Written questions by Slade.

Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of areas in the UK that have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest in each of the last five years.

Notification of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) is a devolved matter and data for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are held by the respective administrations. Designation of SSSIs in England is a matter for Natural England. SSSI designation is a two‑stage process. Sites are first notified, at which point they become legally protected. Notifications are then confirmed, usually within nine months,once any objections or representations have been considered. For the purposes of this answer, “designated” is taken to mean confirmed SSSI notifications. On that basis, the number of SSSIs designated in England, by calendar year, is as follows: YearNumber of SSSIs designated2021620221202312024020250 Confirmation often takes place in a year following notification, so notified and confirmed figures do not necessarily relate to the same sites.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites.

The Government has committed to restoring plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) back to semi-natural woodland habitat. There are approximately 365,000 hectares (ha) of ancient woodland in England of which approximately 150,000 ha are under plantation. Forestry England has committed to restoring all 42,814 ha of their PAWS to ancient, semi-natural woodland. Restoration work has been carried out on over 20,000 ha of PAWS in the last ten years with over 16,000 ha now having a canopy that is predominantly native. Defra has improved the support for PAWS restoration on private land through the Higher Tier of the Countryside Stewardship scheme. This includes additional payments for restoration. In its first three years, the Countryside Stewardship grant ‘Manage and restore plantations on ancient woodland sites’ has been taken up across 2,100 hectares of PAWS. The Government is also supporting the establishment of new woodlands both for nature recovery and to produce timber.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on enforcing regulations to ban the (a) sale and (b) advertising of tourism activities abroad that involve treatment of animals that is illegal in the UK.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Slough on 26 February 2026 to PQ UIN 114064.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the use of exemptions in the Hunting Act 2004 for stag hunting on stag population numbers in the South West.

The department has made no assessment of the potential impact of the use of exemptions in the Hunting Act 2004 for stag hunting on stag population numbers in the South West.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending existing legislation to prohibit stag hunting with hounds.

The department has made no assessment of the potential merits of amending existing legislation to prohibit stag hunting with hounds.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Department's policy paper entitled Animal Welfare Strategy for England, published on 22 December 2025, whether her Department plans to publish a timetable for the introduction of dog licences for dog breeders.

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a twelve-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. The Government is committed to ending puppy farming and the low welfare breeding of dogs. As part of the Animal Welfare Strategy, the Government has committed to launch a consultation on dog breeding reform. Next steps will be announced in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage industry to end the practice of culling male laying hen chicks; and if she will publish a timetable for taking these steps.

As stated in the recently published Animal Welfare Strategy1 the Government welcomes the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology. There has been rapid global progress in a range of technologies that could help end the routine culling of male chicks by identifying or determining the sex of chick embryos before hatching as set out in the Animal Welfare Committee’s ‘Opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industries’. Aside from in-ovo sexing technology, government is co-funding an initiative to assess the viability of dual-purpose poultry breeds, that is, breeds that can be used for laying eggs and meat therefore avoiding the need to cull males.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she will take to improving the health of farmed fish during production; and if she will give consideration to increasing spacing to reduce the risk of disease transmission between fish.

Defra’s disease control measures seek to contain the number of animals that need to be culled, either for disease control purposes or to safeguard animal welfare. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) are responsible for the delivery of aquatic animal health controls in England and Wales. The FHI maintains a comprehensive programme of inspections to assess farmed fish health, designed to prevent the introduction and spread of the most serious listed and emerging diseases, and ensure that all aquaculture production businesses operate under approved biosecurity plans. These plans must take account of the potential for infectious disease transmission to wild aquatic animals and set out measures to minimise that risk. The recently published Animal Welfare Strategy for England set out that we will commission the Animal Welfare Committee’s advice on the welfare of farmed fish prior to slaughter. Amongst other things this project will consider the effects of stocking densities. The Animal Welfare Strategy also commits to introduce humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish into legislation, subject to consultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk to non-farmed animals of disease transmission from the nearby presence of a fish farm.

Defra’s disease control measures seek to contain the number of animals that need to be culled, either for disease control purposes or to safeguard animal welfare. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) are responsible for the delivery of aquatic animal health controls in England and Wales. The FHI maintains a comprehensive programme of inspections to assess farmed fish health, designed to prevent the introduction and spread of the most serious listed and emerging diseases, and ensure that all aquaculture production businesses operate under approved biosecurity plans. These plans must take account of the potential for infectious disease transmission to wild aquatic animals and set out measures to minimise that risk. The recently published Animal Welfare Strategy for England set out that we will commission the Animal Welfare Committee’s advice on the welfare of farmed fish prior to slaughter. Amongst other things this project will consider the effects of stocking densities. The Animal Welfare Strategy also commits to introduce humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish into legislation, subject to consultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress her Department has made on bringing forward legislative proposals to prohibit the importation of hunting trophies.

The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, which is the most effective approach the Government can take on this matter. The department continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can implement a robust ban. Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a grading system for food labelling that rates the animal welfare standards in the food’s production.

As set out in the animal welfare strategy, the Government committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, the Government will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to include proposals on the regulation of veterinary fees for uninsured animals in the upcoming consultation on reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.

The forthcoming consultation on potential reforms to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 will include proposals for a new framework through which all pet owners would have better access to treatment options. The proposed reforms could also help address cost of living concerns, including through mandatory business regulation, and embedding any remedies proposed by the Competition and Markets Authority. Pet owners who have difficulty affording veterinary treatment can consider contacting charities such as Blue Cross and the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA).

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to help support UK (a) farmers and (b) fishers where (i) animal welfare standards and (ii) climate and nature policies contribute to higher farming costs, in the context of the cost of imported produce.

The Government has been clear that it will protect farmers in trade deals. The Government will not lower food standards and will uphold high animal welfare standards. It will create new export opportunities for our high-quality British produce. Supporting British farmers and boosting the nation’s food security are key priorities for the Government. The Government allocated £11.8 billion this Parliament to sustainable farming and food production, targeting public money where it delivers most value. In terms of wider support to the fishing industry, the Government is committed to the industry’s long-term prosperity and sustainability, which is why we launched the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help reduce the breeding of animals who are genetically predisposed to brachycephaly.

Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 anyone breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters of puppies in a twelve-month period must have a licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet statutory animal welfare standards including a prohibition from breeding dogs if it can be reasonably expected that on the basis of their genotype, phenotype or health, this would lead to welfare problems for the mother or the puppies. As part of the Animal welfare strategy for England which was published on 22 December 2025, the Government has committed to launch a consultation on dog breeding reform. As part of our consultation, we will consider ways to improve the welfare of breeding dogs and their offspring. Separately, the strategy will see us improve our understanding of the size, scale and current management practices related to cat breeding, drawing on expertise from the sector, and consider any further steps which may improve welfare practices in the cat breeding sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including measures relating to fireworks’ impact on animals in her Department’s Animal Welfare Strategy.

On 22 December, the Government published our new animal welfare strategy. This strategy sets out the UK Government’s priorities for England, focusing on the changes and improvements we aim to achieve by 2030. The Government continues to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks, including on animal welfare.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on supermarket products in the forthcoming animal welfare strategy.

The Government's animal welfare strategy was published on 22 December 2025 and is available here on GOV.UK. As set out in the strategy, we are committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, we will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the incinerator capacity for waste destined for landfill in Dorset.

The Government publishes annual statistics related to waste collected by local authorities: Local authority collected waste management - annual results - GOV.UK. In 2023-24 Dorset Council reported sending 936 tonnes of collected waste to landfill and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council reported sending 18,724 tonnes of collected waste to landfill. However, this does not include waste processed by private waste management companies. Our Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note shows that at the end of 2024, the Southwest of England had around 1.63 million tonnes of operational and under construction energy from waste capacity whilst total residual municipal waste arisings were reported as 2.27 million tonnes. Residual waste infrastructure capacity note - GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of re-instating the pause on the building of new waste incinerators.

Determining the need and location for waste management infrastructure is a matter for the relevant planning authority. To support decision making the Government has made it clear we only back new Energy from Waste projects if they meet strict local and environmental conditions. Projects are expected to demonstrate a clearly defined domestic residual waste treatment capacity need to facilitate the diversion of residual waste away from landfill, or enable the replacement of older, less-efficient facilities. Additionally, new facilities will have to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy. We are considering how best to reflect the approach in this statement in the new set of national policies for development management which we have committed to producing, and in updates to National Policy Statements. The Government encourages those developing energy recovery facilities (at all stages in the process) to consider forecast changes to future capacity, demand, and the Government's circular economy opportunities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of requiring water companies to demonstrate efficient land asset management before price increases are approved on customers.

Water bills are set by Ofwat who consider all aspects of company business planning through their price review process. The Government is preparing to respond to the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission, including on asset management. Reforms outlined in the government's forthcoming white paper will form the basis of a new water reform bill to be introduced early in this Parliament.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the CMA's decision to allow some water companies to increase bills above the rate set by OFWAT on consumers.

Redetermination is an independent process, and the decision remains subject to consultation. The CMA will publish their final decision in March 2026.We expect all water companies to put appropriate support in place for customers struggling to pay their bills and to proactively engage with their customers to ensure they know what support schemes are available and how to use them.