Written questions by Anderson.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase agricultural productivity.

The Government recognises the importance of innovation in supporting future farming productivity and profitability, to boost Britain’s food security and to improve nature’s recovery. Defra is continuing to support agricultural productivity through a range of policies. For example, we have already announced the ADOPT Fund which will launch in Spring 2025, enabling farmer-led trials to bridge the gap between new technologies and their real-world application. Legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 will be introduced in Parliament before the end of March. When in force, this will enable farmers to grow crops with higher yields and that are more resistant to drought, pests and diseases. Defra also works closely with the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH), a new professional body for the farming industry established in 2021. TIAH aims to remove the fragmentation that exists within current learning and skills landscape for farming and growing businesses enabling the industry to drive greater uptake of professional skills which will help support improvements in productivity.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce regulation for farmers.

Farm regulation provides important protections for the environment, habitats, animals, and public health. For example, it is helping reduce animal disease risk from BtB, avian flu and Foot and Mouth amongst others as we speak, this maintains confidence in our farm produce in both international and domestic markets as well as protecting the profitability of farmers. If regulation is working well, it should provide clear and fair expectations, allowing farmers to operate their businesses with confidence. However, this is not the case currently with all farm regulation that has been left over to the new Government. This is why I have asked Defra to review farm regulation, focussing on how it can be more coherent, less time consuming and easier to understand for farmers under this new Government. I have also asked all Defra regulators how they are supporting growth.

What fiscal steps she is taking to help grow the rural economy.

Kick starting economic growth, including in rural areas, is the number one mission of this Government so we can put more money in people’s pockets. A prosperous rural economy will be underpinned by improvements to rural connectivity and productivity, access to public services and a thriving farming sector.To this end, we are restoring stability and investment in our public services as the best way to support economic growth across the country, including in rural areas. We confirmed investment of over £500 million this year to continue to deliver Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network to drive rollout of broadband and 4G connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK. We confirmed over £650 million of funding for local transport beyond our City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, in 2025-26, to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas.We have also committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years – which includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.

Media and Sport, what fiscal steps she is taking to help develop tourism in rural areas.

The Government recognises the importance of tourism to rural constituencies, including its contribution to economic growth and pride in place of an area.DCMS, through VisitEngland, has accredited 35 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) so far; which aim to drive investment and spend across the regions - including in rural and coastal areas. In November 2024, Telford and Shropshire became an accredited LVEP and continues to provide strong local leadership and governance.We understand a high proportion of businesses in tourism and hospitality are micro and small businesses. In the October Budget the Government announced a new, permanent 40% business rate relief for retail, hospitality, and leisure. We will also continue the UK Shared Prosperity Fund at a reduced level for a further year by providing £900million for local authorities. This transitional arrangement will allow local authorities to invest in local growth.DCMS continues to work with VisitBritain/VisitEngland to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience. VisitBritain’s new GREAT-funded international marketing campaign, ‘Starring GREAT Britain’, uses the hook of Britain’s rich film and television history to encourage more international visitors to explore across Britain, including many rural destinations.

If she will take steps to increase funding for rural schools.

Through the dedicated schools grant, the department is increasing funding for mainstream schools to £48.7 billion in 2025/26. This is an increase of 2.15% per pupil in 2025/26, compared to 2024/25. The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes funding for mainstream schools based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. The NFF recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve. As such, small and remote schools can attract additional funding through the sparsity factor. In 2025/26, the department is allocating £100 million in respect of small and rural schools through the sparsity factor. The department will take the time needed to consider changes to various funding formulae going forward, ensuring that we get any changes right, and recognising the importance of establishing a fair funding system that directs funding to where it is needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) mitigate the impact of and (b) reduce the quantity of microplastics released into the environment by domestic washing machines.

The Government is concerned about the risks microplastics in our water environment may pose to public health and to the environment. Regulations for products and appliances are covered by the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010 and are routinely reviewed by the Government, and previous collaborative work with the water industry found that microplastics from clothing and textiles make up a small proportion (around 1%) of the total microplastics found within wastewater treatment works. There is no work planned to amend the relevant regulation for this product at the present time. Defra is continuing to work with water companies to investigate microplastics detected during wastewater treatment and their potential to enter the receiving aquatic environment.

Whether funding to establish youth hubs will be distributed on a revenue basis.

Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes, supporting crime prevention and enabling young people to thrive.We will make use of existing structures and build upon the successes of existing provision, from physical buildings to local partnership working, and existing workforces. By having a more cohesive and integrated approach, with strategic centre points co-ordinating activity, we will reach more young people.Officials from across a range of departments are working together, using evidence of what works, to start to shape how the Young Futures Hubs will work in practice. To roll out Young Futures Hubs, the department will establish a number of early adopter hubs. These hubs and work in local areas will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs.

What steps he is taking to improve the energy efficiency of homes in rural areas.

The Government has committed £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. This includes £500 million of funding towards our new Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) which will provide support for low-income households living in privately owned EPC band D-G homes both on and off the gas grid in England. The WH:LG will be delivered from 2025 to 2028 by eligible local authorities. Rural homes are also supported through current energy efficiency schemes including the Energy Company Obligation and Home Upgrade Grant.

What steps he is taking to help tackle barriers to export for small businesses.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is committed to supporting small businesses grow and export. UK businesses can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers. DBT is also piloting an enhanced partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority, taking a targeted place-based approach to accelerate small business growth through exporting across the region. This will be rolled out to other regions across England over the next 12 months. We will bring forward further measures in due course.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to allocate additional funding towards projects that improve mobile connectivity in (a) rural and (b) hard to reach areas.

We are working with telecoms companies to reduce poor mobile signal in rural areas. The Shared Rural Network is already delivering new 4G coverage to places where there is either limited or no 4G coverage at all. There are currently no plans to allocate additional funding beyond this. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and we are working with the industry to deliver this. We are driving the adoption of standalone 5G across key sectors through our £36m 5G Innovation Regions programme.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase funding available to national landscape teams.

This Government is committed to empowering Protected Landscapes to become greener, wilder, and more accessible to all. We understand the uncertainty around resourcing remains a challenge for National Landscapes teams. Defra business planning is ongoing, and we will communicate the outcomes of this as soon as possible.

What steps he is taking to ensure that veterans in rural areas have access to mental health support services.

NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, the integrated mental health and wellbeing service for veterans. Veterans can self-refer to Op COURAGE. The service has been designed to support veterans from all areas, including rural areas, and is delivered from a range of locations, including National Health Service trusts, general practices, Poppy Shops, veteran hubs, and drop-in centres. Elements of the service may also be provided online if this is clinically appropriate.As set out in the NHS Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance for 2024/25, NHS England is continuing to expand access to mental health services to increase the number of people accessing mental health support. Integrated care boards are responsible for providing health and care services to meet the needs of their local populations, taking into account local considerations such as access to services in rural areas. The Government recognises that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services are too long. The Government is determined to change that, and ensure that mental health has the same focus as physical health, to help people in rural areas to access high quality mental health support when they need it.In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call 111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. NHS staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or a hospital admission.

What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the adequacy of support available for farmers and food producers.

HMT Ministers have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment Food, and Rural Affairs. Food security is national security and our commitment to farmers is steadfast. That is why, despite the fiscal constraints, we have prioritised £5 billion for the farming budget over the next two years. This includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history, and £60m to support farmers with the impacts of extreme wet weather. At the Oxford Farming Conference, the Secretary of State set out the government’s long-term vision to make farming more profitable and put more money in the pockets of British farmers. This includes a set of reforms such as using the government’s purchasing power to buy British Food, planning reforms to speed up the delivery of farm buildings and other infrastructure which supports food production, and work to ensure supply chain fairness.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the use of artificial intelligence in farming and agriculture.

AI is a general-purpose technology, with a wide array of applications. The government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will make the most of this transformative technology by laying the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability at the frontier.The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology engages regularly across government departments, including the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, to understand how they are considering AI-related policy opportunities within their remit.In addition, Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme supports AI adoption across four sectors, of which agriculture is one.

What steps she is taking to tackle modern slavery in illegal hand carwashes.

The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery across all sectors, including hand car washes.The Responsible Car Wash Scheme, partly funded by the Home Office, sought to enhance compliance, and investigate non-compliance in the car wash sector. As part of the scheme, a Car Wash Code of Practice was developed in collaboration with the sector to test the effectiveness of different interventions in raising standards.As the scheme has concluded, the Government is assessing these evaluations to understand how both to bolster compliance, and support sector-led initiatives. The Government and enforcement bodies, such as the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, continue to support industry initiatives aimed at improving standards, while also cracking down on individual carwash operators employing and exploiting illegal workers.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department will continue to support the Rural Housing Enablers Scheme.

The Government is committed to funding the Rural Housing Enabler programme until 31 March 2025. It is also providing over £5 billion total housing investment in 2025-26 to boost the supply of new housing, including in rural areas. This includes a £500 million top up to the Affordable Homes Programme. Funding allocations for individual programmes for the next financial year will be determined in upcoming months through the department’s business planning exercise and announced in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent hand carwash operators from disposing of chemicals illegally down public storm drains.

It is the responsibility of hand car wash businesses to ensure that they are not polluting the environment as a result of their activities. This is set out in guidance on Gov.uk. Chemicals in car wash products may become classed as waste (including containers with residual chemicals in them). A site operator will need to establish if this is the case and ensure that Hazardous Waste Regulations are followed in respect of correct disposal. For discharges to water and sewerage company networks, a site operator may need to apply for a trade effluent consent from the water and sewerage company. If a discharge is to surface water drain/sewer, or the ground, a permit under Environmental Permitting Regulations may be required. If a hand car wash business were to cause an environmental incident, the Environment Agency would respond to the incident as it would any other environmental incident. The Environment Agency responds to substantiated reports of environmental incidents and will take appropriate action under the enforcement and sanctions policy dependent on the nature and severity of any offence. The Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy can be found on Gov.uk.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage community ownership of locally valued assets at risk.

On 23 December 2024, this government announced the outcome of the Community Ownership Fund Round 4, and awarded £36.2 million to 85 projects across the UK. This represents the largest ever window of the Fund to date, both in terms of funding awarded and number of projects.The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment to communities and there will be further announcements relating to communities this year, including on the community ownership of assets.

If he will make the Responsible Car Wash Scheme’s Code of Practice mandatory.

The Department of Business and Trade does not currently have any plans to make the Responsible Car Wash Scheme’s Code of Practice mandatory. I also refer the member for South Shropshire to the answer I provided to UIN 21371 on 9 January for further information.

How many new teachers will be delivered in (a) South Shropshire and (b) other rural areas.

Delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools, and high-quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education.There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England but numbers have not kept pace with demand. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament. This will help ensure that children in South Shropshire and all other areas of the country, including rural areas, have the expert qualified teachers they need in order to achieve and thrive.