Written questions by Farron.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the number of people leaving the agricultural sector.

Defra produces statistical estimates of the number of people working on commercial [see a below] agricultural holdings in England. Defra does not monitor the numbers leaving and entering the sector separately, therefore estimates show the net change in the workforce. Estimates in the table below show a decrease of 1.9% in the agricultural workforce in England between June 2024 and 2025. Agricultural workforce in England at 1 June: 202320242025% change 2025/2024Total people working on commercial agricultural holdings292,401284,797279,493-1.9% Notes(a) Commercial holdings are those registered with the Rural Payments Agency for payments or livestock purposes and with significant levels of farming activity. Full data series for England and the UK are published here:Agricultural workforce in England at 1 June - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Agricultural Workforce in the United Kingdom at 1 June - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the Department's budget is allocated to work on flood defences and mitigation.

Delivering on the Plan for Change, this government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, protecting communities from the devastating impacts of climate change. The proportion of Defra Group’s total budget allocated to Floods in 2025/26 is 20%. This remains the second largest area of the Defra Group budget.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of expanding flooding support eligibility for farmers.

The Government is funding environmental land management (ELM) schemes, which include measures to support farmers with managing flood risks or investing in natural flood management. The Government has committed to investing £11.8 billion in the farming budget over the course of this Parliament, with funding for ELM increasing from £800 million in 2023/24 to £2 billion by 2028/29. Data on the uptake and spend on individual actions in these schemes is regularly published and available at: Agri-environment scheme uptake data - GOV.UK

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the flooding risk to farms; and what percentage of farms are at high flood risk.

Our new national flood risk assessment (NaFRA) shows that of the 85,000 square kilometres of agricultural land in England, over 11,000 square kilometres is in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and sea.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of water infrastructure investment in each of the last five years.

There has been historic underinvestment in the water industry. Investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population, and climate change. We have already announced that we will create a powerful new regulator – abolishing Ofwat and bringing together the relevant functions from the other existing regulators (the DWI, Environment Agency and Natural England) into one new body. This will ensure better join-up between infrastructure planning, investment, and delivery. These reforms will build on the step change in investment that will be delivered through Price Review 2024, which will see a £104 billion upgrade in the water sector. This investment will accelerate improvements in infrastructure to meet the challenges of the future, secure our water supply, and to meet new environmental requirements.

Food and Rural Affairs, which areas in the following zones her Department assesses may delay compliance with the nitrogen dioxide annual limit value beyond 2024 and until when in (i) West Midlands Urban Area; (ii) Greater Manchester Urban Area; (iii) Liverpool Urban Area; (iv) Bristol Urban Area; and (v) Coventry/Bedworth.

The results of the UK’s air quality assessment for 2024 are published online on the UK-Air website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/). Projections of future compliance for locations in exceedance of the nitrogen dioxide annual mean limit value in 2024 are being developed as part of updates to the national model.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department provides guidance on whether premises are permitted to emit visible smoke in England.

We provide guidance for local authorities on enforcement of SCAs - Smoke control area enforcement by local authorities in England and to the public to help them understand the requirements within SCAs – Smoke control areas: the rules.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Clean Air Act 1956, the Clean Air Act 1968 and the Clean Air Act 1993.

The Clean Air Act is kept under continuous review to ensure it remains fit for purpose. A number of amendments have been made since its introduction in 1956. The most recent changes were introduced under the Environment Act 2021, which included the strengthening of existing enforcement powers for local authorities in smoke control areas and the introduction of new legally binding targets for fine particulate matter.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the largest environmental risks are to public health in the UK.

There are a number of environmental risks to public health in the UK, including air pollution, noise pollution, climate change and extreme weather, emerging chemical and biological risks and water quality.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Domestic Solid Fuel Regulations 2020.

In November 2025, we published the Post Implementation Review of the Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020, which assesses the effectiveness of the Regulations. Data suggest that the Regulations have led to consumers moving from more polluting fuels to less polluting fuels. The review concluded that this has led to a reduction in emissions of PM2.5 and SO2 with environmental and public health benefits.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether any hotspots in zones other than the five zones identified in the Compliance Assessment Summary 2024 exceeded the nitrogen dioxide annual limit value in calendar 2024.

The localised hotspots identified through Defra’s national modelling and monitoring networks are published annually on UK Air (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/) as part of the national compliance assessment under the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010. Localised hotspots that have been identified by local authority-owned monitoring are published in their respective annual status reports.

Food and Rural Affairs, How many people in each of the following regions are expected to be exposed to concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exceeding each of (a) 5 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3), (b) 6 ug/m3 and (c) 7 ug/m3 or more in 2030: (a) East Midlands, (b) East of England, (c) Greater London, (d) North East, (e) North West, (f) South East, (g) South West, (h) West Midlands, (i) Yorkshire and the Humber and (j) England.

Defra does not publish air quality data in the form requested. The recently published Environmental Improvement Plan set out a target to reduce average exposure to PM2.5 in England by 30% by 2030 compared to the 2018 value. The emphasis of this approach is to continue reducing exposure across the whole of England.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 39815 on Nitrogen Dioxide: Pollution Control, which of the exceedances mentioned complied with the annual limit for nitrogen dioxide in 2024.

The results of the UK’s air quality assessment for 2024 are published online on the UK-Air website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/). Local authorities are expected to publish the data from their locally managed nitrogen dioxide measurement networks on their websites.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 45555 on Nitrogen Dioxide: Pollution Control, which road links within 10 miles of Heathrow airport exceeded 20 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024.

The results of the UK’s air quality assessment for 2024 are published online on the UK-Air website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/). Local authorities are expected to publish the data from their locally managed nitrogen dioxide measurement networks on their websites.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the difference is in legal duties and obligations between limit values under the Air Quality Standards Regulations and air quality targets for PM2.5 concentrations set in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025.

The Air Quality Standards Regulations (AQSR) 2010 establish legally binding standards across the UK, for numerous air pollutants, including PM2.5. The AQSR limit value for PM2.5 concentrations is 20 micrograms per cubic meter in England and responsibility for meeting the target lies with the Secretary of State. Targets established through the Environment Act 2021 (The Environmental Targets (Fine Particulate Matter) (England) Regulations 2023) set legally binding targets of annual mean concentration of 10 micrograms per cubic meter or lower by 2040, and a 35% reduction in population exposure by 2040 (compared to 2018 levels). These apply to England only and responsibility for meeting the targets lies with the Secretary of State. The Environmental Improvement Plan also sets out non-legally binding interim targets. Some AQSR standards are mirrored in the Local Air Quality Management framework. This is not the case for the Environment Act 2021 targets, although local authorities are required through the Air Quality Strategy to contribute to targets being met.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91935 on Air Pollution: International Cooperation, whether she is seeking to agree (a) reductions or (b) increases for each of the national emission reduction commitments (ceilings) listed in Annex IX of the Gothenburg Protocol.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland continues to engage with other Parties to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Convention on Long‑Range Transboundary Air Pollution on the ongoing revision of the 2012 amended Gothenburg Protocol, including obligations regarding ammonia emissions. The United Kingdom is committed to supporting effective action on transboundary air pollution across the region, while ensuring the Protocol is fit for the future and can be ratified and implemented by more Parties to the Convention.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91935, what she is seeking to achieve from revisions to the Gothenburg Protocol including Annex IX.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland continues to engage with other Parties to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Convention on Long‑Range Transboundary Air Pollution on the ongoing revision of the 2012 amended Gothenburg Protocol, including obligations regarding ammonia emissions. The United Kingdom is committed to supporting effective action on transboundary air pollution across the region, while ensuring the Protocol is fit for the future and can be ratified and implemented by more Parties to the Convention.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether Commitment 19 in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 should refer to emissions of oxides of nitrogen rather than nitrogen dioxide.

Commitment 19 of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP25) relates to The National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018 national reduction commitments for 2030 and should correctly be referenced as oxides of nitrogen.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2025 to UIN 66132, what progress she has made on further policies to tackle ammonia emissions to help reduce the risk to the 2030 target.

The UK is compliant with the UK’s statutory reduction target for ammonia emissions, which has applied since 2020. The latest projections show that further action is needed to meet the UK’s ammonia reduction for 2030.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to (a) revoke Environment Act 1995 Air Quality Directions and (b) introduce further directions to (i) achieve compliance with nitrogen dioxide limit values and (ii) avoid future exceedances.

Existing Directions under the Environment Act 1995 relating to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exceedances are revoked once the local authority area concerned has successfully demonstrated that compliance with legal limit levels for NO2 has been achieved, and that compliance will be maintained.