Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Under the current regulations, retailers selling more than 32kg of portable batteries must have a collection point at all premises from which batteries are supplied. Retailers can search online for a batteries compliance scheme who will collect these batteries free of charge and can advise in respect of collection bins. There is no legal requirement for retailers selling less than 32kg of batteries each year to make collection provisions, but they can still enquire with a battery compliance scheme as to how they may be able to assist. More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/battery-waste-supplier-reponsibilities.

No decisions have been made regarding future levels of funding for the Darwin Initiative, the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, or Darwin Plus. Defra will allocate budgets to its Official Development Assistance programmes for future Financial Years after Defra receives its Multi-Year Spending Review settlement.

The UK has a strong and pioneering record in overseas development and will continue to play a vital humanitarian role in crises such as those in Sudan, Ukraine, and Gaza, while tackling global challenges including climate change and biodiversity loss.

The UK strongly supports global efforts to protect forests, including advocating for an international commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while supporting livelihoods and economic development.

The UK strongly supports global efforts to protect forests, including advocating for an international commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while supporting livelihoods and economic development.

We welcome the Climate Change Committee’s constructive assessment, recognising the progress that has been made in planning for climate change across our transport system and the economy, as well as areas for improvement.

As part of our Plan for Change we are investing a record £2.65 billion to repair and build flood defences, protecting tens of thousands of homes and businesses and helping local communities become more resilient to the effects of climate change such as overheating and drought.

We are considering the Climate Change Committee’s Progress Report and will respond to its recommendations in October as required by the Climate Change Act.

Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping. These include prosecution, which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment, and powers to seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. They can also issue a fixed penalty notice of up to £1,000 to fly-tippers and £600 to householders who pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier, the income from which is kept by councils and must be spent on enforcement or cleaning up fly-tipping.

We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers and we are currently taking steps to develop statutory guidance on fly-tipping enforcement. We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

In the meantime, Defra continues to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.

The import of hunting trophies is regulated through the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations, which implements the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra is engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern in the most effective way.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency, an executive agency of Defra, is responsible for issuing import permits for hunting trophies. Appendix I species are the most strictly regulated species under CITES and import permits will only be issued if the criteria set out in the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations are met, including that the import does not have a detrimental impact on the conservation status of a species.

The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra is engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern in the most effective way.

The import of hunting trophies is regulated by the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations, which implements the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Where required, permits to import hunting trophies will only be issued when the strict criteria set out in the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations are met, including that the import does not have a detrimental impact on the conservation status of a species.

The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra is engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern in the most effective way.

Defra encourages veterans to apply for vacancies across multiple sectors, which are advertised on Civil Service Jobs. Defra is a participant of the Great Place to Work for Veterans Scheme.

All employees, including veterans, have access to a broad learning and development offer and mentoring initiatives.

I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 April to Question 44868.

This Government has not made an assessment of the potential merits of a fourth round of grants. The Government is making available £69 billion to council budgets across England – a 6.8% cash terms increase, to help fund key responsibilities like tackling fly-tipping.

We will continue to work with the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group to highlight and share best practice with regards to tackling fly-tipping. Various practical tools, including case studies from previous grants, are available from their website https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.

This Government is committed to reducing waste by transitioning to a circular economy. To support the Government in achieving this goal, a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts has been established from across government, industry, academia, and civil society to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England.

The taskforce will consider the evidence for sector-specific interventions from right across the economy and will be exploring a wide range of levers to drive circularity, including targets.

This Government is committed to moving to a circular economy – a future where we keep our resources in use for longer, waste is reduced, we accelerate the path to net zero, we see investment in critical infrastructure and green jobs, our economy prospers, and nature thrives. Defra recognises the importance of assessing the impacts of un-recyclable waste and as we develop our Circular Economy Strategy for England, we will consider the evidence for action and evaluate what interventions may be needed.

The incoming Collection and Packaging Reforms will ensure local authorities across England collect the same materials for recycling, creating a constant feed stock. These reforms will support 21,000 jobs and stimulate £10 billion in recycling capability over the next decade.

An estimate will be made when an updated Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) map is published later this year.

Land classification is a devolved matter, and each nation within the UK takes a different approach. In England and Wales, the ALC system is used to assess agricultural land quality.

The Government remains committed to maintaining accurate land classification data to support planning and policy decisions. The new strategic-scale ALC map will replace the 1960s provisional map in England, ensuring alignment with current ALC guidelines and including the subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b.

At COP16, the UK pledged an additional financial contribution of £45 million to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund to help countries across the globe to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The UK also continues to encourage other countries and non-sovereign organisations to provide financial contributions.

In December 2024, Defra joined the Legacy Landscapes Fund as a donor and has so far invested just over £10 million, helping to protect biodiversity, promote climate resilience and foster equitable development in some of the world’s most outstanding landscapes.

The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands and committed in our manifesto to expanding nature-rich habitats including bogs. We have ambitions to restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of peatland across the country.

Defra is currently seeking views on proposed changes to The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021, which would provide protection to a broader area of upland peat. A public consultation was launched on 31 March and will close on 25 May, the results of which will be used to inform future policy in this area.

We are also looking at next steps regarding measures to ban horticultural peat and will continue to work alongside the horticultural sector to accelerate progress on the peat free transition.

Under section 136 of the Environment Act 2021, a designated responsible body must make an annual return to the Secretary of State. This return must include the number of conservation covenants under which an obligation was owed to the responsible body during the reporting period, along with the area of land to which each covenant relates.

As part of the first annual return to Defra by 31^st of March 2025, where responsible bodies were able to provide additional information regarding the type of covenant, they reported 43 covenants that conserve the natural environment. No covenants were reported that conserve land, or the setting of the land, as a place of archaeological, architectural, artistic, cultural or historic interest.

As fisheries control and enforcement is a devolved matter, each UK Fisheries Administration is responsible for ensuring catches from their waters are reported accurately. In English waters, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) monitors all catches from commercially licensed fishing vessels, for vessels over 10 metres, information is recorded in logbooks whilst English vessels under 10 metres record their catches using a purpose-built mobile app or website. All catch data is submitted to the MMO to provide an accurate picture of how much fish we are taking from our seas. To ensure catch details are accounted for correctly, the MMO regularly conduct inspections of fishing vessels based upon a risk-based intelligence led marine enforcement model.

Defra has been reviewing the operation of the landing obligation as part of wider reforms to discards management in England. In 2025, these reforms include trialling changes to how we account for catches. This work aims to help ensure that catches are recorded and accounted for and contribute to the achievement of the bycatch objective.

Defra has not made an assessment on trends in population levels of West African migratory bird species in the last ten years, nor has it made an assessment of the potential impact of the use of mist nets in Western African countries on these populations.

No. There is no consolidated, public list of relevant bodies.

Bodies are made subject to the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) through the definition in regulation 2(2), rather than by designation. The Information Commissioner has jurisdiction to both investigate and decide whether a body is a public authority for these purposes. This definitional approach requires a contextual inquiry. The Commissioner’s decision may be subject to appeal through the courts. At best, a list of public authorities would be incomplete and rapidly out of date.

Most public authorities subject to the EIR are listed by name or category in Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) have identified that a number of customers have included actions within their Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement that may not be allowed under the scheme rules and as clearly set out in the customer guidance. These cases have been identified through eligibility checks carried out and the RPA are working through these.

The RPA is conscious of the impact delay to payments may have and are contacting affected customers as required to resolve this and ensure any payments due can be made as soon as possible.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) have identified that a number of customers have included actions within their Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement that may not be allowed under the scheme rules and as clearly set out in the customer guidance. These cases have been identified through eligibility checks carried out and the RPA are working through these.

The RPA is conscious of the impact delay to payments may have and are contacting affected customers as required to resolve this and ensure any payments due can be made as soon as possible.

Reductions to delinked payments allowed this Government to unlock a record level of funding for Environmental Land Management schemes, as part of the £5 billion for farming secured over 24/25 and 25/26 financial years.

In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report, setting out commitments in the previous financial year. Defra intends to publish the annual report for the financial year 2024/25 later this year. The annual report for financial year 2025/26 will be published next year and will include Farming and Countryside programme spend broken down by each scheme.

This Government has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD), following a further confirmed case in Hungary, close to the Austrian border.

The Government has already banned personal imports of cattle, sheep and other ruminants and pig meat as well as dairy products, from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria earlier this year in response to confirmed outbreaks of FMD in those countries.

We recognise the risk posed by illegal imports via personal imports. Border force officers are responsible for detention and seizure of any illegal Products of Animal Origin (POAO) goods at points of entry and Defra is working closely with authorities at points of entry to help control the illegal movement of POAO into Great Britain in personal imports.

Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.

We have been clear that we will only ever sign trade agreements which align with the UK’s national interests, and we will always uphold our high food standards.

When delinked payments were introduced in 2024, no decision had been made about the reductions that were to apply to these payments for years after 2024.

We estimate that the reductions to be applied to delinked payments for 2025 will lead to a further £550 million reduction in these payments compared to 2024. This money is being re-invested in full into our other schemes for farmers and land managers in England, within an overall farming budget of £2.4 billion for 2025/26.

The reductions to delinked payments for future years have not been decided yet and will be announced in due course.

We will provide further details about the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive in summer 2025.

We will provide further details about the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive in summer 2025.

At February’s NFU Conference, the Secretary of State announced a raft of new policies that will put money in the pockets of farmers in Fylde, Lancashire, and across the country.

We remain committed to investing £5 billion of funding in the farming budget over two years, and are on track to do so.

We will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (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.

We are investing £208 million in biosecurity protections and extending the Seasonal Worker visa route for five more years. We are backing British produce in Government catering contracts and ensuring fair competition across the supply chain through contractual reform.

We will provide further details about the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive in summer 2025.

This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone in Great Britain and Northern Ireland has access to nutritious and fairly priced food. Defra also regularly engages with supermarkets and food producers about a number of issues, including their partnership with British farmers in producing food for the nation, but the sourcing of food within supply chains is ultimately a commercial decision.

Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system. Making the most of technological innovations will be key to this. We will not be starting from scratch but will be building on analysis and work that already exists, including the Dimbleby report as we work together to develop a food strategy that delivers for everyone, and insights from leading organisations from across the food supply chain.

The food sector is seen as a world leader in quality, productivity and innovation and is an attractive destination for investment. We will join up work on food across government Missions on Health and Growth, and Industrial Strategy and the Child Poverty Taskforce. This will ensure policy coherence, amplify impacts, and create the conditions for partnership with industry.

Data on farm investment income is available in the table 5 series of Farm Accounts in England. These tables only show data for 2022/23 and 2023/24: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-accounts-in-england-data-sets#:~:text=Table%205.

The Farming Business Survey does not have data for Autumn 2024. We are currently collecting the 2024/25 data. Data on farm investment income for 2024/25 will be published in December.

The Government communicated the ban on personal imports of meats and dairy products from EU countries introduced on 12 April 2025, via a press release and information on social media and on GOV.UK. It has also published updated posters for operational partners to display.

As part of our national mission to protect our food sector and farmers, Defra has written to ports, airports and travel operators requesting that they take further steps in communicating the new rules to travellers as a matter of urgency.

Defra has also written to Ministers from the Department for Transport, Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers asking for their help with making travellers aware of the new rules.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (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.

Ministers visit farms and other food production premises regularly and have met with farming stakeholders nearly every week since entering Government.

An answer to Question 36241 was provided on 25 April 2025.

Defra ministers regularly visit farms and meet with farmers nearly every week.

We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.

The use of cages for laying hens is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.

Since 2014 UKRI, through BBSRC (approximately £13.9 million) and Innovate UK (approximately £1.35 million), has invested more than £15 million in research involving genetic modification (including genome editing) of crops and farmed animals for agricultural- and food-based research based in the UK.

The Department recognises that we need a variety of approaches to address sustainable farming and food security. For example, the industry-led Farming Innovation Programme funds a range of approaches to address how innovation can increase farming productivity sustainably. This is complemented by Defra’s agri-food science programme which develops R&D to enable sustainable farming and help ensure food security.

The Minister’s Mandate, first introduced in 1971, is mainly concerned with the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the Crown lands of the New Forest. The Protected Landscapes Duty requires relevant authorities such as Forestry England to seek to further the statutory purposes of Protected Landscapes including the New Forest. Forestry England is also subject to a range of regulations, assurance schemes, procedures and other guidance to steer its activity in the New Forest, including the New Forest Acts 1877, 1949, 1964, and 1970, Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Areas Act 1979, Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, Environment Act 1995, and Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Forestry England continues to manage the Crown lands of the New Forest to achieve a proper balance between people, nature and a working commercial forest. For this reason, there is no plan to review the Minister’s Mandate at this time.

There are two registered disposal sites within the Beachy Head Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). All material is assessed and classified as safe for marine disposal under OSPAR and London Convention and Protocol standards, with regular sediment testing required.

For all licences to dispose of dredged material within the Beachy Head MCZs, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) consult with technical advisors Cefas. The MMO request samples to be collected at the dredge site, and establish the contaminants to test for. This testing has shown the risk to the marine environment from contaminants in the dredged material is low. The applicant must undertake robust monitoring, including further sampling and monthly disposal reporting to the MMO, throughout the duration of a licence. This ensures that the material meets the standards and remains suitable for continued sea disposal at the relevant disposal site. MCZ assessments for both disposal sites concluded that the risk to MCZ conservation objectives from disposal is likely to be low. This robust framework ensures that disposal activity does not compromise the conservation objectives of the MCZ.

We welcome the Climate Change Committee’s constructive assessment, recognising the progress that has been made in planning for climate change across our transport system and the economy, as well as areas for improvement.

As part of our Plan for Change we are investing a record £2.65 billion to repair and build flood defences, protecting tens of thousands of homes and businesses and helping local communities become more resilient to the effects of climate change such as overheating and drought.

One of the core objectives of the government’s forthcoming 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy is enabling resilient growth. This includes ensuring that growth is resilient to climate change. The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy will set out how flood risk management infrastructure, and other actions to increase resilience to the physical effects of climate change, can protect existing, and enable new, economic activity.

We are considering the Climate Change Committee’s Progress Report and will respond to its recommendations in October as required by the Climate Change Act.

The model was developed following extensive engagement with businesses (including the logistics sector) across the UK, points of entry, enforcement agencies and with the Scottish and Welsh Devolved Governments.

Defra continues to have regular engagement with border stakeholders to discuss and review the BTOM.