Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the cost-benefit ratio in relation to (a) maintaining current shoreline management policy outcomes at Hemsby and (b) alternative policies involving additional coastal defences.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to undertake detailed assessments of risk management options along with their costs and benefits. In 2018/19, the Anglian Regional Flood and Coastal Committee provided local levy funding to Great Yarmouth Borough Council to undertake a high-level study of options for the Hemsby coastal erosion issues.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the current and projected rate of coastal affecting Hemsby, Norfolk over the next (i) 5, (ii) 10 and (iii) 25 years.

In January 2025 the Environment Agency published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping (NCERM) on ‘Check coastal erosion risk for an area in England’ and Shoreline Management Plan Explorer. The new NCERM dataset is openly accessible via data.gov.uk. It provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date national overview of current and future coastal erosion risks across England. The Environment Agency worked with local authorities, who supplied local data and verified outputs across the country. The mapping for properties located at Hemsby can be accessed here: Winterton-on-Sea (South of Beach Road) to Scratby 6.14 | Shoreline Management Plans. Erosion projection lines can be added to the map, both with present day climate change projections and those with upper/higher projections to 2055 and 2105. The ‘customise map display’ button allows access to this spatial data, and the desired projection can be selected for display on the map.

Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) financial support and (b) support for (i) relocation, (ii) purchase of replacement housing and (iii) compensation for loss of property value is available to households in Hemsby whose properties are lost to coastal erosion.

The Environment Agency administers and assures the coastal erosion assistance grant (CEAG) on behalf of Defra. A grant of £6,000 per property is available to support the prompt and safe demolition of homes at greatest risk of loss from erosion. Local authorities can apply for the grant to help with the costs associated with demolishing residential property at risk of loss and basic moving costs if appropriate. Great Yarmouth Borough Council is a partner in the £8 million Resilient Coasts project – part of the Government’s £150 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme. This project is developing new, innovative methods to build resilience and help communities adapt to flooding and coastal erosion. The local project team are trialling new mechanisms to create a self-sustaining fund to help communities at risk of coastal erosion.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the most recent estimate is of the number of residential properties in Hemsby at risk of loss to coastal erosion within (i) 5 and (ii) 10 years.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the Risk Management Authority (RMA) for the Hemsby area. They are best placed, using local knowledge and data, to continue making detailed risk assessments, including for the potential economic impacts. To support all RMA’s, the Environment Agency have developed and published the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping which has been in place since 2011, updated in 2017 and most recently received a major update in 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) Great Yarmouth Borough Council, (b) Norfolk County Council and (c) the Environment Agency on long-term coastal erosion management options for Hemsby, including managed realignment and engineered defences.

The Environment Agency has a strategic overview of the management of all sources of flooding and coastal change. Local authorities take the lead in managing coastal erosion. In Hemsby, Great Yarmouth Borough Council are the lead authority for coastal erosion. Great Yarmouth Borough Council is a partner in the £8 million Resilient Coast Project – part of the Government’s £150 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme. This project is working with communities, including Hemsby, to develop new, innovative methods to build resilience and help communities adapt to flooding and coastal erosion. The Environment Agency are working closely with Great Yarmouth Borough Council as they consider and implement options for the management of the area. The Environment Agency’s Local Operations Area Leadership team meets frequently with Council representatives and regularly attends Hemsby Stakeholder Group meetings hosted by the Council.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the current Shoreline Management Plan policy is for the Hemsby coastline; and what the evidential basis was for selecting that policy.

In January 2025 the Environment Agency published the new Shoreline Management Plan Explorer.  The documentation associated with preferred policies can be found in the SMP Main Report: Kelling Hard to Lowestoft SMP6 | Shoreline Management Plans. The management approach for Hemsby’s coast is “managed realignment”. This has been developed locally by the East Anglia Coastal Group and included local consultation. The policy development and engagement documents can be found in the appendices. Appendix A, SMP Development Stages 2 and 3, pages 9-17, provide detailed information regarding the policy development process.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of street cleaning, litter collection and maintenance in Great Yarmouth’s town centre and seafront.

No assessment has been made of the adequacy of street cleaning, litter collection and maintenance in Great Yarmouth’s town centre and seafront. Local councils are responsible for keeping their streets clear of litter and refuse. The role of central Government is to enable and support local action. In the Pride in Place Strategy this Government has committed to bringing forward statutory enforcement guidance on both littering and fly-tipping, modernising the code of practice that outlines the cleaning standards expected of local authorities, and refreshing best practice guidance on the powers available to local authorities to force land and building owners to clean up their premises. We are also targeting some of the more commonly littered items to reduce the presence of these on our streets. The sale of single-use vapes was banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. Plastic drinks bottles and metal drinks containers make up 55% of litter volume. The Deposit Return Scheme will cover plastic and metal drinks containers (like bottles and cans), and the goal is to reduce litter and help keep our streets, rivers, and oceans clean.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department will review the impact of waste disposal charges on the level of illegal dumping in Great Yarmouth.

The Department has no plans to review the impact of waste disposal charges on the level of illegal dumping in Great Yarmouth. Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) play an important role in helping people to dispose of their waste responsibly. Local authorities have responsibility for the operation and management of HWRCs in their area. It is their duty to provide services for residents within their local area to dispose of or recycle their waste responsibly. Local authorities are also responsible for tackling fly-tipping in their areas. They have a range of fly-tipping enforcement powers at their disposal, which we encourage them to make good use of. Powers include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution action.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of fly-tipping incidents in Great Yarmouth; and whether additional enforcement funding will be provided.

No assessment of recent trends in the level of fly-tipping incidents in Great Yarmouth has been made. Local authorities are however required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which we publish annually here. This excludes the majority of private-land and large scale incidents. Great Yarmouth reported the following number of incidents in the last five years: 2019-20 = 14912020-21 = 21462021-22 = 18692022-23 = 11712023-24 = 1153 We are not considering additional funding specifically for fly-tipping enforcement. However, the Spending Review 2025 provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. This includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding which will be delivered through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29.

Food and Rural Affairs, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by her Department in the last financial year.

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.

Sickness absence information in the format requested is not available. The Cabinet Office publishes statistics on Civil Service sickness absence in regular reports, which can be found here: Sickness absence in the Civil Service - GOV.UK. The next release is due to be published on 18 December 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether officials in her Department have had (a) meetings and (b) correspondence with (i) the Carbon Trust, (ii) MyEmissions, (iii) Raynor Foods Ltd. and (iv) UK food retailers on the (A) development and (B) testing of (1) carbon scores and (2) carbon ratings on food packaging.

Eco-labels on food are used by some businesses on a voluntary basis to help consumers make more sustainable choices. Eco-labels based on robust environmental impact data could support informed consumer choices and business competition based on sustainability. Through the Food Data Transparency Partnership, Defra have conducted engagement on eco-labelling across the food and drink sector, including the Carbon Trust and MyEmissions as well as retailers. Minutes of meetings with our industry groups can be found on Food Data Transparency Partnership - GOV.UK. The feedback helped identify two fundamental data challenges to address. The first challenge is how to accurately quantify product level environmental impacts. The second is the insufficient availability and quality of data used to inform these assessments from product supply chains. Defra-commissioned research has therefore focused on solving these two fundamental data challenges through the LED 4 Food project.  We continue to support new and existing industry-led initiatives to develop the evidence base in these areas. There are currently no plans for Government to make eco-labelling mandatory or to develop a Government eco-label.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of animals were slaughtered without being stunned for the production of Halal meat in the UK in each year since 2005.

UK data regarding the number or proportion of animals slaughtered using the halal method without prior stunning is not collected. The Food Standards Agency carries out a periodic slaughter sector survey in England and Wales, which started in 2011. The latest 2024 survey is available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/farm-animals-slaughter-sector-survey-2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions (a) his Department and (b) the Food Standards Agency have had since January 2023 with (a) the Carbon Trust and (b) major food retailers on the introduction of carbon ratings on (i) food labels, (ii) menus and (iii) product packaging; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on consumers of introducing such a rating system.

Eco-labels on food are used by some businesses on a voluntary basis to help consumers make more sustainable choices. Eco-labels based on robust environmental impact data could support informed consumer choices and business competition based on sustainability. Through the Food Data Transparency Partnership, Defra and the Food Standards Agency have conducted engagement on eco-labelling across the food and drink sector in a range of settings including packaging and menus.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many visits to farms have been undertaken by (a) the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (b) the Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs since their appointments.

Defra Ministers regularly visit a range of farms across the UK, and meet with farming stakeholders in London and on site to hear directly from industry.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of food consumed in the UK that is produced domestically.

The food production to supply ratio compares all domestic food production to supply, including food that the UK exports instead of consuming. In 2024, the production to supply ratio was 65%. When food exports are taken into account, Defra estimates that in 2024 57% of food consumed in the United Kingdom was domestically produced. Defra publishes both of these figures annually, in its Agriculture in the UK publication.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of food served in his Department that is British.

The Government, in line with manifesto commitments, is considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards. In order to understand where we are starting from, we are currently assessing what food the public sector buys and where it comes from. In due course, this will tell us the proportion of food served by public sector organisations, including Defra, that is British.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the condition of coastal defences at Hemsby in Norfolk.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) are the responsible risk management authority for the coast at Hemsby and have been working on erosion management issues at Hemsby for many years. Earlier this year an independent report commissioned by GYBC detailed how a temporary rock berm, which was installed in 2023, and other materials on the beach are now ineffective at preventing or slowing down erosion and, in some cases, are exacerbating it. GYBC have highlighted there is a risk to public safety from some of the materials on the beach and the Hemsby Stakeholder Group has agreed to look at how some of the assets might be re-purposed and re-used more effectively for the benefit of the community. GYBC have confirmed nothing will be moved until next autumn, to allow time for community input and further stakeholder group meetings.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take to protect properties at risk from coastal erosion in Hemsby before winter 2025-26.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) are the responsible risk management authority for the coast at Hemsby and have been working on erosion management issues at Hemsby for many years.GYBC is a principal partner of the Resilient Coasts project, delivered and funded as part of the Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme. Through this project, £1.6 million has been allocated to develop plans to help people living in homes most threatened by erosion to relocate away from areas most at risk via the transfer of planning rights. The innovative approach provides some funding towards relocation for those most affected by coastal erosion.