Written questions by Moore.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for opening the next application round for (a) Capital Grants, (b) the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund, (c) the Farming Innovation Programme's Farming Futures R&D competition and (d) the Improving Farm Productivity Grant.

As of 1 August, strong demand for the Government’s £150 million Capital Grant offer means that all available funds for this round have now been allocated. We plan to make further improvements to the offer for future rounds. We expect to open a new round for farmers to secure more funding during 2026. Other Countryside Stewardship capital grants which remain open for applications now are Woodland Tree Health grants, Capital grant plans, woodland management plans, Protection and Infrastructure grants and Higher Tier capital grants. We continue to work to simplify and rationalise our wider capital grant funding from 2026 onwards. We want 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. We also welcome the announcement within the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy to allocate at least £200 million to the Farming Innovation Programme up to 2030 which will offer continued targeted funding to drive innovation in agriculture.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support young farmers.

Encouraging more young people into farming and land-based careers is vital to ensure a skilled workforce is in place and the longer-term viability of the sector. Defra works closely with The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) which is encouraging young people and new entrants into farming in its capacity as an industry led professional body for the farming industry. This includes leading a cross-industry initiative to address common negative misconceptions about the sector and providing free TIAH membership for students. Furthermore, the Government has launched Skills England to ensure there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access, which are aligned with skills gaps and what employers need. It will work with its partners to ensure that regional and national skills needs are met.

Food and Rural Affairs, to which organisations his Department has allocated discretionary grants for the 2026-27 financial year.

We have allocated discretionary grants to a wide range of organisations for 2026/27.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for implementing the proposed reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013.

The Government announced reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 on 12 March 2025 following a public consultation. In this, we outlined plans for three core reforms, nine technical amendments, and two wider reforms to the bathing water Regulations. A Statutory Instrument is being prepared to implement the core and technical reforms, including removing automatic de-designation, assessing feasibility of improving water quality to ‘sufficient’ for designation, and removing fixed bathing season dates from the Regulations. We have also begun policy development and research for the wider reforms: expanding the definition of ‘bathers’ and introducing multiple monitoring points to assess water quality. We will work closely with stakeholders to shape our approach, and a timetable for implementation will be planned for this next piece of work in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assurance mechanisms his Department has implemented to help ensure the accuracy of AI-derived data that forms part of the new UK peat map.

The England Peat Map, produced by Natural England as part of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment Programme, went through a rigorous science assurance process across Natural England, Defra and external peer reviewers. This science assurance covered the scientific design of the map’s production, the collection of the field data used to drive the model and testing the final modelled analysis which produced the map. The AI-derived data was reviewed and refined through checking in the field, using field survey data, and the methods by which this was done were reviewed by independent Defra group technical experts and external academics. This included reviewing the data inputted into the models, the models’ training and validation, the models’ application, the models’ outputs, and covered all the map layers produced including peat depth, extent and vegetation layers. Beta testing of outputs across Defra group users was initiated a year prior to release and feedback was used to refine the models. Limitations and precautions associated with the use of AI in the project are discussed in the England Peat Map final report, available on Natural England’s Access to Evidence website.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the annual administrative cost has been of providing (a) delinked payments and (b) the Basic Payment Scheme since 2020.

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on the the potential impact of the potential closure of the Vapormatic site in Exeter on the supply chain in that sector.

This Government recognises the importance of a fully functioning supply chain but does not normally intervene in the decisions made by individual companies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent Natural England having a conflict of interest as (a) regulator and (b) service provider in the nutrient credit market.

Natural England has robust internal processes in place to ensure the integrity of their advice to Local Planning Authorities and others - including with respect to nutrient neutrality and nutrient mitigation standards and services. While Natural England provides advice, it is Local Planning Authorities who make decisions on what nutrient mitigation to accept. In accordance with the Direction from the Secretary of State of 28 July 2022, Natural England only intervenes to establish nutrient mitigation schemes itself where there is market failure, prioritising those catchments where interventions will have the most impact in addressing development pressures. The Government recognises the importance of avoiding any perception of conflict of interest and will continue to ensure that standard setting and service delivery are clearly seen to be independent as nature services markets develop and mature.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure adequate levels of drought preparedness in (a) agriculture, (b) energy and (c) public health sectors.

Defra works closely with the Cabinet Office who join the National Drought Group meetings to coordinate the strategic management of drought. The National Drought Group is comprised of senior members of Government, the Environment Agency, and relevant stakeholders including water companies. Minister Hardy attended the National Drought Group, chaired by the Environment Agency, held on 7 May, to discuss water resources levels, assess any impacts and to ensure actions are being taken to secure water supplies, should the recent dry weather continue. The Government is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks alongside investing in new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers. Improved investment is allowing water companies to improve drought resilience, ensuring a high level of resilience. Water company drought plans align with their long-term Water Resources Management Plans. Drought plans must be maintained and revised by water companies every five years. A drought plan is a tactical plan that shows how a secure water supply is maintained, while minimising impacts on the environment during dry weather and drought. We expect water companies to follow their drought plans, acting early to ensure there are sufficient water supplies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of recent dry weather on (a) reservoir and (b) aquifer levels; and what steps he plans to take if levels fall below seasonal averages.

Defra works closely with the Cabinet Office who join the National Drought Group meetings to coordinate the strategic management of drought. The National Drought Group is comprised of senior members of Government, the Environment Agency, and relevant stakeholders including water companies. Minister Hardy attended the National Drought Group, chaired by the Environment Agency, held on 7 May, to discuss water resources levels, assess any impacts and to ensure actions are being taken to secure water supplies, should the recent dry weather continue. The Government is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks alongside investing in new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers. Improved investment is allowing water companies to improve drought resilience, ensuring a high level of resilience. Water company drought plans align with their long-term Water Resources Management Plans. Drought plans must be maintained and revised by water companies every five years. A drought plan is a tactical plan that shows how a secure water supply is maintained, while minimising impacts on the environment during dry weather and drought. We expect water companies to follow their drought plans, acting early to ensure there are sufficient water supplies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of UK's preparedness for drought conditions in summer 2025; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure water supply resilience mitigate the (a) environmental and (b) economic impact of prolonged dry weather.

Defra works closely with the Cabinet Office who join the National Drought Group meetings to coordinate the strategic management of drought. The National Drought Group is comprised of senior members of Government, the Environment Agency, and relevant stakeholders including water companies. Minister Hardy attended the National Drought Group, chaired by the Environment Agency, held on 7 May, to discuss water resources levels, assess any impacts and to ensure actions are being taken to secure water supplies, should the recent dry weather continue. The Government is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves action to improve water efficiency and reduce water company leaks alongside investing in new supply infrastructure, including new reservoirs and water transfers. Improved investment is allowing water companies to improve drought resilience, ensuring a high level of resilience. Water company drought plans align with their long-term Water Resources Management Plans. Drought plans must be maintained and revised by water companies every five years. A drought plan is a tactical plan that shows how a secure water supply is maintained, while minimising impacts on the environment during dry weather and drought. We expect water companies to follow their drought plans, acting early to ensure there are sufficient water supplies.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department made projections on the number of Sustainable Farming Incentive applications it would receive in financial year 2024-25.

We monitor forecasts of scheme uptake and spend against the current year budget on an ongoing basis and respond accordingly to maximise the amount that can be delivered. We committed to spending £2.6 billion in 24/25 and are on track to deliver that having responded to a number of demands in year. Furthermore, we have a full understanding of commitments into future years arising from multi-annual agreements. We monitor the uptake of our demand led schemes which have a budgetary impact on future years (such as SFI) on a regular basis, increasing the frequency of this as the level of commitment approaches the budget available in future years.

Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential impact of closing the Sustainable Farming Initiative in England on farmers in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is an England-only scheme. We therefore have undertaken no such assessment.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications that were started but are unsubmitted are held by the Rural Payments Agency for SFI24.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive Expanded Offer (SFI EO) is an online application and as of the 12 March there are 6,626 applications currently started but not submitted on the Rural Payments Portal.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish key performance indicators of SFI24 alongside department targets.

Defra is tracking contributions to outcomes and is planning to publish information this year. We recently published statistics on the area within agri-environmental schemes, which showed that 64% of England’s farmed area is in a scheme. 3.3 million hectares is in SFI 2023 and over 380,000 hectares in the SFI expanded offer. We have published quarterly data on SFI uptake and are preparing publications on how schemes are contributing to environmental outcomes as part of our comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme. An update on the farming budget was recently published on our Farming Blog. It shows the following spend over the next two years (24/25 and 25/26). The information requested can be found publicly available here: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2025/03/12/update-on-the-farming-budget/ . The first process evaluation report covering the launch of SFI22 and SFI23 will be published this Spring. We will update this with further evaluation work for SFI24 once this is completed. In addition, process, impact and value for money evaluations for the SFI pilot will be published this Autumn.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the spend breakdown of (a) the farming budget for this year to date and (b) the proposed breakdown for 2025-2026.

The information requested can be found publicly available here.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of solar farms on underlying soil quality.

A wide range of public assessments have been made on the uses of land alongside and underneath solar panels, such as livestock grazing and other approaches to species-rich grassland creation. When considering development proposals that affect agricultural land and soils, the Government encourages developers and local planning authorities to refer to relevant Government policies and guidance that aim to protect all soils by managing them in a sustainable way.

Food and Rural Affairs, how he allocated funding previously allocated to the Air Quality Funding Scheme for 2024.

The Local Air Quality Grant was withdrawn by the previous Air Quality Minister – the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley. The funding was allocated to be spent during the 23/24 financial year so was not at the disposal of the new Air Quality Minister for the current financial year.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to open the Air Quality Funding Scheme for local authorities in 2025.

The Local Air Quality Grant is not opening for the 24/25 financial year. Any future funding schemes will be subject to The Government spending review processes.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans to reform waste exemptions under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

Defra is developing reforms to the waste exemptions regime which will ensure activities carried out under waste exemptions are indeed low risk and small scale and which will prevent exemptions from being used to hide illegal activity.