Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (including Topical Questions)

MPs question a government minister

MPs will question the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary on departmental priorities and current issues affecting farming, food security, and environmental policy. Topical questions allow backbenchers to raise urgent, time-sensitive matters without prior notice, so the agenda will depend on what MPs choose to ask on the day—likely covering rural livelihoods, agricultural support post-Brexit, food prices, or environmental regulation.

DEFRA oversees policy that touches every household through food prices and rural communities through farming support and land management. The topical questions slot gives backbenchers a rare chance to hold ministers to account on issues that have moved fast or emerged since the regular written parliamentary questions were tabled, making it a barometer of which rural and environmental concerns are urgent to the Commons.