Written questions by Cross.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department undertakes research or collects data on confidence among farmers and agricultural businesses.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the the potential benefits of introducing an initiative to provide livestock farmers with practical guidance on disease prevention and responsible antibiotic use.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the resilience of agricultural water supplies during prolonged dry weather.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the cost of rural crime to farming businesses.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend food labelling regulations so that the Union Jack and 'British' country-of-origin labels can only be applied to meat products f

The UK aims to maintain high standards on the information that is provided on food labels. All food sold on the UK market, including that which is imported, must comply with UK food labelling rules. The fundamental principle of our food labelling rules is...

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to provide immediate financial assistance or supply chain interventions to support UK independent pig farmers following price changes.

The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), formed by Defra and the Devolved Governments, has routinely followed the changes in pigmeat prices, including their recent downturn after several years of strong prices. The Department does not consider...

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact on British independent pig farmers of Spanish pork imports being diverted into the UK market following Spain’s

The Government routinely monitors imports of sensitive agricultural products for any unforeseen surges that could impact domestic industry. Imports from Spain currently account for 9.5% of UK pigmeat imports on a country-of-origin basis. The EU-UK Trade a...

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the recent outbreak of African Swine Fever in wild boar in Spain, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Spanish pork imports from outside the restricted

Commercial imports of pork and pork products from Spain into Great Britain must be accompanied by health certification signed by an official veterinarian, attesting compliance with animal health requirements to mitigate the risk of spread of African swine...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to mandate equitable, legally binding, cost-of-production contracts between major supermarkets, processors and independent pig farmers.

The ‘Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations’ aim to strengthen the pig sector by improving how contracts operate and giving farmers more control over how they sell their pigs. They introduce statutory requirements for written contracts between pig pr...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are she is taking to implement a ban on the use of snares in England; and when she expects to publish a timeline for this policy.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation and this included a commitment to bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. This was recently reaffirmed in the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025. Defra is now actively looking to bring a ban on snares into force as swiftly as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment he has made of the level of investment on farms in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland between (i) 1 November 2024 and 1 July 2025 and (ii) the same periods in the last five years.

No comparative assessments have been made on the level of investment on farms between the 4 UK nations as agriculture is a devolved policy. Data on farm investment income is available in the table 5 series of Farm Accounts in England – but these tables only show data for 2022/23 and 2023/24. Defra are currently collecting the 2024/25 data; data on farm investment income for 2024/25 will be published in January 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief on levels on investment on farms in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

As agriculture is a devolved policy, this response only covers England. In England, no assessment has been made of the potential impact of changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief on levels of investment on farms. Data on farm investment income is available in the table 5 series of Farm Accounts in England – but these tables only show data for 2022/23 and 2023/24. Defra are currently collecting the 2024/25 data; data on English farm investment income for 2024/25 will be published in January 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, when (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department last held discussions with (a) the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and (b) other fishing industry representatives before the UK-EU Summit 2025.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 52791. Most recently, the Secretary of State, the Fisheries Minister, or Defra officials spoke with key industry representatives, including from the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, on 19 May.

Food and Rural Affairs, what consultation his Department has undertaken with (a) the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, (b) the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations and (c) other fishing industry representatives on the UK's negotiating position on fishing rights ahead of the EU summit on 19 May 2025.

The Fisheries Minister meets regularly with representatives from across the UK fishing industry. This includes meeting with both the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations on 26 February 2025 as part of the Seafood Scotland 25th anniversary and the NFFO parliamentary reception. During meetings with these and other fishing industry representatives the implementation of the UK-EU TCA is often discussed, including (but not limited to) the setting of annual fishing opportunities, the work of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries, and the end of the fisheries access adjustment period in 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of fish caught in UK territorial waters was caught by (a) UK vessels and (b) EU vessels in each of the last three years for which data is available; what his Department's policy is on the application of the zonal attachment principle for determining fishing quotas after June 2026; and what estimate he has made of how catch percentages will change.

The UK does not collect data on catches of fish at a level of detail that allows us to determine the proportion of catch made by UK or EU vessels in UK territorial waters. However, under the TCA, 149, 152, and 152 EU vessels were licensed to fish in the UK 6-12 nautical mile zone at the start of 2023, 2024, and 2025 respectively. This compares to 5,418 registered UK fishing vessels in 2023. The UK seeks to ensure sustainable exploitation of fisheries through the establishment of comprehensive total allowable catch sharing underpinned by the principle of zonal attachment. UK fishing quotas for shared stocks with the EU are set in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). UK shares will gradually increase until 2026, after which further changes are a matter for the TCA Partnership Council.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of freezing EU fishing quotas at current levels beyond 2026 on the (a) the economy, (b) UK seafood exports and (c) seafood processing facilities in North East Scotland; whether he has made a comparative assessment of the potential impact of (i) annual and (ii) multi-year fishing agreements with the EU on Scottish coastal communities; and what steps he is taking to maintain market access for Scottish seafood products.

UK fishing quotas for shared stocks with the EU are set in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). UK shares will gradually increase until 2026, after which further changes are a matter for the TCA Partnership Council. Fishing opportunities available to the UK fleet are agreed in annual negotiations based on advice from the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES). Defra publish a report each year which assesses the year-on-year change in UK fishing opportunities.The UK has agreed new multiannual fisheries access arrangements with the EU providing certainty for the UK fishing fleet (including those linked to Scottish coastal communities) and unlocking wider benefits to grow the economy. This includes a new SPS agreement that will make it easier to sell British fish to our largest trading partner.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to proactively screen for foot and mouth disease outbreaks in the UK.

The UK has robust contingency plans in place to manage the risk of Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) as set out in the Foot and Mouth Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England. Defra’s controls to prevent FMD outbreaks in Great Britain include strict prohibitions on the imports of animals and certain untreated products of animal origin from countries in which FMD is present; a comprehensive veterinary surveillance system to detect new and emerging disease threats; and active follow up and veterinary investigation of any suspect reports of notifiable disease. Whilst early detection of notifiable disease incidents is critical, preventing incursions of FMD is the best line of defence. To protect the UK’s freedom from FMD these measures have been stepped up in response to recent FMD outbreaks in Hungary, Slovakia and Germany. In addition to restrictions on imports from affected areas, we have also extended restrictions on personal imports. Travellers are no longer permitted to bring meat or dairy products from cattle, sheep, goats, or pigs into Great Britain from any EU country for personal use.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of changes in farm investment since the Autumn Budget 2024; and if he will provide detailed analysis and findings for (a) the agricultural sector overall and (b) specific farm types including (i) poultry, (ii) dairy, (iii) livestock, (iv) arable, (v) mixed, (vi) hill, (vii) croft, (viii) owner-occupied and (ix) tenanted farms.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26353 on Tyres: Recycling, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of financial support available for increasing domestic tyre processing capacity.

Defra has not completed an assessment as described; however the Government offers a range of support to businesses looking to invest in recycling infrastructure in the UK, including through the British Business Bank and National Wealth Fund, and financial support continues to be available for increasing domestic tyre processing capacity through Innovate UK responsive programmes and more targeted programmes focused on resource efficiency. As explained in response to PQ 26353 on 3rd February, the Secretary of State has convened the Circular Economy Taskforce to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. Together we are considering the evidence for interventions right across the economy and are exploring a wide range of levers to drive circularity, including in the recycling sector, as we develop our strategy.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to bring forward secondary legislation to permit gene editing by the end of March 2025.

On 25 February 2025, the secondary legislation needed to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 for plants was laid in Parliament. If passed, the legislation will come into force in Autumn 2025. This is a devolved matter, and the legislation is England only.