Written questions by Anderson.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made in improving water quality in South Shropshire constituency.

Cleaning up our rivers is a top priority. The Environment Agency’s (EA) Water Industry Regulation Transformation Programme is delivering more inspections and pushing water companies to perform better, and water companies are investing over £11 billion between 2025-2030, to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales. In the West Midlands in 2024/25, water companies undertook over 160 actions aimed at improving sewage treatment works (STWs) and storm overflow discharges to improve water quality, and over 100 actions aimed to prevent deterioration of water quality. In this constituency, 14 improvement schemes were delivered at STWs between 2020–2025, with further improvements at 11 STWs and 57 at storm overflows. During 2024/25 over 800 compliance inspections were conducted at Severn Trent Water sites, aiming to rise to 1700+ in 2025/26. The EA will attend more minor pollution incidents and continue to attend all serious pollution incidents, not hesitating to take appropriate enforcement action.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the evidence used by his Department to inform its policy on burning on peatlands.

Earlier this year Natural England published a thorough evidence review looking at the effects of managed burning on upland peatlands. This remains the most comprehensive review available and can be found via the following link - An evidence review update on the effects of managed burning on upland peatland biodiversity, carbon and water - NEER155.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support small abattoirs.

The Government recognises the vital role small abattoirs play in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient and competitive food supply chain. Defra works closely with industry stakeholders including through the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These groups bring together government and industry representatives on a regular basis and provide a forum for identifying the challenges and opportunities that the sector faces, and for collaborating on practical solutions to support the long-term sustainability of small and medium sized abattoirs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the land use framework will support sustainable food production on farms.

The Land Use Consultation launched this year was underpinned by analysis of land use change for nature restoration and other objectives. This included analysis of potential spatial distributions of change to 2050, taking account of land’s suitability for food production. Alongside the formal consultation, Defra ran and participated in several different engagement events across England to ensure that farmers’ and food producers’ views were heard. The Department led six regional workshops and regional focus groups, supported five regional workshops run by external organisations, and attended several wider meetings, conferences and discussions. When published, the Land Use Framework will set out the evidence, data and tools needed to help safeguard our most productive agricultural land.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to launch a smaller village halls grants scheme.

While there are currently no plans to launch a new smaller village hall grants scheme, we continue to support village halls through the Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund. This scheme has provided grants to help modernise facilities, improve accessibility, and enhance energy efficiency.

Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) financial and (b) legal support has been made available for local nature recovery strategies.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) were established by the Environment Act 2021. Responsible authorities must follow the LNRS regulations and have regard to LNRS statutory guidance when preparing the LNRS for their area. Over FY23/24 and FY24/25, Defra provided a total of £14 million to responsible authorities to prepare LNRSs. Further funding has been made available to responsible authorities in the current financial year to support their transition to leading and coordinating delivery of the LNRS for their area. Defra and Arm’s Length Bodies have provided advice to responsible authorities to help them prepare their LNRS but have not provided direct legal support to individual responsible authorities. Responsible authorities are able to use the funding they have been provided to obtain legal support if they choose to do so.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending permitted development rights on farm productivity.

The Government’s commitment to farming and food security remains steadfast, which is why the government is investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature’s recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%. Our recent food strategy publication committed to a joined-up approach across the food system to supporting healthy resilient and sustainable food production. Planning reforms are one of several levers the government is using to support farmers. As part of this, Defra hosted a series of planning reform roundtables in June, led by Minister Zeichner, to discuss planning issues affecting farmers and is now considering the feedback.

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.