Written questions by Champion.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of agroecology on (a) food security and (b) food prices.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce a mechanism to incentivise the creation of river habitat corridors across neighbouring farms to the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier.

Awaiting answer.

What the Official Development Assistance funding will be provided to the UK-Public Health Rapid Support Team project in the financial years 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to make long-term funding available to farmers to (a) support them to make space for beavers and (b) improve land-use through beaver presence.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra recognises the benefits beavers can bring to the environment and is committed to supporting farmers and land managers to live alongside them. Defra is working closely with Natural England, farmers and other stakeholders to develop the long-term management plan for beavers in England. Support for farmers will be provided through a rigorous risk assessment in the application process and the existing management framework laid out in the 5-step beaver management approach. This will be backed up by support through local beaver management groups and Environmental Land Management options. Defra recognises that the management approach and support available for people living alongside beavers will need to develop and adapt to ensure that we continue to meet the challenges posed by an expanding beaver population. As part of this ongoing work, we will evaluate the effectiveness of the support for living alongside beavers, especially in instances where damage is recorded. In this way, we’ll continue to support farmers, landowners and local communities in the long term.

Whether the Government conducted an impact assessment prior to introducing changes to the Modern Slavery statutory guidance on the 11th May 2026, pertaining to the change in credibility guidance and timing of disclosure of information.

Policies are regularly kept under review, and impacts are assessed as part of any proposed changes. An Equality Impact Assessment was completed as part of this process.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of new Chinese Regulations on Industrial and Supply Chain Security on companies doing due diligence to check for forced labour.

Awaiting answer.

What is the current average distance between dedicated emergency refuge areas, excluding slip roads and junctions, on All Lane Running Smart Motorways.

My previous answer on 27 April 2026 set out that the average distance between places to stop in an emergency is now less than a mile (around 0.9 miles). Design standard GD301 sets out the new spacing standard (around 3/4 mile where feasible and 1 mile maximum) and defines what a place of relative safety is. The document can be found at: GD 301 - Smart motorways.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle conflict-related sexual violence and sexualised abuse in the West Bank in the context of (a) incidents occurring in the presence of Israeli military forces and contributing to displacement and (b) other incidents; and whether this includes (i) applying UK commitments within the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative and the Women, Peace and Security agenda, including the UK National Action Plan, (ii) not providing assistance in maintaining the situation, including through reviewing (A) trade, (B) arms export licences and (C) security cooperation for compliance with international law and (iii) taking steps in line with the ICJ 2024 Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in relation to (1) ending Israel’s presence in Occupied Palestine and (2) the removal of settlements.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided by the Foreign Secretary to the Member for Tooting at the last session of departmental oral questions on 21 April.

What is the current average distance between emergency refuge areas on All Lane Running Smart Motorways.

National Highways has completed construction of 151 additional emergency areas across the All Lane Running smart motorway network, through the National Emergency Area Retrofit programme. Across every All Lane Running motorway, the average distance between places to stop in an emergency is now less than a mile (around 0.9 miles), compared to around 1.2 miles before the retrofit.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the planned consultation on banning the use of high-concentration carbon dioxide gas stunning for pigs will include a proposed timetable for phasing out that method.

As set out in the Government’s animal welfare strategy, Defra will consult on banning carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs and on possible timescales for phasing out this method. Further details will be set out later this year.

With reference to the Third Report of the Transport Committee of Session 2021–22, Rollout and safety of smart motorways, HC26, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that emergency refuges on All Lane Running Smart Motorways are spaced no more than 1,500m apart, and no more than 1,000m apart where possible.

National Highways has completed construction of 151 additional emergency areas across the all lane running (ALR) smart motorway network through the National Emergency Area Retrofit (NEAR) programme. National Highways is evaluating the effectiveness of these additional emergency areas, including impacts on live-lane stops, safety outcomes and road-user perceptions. Initial findings are expected in 2026, with a full three-year evaluation concluding in 2028.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Ethiopian counterpart on evidence published by the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab on the use of Ethiopian National Defence Force facilities near Asosa by the Rapid Support Forces as a base from which to launch attacks in the Blue Nile State in Sudan; and what information her Department holds on whether there have been arms shipments to those engaged in fighting in the Darfur region.

The UK continues to monitor the evolving situation between Ethiopia and Sudan closely. Any further escalation would risk destabilising the region and carries a high risk of human rights abuses and atrocities. The Foreign Secretary discussed the conflict with the Ethiopian Prime Minister during her visit to Addis Ababa in February, and the Minister of State for International Development and Africa reiterated these messages in a call with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister on 25 March.During the Foreign Secretary's statement to the United Nations Security Council on 19 February, she made clear that "We urgently need an end to arms flows. Reports into breaches of the UN arms embargo, which we agree should be extended and enforced, must be investigated." We continue to emphasise to all parties the importance of refraining from actions that prolong the conflict and urge those with influence over the warring parties to bring them to the negotiating table to seek a political resolution.We also expect all countries to comply with their obligations under United Nations sanctions regimes, including upholding the UN Arms Embargo on Darfur, and will continue to work closely with Security Council partners and the UN Panel of Experts to support effective monitoring and enforcement.

What steps their department will take to ensure all police forces will be kept updated to latest trends and best practice relating to modern slavery and human trafficking now support through the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit will no longer be available.

Modern slavery crimes are complex to investigate and prosecute, and ensuring a consistent and coordinated national policing response to modern slavery remains a priority for the Home Office.The Department worked closely with the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit (MSOICU) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to review the programme’s functions and agree contingency arrangements to ensure key functions are preserved to maintain national coordination following the programme’s closure.This includes issuing an expression of interest to appoint a new National Police Chief Council (NPCC) lead for modern slavery to continue to provide national leadership on the policing response to modern slavery. Once appointed, the Home Office will work closely with the NPCC lead and the NCA to ensure modern slavery remains a policing priority.Forces will continue to receive relevant updates from the Home Office on modern slavery and human trafficking through existing stakeholder forums, such as the Modern Slavery Engagement Forum and the First Responder Forum.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to include decapod crustaceans in the Animal Welfare Act 2006; and if she will publish a timeline for an announcement on that decision.

The Government is committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod crustaceans. We set out in our Animal Welfare Strategy that we will develop this evidence base through research and continued stakeholder engagement. Defra-commissioned research on how live decapods move from sea to plate is due to finish later this year. In addition, a project on the welfare of decapod crustaceans across the supply chain is included in the Animal Welfare Committee’s current work plan. We will also publish guidance on which methods of killing decapods are compatible with the existing welfare at time of killing legal requirements. No policy decisions about these animals in relation to the Animal Welfare Act (2006) have been made whilst the evidence base is being built. The Government will keep the legislative position under review, as is standard practice.

Whether their department plans to collect and publish data on the number of modern slavery and human trafficking police investigations, after this is no longer done by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit.

The Department has been working closely with the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit (MSOICU) to review the programme’s functions and agree contingency arrangements to ensure key functions are preserved following the programme’s closure. This includes the collection of modern slavery police investigation data.The current investigations data only provides a partial and incomplete picture, as not all forces submit returns. Once in post, we will work with the new National Police Chiefs Council lead to consider the most effective approach to collecting consistent data on modern slavery investigations in the future.As part of the wider police reforms, national strategic policing priorities will be developed to improve policing standards and performance. The Home Office will consider how modern slavery measures and data collection can be reflected within these.We will continue to draw on data already collected by the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service and the Ministry of Justice, including data on recorded offences and criminal justice outcomes, to support our understanding of modern slavery trends and performance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of Greenpeace’s report entitled Equity, Benefit-Sharing and Financial Architecture in the International Seabed Area.

The Government keeps its policies in relation to climate, nature and marine protection under regular review, informed by a wide range of stakeholder views and expert analyses, including those mentioned by the Hon Member.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the working group on fur, announced in the Animal Welfare Strategy, will include virologists and environmental scientists with expertise in the public health and environmental impacts of fur farming.

As set out in the animal welfare strategy, Defra will bring together a working group on fur, with involvement from both industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur to explore concerns and the different ways in which they could be addressed. The primary focus of the group will be to explore animal welfare concerns relating to the fur trade. Defra is currently developing arrangements for the working group including its membership. Defra will seek appropriate input from relevant experts as needed as part of this.

How many Chevening Scholars have subsequently claimed asylum in the UK.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum where the latest leave held prior to claim was a study visa is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The number of student entry clearance visas issued is published in table Vis_D02 of the 'Entry clearance visas datasets'.The requested information on asylum claims from Chevening scholars is not available from published statistics.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure a coordinated national policing response to modern slavery, in the context of the removal of funding for the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit.

Modern slavery crimes are complex to investigate and prosecute, and ensuring a consistent and coordinated national policing response to modern slavery remains a priority for the Home Office.The Department has been working closely with the Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit (MSOICU) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to review the programme’s functions and agree contingency arrangements to ensure key functions are preserved to maintain national coordination following the programme’s closure.This includes an issuing an expression of interest to appoint a new National Police Chief Council (NPCC) lead for modern slavery to continue to provide national leadership on the policing response to modern slavery. Once appointed, the Home Office will work closely with the NPCC lead to ensure modern slavery remains a policing priority and will continue to provide policy oversight of the operational response.As part of the wider police reforms, national strategic policing priorities will be developed to improve policing standards and performance. The Home Office will consider how modern slavery measures can be reflected within these.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring remote electronic monitoring systems on all pelagic freezer trawlers of 100 meters or more operating in English waters, including EU-flagged vessels.

Defra has laid out plans to implement REM in five priority fisheries in English waters, including pelagic trawls, over 24m, operating in English waters. This fishery includes pelagic freezer trawlers over 100m. The fisheries were selected via an evidence review. The pelagic fishery was selected as a priority fishery for REM, based on an assessment of:Data needs (and suitability of REM as a tool to address these needs)Achievability of setting up initial programmes Once REM becomes a statutory requirement, all vessels, including EU-flagged vessels, active in the fishery will be required to have REM on board.