Every parliamentary written question tabled by Tim Farron this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 224 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency allows National Highways to discharge untreated toxic run-off into the River Lune.
The EA works closely with the National Highways Agency to minimise the environmental risk from surface water outfalls from public highways.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the Environment Agency requiring National Highways to apply for permits to operate outfalls into the River Lune.
The Environment Agency (EA) is able to use its enforcement policy and sanctions on those that pollute the environment. As the EA needs to prioritise its resource on tackling sources with the greatest environmental risk it is taking a collaborative approach in working with National Highways to mitigate the impact from their highest risk outfalls.
Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Environment Agency is not measuring pollution, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons, from motorway outfalls into the River Lune at Tebay.
If the Environment Agency is notified of pollution in watercourses such as the river Lune, then this is dealt with as a pollution incident and investigated and /or attended on a risk basis. Regarding the Lune at Tebay, the Environment Agency is already actively considering how additional monitoring could support their investigations.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the resilience of food supply chains.
The UK does not have national food stockpiles or current plans to create these. The UK has a resilient food supply chain that is well equipped to deal with potential disruption. This high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources including strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes. Defra published the second edition of the UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) in December 2024. The UKFSR sets out an analysis of statistics relating to food security, serving as an evidence base to inform Government policy and public understanding. It tracks trends in domestic production, import reliance, inflation, and supply chain. The next UKFSR will be published in 2027. The annual UK Food Security Digest is published in the years between the UK Food Security Report, with the first one released in December 2025. It covers a selected range of priority indicators that are of high interest and/or highly variable.
Food and Rural Affairs, what penalties she plans to bring in for waste companies that persistently breach their operating licence.
The Government’s new Waste Crime Action Plan commits to making fuller use of existing Environment Agency (EA) powers so that high-risk waste sites can be stopped early before they escalate. Earlier EA interventions using Fixed Penalty Notices will deter those enabling waste crime. Permit suspensions and wider use of restriction notices will require operators to halt activity immediately where risks arise. The Waste Crime Action Plan also includes action to reform the Carrier, Broker, Dealer regime. These reforms will move the regulation of waste management and transport from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will introduce tougher background checks for operators and up to 5 years imprisonment for those who break the law.
Food and Rural Affairs, what was the cost to the public purse of landfill site regulation, monitoring, and remediation over the last five years.
The Environment Agency (EA) regulates permitted landfill sites on a full cost‑recovery basis. The costs of regulation are met by the landfill operators, primarily through annual subsistence charges which are paid by permit holders. These charges cover routine inspections and audits, assessment of monitoring and reporting requirements and ensuring that sites are properly closed and remediated at the end of their operational life. Where the EA is required to undertake additional or non‑standard regulatory activity, landfill operators are required to pay supplementary charges to cover the full cost of that work. As a result, the regulation of permitted landfill sites should not impose an ongoing cost on the public purse. Any additional costs would arise only in exceptional circumstances, such as enforcement action where cost recovery is not possible and intervening in cases where a site has been abandoned and the permit disclaimed. The EA does not currently hold figures for these additional costs.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of surplus water availability during periods of expected drought.
Water companies must plan for secure supplies during severe droughts, without the need for emergency restrictions. The 2024/2025 annual review of water company data showed that England has an overall surplus. However, this is less than expected in half of areas. Regulators are working closely with water companies to improve progress on delivering new water supplies and managing water demand reductions in response to this.
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the total calorific value of food available within the UK in the event of a disruption to supply chains.
The UK does not have national food stockpiles or current plans to create these. The UK has a resilient food supply chain that is well equipped to deal with potential disruption. This high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources including strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes. Defra published the second edition of the UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) in December 2024. The UKFSR sets out an analysis of statistics relating to food security, serving as an evidence base to inform Government policy and public understanding. It tracks trends in domestic production, import reliance, inflation, and supply chain. The next UKFSR will be published in 2027. The annual UK Food Security Digest is published in the years between the UK Food Security Report, with the first one released in December 2025. It covers a selected range of priority indicators that are of high interest and/or highly variable.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many illegal waste sites are known to the Environment Agency in each English district in the most recent year for which data is available; and what estimate she has made of the total number of large-scale illegal waste sites, including those not officially recorded.
The Environment Agency (EA) has provided the attached dataset which shows the number of illegal wastes sites by Local Authority Area as of 7 October 2025, from the total of 517 sites active at that time. The EA does not hold a view on what would make a site large scale because it assesses risk posed by sites. There are 151 sites that it considers to be higher risk sites. The number of illegal waste sites will change as sites are stopped and new sites are found. The EA is unable to report on anything in relation to sites not officially recorded.
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the level of national water storage capacity.
The Environment Agency’s National System Simulation Model, which includes 90% of England’s supply system, shows the current national total storage capacity of 2.03 billion cubic metres for public water use.Havant Thicket reservoir is currently under construction and a further 9 new reservoirs are planned by water companies. These are expected to provide an additional water supply of over 700million litres per day by 2050.
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of days of food stocks nationally in the event of a significant disruption to supply.
The UK does not have national food stockpiles or current plans to create these. The UK has a resilient food supply chain that is well equipped to deal with potential disruption. This high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources including strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes. Defra published the second edition of the UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) in December 2024. The UKFSR sets out an analysis of statistics relating to food security, serving as an evidence base to inform Government policy and public understanding. It tracks trends in domestic production, import reliance, inflation, and supply chain. The next UKFSR will be published in 2027. The annual UK Food Security Digest is published in the years between the UK Food Security Report, with the first one released in December 2025. It covers a selected range of priority indicators that are of high interest and/or highly variable.
Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to develop food storage and distribution capacity for use in national emergencies.
The UK does not have national food stockpiles or current plans to create these. The UK has a resilient food supply chain that is well equipped to deal with potential disruption. This high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources including strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes. Defra published the second edition of the UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) in December 2024. The UKFSR sets out an analysis of statistics relating to food security, serving as an evidence base to inform Government policy and public understanding. It tracks trends in domestic production, import reliance, inflation, and supply chain. The next UKFSR will be published in 2027. The annual UK Food Security Digest is published in the years between the UK Food Security Report, with the first one released in December 2025. It covers a selected range of priority indicators that are of high interest and/or highly variable.
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the adequacy of the volume of food held in storage for use in a national emergency.
The UK does not have national food stockpiles or current plans to create these. The UK has a resilient food supply chain that is well equipped to deal with potential disruption. This high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources including strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes. Defra published the second edition of the UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) in December 2024. The UKFSR sets out an analysis of statistics relating to food security, serving as an evidence base to inform Government policy and public understanding. It tracks trends in domestic production, import reliance, inflation, and supply chain. The next UKFSR will be published in 2027. The annual UK Food Security Digest is published in the years between the UK Food Security Report, with the first one released in December 2025. It covers a selected range of priority indicators that are of high interest and/or highly variable.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many waste crime officers are currently employed by the Environment Agency; and how many large-scale illegal waste sites have a designated waste crime officer assigned to them.
There are 331 full-time employees directly involved in waste crime. This number includes officers in the Area and National operational teams who respond to illegal waste sites, prevent and disrupt waste crime at sites in England, prevent illegal exports of waste to other countries, conduct criminal investigations and combat fraud and money laundering related to waste regimes. The Environment Agency does not designate a waste crime officer to individual sites. Instead, teams work together to respond to reports of illegal waste sites.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to assess the safety of dams and reservoirs given potential climate impacts, including monitoring and standards; and whether her Department has emergency preparedness for dams and reservoirs.
Reservoir safety in England is regulated under the Reservoirs Act 1975 for which the Environment Agency (EA) is the Enforcement Authority. Reservoir owners and operators are required to employ specialist civil engineers to build, supervise, inspect, and maintain their reservoirs to strict standards Defra and the EA are leading a Reservoir Safety Reform Programme, which proposes updates to the safety regulation of reservoirs. This programme is based on recommendations from the Independent Reservoir Safety Review Report. Further work with reservoir owners since the review includes developing on-site emergency flood plans for raised reservoirs, new guidance issued based on the available evidence of the impact of climate change on dams and reservoirs, and producing an updated research strategy for dam safety, with climate change a core theme. Further work on safety management practices is in development, ensuring our reservoirs are safe and resilient in a changing climate.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether local authorities in England have the resources and powers to enforce existing legislation and regulation to improve local air quality.
Local authorities are centrally funded to fulfil statutory duties under the Local Air Quality Management Framework, which requires action where pollution is highest. The Government supports them through the Air Quality Hub, providing guidance and tools to help achieve compliance with air quality objectives. We continue to engage with and respond to local authorities’ needs, offering practical support and detailed assistance around enforcing legislation and delivering local air quality improvements.
Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department's ambient air quality policy is interacting with climate change mitigation, nature recovery and land use planning.
Defra’s ambient air quality policy is delivered within the wider framework of the Environmental Improvement Plan, which sets out commitments to improve air quality, restore nature and support climate objectives. The plan highlights that actions to tackle air pollution such as reducing emissions, support nature recovery and contribute to resilience against climate change. Air quality is also a material consideration in planning decisions and Government policy is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. I will continue to work collaboratively with colleagues across government to ensure we take a joined-up, holistic approach.
Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues to determine the extent that her Department's policies on ambient air quality are interacting with policies on climate change mitigation, nature recovery and land use planning.
Defra’s ambient air quality policy is delivered within the wider framework of the Environmental Improvement Plan, which sets out commitments to improve air quality, restore nature and support climate objectives. The plan highlights that actions to tackle air pollution such as reducing emissions, support nature recovery and contribute to resilience against climate change. Air quality is also a material consideration in planning decisions and Government policy is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. I will continue to work collaboratively with colleagues across government to ensure we take a joined-up, holistic approach.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to strengthen communities' powers to improve accountability and local action on air pollution.
The Government supports communities and local authorities to take effective action on air pollution through the Local Air Quality Management framework, which requires local authorities to assess air quality and implement measures to address local issues. Defra provides technical guidance, modelling tools, and monitoring support to help authorities identify pollution sources and develop targeted action. Since taking ownership of the Air Quality Hub in 2024, Defra has enhanced the platform to improve access to guidance, training, and examples of best practice, strengthening local capability and enabling communities to benefit from successful approaches used elsewhere.
Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment she has made of his Department's (a) targets, (b) requirements and (c) performance standards for ambient air pollution and the World Health Organisation's Air Quality Guidelines.
The World Health Organisation’s Air Quality Guidelines inform our approach to improving public health. We remain committed to continuous improvement and the WHO guidelines will continue to inform our evidence when considering next steps.