Written questions by Wild.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the duration of abstraction licences for farms.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support increased on-farm water storage capacity to capture high winter flows for use during periods of lower water availability.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the establishment of additional Agricultural Water Abstractor groups.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to expand the use of dynamic abstraction licensing to support water resource management across catchments.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending permitted development rights for agricultural reservoirs.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has for future rounds of the Water Management Grant.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her department has made on the effectiveness of farrowing crates for sows in rearing piglets.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of farrowing crates on piglet mortality rates.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the comparative costs of transitioning from farrowing crates to (a) temporary crating systems and (b) free farrowing systems, and if she will ask the Animal Welfare Committee to consider the relative animal welfare outcomes of each system.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what support will be available for pig producers to transition to free farrowing systems.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to consult on phasing out the use of farrowing crates for sows.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of limiting farm businesses to a single Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement on farm-level participation and flexibil

A quarter of SFI money goes to just 4% of farms. The Government is making improvements to the offer to ensure more farmers can access funding. The reformed SFI26 offer will be more focussed, more transparent and fairer so that as many farmers as possible ...

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the (a) range and (b) scale of environmental actions that can be delivered by farm businesses within the £100,000 annual agreement cap under the Sustainab

A quarter of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) money goes to just 4% of farms. The Government is making improvements to the offer to ensure more farmers can access funding. The reformed SFI26 offer will be more focussed, more transparent and fairer so t...

Food and Rural Affairs, what evidence was used to inform the decision to set the Sustainable Farming Incentive annual agreement cap at £100,000.

A quarter of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) money goes to just 4% of farms. The Government is making improvements to the offer to ensure more farmers can access funding. The reformed SFI26 offer will be more focussed, more transparent and fairer so t...

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on securing an agreement for a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU.

I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 18 June 2025 to the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster for PQ UIN 1432.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on the Horticulture Sector Growth Plan.

The Farming and Food Partnership Board has now held its second meeting, with continued progress being made on the development of the Horticulture Sector Growth Plan. Meetings with horticulture sector experts are helping shape an industry-led, sector- driv...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve the resilience of UK food supply chains.

The Food Sector is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, ...

Food and Rural Affairs, what her proposed timeline is for the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

The Government has confirmed that Biodiversity Net Gain will apply to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. A full consultation response and implementation timeline is expected to be published shortly.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the music sector on delays at UK ports linked to the inspection of CITES regulated instruments.

There have been no recent ministerial‑level discussions with representatives of the music sector on delays at UK ports arising from the inspection of CITES‑regulated instruments. Defra and its agencies regularly discuss the implementation of CITES requirements with representatives of the music sector, and no concerns about delays have been raised in these discussions. Defra works closely with UK Border Force to deliver CITES controls and enforcement at the border. We remain committed to ensuring essential checks are conducted to prevent wildlife crime while minimising delays.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has held discussions with Eurostar on the carriage of musical instruments on cross border services.

There have been no recent ministerial‑level discussions with Eurostar on the carriage of musical instruments on cross‑border services. However, the Government, including UK Border Force officials, regularly reviews the feasibility of potential UK CITES Points of Entry and Exit, including Eurostar terminals.