Written questions by Hudson.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of providing further funding for its planned National Biosecurity Centre to meet the required level of funding specified in the National Audit Office's Improving the UK’s science capability for managing animal diseases Report in 2022.

Defra received the funding it requested in the current Spending Review to 2029-30 for the next stage of the National Biosecurity Centre, Weybridge Programme. Programme delivery is on track and in line with Government Project Delivery Functional Standards. Further funding in future Spending Reviews will be requested to secure operational delivery of the new facility by 2034.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact o changes to the Listed Places of Worship Scheme on the number of places of worship in England and Wales.

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is a £23m scheme that gives grants covering VAT on eligible works. We estimate that changes to the Scheme this year, including the introduction of a 25k cap on claims, affected around 6% of claims as most claims are under £5,000. The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the scheme on the number of places of worship in England and Wales. However, the Department has commissioned an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which will be published soon.

What steps she is taking to help address safety risks from the abandonment of e-bikes on pavements.

We understand that e-bikes parked obstructively on pavements are not just an inconvenience but a real safety risk, particularly for vulnerable pavement users. That is why the licensing regime for shared cycle schemes which we are bringing forward through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will create a legal requirement for shared e-cycle schemes to be licensed by local leaders and will include minimum standard conditions to ensure a national baseline of safety. This will provide local leaders with greater powers to combat street clutter and misuse of shared vehicles.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support animal rescue and rehoming centres.

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will launch a consultation on licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations. The consultation will include a consideration of the potential impacts on the sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, what she is taking to help support the enforcement of legislation on the compulsory microchipping of (a) cats and (b) dogs.

Local authorities and the police have powers to enforce breaches of the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023. It will be for each local authority and police force to determine on a case-by-case basis whether enforcement action is proportionate.

What steps he is taking to improve access to routine tissue freezing for brain cancer patients in a) Epping Forest and b) England for even access to advanced treatments, diagnostics and research.

Fresh-freezing, also referred to as snap-freezing, is a standard technique used by pathology networks to preserve tissue architecture without chemical fixatives, allowing for subsequent molecular or histological analysis, typically supporting research or advanced diagnostic applications.No recent assessment has been made on the adequacy, extent, or capacity of procedures for freezing brain cancer and general cancer tissue samples across National Health Service trusts in Epping Forest or England.It is important that everyone, regardless of where they live, can access the latest innovations in the health and care system through research. The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year in research through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR’s investments for capital equipment, technology, and modular buildings support NHS trusts across England to deliver high-quality research to improve the health of the population. This investment includes cutting edge research equipment and fixed assets such as ultra-low and cryogenic freezers, to strengthen research capacity and improve access to samples for research.The Department is exploring options to expand brain tissue freezing capacity.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of UK weather patterns on crop production in 2025.

We publish annual harvest estimates. Provisional estimates of cereal and oilseed rape production covering the 2025 harvest in England were published on 9 October 2025: Cereal and oilseed rape production - GOV.UK. Initial good weather meant that the 2025 harvest progressed quickly, with many growers finishing ahead of a typical year. However, in September, wet weather hindered the ability to harvest remaining crops towards the end of the season, resulting in a mixed picture across the country with considerable variability in yield between regions.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help stop wildfires setting homes on fire.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) works closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), fire and rescue services and local resilience partners to strengthen preparedness and improve response to wildfires. Since 2024, the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that the planning system should take full account of the full range of potential climate change impacts, and that it should shape places in ways that improve resilience and minimise vulnerability. Such impacts can include wildfires. It requires local plan policies to support appropriate measures to ensure the resilience of communities and infrastructure to climate change impacts, such as providing space for physical protection measures. The National Design Guide and National Model Design Code emphasise the importance of design in response to environmental change and challenges. It provides guidance for well-designed places that address climate change mitigation and resilience. The department intends to publish updates to the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code in due course, and we are considering the inclusion of further guidance on wildfire risk. We continue to work closely with partners across government, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the fire sector, and with wider stakeholders to identify policy options for addressing wildfire risk at the national level.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has had discussions with the National Fire Chiefs Council on the potential risk of wildfires crossing into urban areas.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) works closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) on the full range of wildfire risks to strengthen preparedness and improve response, including potential impacts on urban areas. We also continue to work closely with partners across government, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and wider stakeholders, to identify policy options for addressing wildfire risk at the national level. Since 2024, the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to (a) prevent and (b) reduce the risk of building fires caused by batteries from (i) ebikes and (ii) escooters.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is working closely with representatives and officials from across Government to build an evidence base, share intelligence and develop mitigations to tackle the fire risks linked to lithium-ion batteries, e-bikes and e-scooters. A key element of this work is raising public awareness of safe use, storage and charging of e-bikes and e-scooters within residential buildings. MHCLG has developed educational resources in partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council and local Fire and Rescue Services, as part of its national Fire Kills campaign.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with South East Water on water supply following issues at a treatment works on Saturday 29 November 2025.

The Defra Secretary of State and Minister for Floods and Water have had frequent discussions with South East Water’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since 29 November. This includes direct phone calls with the CEO by the Secretary of State and Minister for Floods and Water. The Minister for Floods and Water has also chaired three meetings which have been attended by South East Water’s CEO as well as senior leaders from the Local Councils and the Drinking Water Inspectorate. Defra officials have held numerous discussions with South East Water CEO and officials, including direct calls with the CEO. They have also participated in Tactical Coordination Groups and Strategic Coordination Groups held by the Kent Local Resilience Forum. These have been attended by South East Water. Officials from the Drinking Water Inspectorate have also engaged with the company as part of their full investigation into the incident. Further details of which can be found online. Ministers and Officials will continue to engage extensively with South East Water on this incident until it is resolved.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to put in contingencies in areas that have sudden water outages.

Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a supply of wholesome water under the Water Industry Act 1991 and associated water quality regulations. Additionally, the Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. Water companies are also Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and have statutory duties to plan for emergencies. As Category Two Responders water companies are members of their Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) and work in partnership to understand risk and develop contingencies such as response plans. Defra has a work programme of strategy, policy, research, operational and regulatory enforcement activity dedicated to improving the resilience of the water sector. This includes the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) who regulate water company performance against SEMD requirements. They have a range of tools to hold companies to account, including serving companies with enforcement orders. Most sudden water outages are managed at a local level by the affected water company in conjunction with other LRF members as appropriate. However, where the scale or complexity of an incident demands central government co-ordination or support, Defra will provide this to facilitate all relevant parties to work together effectively. The Independent Water Commission made several recommendations on increasing resilience across the water sector and on strengthening the enforcement powers available to the regulator for SEMD. The Government is preparing to respond to these recommendations and our White Paper will set out more detail on our approach.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the effectiveness of the ban on disposable vapes on the outbreak of fires.

Selling single-use vapes has been banned since 1st June 2025 due to the harm that they cause to the environment, with over 5 million of these products being thrown away each week in 2023. This will help to prevent the environmental harms caused by vapes, including the risk of fires. We will continue to monitor the impact and remain engaged with industry to ensure that they have the desired positive environmental impact and will not hesitate to act further to tackle the environmental impact of vapes if needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the management of Avian Influenza outbreaks in a) Norfolk and b) the UK.

Following the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry and other captive birds in the UK, Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) together with the Devolved Governments and their delivery agencies have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery. Avian Influenza Prevention Zones (AIPZs) mandating enhanced biosecurity are currently in force across the UK. These apply to all bird keepers whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock. Additional national housing measures are also in force across the whole of England, Wales and Northern Ireland to mitigate the risk of further outbreaks of the disease. To control and manage outbreaks in Norfolk, APHA has put in place additional biosecurity measures in disease control zones surrounding infected premises. These controls include mandatory housing for all poultry and captive birds which are located in the 3km Protection Zone surrounding an infected premises. Bird keepers can check where disease control zones are in force on our interactive map.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Boost to mental health services from thousands of extra staff, published on 27 June 2025, how the recruitment of 6,700 mental health staff in the most recent year compares with the number recruited in each of the previous five years.

NHS England publishes monthly data on the National Health Service Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) workforce in England. This includes data on the NHS mental health workforce employed by NHS provider trusts and integrated care boards.Within the NHS Monthly Workforce Statistics series, data on the mental health workforce is included in the file titled “Preliminary – NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations – data tables, September 2025”. The file is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/august-2025Tab 21 within the file contains information on the mental health workforce broken down by staff groups, NHS England region, and care setting or specialty, including a monthly time series from January 2024 onwards and earlier annual figures for each September.Further data on the mental health workforce is included in the file titled “HCHS Mental Health Workforce in NHS Trusts and core orgs June 2025”. The file is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/june-2025This file provides quarterly FTE data from 30 September 2009 to 30 June 2025.

What assessment his Department has made on the development of large-scale solar farms.

Ground mount solar is one of the cheapest and fastest technologies to deploy, and will be crucial if we are to achieve our mission to deliver clean power by 2030. The Clean Power Action Plan calls for 45-47GW of solar capacity in 2030, up from around 20GW today. Decisions over the sizing of projects are left to developers. However, we expect large-scale solar farms to provide a substantial portion of the extra capacity needed by 2030, alongside rooftop solar.

What discussions her Department has had with the Mayor of London regarding graffiti on the Central Line.

Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London (TfL) on a variety of issues. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL has responsibility for the management of the Central Line.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support available for victims of prisoners mistakenly released from prison.

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of a specified violent, sexual or terrorism offence and are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. Victims who decide to receive the service are allocated a Victim Liaison Officer who will keep the victim updated on key stages throughout the sentence, including if the offender is released from prison in error and when the offender is returned to custody.Whilst the Victim Contact Scheme is not a support service, Victim Liaison Officers are responsible for directing and referring victims to sources of additional support where this is appropriate, including national and location victim support services. Under the Victims’ Code, all victims are entitled to be given information about and be referred to victim support services by the police to help them cope and recover from the impact of a crime.Through the Victims and Courts Bill, we will be updating the legislative framework that establishes the Victim Contact Scheme to bring victims currently served by different post-conviction communication schemes into the Victim Contact Scheme and provide a new route for other victims to request information via a dedicated helpline.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of offshore wind on marine life.

The National Policy Statements for energy set out that each offshore wind planning application must satisfy a number of grounds before it can go ahead. These include how the developer is avoiding, mitigating and compensating for impacts on the natural environment, as well as how any mitigation and compensation will be delivered. Information on individual planning applications can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. The Government has committed to delivering the Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package, which will help accelerate offshore wind delivery while continuing to protect the marine environment.

What steps she has taken to support the enforcement of legislation to tackle the illicit use of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide was controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in November 2023.The government has not provided specific support to the police for the enforcement of this legislation. There were 2,564 seizures of nitrous oxide by police and Border Force in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024. This is an increase of 237% upon the previous year’s figure (761). Police forces accounted for almost all nitrous oxide seizures (2,552).Further information about this data is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2024The most recent data about drug misuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, showed that 0.9% of those aged 16-59 in England and Wales used nitrous oxide in the year ending 31 March 2024, a reduction from 1.3% in the previous year. This is equivalent to a reduction from 419,000 to 311,000 users and the lowest figure since this data was first collected in the year ending March 2013.Further information about this data is available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/drugmisuseinenglandandwalesyearendingmarch2024.