird releases in Special Protec

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on UK agricultural innovation and environmental protection of the closure of the Silsoe Spray Applications Unit.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the minutes of the Natural England Board Meeting of 30 July, in which the Chief Executive noted that nutrient mitigation risks remain significant, what the nature of those risks is; whether they are financial or environmental; and if he will publish any documents held by Natural England that clarify the nature of those risks.

The nutrient mitigation risk being referred to by our Chief Executive as referenced in the Board minutes of 30 July 2025, concerns the inherent uncertainties in predicting future mitigation demand from development and the costs of securing appropriate mitigation from third party suppliers within the financial modelling for the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme. Natural England has continued to work with central government to ensure we have the right skills and capacity to undertake financial modelling work of this kind.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much public funding was allocated to Natural England for its nutrient mitigation scheme in 2022.

In 2022/23 the (then) Government allocated £30 million over three years to Natural England for the Nutrient Mitigation Scheme. Natural England used this to prepare, facilitate and administer a scheme in accordance with the Secretary of State Direction (see here) to address development pressures in catchments where the scheme could deliver the most impact.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps Natural England is taking to recover the costs of its nutrient mitigation scheme against its commitment that the scheme would be cost neutral to the public purse; and if he will publish the most recent figures for the scheme's total costs and income to date.

The pricing of nutrient credits is set in line with Managing Public Money to achieve full cost recovery. Natural England publishes financial statements in line with statutory requirements in its annual report and accounts. The annual report and accounts for the year-ending 31 March 2025 will be published once they have been certified by the Comptroller & Auditor General.

Food and Rural Affairs, what lessons Natural England has drawn from the performance of its nutrient mitigation scheme when designing its Environmental Delivery Plans and its future management of the nature restoration fund.

Natural England's Nutrient Mitigation Scheme (NMS) demonstrates the value of a strategic, catchment-level approach over site-by-site mitigation. Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) will build on this approach with Natural England’s NRF and NMS teams working collaboratively to consider best practices including the value of working with local stakeholders to identify and deliver solutions that have the greatest impact and secure value for money. The Government has committed to returning to Parliament once the first nutrient EDPs are made to provide a statement on initial learnings. EDPs covering other environmental issues will only be made after Parliament has considered that statement.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she will publish the total amount of spending on property flood resilience in each of the last five years; and how many properties have benefited from such measures in each of those years.

The Environment Agency (EA) delivers PFR Schemes as part of the flood investment programme. Between April 2021 and March 31 2025, over £9m has been invested in Property Flood Resilience measures, delivering 1245 properties better protected.* *Figures are provided in the table below YearPFR investmentProperties2021/22£1.0m1792022/23£1.6m2662023/24£2.9m4472024/25£3.5m353

Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on flood defence investment in each year since 2021; what proportion of that annual spending was allocated to (a) Environment Agency capital schemes and (b) Environment Agency grant in aid schemes delivered by (i) local authorities and (ii) other risk management authorities; and how many properties were better protected in each of those years.

On March 17th, Minister Hardy announced that this Government is investing £1.4 billion into flood risk management in England in 2026/27. Flood defence investment allocations for schemes benefitting are published on gov.uk here: Programme of flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) schemes - GOV.UK . Funding for FCERM in England. Flood and coastal erosion risk management report.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the FloodReady Review and its recommendation to mainstream property flood resilience, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that Environment Agency flood defence schemes make full use of property flood resilience measures to protect properties from low depth surface water flooding.

The FloodReady report, published in October 2025, sets out recommendations to support the wider uptake of property flood resilience (PFR) measures across the public, private and third sectors. The Government and the Environment Agency (EA) are supporting the delivery of the FloodReady recommendations, alongside existing policies that support the use of PFR as part of the broader flood and coastal erosion risk management approach. The Government has committed a three-year investment of £4.2 billion to reduce risk from, and increase resilience to, flooding and coastal erosion. The Government’s new flood funding policy will be implemented from 1 April 2026. EA flood defence schemes are developed using a range of measures to reduce flood risk, including natural flood management, traditional flood defences and PFR where appropriate. Decisions on the use of these measures are made on a case-by-case basis to ensure the most effective and value-for-money approach to protecting communities from flooding. We have just announced funding for more than 600 flood schemes to help protect tens of thousands of homes and businesses in 2026/27 – from upgraded barriers and embankments to natural flood management projects that slow the flow of water and coastal defences reducing flood risk.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons mandatory training for deer management was adopted, in the context of it not being required for other types of game and pest management.

The Deer Impacts Policy Statement does not state that mandatory training is required for deer managers. It outlines that Defra will work with the Home Office and National Police Chief’s Council to explore whether the Guide on Firearms Licensing Law could be amended to encourage police forces to consider requiring that those seeking to use relevant firearms to shoot deer are first able to demonstrate a minimum level of competence in doing so. It also outlines that Defra will continue to support the England and Wales Best Practice Guides and make funding available for appropriate training, particularly in the case of those seeking to grant support for lethal control of deer. Demonstration of a minimum level of competence can ensure the safe, humane and effective management of deer, especially by new entrants to the sector. This includes the ability to identify deer species, understand their biology, and ensure that shots are correctly placed, benefiting deer welfare and quality wild venison production. Public safety must also be considered. It can also can ensure an understanding of legislation. The Deer Act 1991 (as amended) governs the time of year (and day) when deer can be lethally controlled and also the firearm/ammunition combination that must be used to achieve this. Where licensing is required to permit activities that would otherwise be prohibited such as night shooting, minimum thresholds with regard to the experience and competencies of those applying are required to ensure humane, effective and safe deer control.

Food and Rural Affairs, what mandatory training is required for deer managers in order to adhere to the Deer Impacts Policy Statement.

The Deer Impacts Policy Statement does not state that mandatory training is required for deer managers. It outlines that Defra will work with the Home Office and National Police Chief’s Council to explore whether the Guide on Firearms Licensing Law could be amended to encourage police forces to consider requiring that those seeking to use relevant firearms to shoot deer are first able to demonstrate a minimum level of competence in doing so. It also outlines that Defra will continue to support the England and Wales Best Practice Guides and make funding available for appropriate training, particularly in the case of those seeking to grant support for lethal control of deer. Demonstration of a minimum level of competence can ensure the safe, humane and effective management of deer, especially by new entrants to the sector. This includes the ability to identify deer species, understand their biology, and ensure that shots are correctly placed, benefiting deer welfare and quality wild venison production. Public safety must also be considered. It can also can ensure an understanding of legislation. The Deer Act 1991 (as amended) governs the time of year (and day) when deer can be lethally controlled and also the firearm/ammunition combination that must be used to achieve this. Where licensing is required to permit activities that would otherwise be prohibited such as night shooting, minimum thresholds with regard to the experience and competencies of those applying are required to ensure humane, effective and safe deer control.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential contribution of black soldier fly bioconversion to delivering the Environmental Improvement Plan’s objectives on circular economy and landfill reduction, the implementation of Simpler Recycling for food waste, and the National Planning Policy Framework’s aims for farm diversification and rural economic growth; what evidence underpins the classification of black soldier fly insects kept solely for organic waste bioconversion as farmed animals under the Animal By-Products Regulations; and whether the Department has considered alternative regulatory classifications for such systems where the insects and their outputs are not intended to enter the human or animal food chain.

We are committed to ending the throwaway society, boosting recycling rates which have stalled for too long, and driving growth through the Government’s Plan for Change. There are no current plans to review regulations that restrict insects from being used to process organic waste streams. Our waste management regulations also play a crucial role in protecting UK biosecurity and reducing the risk of disease. Defra commissioned a Life Cycle Assessment to assess the sustainability of insect protein compared to other animal feeds. This research also considered the use of food waste as a substrate for the insect larvae, although not the extent to which this would contribute to food waste diversion from landfill. Black soldier fly is in scope of the animal by-products (ABP) regulations as a farmed animal when reared for food or feed production, or when deceased. It then becomes Category 3 ABP, which is defined as low-risk material, provided it came from healthy animals. Controls are required for the prohibition on feeding catering waste to farmed animals as well as handling, processing, and permitted uses of Cat 3 material.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of extending tariff-free access for Ukrainian eggs on the level of domestic food security.

Under our Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2026. Ukrainian imports of poultry and eggs currently constitute a small proportion of the UK’s total imports of these products. The Government consistently considers the views of industry and impact of imports on the UK market from all countries, including from Ukraine. The department will continue to take these views into account as part of our policy development process.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of permitting eggs imports from barren battery cage systems on the viability of the domestic egg production chain.

The UK imports a small proportion of its annual supply of eggs, to meet domestic demand. The Government consistently considers the impact of imports on the UK market from all countries, including on domestic egg production chain. The department will continue to take account of UK imports as part of our continued monitoring of the egg production chain.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has modelled the cumulative impact on domestic egg production profits margins of permitting egg imports that do not face equivalent (a) animal welfare and (b) food safety costs.

The UK imports a small proportion of its annual supply of eggs, to meet domestic demand. The Government consistently considers the impact of imports on the UK market from all countries. As set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, the Government will not lower food standards and will uphold high animal welfare standards. The Government recognise concerns about methods of production, such as battery cages, which are not permitted in the UK. While methods vary in line with different climates, diseases, and other contextual reasons, the department will always consider whether overseas producers have an unfair advantage and any impact that may have. Where necessary, the department will be prepared to use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors including permanent quotas, exclusions, and safeguards.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to receive the final report of the Farming Profitability Review from Baroness Batters; and what her planned timetable is for publishing (a) the report and (b) the Government's response.

As set out in the Terms of Reference, the recommendations of the Farming Profitability Review will inform Defra policy including the Farming Roadmap, Food Strategy and Land-use Framework.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to reopen the Sustainable Farming Incentive programme for new applications; and whether she will ensure that farmers do not go a full year without access to the programme.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Further information about the reformed SFI will be provided shortly.