Every parliamentary written question tabled by Tim Farron this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 221–235 of 235 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to establish a Tenant Farming Commissioner.
This Government is committed to a resilient and thriving farming sector in which all farmers, including tenant farmers, are supported to deliver our food security and environmental goals. The Government is considering the role of a Commissioner for the Te...
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take legislative steps to end the practice of operator self-monitoring, in the context of recent trends in the level of river pollution discharges.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill will introduce a requirement for water companies to publish information on discharges from emergency overflows in near real-time (within an hour of a discharge occurring). This requirement will be in addition to the duty ...
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will issue a revised strategic policy statement to OFWAT on its regulation of water companies.
The Government and regulators work together to drive improvements that benefit both customers and the environment and hold water companies to account where necessary through strong enforcement action. We have set clear expectations of the sector, includin...
Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department have worked on teams covering (a) water companies and (b) sewage in each of the last five financial years.
The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) dog and (b) cat places were licensed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency for quarantine in each year since 2014.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency only holds information on the number of quarantine kennels (QKs) that have been approved from 2017. The table below details the number of approved premises for each year: 20172018201920202021202220232024Number of QKs app...
Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's statutory guidance entitled Dog kennel boarding licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities, updated on 1 June 2024, how many licensed kennel
Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 there are no statutory requirements for local authorities to provide Defra with information on the number of licensed businesses who do not meet minimum requir...
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the animal welfare provision and conditions within the Animal and Plant Health Agency licensed quarantine kennel and cattery facilities.
The Government is committed to preserving high animal welfare and biosecurity standards. Authorised quarantine premises are approved and regularly inspected by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to ensure they meet the standards specified in the co...
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of places available for dogs and cats at Animal and Plant Health Agency licensed quarantine kennel and cattery faciliti
The number of quarantine kennels and cattery facilities is kept under constant review to ensure there is sufficient quarantine provision to preserve our high animal health and biosecurity standards.
Food and Rural Affairs, what the inspection regime is for premises licensed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency to operate as quarantine facilities.
Quarantine kennels are subject to annual authorisation by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) for the first two years of establishment approval and authorisation every two years thereafter. Before granting a quarantine kennel licence, APHA inspects ...
Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on how frequently the Environment Agency reviews environmental permits issued to sewerage undertakers under the Environment Permitting (England an
The Environment Agency (EA) periodically reviews environmental permits issued to sewerage undertakers under the Environment Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 to ensure they remain effective and fit for purpose. There is no set frequency for ...
Food and Rural Affairs, whether all existing environmental permits issued to sewerage undertakers under the Environment Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 require those companies to fulfil their
Yes, all environmental permits issued to sewerage undertakers under the Environment Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 require companies to fulfil their legal obligations regarding both the treatment and disposal of sewage. These permits set ...
Food and Rural Affairs, when a water company licence was last revoked; and how many water company licences have been revoked.
Ofwat as the independent regulator monitors the performance of water companies and adherence to the conditions of company licences. Ofwat cannot unilaterally revoke an undertaker's licence but is able to replace an existing undertaker in certain scenarios...
Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Advice on lead paint in older homes, published on 1 April 2013 and withdrawn on 26 April 2024, for what reason it was withdrawn
The referenced publication was removed as it was out-of-date.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to establish a Tenant Farming Commissioner for England.
This Government will introduce a new deal for farmers, including tenant farmers, to boost rural economic growth and strengthen Britain's food security. Defra recognises the importance of agricultural tenancies as a key route into farming for new entrants ...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support farmers with reduced subsidy income to transition into diversification schemes.
For this Government, food security is national security, requiring a resilient and healthy food system that works with nature and supports British Farmers. The Government is supporting farmers in this through a range of measures. This includes capital grants, designed to help farmers and land managers cover the cost of items that deliver specific environmental benefits. The Government is also supporting farmers through Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELM) schemes, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). As part of the rollout of the SFI offer in 2024, we have been accepting expressions of interest and the first SFI agreements for 2024 are now live. The Government will not be redesigning ELM schemes from scratch. Record numbers of farmers are now in an ELM scheme, and the Government wants to maintain the momentum that built over recent months. Therefore, the Government will optimise them in an orderly way, over time. The Government will work with the sector to make sure schemes produce the right outcomes for all farmers, including small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms, supporting food security and nature’s recovery in a just and equitable way. More broadly, the Government will support farmers with a new deal to boost rural economic growth and strengthen Britain's food security. This new deal will include the Government’s plans to tackle rising energy costs, the biggest challenge to food production, cutting farmers’ bills by introducing a public sector sustainable energy company - GB Energy. The Government will also use its own purchasing power to back British produce. The Government has an ambition to be able to supply half of all food into the public sector from local British producers or certified to higher environmental standards, whilst being in line with WTO and domestic procurement obligations. This Government will also protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals. It will cut red tape to get farm exports moving more effectively, and reduce the UK’s reliance on foreign imports, ensuring that seasonal, sustainable, healthy British food is on tables across the country.