Written questions by Shannon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on trends in the level of avian influenza outbreaks.

Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, each of the four UK administrators are an integral part of the decision-making process and are represented at the National Disease Control Centre ‘bird table’ meetings. Representatives of each devolved administration also sit on both the Animal Disease Policy Group (a UK wide policy decision making group) and the joint Government – Industry Avian Influenza Core group. Further information on the avian influenza situation and controls in Northern Ireland can be found on the DAERA-NI website at https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/avian-influenza-ai.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on improving water safety.

Defra works closely with the devolved Governments on a range of shared priorities and will discuss any relevant matters as necessary, including at meetings of the Interministerial Group (EFRA).

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of food security.

The second United Kingdom Food Security Report (UKFSR) was published in December 2024. The UKFSR sets out an analysis of statistical data relating to food security in the UK, fulfilling the duty in the Agriculture Act 2020 to present a report on food security to Parliament at least once every three years.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of local authorities' Local Flood Risk Management Strategies.

We are committed to supporting communities and ensuring flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.  Local flood risk management is a devolved matter, but we will work to improve resilience and preparation across central government and local authorities to better protect communities across the UK. Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That is why we set up a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.  This marks a new approach to preparing for flooding and working between national, regional and local Government, including the devolved administrations, and flood risk partners.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle instances of drought.

Drought plans must be produced by Water Companies every 5 years. A drought plan is a tactical plan that shows how a secure water supply is maintained, while minimising impacts on the environment during dry weather and drought. There are a range of actions/tools that can be utilised in a drought plan. These range from Temporary Use Bans (known as 'hosepipe bans'), drought permits-which enable companies to take more water from environment (as prescribed in the Water Resources Act 1991 (WRA91)). In addition, there are also Drought Orders which enable companies to take further water from environment and/or other abstractors and implement water restrictions or restrict other non-essential use. Defra Minister Hardy attended the National Drought Group, chaired by the Environment Agency, held on 5 June, to ensure actions are being taken to secure water supplies, should recent dry weather continue. We continue to monitor the situation and further National Drought Group meetings are planned, should the dry weather continue.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the level of the butterfly population across the UK.

This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature, including pollinator species such as butterflies. The most recently published statistics on butterflies in the United Kingdom and in England for 2023 provides information on UK butterfly abundance as well as the major drivers of decline. In summary, on average the abundance of butterflies across the UK continues to show a long-term decline. This is due to a range of factors including weather patterns, habitat loss, pollution and the use of pesticides. Defra partly funds the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (UK PoMS) which is the first scheme in the world to have begun (since 2017) generating systematic data on the abundance of bees, hoverflies and other flower-visiting insects at a national scale. Data collected through PoMS insect surveys contribute to providing an invaluable resource from which to measure trends in pollinator populations. PoMS complements longer-running insect monitoring carried out by citizen scientists including the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) and the Big Butterfly Count that runs from July into August.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland on the recent lifting of quarantine due to avian influenza.

Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, for animal disease threats, each of the four UK administrations are an integral part of the decision-making process and officials from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland meet regularly with their counterparts in Defra, Welsh Government and Scottish Government where topics such as the Avian influenza prevention zones and the lifting of housing measures are discussed and the impact on the UK administrations considered. Representatives including the Chief Veterinary Officers from each devolved administration also sit on the Animal Disease Policy Group, a UK wide policy decision making group. This helps to drive a flexible and coordinated response. The UK contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals explains how the administrations work together in responding to an outbreak at a UK level.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage supermarkets to stock more locally, homegrown fruit and vegetables.

Defra officials regularly engage with stakeholders across the food supply chain to understand their work to promote British produce in-store and online. We strongly support efforts to promote British food and back our farmers, who produce some of the best food in the world. This is why the food strategy will set the food system up for long-term success and ensure that our food system can feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals, now and in the future.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the chick population.

Defra publishes monthly statistics on the activity of UK hatcheries. The UK chick sector is highly resilient, with production remaining stable over the last five years. The latest published figures for the first quarter of 2025, show that total hatchery placings for commercial broilers, layer hens, and turkeys increased by approximately 3.5%, equivalent to 10.2 million additional chicks, compared to the same period in 2024. The Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare Grant was recently offered to commercial laying hen and pullet keepers in England. It supports these farmers to improve the health, welfare, and productivity of their flocks through access to £22.6 million in grants towards the cost of upgrading their housing. Applications closed on 18 September 2024, and all applicants have been contacted to notify them of next steps. In addition, we recently announced farmers across England will be able to apply for grants worth up to £25,000 to invest in machinery that boosts farm productivity, helps manage slurry, or for improving animal health and welfare. Eligible broiler and layer hen chick producers can apply for this new round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund from 29 May 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage food suppliers to use locally sourced food products.

Our food strategy will bring together the outcomes we want from the food system to help Government and the food industry work towards shared goals and priorities. The Government will be considering the role of place-based initiatives as the food strategy is developed. Together, we can deliver a system we can be even more proud of, that protects British traditions and drives generational change in our relationship with food. For the first time in our history, the Government will also monitor where public sector food comes from so we can better understand our opportunities. We’re reforming procurement rules to make it easier for British producers to bid for a share of the £5 billion spent annually on public sector catering, given the new national procurement policy statement favours high-quality products that we believe British producers are well-placed to supply.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce global warming.

While DESNZ leads across Government on net zero, Defra is responsible for reducing emissions from agriculture, land use (including peat), F-gases and waste (including wastewater), whilst simultaneously increasing England's carbon saving potential through our forestry policies. DESNZ will deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all sectors by October 2025. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 and our Nationally Determined Contribution commitments on a pathway to net zero.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2024 to Question 2087 on Horse: Smuggling, what estimate his Department has made of the number of horses smuggled from the United Kingdom at (a) Dover and (b) other ports for which the latest data is available.

APHA defines a smuggled animal as one that is illegally exported: it is one that is not travelling on appropriate paperwork, has not been declared and/or is concealed. This means that robust data on the numbers of horses and ponies illegally smuggled out of the United Kingdom in the last 5 years is not readily available, as APHA can only report on inspected animals; those that are presented or intercepted. APHA holds data for the period September 2023 to date for Dover only. We have previously provided the data from September 2023 to 30 July 2024. See PQ 45796 for the most recent data on recorded exports. Between 31 July 2024 to present, APHA Dover inspected 197 horses/ponies being exported into mainland Europe, including those originating from Ireland and transiting through Great Britain. Of these, 65 were found to be non-compliant due to contraventions of official controls related to animal health and the welfare of animals in transport.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of bird flu.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 December 2024 to question UIN 19297. An updated outbreak assessment for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Great Britain and Europe was published by the Animal and Plant Health Agency on 18 March 2025, and an updated veterinary risk assessment for notifiable avian influenza incursion into poultry in Northern Ireland was published by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in December 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Northern Ireland on changes to farming subsidies.

Agriculture is a devolved policy area. Defra and devolved Government officials meet routinely to share experiences and insight regarding our respective agricultural policies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage recycling at beaches.

The Government has introduced Simpler Recycling, which from 31 March 2025 will require small, medium and large workplaces in England to recycle the core waste streams (plastic, metal, glass, paper and card) and food waste. This will include cafés, shops, and other establishments that are located across England’s seafronts and beaches. We have been proud to support and endorse national clean-up initiatives such as the Great British Spring Clean, and the Great British Beach Clean, and we will continue to use our influence to encourage as many people and businesses as possible to participate in these types of events.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps he is taking to help increase the freshwater pearl mussel population.

The Government is supporting the recovery of freshwater pearl mussel by working collaboratively with environmental organisations to restore rivers and watercourses, raising awareness about the importance of freshwater pearl mussels and encouraging community participation in their conservation. Enforcement agencies are also ensuring compliance with the nature conservation laws to protect freshwater pearl mussels from illegal harvesting and environmental damage. As well as habitat-based actions the Environment Agency has established a captive breeding programme in Kielder, Northumberland to boost existing populations by providing a safe start to their lifecycle before they are returned to the wild at carefully chosen locations. Finally, we are exploring opportunities to reintroduce the species to river systems from where they have been lost; Natural England and partners are planning a freshwater pearl mussel reintroduction, the “R4ever Kent Life project”, which will also help inform other reintroductions across the country.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the mental health of farmers.

This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture. Following engagement with agricultural mental health charities, Defra established a team dedicated to addressing the particular set of issues driving poorer mental health outcomes in the agricultural industry. We are also continuing to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This funds four charities to deliver projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. As promised in our manifesto, the Government is building a national network of Young Futures hubs which will be present in every community and will deliver support for young people facing mental health challenges. Finally, the Government is giving mental health the same attention and focus as physical health through measures such as employing 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of wind turbines on avian mortality.

The Government does not have estimates of the number of birds killed by wind turbines. Wind developments have the potential to cause environmental damage, including impacts to birds from collisions, displacement, and foraging pressures.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of Sate for Northern Ireland on the preservation of biodiversity in Northern Ireland.

The UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan (NBSAP) was discussed with Minister Muir, as well as other devolved government ministers, at the Inter-Ministerial Group for EFRA held on 16 September. The UK has published the full NBSAP during the resumed COP16 that commits us to achieving all 23 targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework at home. The four governments, and relevant Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have worked collaboratively to develop the NBSAP and now we need to work together to deliver it.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reversing the changes to inheritance tax for family farmers.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.