Written questions by Anderson.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated to local environmental improvement projects through the Water Restoration Fund.

The Water Restoration Fund (WRF) was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties back into projects to improve the water environment. Successful applicants have been notified, with a total of £11 million, based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023, due to be invested into local projects to improve our waterways. Going forwards, this government has announced that over £100 million in fines and penalties levied against water companies since October 2023, as well as future fines and penalties, will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters, which could include local environmental programmes to address pollution and improve water quality. Further details on the projects and programmes that this funding will go towards will be set out later in the year.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will increase funding for flood defence schemes in South Shropshire constituency.

We are investing £2.65 billion over two years to March 2026 to maintain, repair, and build flood defences. We’re committing a further £4.2 billion over three years from April 2026, an increase of 5% per year, as announced at Spending Review 2025. We are consulting on proposals for reforming flood defence funding, protecting all communities including rural, coastal, and poorer areas. The list of projects to receive government funding will be consented on an annual basis through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the quality of bathing water sites in (a) Shropshire and (b) the West Midlands.

Bathing waters are a vital public amenity, and we are continually working to improve and modernise our bathing waters system. As such, the government announced planned reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 on 12 March following a public consultation. Changes to the Regulations will prioritise public safety and water quality so more people can enjoy our rivers, lakes and seas in the first shake up since 2013. We know that local communities want to have a clearer picture of water quality at popular bathing spots, which is why the three designated bathing sites in Shropshire have been monitored during the bathing season since their designation in 2024. On the River Teme in Ludlow the Environment Agency is involved in a project where innovative automatic water quality sampling technology has been installed to improve the understanding of water quality and to inform the public of daily E. coli concentrations. This advanced innovation project has recently been extended to the Shrewsbury bathing water site for the 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the delivery of public services in rural areas.

The Government believes that it is important that rural communities have the opportunity to help shape decisions that affect them. As rural affairs lead, Defra continues to encourage all Government Departments to rural proof their policies, including engaging rural stakeholders in their public consultations and engagement processes. Defra also facilitates engagement with rural people and businesses via its Rural Insights Forum. The forum is a group of stakeholders that represent rural communities.Rural representatives and sector specific experts are also engaged with Defra’s Rural Taskforce, which is considering the value and contribution of rural communities and businesses in achieving the Government’s priorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the agriculture budget will be spent in South Shropshire constituency.

At February’s NFU Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies to put money in the pockets of farmers in South Shropshire, and across the country.We remain committed to a farming budget of £2.4 billion for 2025/25 and are on track to do so.We will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome; and we are making £110 million available for new grant competitions to support research and innovation, technology and equipment for farmers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to improve the condition of Sites of Specific Scientific Interest.

SSSIs continue to be one of the most effective tools for protecting and enhancing biodiversity and deliver a wide range of health and socio-economic benefits. Defra is working with Natural England to improve the efficiency of SSSI monitoring and drive delivery of a prioritised programme of action to improve SSSI condition. This includes advising farmers on land management changes, working at a catchment-scale with partners to improve water quality and regulating fairly and proportionately to prevent harm and improve site condition. In the autumn budget we also allocated £13 million to Protected Site Strategies which will develop and implement spatial restoration plans for priority sites. These strategies will put action in place to restore protected sites and manage the impact of environmental harm. The Nature Restoration Fund in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will also allow us to take a more strategic approach to the restoration of protected sites and species, and deliver improved environmental outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 5 December 2024 from the hon. Member for South Shropshire, inviting him to meet farmers in his constituency.

Thank you for your invitation. Ministers regularly engage and visit farmers across England and have met with farming organisations and representatives nearly every week since coming into Government, and I hope to visit farmers in your constituency soon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to increase export opportunities for UK farmers and food producers.

The Government will always seek new opportunities to grow the UK’s world class agri-food and drinks sector. We are working to agree a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement with the European Union to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and red tape for British producers and retailers. Our network of sixteen agri-food and drink attachés work to resolve export barriers around the world. Last year we resolved an export barrier nearly every week, including securing access to the US market for UK beetroot growers and resuming pork exports to China for major UK producers, which industry estimates are worth £80 million. We are committed to working in partnership with food and drink manufacturers to continue to capitalise on strong demand for UK produce around the world.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help retailers distribute surplus food to local charities.

The Government recognises the environmental, economic and social benefits of preventing food waste and redistributing surplus. Defra's Food and Drink Waste Hierarchy encourages food businesses, including retailers, to prioritise redistribution of any surplus should it arise. Defra funds the groundbreaking UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste, managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Through the Pact, we support the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which helps businesses to identify and measure their surplus and waste and take steps to reduce it. This Target Measure Act approach enables food businesses to get more surplus to redistributors. Defra also engages a working group of supply chain and redistribution sector organisations to develop best practice and overcome barriers to redistribution. Previous grant opportunities have helped the redistribution sector increase its capability and capacity for getting more surplus from the supply chain. Announced in December, £15 million has now been available to help the sector get more surplus food from farms to those in need. The total amount of surplus food redistributed in the UK in 2023 was 191,000 tonnes, equating to nearly 456 million meals with a value of around £764 million.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce food waste.

The UK is an international leader on tackling food waste. We are fully committed to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 target, which seeks to halve global food waste at consumer and retail levels by 2030. Through our new £15 million farm surplus fund, this Government is working with food producers and charities ensure more produce gets to those who need it most. We know that action is required across the supply chain and in people’s homes. To tackle food waste, we fund the groundbreaking UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Action through the Pact includes working with businesses to identify and reduce food waste, as well as campaigns aimed at raising public awareness of food waste and the steps we can all take to help reduce it.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help farmers affected by the outbreak of avian flu.

Following the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry and other captive birds in the UK, Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) together with the Devolved Governments and their delivery agencies have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery. Defra’s avian influenza disease control measures aim to minimise the economic burden of the outbreak on the food and farming sectors, bird keepers and the wider economy. As part of this approach, Defra introduced legislation in January this year which allows free-range eggs to continue to be labelled as such for the duration of mandatory housing measures, reducing costs on producers and enabling them to continue to trade fairly with imported eggs. We will be introducing similar legislation covering free-range poultry later this year. The Department works closely with both the poultry industry and wider bird keeping stakeholders and the impacts of the avian influenza outbreak are being monitored closely. Where avian influenza is confirmed on a premises, the producer receives compensation for any healthy birds culled for disease control purposes. Compensation is not available for sick birds or those that have died, or for consequential losses e.g. lost sales opportunities.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to consult on a statutory target for food production self-sufficiency.

Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system. The food strategy will consider the critical role that domestic production plays in our food security. We are developing a programme of stakeholder engagement to inform the strategy, that will include industry, civil society and consumer group representatives. We will consider the need for statutory targets as we develop the strategy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve the water quality of rivers in South Shropshire constituency.

Cleaning up England’s rivers, lakes and seas is a priority for the Government. The Government has taken immediate and substantive action to address the performance of water companies who are not delivering for the environment or their customers. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Act. The Act will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. The Environment Agency (EA) has strengthened its regulatory approach, to ensure that water companies and the farmers who pollute our waterways are held accountable. This has seen an increase in the inspections at Severn Trent sewage assets from 707 in 2024/25 to 1742 in 2025/26 and nationally over 3,400 farm inspections taking place during the first three quarters of the 2024/25 fiscal year. Farm inspections are targeted to areas of the greatest risk, including in the River Clun and Teme catchments. The EA have also installed innovative automatic water quality sampling technology at Ludlow, as part of a trial aimed at identifying sources of poor bathing water quality and recommend actions to improve it. For Price Review 24 (PR24), which runs from 2025-2030, Severn Trent Water will also be investing £1.7 billion to reduce the use of storm overflows. This investment will reduce storm overflow spills by 26% over the five year period. In addition to the PR24 investment, for high spilling sites, Severn Trent Water must produce a spill reduction plan as required by the Environment Act 2021. Where the EA identifies non-compliance, it will not hesitate in taking enforcement action.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to focus public sector procurement on locally produced food.

The new national procurement policy statement sets out requirements for Government contracts, favouring high-quality products that we believe British producers are well-placed to supply, aiding our ambition for half of food supplied into public sector catering to be from local producers or those certified to higher environmental standards.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support (a) prevention and (b) recovery efforts by local flood action groups.

The Government’s new Flood Resilience Taskforce brings together representatives from national, regional and local government, the emergency services, and the third sector to improve co-ordination between organisations working on floods resilience so they can put in the support that the public needs and bolsters the nation’s floods resilience. The National Flood Forum, who support many local flood action groups, are a key member of our Flood Resilience Taskforce. I recently met with the Chair and CEO of the National Flood Forum. We explored how their work to establish and support local flood action groups can be further promoted via the Taskforce.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 25742 tabled by the hon. Member for South Shropshire on 22 January 2025.

An answer to Question 25742 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve water quality at (a) the River Teme and (b) other bathing sites.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. It will also give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies not delivering for customers and the environment. The Water Industry National Environment Programme and the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan will reduce water industry impacts on bathing waters in England. As part of the Plan, water companies will have improved all storm overflows discharging near every designated bathing water by 2035. On 12th November 2024, Defra, jointly with the Welsh Government, announced a consultation on a package of potential reforms to The Bathing Water Regulations 2013. We are currently analysing responses to the Consultation and will publish a response in due course. The Environment Agency has developed an Action Improvement Plan for the Shropshire bathing water sites to identify actions needed to improve them, as well as trialling novel monitoring approaches on the River Teme at Ludlow to provide greater insight into bathing water quality. Upstream of Ludlow, the Environment Agency has completed over 80 farm inspections over the last 2 years, ensuring compliance with agricultural regulations and providing advice to reduce farming impacts on our waterways. Tree planting along rivers can help improve water quality, such as by trapping and removing pollutants from agricultural runoff water before it reaches the river. The England Woodland Creation Offer provides financial support for tree planting and incentivises woodland creation that improves water quality through supplementary payments. The ‘Woodlands for Water’ project, supported by Defra, has been providing targeted facilitation to support landowners to access tree planting grants to support the creation of riparian woodland corridors, including in the River Teme catchment.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase agricultural productivity.

The Government recognises the importance of innovation in supporting future farming productivity and profitability, to boost Britain’s food security and to improve nature’s recovery. Defra is continuing to support agricultural productivity through a range of policies. For example, we have already announced the ADOPT Fund which will launch in Spring 2025, enabling farmer-led trials to bridge the gap between new technologies and their real-world application. Legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 will be introduced in Parliament before the end of March. When in force, this will enable farmers to grow crops with higher yields and that are more resistant to drought, pests and diseases. Defra also works closely with the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH), a new professional body for the farming industry established in 2021. TIAH aims to remove the fragmentation that exists within current learning and skills landscape for farming and growing businesses enabling the industry to drive greater uptake of professional skills which will help support improvements in productivity.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce regulation for farmers.

Farm regulation provides important protections for the environment, habitats, animals, and public health. For example, it is helping reduce animal disease risk from BtB, avian flu and Foot and Mouth amongst others as we speak, this maintains confidence in our farm produce in both international and domestic markets as well as protecting the profitability of farmers. If regulation is working well, it should provide clear and fair expectations, allowing farmers to operate their businesses with confidence. However, this is not the case currently with all farm regulation that has been left over to the new Government. This is why I have asked Defra to review farm regulation, focussing on how it can be more coherent, less time consuming and easier to understand for farmers under this new Government. I have also asked all Defra regulators how they are supporting growth.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) mitigate the impact of and (b) reduce the quantity of microplastics released into the environment by domestic washing machines.

The Government is concerned about the risks microplastics in our water environment may pose to public health and to the environment. Regulations for products and appliances are covered by the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010 and are routinely reviewed by the Government, and previous collaborative work with the water industry found that microplastics from clothing and textiles make up a small proportion (around 1%) of the total microplastics found within wastewater treatment works. There is no work planned to amend the relevant regulation for this product at the present time. Defra is continuing to work with water companies to investigate microplastics detected during wastewater treatment and their potential to enter the receiving aquatic environment.