Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the expiration of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement provisions on fishing on 30 June 2026.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides reciprocal access for UK and EU vessels during the fisheries adjustment period. The adjustment period ends in June 2026 after which access becomes a matter for annual negotiation as is typical between coastal states.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to require that all fish caught in (a) UK territorial waters and (b) the UK exclusive economic zone are (i) landed and (ii) processed in the UK.

The Government is not considering the introduction of legislation that would require all fish caught within UK waters to be landed and processed in the UK. British fishing boats currently have the flexibility to land their fish into ports and markets which offer the best facilities and prices. They must also meet the economic link licence condition which ensures their activities provide a genuine economic benefit to the UK. It is not this Government’s intention to limit vessel owners from making these business decisions in their best interest.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning all foreign supertrawlers from UK waters.

If foreign vessels were prohibited from fishing in UK waters without clear evidence of their negative impacts, we could expect reciprocal action to be taken against UK vessels. For actions relating to the EU, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement sets out very clearly that measures should not be discriminatory..We are, however, taking a broader approach to improving the sustainability of our fisheries through our Marine Protected Area management policy and the introduction of Fisheries Management Plans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the average (a) waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for his Department was in each of the last five years.

The average waiting time for people calling the Defra General Helpline in each of the last five years is set out below: Reporting Year Average Wait Time (minutes, seconds)2024 / 202501:112023 / 202401:232022 / 202300:502021 / 202200:582020 / 202100:322019 / 202000:20 Please note, a reporting year runs 1 April to 31 March. Therefore, the data provided for 2024/2025 covers 1 April 2024 to 4 November 2025. Defra does not hold data on the time people spent on hold to the Defra General Helpline after getting through to a call-handler in each of the last five years. Whilst Defra’s call logging system records the length of the call from the second the call is answered by the call-handler to the second the customer hangs up, any periods on hold during that time, for instance whilst the call-handler searches for an answer to a question asked or whilst the call-handler transfers the person to another contact, are not measured.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many complaints to his Department from farmers there were in each of the last five years.

Records of complaints categorised by the occupation of the complainant are not held by the department. Obtaining the information would incur disproportionate costs.

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

In 2023, 58% of domestic consumption came from UK production (based on unprocessed value at farmgate), 24% from the European Union and the remaining 18% from the rest of the world. Data for 2024 will be published in Defra's ‘Agriculture in the United Kingdom’ report in mid-2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 3.82 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if he will provide funding for flood defences in Hemsby.

To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The list of projects to receive government funding in 2025/26 will be consented over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation. We are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood and coastal erosion risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future. Defra will consult in the new year on a new simpler and more flexible approach to floods investment that maximises value for the taxpayer and supports nature-based solutions. This will include a review of the floods funding formula.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a review into the food labelling system.

Defra is in the process of conducting a Post Implementation Review of the Food Information Regulations 2014 and the Country of Origin of Certain Meats Regulations 2015 to assess their success against their origin policy objectives. Furthermore, we plan to publish a summary of responses to a recent public consultation on fairer food labelling.

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

Catering services at Defra are provided by our facilities management supplier, ISS. In the contract we require ISS to comply with Government Buying Standards (GBS) for food and catering services and ISS is encouraged to meet the best practice criteria of the GBS for food and catering services. The supplier is required to comply with the aims of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. ISS has confirmed that: The percentage of British products purchased by ISS, for use across the Defra locations where food is served in the UK, is estimated at 57.20%.This figure is based on the total value of food purchased for use across the Defra locations since April 2024. Data is only available from April 2024 from this supplier.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in their Department work outside of the UK; where those staff work; and what the cost is of salaries for those staff.

Information on civil servants employed by Defra working overseas and the median salary for overseas posts are available at the following link: https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/data_browser_2024/index.html Information on the precise location of staff working overseas is not published.

Food and Rural Affairs, what forms his Department requires farmers to complete each year; what the length of these forms are; and what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the administration burden on farmers.

The Government does not require the same forms annually, and therefore we cannot provide this information. However, we are committed to improving the services we offer to farmers. Through ongoing service design and research with farmers, we continue to optimise our farming schemes, including the administration they include, to make published content clear and by iterating form design, so they work efficiently for farmers, food security and the environment, especially for those that are too often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms. This is a priority for the new Government and we will announce more information in due course. In the meantime, the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) strategic programme is focused on enhancing and streamlining services, including customer communications, application processes, forms, and data collection. This initiative includes multiple projects aimed at understanding and alleviating the administrative load faced by farmers and other stakeholders. As part of this programme, APHA has already conducted extensive user research, engaging customers across various sectors to identify their challenges and pain points. By listening directly to those who use its services, APHA is gaining valuable insights that allow it to evaluate and test solutions to make interactions with APHA smoother and more efficient.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff employed by his Department work exclusively on farming issues.

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

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff employed by his Department have experience in farming.

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

Food and Rural Affairs, what the staff turnover rate in his Department was in each of the last five years.

Figures are taken from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey for the core department. The data reference point in time is 31 March at each year. Reference PeriodCivil Service Turnover*Departmental Turnover**12 months up to 31 March 20247.4%14.3%12 months up to 31 March 20238.6%15.7%12 months up to 31 March 20227.3%13.7%12 months up to 31 March 20215.1%13.1%12 months up to 31 March 20208.1%14.6% * includes all moves out of the Civil Service over the specified year.**includes moves between Civil Service departments within the year, in addition to moves included under the Civil Service turnover rate.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will arrange a meeting between the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth and the Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs.

My Defra private office handles all meeting requests. Please contact them directly to request a meeting.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) review and (b) implement changes to the funding structure for Internal Drainage Boards to reduce the financial impact on local councils.

Defra has committed to work with the internal drainage board (IDB) sector and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to review IDBs’ current funding and costs. This will include examination of whether any changes are needed to their funding model and will consider the findings carefully. IDBs are local independent statutory public bodies, mainly funded by the beneficiaries of their work. This includes farmers who pay drainage rates and local authorities that pay special levies. Those beneficiaries are represented on the boards of IDBs, where decisions are made on the forthcoming programme of work and the annual drainage rates and special levies.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the funding criteria for coastal defences in Hemsby, and if he will visit Hemsby.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is the responsible risk management authority for coastal erosion at Hemsby. The shoreline management approach for Hemsby’s coastline is managed realignment, as outlined in the Shoreline Management Plan which has been developed locally by the East Anglia Coastal Group and included consultation with the community. We must also be mindful of the negative impacts of defence solutions on neighbouring coastal communities where erosion can be exacerbated. This was highlighted in the Shoreline Management Plan for the area where this is a major driver for the longer-term managed realignment policy. Under the inherited approach to investing in flood schemes, Grant in Aid investment at Hemsby is challenging due to high costs associated with the technical aspects of providing protection to an actively eroding sand dune. This means that the benefit cost ratio for investment is likely to be marginal and most typical engineering options, with assured benefits, are likely to be uneconomic to deliver. In opposition, we said we would look at the funding formula for flood schemes. It remains our intention to do this, to ensure flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face both now and in the future. We are examining all use of flood defence resources to ensure that the Government maximises safety from potential flooding within the difficulty financial legacy the country was left by the previous government. I regret Ministers currently have no availability to visit the Honourable Member's constituency at this time but will keep his invitation in mind.