Written questions by Gardiner.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the Office for Environmental Protection Investigation Report, published in December 2025.

In December 2025, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) published the concluding reports of its investigation into the regulation of network Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in England. I was pleased to see recognition that work undertaken by this Government has built the foundations for much needed change in the water sector. The OEP stated that, throughout the investigation, all public authorities engaged constructively, with a focus on the outcome of protecting the environment. We agree with the OEP that it is important for Defra, the Environment Agency and Ofwat to be fully transparent when it comes to their roles and responsibilities in the regulation of network CSOs.

Food and Rural Affairs, if her department has set a date by which it aims to have ended operator self-monitoring in the water industry.

We want to move away from Operator Self‑Monitoring because the current system does not provide the transparency or independent assurance the public expects. As set out in the Water White Paper, we are working with regulators on how best to transition to an open, independently verified monitoring model. We will set out further detail once this work is complete.

Food and Rural Affairs, what analysis her department has undertaken to assess whether using Regulated Capital Value to measure water company values provides the most accurate measure of their value.

Regulatory Capital Value was originally set with reference to the equity value and debt levels of each water and sewerage company at privatisation. It has been updated by the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) since and provides a proxy for the total value of the water industry’s equity and debt (otherwise known as ‘enterprise value’).

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the Health and Safety Executive on restricting PFAS in specific consumer product groups, as outlined in the PFAS Plan.

The PFAS Plan published on 3 February 2026 sets out the Government’s approach towards PFAS in consumer articles. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) were involved in the development of the PFAS Plan. Any future UK REACH Restriction would currently involve the UK REACH Agency, the HSE, consulting on a proposal. The current UK REACH work programme does not extend to this happening in 2025/26.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether in implementing Schedule 17 of the Environment Act 2021 the government can strengthen the provisions of the Act to include an absolute standard of deforestation rather than focussing on producer country legality and whether this can be done in secondary legislation or would require an amendment to the Act itself.

The forest risk commodities regime in the Environment Act 2021 extends only to commodities that are illegally produced. The Government recognises the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is actively considering the best regulatory approach to address deforestation in UK supply chains; we will set out this approach in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the recruitment process to appoint a new Chair of the Office For Environmental Protection has not yet commenced.

Defra has initiated the internal process for appointing a new Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection, which includes consultation with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, and relevant Select Committees. The competition will be launched shortly.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on marine geo-engineering.

Marine-based GGR techniques present potential environmental risks that need to be managed alongside potential climate benefits. Our priorities are developing the evidence base and establishing a science-based framework for regulation of these techniques.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to send a delegation to the (a) 47th Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Convention and (b) 20th Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Protocol meeting.

The 47th Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Convention and 20th Meeting of Contracting Parties to the London Protocol will take place from 27-31 October 2025. The UK will send a delegation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) amending the Protected Landscapes duty under section 245 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, (b) publishing supporting regulations and (c) updating guidance.

We are working with a range of partners to consider the impact of the Protected Landscapes Duty. The duty is intended to facilitate better outcomes for England’s Protected Landscapes, which are in line with their statutory purposes. In December, Government published guidance on the Protected Landscapes duty to ensure public bodies operating in these areas, including water companies, deliver better environmental outcomes working together with Protected Landscape organisations.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to update the catch certificate system for seafood imports to mirror upcoming changes being made by the EU to its catch certificate scheme.

The UK will be updating the information required on catch certificates this year. These changes will focus on ensuring the robustness of the data on traceability measures and will ensure that UK exporters can continue to re-export seafood originating from other countries to the EU. The UK’s Fish Export Service (FES) enables exporters to generate electronic IUU catch documentation, including catch certificates. The UK also plans to integrate FES with the EU’s CATCH system in 2026 to support system interoperability.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting an EU-style carding system to (a) warn and (b) sanction states that are not sufficiently tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

The UK has retained the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Regulation following its departure from the EU and continues to apply its provisions. While the UK has not formally adopted the EU’s carding system, it does enforce import bans on seafood from countries that have been red-carded by the EU, such as Cambodia, Comoros, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Imports and landings from vessels listed on the UK’s IUU vessel list are also prohibited. Imports from yellow-carded countries are permitted to avoid unnecessary trade disruption because marking these countries as IUU offenders may undermine their efforts to improve compliance and address IUU fishing. The UK keeps issues related to IUU fishing and human rights abuses in seafood supply chains under active review, and we welcome robust evidence from stakeholders to inform future policy development.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the risk that seafood imports from (a) China, (b) Russia and (c) countries yellow-carded by the EU may be linked to (i) illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and (ii) human rights abuses.

The UK has retained the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Regulation following its departure from the EU and continues to apply its provisions. While the UK has not formally adopted the EU’s carding system, it does enforce import bans on seafood from countries that have been red-carded by the EU, such as Cambodia, Comoros, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Imports and landings from vessels listed on the UK’s IUU vessel list are also prohibited. Imports from yellow-carded countries are permitted to avoid unnecessary trade disruption because marking these countries as IUU offenders may undermine their efforts to improve compliance and address IUU fishing. The UK keeps issues related to IUU fishing and human rights abuses in seafood supply chains under active review, and we welcome robust evidence from stakeholders to inform future policy development.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to adopt a digitised catch certificate scheme that is interoperable with the EU’s new CATCH IT system for (a) receiving and (b) processing seafood catch certificates.

The UK will be updating the information required on catch certificates this year. These changes will focus on ensuring the robustness of the data on traceability measures and will ensure that UK exporters can continue to re-export seafood originating from other countries to the EU. The UK’s Fish Export Service (FES) enables exporters to generate electronic IUU catch documentation, including catch certificates. The UK also plans to integrate FES with the EU’s CATCH system in 2026 to support system interoperability.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the trends in the number of verifications of catch certificates accompanying seafood imports undertaken by UK authorities.

Defra and the Marine Management Organisation work closely with Devolved Governments, Local Authorities and Port Health Authorities to ensure illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing documentary checks are completed at the border and appropriate verifications are conducted on seafood imports to the UK. Verifications, defined under Article 17 of the UK’s IUU Regulation, are formal checks beyond standard documentary reviews. Competent Authorities conduct risk-based checks, and if concerns arise, the MMO may hold consignments and carry out verifications.

Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department has provided to (a) the Marine Management Organisation and (b) port health authorities on applying a risk-based approach to identifying seafood consignments for scrutiny under illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing regulations.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) provides training and guidance to port health authorities (PHAs) on implementing the UK’s IUU Regulation, which PHAs apply through their local risk-based approaches. Where concerns arise, the MMO engages with third-country authorities to resolve the issue or reject the consignment. Defra attends monthly PHA forums chaired by the MMO, where issues related to IUU imports and risk assessment are discussed. At these meetings, Defra provides policy advice to support the operational guidance shared by the MMO and PHAs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for the implementation of the stage 3 offshore MPA byelaws once the consultation has been concluded.

We aim to implement any necessary byelaws quickly. However, this will depend on the number and complexity of responses received to the consultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department adopted the features-based approach for the assessment method for the stage 3 Marine Protected Area byelaws.

The Marine Management Organisation uses a feature-based approach for developing fisheries management measures in England’s Marine Protected Areas, including the proposed stage 3 byelaws. Sometimes these management measures will involve restrictions across the whole of a site, where the features to be protected cover the whole site.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for implementing measures in Inshore Marine Protected Areas.

The responsibility for developing byelaws lies with the ten Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs). We are encouraging the IFCAs to complete as soon as possible the good work they have already done to ensure our MPAs are effectively protected. Inshore MPAs located between 6 and 12 nautical miles from the coast are the responsibility of the Marine Management Organisation and it launched a consultation in June 2025 on stage 3 of its programme of MPA fisheries management measures.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of England's waters would be closed to bottom trawling when the proposed stage 3 byelaws are implemented.

We cannot pre-judge the outcome of the stage 3 byelaw consultation, which is currently in progress.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish an implementation plan for the Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative.

Since the publication of the Marine Wildlife Bycatch Mitigation Initiative, we have continued our work to minimise and, where possible, eliminate the bycatch of sensitive marine species. That has included renewing Clean Catch for a further 3-year period. This flagship programme will be focused on collaborative trials with the fishing industry to establish practical ways to minimise bycatch, delivery of research on potential bycatch hotspots and of best practice guides tailored to fishermen’s needs, and critical knowledge exchange both within and beyond the UK. In addition to that, in 2025, we are considering further measures to reduce bycatch of seabirds. We have not published an implementation plan but will consider the need for this when working with stakeholders to identify and implement these measures. This builds on wider work done under the English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway. For more information see: English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway (ESCaRP) - ME6044.