Every parliamentary written question tabled by Stuart Anderson this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 41–59 of 59 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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 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 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 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.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase funding available to national landscape teams.
This Government is committed to empowering Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder, and more accessible to all. We understand the uncertainty around resourcing remains a challenge for National Landscapes teams. Defra business planning is ongoing, and we will communicate the outcomes of this as soon as possible.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department will continue to support the Rural Housing Enablers Scheme.
The Government is committed to funding the Rural Housing Enabler programme until 31 March 2025. It is also providing over £5 billion total housing investment in 2025-26 to boost the supply of new housing, including in rural areas. This includes a £500 million top up to the Affordable Homes Programme. Funding allocations for individual programmes for the next financial year will be determined in upcoming months through the department’s business planning exercise and announced in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent hand carwash operators from disposing of chemicals illegally down public storm drains.
It is the responsibility of hand car wash businesses to ensure that they are not polluting the environment as a result of their activities. This is set out in guidance on Gov.uk. Chemicals in car wash products may become classed as waste (including containers with residual chemicals in them). A site operator will need to establish if this is the case and ensure that Hazardous Waste Regulations are followed in respect of correct disposal. For discharges to water and sewerage company networks, a site operator may need to apply for a trade effluent consent from the water and sewerage company. If a discharge is to surface water drain/sewer, or the ground, a permit under Environmental Permitting Regulations may be required. If a hand car wash business were to cause an environmental incident, the Environment Agency would respond to the incident as it would any other environmental incident. The Environment Agency responds to substantiated reports of environmental incidents and will take appropriate action under the enforcement and sanctions policy dependent on the nature and severity of any offence. The Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy can be found on Gov.uk.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support farmers to receive higher prices for their produce.
Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists. Using the 'Fair Dealings' powers in the Agriculture Act 2020 we can introduce regulations, applyin...
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of extending the Rural England Prosperity Fund on (a) small business, (b) farmers and (c) community infrastructure.
The Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) is intended to support new and existing rural businesses, including farm businesses, to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy and to support new and improved communi...
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Treasury on the potential merits of increasing funding to help (a) farmers and (b) food producers.
This Government’s commitment to farmers and food producers remains steadfast. Labour will always champion British farming to boost rural economic growth, strengthen food security and improve the environment. Defra has £5 billion for the farming budget ove...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the enforcement of animal welfare penalty notices.
Enforcement authorities have been able to issue penalty notices for a range of animal health and welfare offences since 1 January 2024. At the end of each financial year, enforcement authorities are required to submit an annual report to Defra on how many...
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of animal welfare penalty notices.
The first annual report from enforcement authorities on penalty notices issued is to be submitted to Defra by June 2025 and a consolidated report will subsequently be published.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to increase engagement with public consultations undertaken by Forestry England.
Forestry England remains committed to ensuring the public has the opportunity to comment on its future plans, such as in cases of new woodland creation. Forestry England will continue to make sure that its consultation process supports its duty to balance...
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish a land use framework.
The Government will publish a Land Use Framework for England in due course in the form of a Green Paper, accompanied by a public consultation.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that farmers are fairly remunerated for their produce.
The Government will deliver a resilient and healthy food system, with a new deal that ensures fairness in the supply chain across all sectors. Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling contractual unfairness wherever it exists. Defra will continue the work closely with stakeholders from all farming sectors on the best way to achieve this.
Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department plans to spend its budget allocated to agriculture in the 2024-25 financial year; and how much and what proportion of that budget will be spent on support for farmers in South Shropshire constituency.
We will deliver a resilient and healthy food system, with a new deal for farmers that works for farmers, food security and nature. The only way to do this effectively is to listen to farmers and others with a stake in our food system, countryside and nature. Defra are doing this and assessing data and information about what’s working and what isn’t before setting out detailed plans. The Department will confirm plans for further optimisation and rollout of farming grants and schemes shortly.