Topical Questions

2026-06-04

TAGS
Response quality

Questions & Answers

Q1 Partial Answer
Phil Brickell Lab
Bolton West
Context
The MP is a passionate kayaker and believes in the benefits of water-based activities. He mentions that England and Wales have restrictive rights of access, with less than 4% of inland waterways having uncontested public right of navigation.
The Secretary of State may know that I am a passionate white water kayaker and a firm believer in the healing power of time spent in, on and around water. England and Wales have some of the most restrictive rights of access anywhere in the world; less than 4% of inland waterways have an uncontested public right of navigation. Can the Secretary of State say a bit more about when her Department will bring forward the Green Paper on access to nature?
I was aware of my hon. Friend's love of kayaking. I am not a kayaker, but I am passionate about improving people's access to nature. Earlier this year I was with the King when we opened the King Charles III coastal path, and last month we launched the first national river walk. As my hon. Friend says, we are also committed to publishing an access to nature Green Paper soon.
Assessment & feedback
The Secretary of State did not provide a specific date or timeline for when the Green Paper will be published.
Under Review
Response accuracy
Q2 Partial Answer
Victoria Atkins Con
Louth and Horncastle
Context
The new sustainable farming incentive scheme is set to start at the end of this month.
May I, too, wish Sir David Attenborough a belated happy 100th birthday and congratulate Hawkstone Farmers' Choir on winning “Britain's Got Talent”? They are both best in show. After a year of dither, delay and record farm closures, the new sustainable farming incentive scheme will finally start at the end of this month. How much money has the Secretary of State budgeted for the June and September phases of her scheme?
We will make that clear at the time of opening.
Assessment & feedback
The Secretary of State did not provide a specific budget amount for the June and September phases of the scheme.
Too Early To Say
Response accuracy
Q3 Partial Answer
Victoria Atkins Con
Louth and Horncastle
Context
The Secretary of State could not provide a specific budget for the sustainable farming incentive scheme.
Sorry—the Government have just published the documentation for a scheme that starts in the three weeks' time, but the Secretary of State cannot tell us how much of her budget is being spent on it. Then again, we know that Labour is the party of “Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?” From the family farm and the family business taxes to the fertiliser tax, business rates and national insurance hikes, why should hard-working farmers, pub landlords, rural businesses and communities be pushed to the brink to pay for Labour's ballooning benefits bill?
I will take no lectures from the right hon. Lady, given that the Conservatives could not even be bothered to spend their own farming budget. We have a record farming budget during this Parliament, and we have protected our farmers in trade deals, whereas they sold them down the river with their trade deals with New Zealand and Australia. We have simplified the SFI, in co-operation with the National Farmers Union, and farmers have welcomed that.
Assessment & feedback
The Secretary of State did not address why hard-working individuals should support Labour's policies but instead criticized the Conservatives' budget management.
Changing Subject
Response accuracy
Q4 Partial Answer
Graeme Downie Lab
Dunfermline and Dollar
Context
Farmers in the constituency are concerned about tariff suspensions and their impact on domestic production.
Farmers in my constituency are concerned about tariff suspensions and the Government's need to strike a balance between quite rightly reducing costs, and protecting and actively encouraging domestic production capacity. What discussions is the Minister having with Treasury Ministers about the principles and direction of travel of future tariff suspensions to ensure that domestic production is not harmed, but is in fact encouraged?
I think “robust” would probably be my summary. To help with the pressure on food prices, we are planning to cut tariffs on over 100 everyday food products such as olive oil, biscuits and chocolate, saving consumers more than a £150 million a year. We have ensured that the items selected for tariff suspension have little to no production in the UK, so protecting and securing our vital domestic production.
Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not provide specific details on discussions with Treasury Ministers but instead provided an overview of planned tariff cuts.
Under Review
Response accuracy
Q5 Partial Answer
Noah Law Lab
St Austell and Newquay
Context
The Government have announced a review of regulations that farmers face and brought the Groceries Code Adjudicator back in-house at DEFRA.
Even ahead of the global instability this spring, the Labour rural research group was calling for a spring push on farm profitability. Since then, our Government have announced a review of the regulation that farmers face and brought the Groceries Code Adjudicator back in-house at DEFRA to help level the playing field for British farmers. Can the Minister tell me what is next for our mission to get British farmers' operating profitability back to where it should be?
The farming and food partnership board is looking at profitability, and the sector growth plans for horticulture and poultry have already been announced. We have reduced red diesel duty, we will open the reformed SFI and will shortly publish our 25-year farming road map, our response to the Batters farming profitability review.
Assessment & feedback
The Minister provided an overview of planned initiatives but did not specify concrete actions for improving farm profitability directly.
Under Review
Response accuracy
Q6 Partial Answer
Iqbal Mohamed Ind
Dewsbury and Batley
Context
Yorkshire Water has dumped sewage for over 1,597 hours this year, exceeding the confirmed total sewage pollution for 2025. The Environment Agency has not completed any prosecutions against water companies.
In Dewsbury and Batley, Yorkshire Water has dumped sewage for more than 1,597 hours so far this year, exceeding the confirmed total sewage pollution for 2025. Yet the Environment Agency has not completed any prosecutions against water companies for sewage dumping committed in the past five years. What exactly in this system constitutes effective enforcement and accountability, and what are this Government doing right now to strengthen it?
The answer is a huge amount. The EA has carried out over 10,000 inspections of water company sites in 2025-26, compared with the 4,000 before Labour came to power, and we have provided a record £189 million to fund hundreds of enforcement officers, because this Government are actually taking action on this issue.
Assessment & feedback
The Minister did not directly address what constitutes effective enforcement but provided statistics on inspections and funding for enforcement officers.
Under Review
Response accuracy
Q7 Partial Answer
Kerry McCarthy Lab
Bristol East
Context
Cleaning up perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is costly for water companies and consumers. PFAS are known as 'forever chemicals' due to their persistent nature.
I am concerned about the costs of cleaning up forever chemicals, which run into huge amounts annually. Does the Minister agree that polluters should foot the bill for remediation? Can the “polluter pays” principle be included in the clean water Bill?
I am really proud that our country has world-leading drinking water quality—in fact, our PFAS standard of 0.1 micrograms per litre is among the tightest in the whole world. I completely accept the “polluter pays” principle, although that is quite challenging for PFAS because much of it is historical contamination. We are now working through that to make the principle work effectively in practice, while acknowledging that it is sometimes very difficult to identify the original source of PFAS.
Assessment & feedback
The specific inclusion of the 'polluter pays' principle in the clean water Bill was not addressed directly.
Response accuracy
Q8 Partial Answer
John Glen Con
Salisbury
Context
The UK agriculture sector is seeking autonomy to make scientific assessments in precision breeding and plant protection.
I want to ensure that the UK's right to diverge on the basis of its own scientific assessments is maintained. Can the Secretary of State give reassurance that this autonomy will be retained in future deals?
We are well aware of the concerns of the farming sector, and I can reassure the right hon. Gentleman that we are taking its very strong views and concerns into account. As I am sure he understands, I cannot give him a running commentary on the negotiations.
Assessment & feedback
Specific reassurances about retaining autonomy in future SPS deals were not provided.
Cannot Give A Running Commentary
Response accuracy
Q9 Direct Answer
Julie Minns Lab
Carlisle
Context
Illegally dumped waste costs the UK £1 billion annually. Permit return data and landfill tax returns are crucial for identifying fraudulent activity.
I am seeking assurance that the Joint Unit for Waste Crime can access both permit return data to the Environment Agency and landfill tax returns from HMRC, so that fraudulent activities can be identified more effectively. Will you meet me to discuss issues at the Hespin Wood landfill site?
I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend. She is right to draw attention to the loss to the Exchequer from landfill tax fraud and evasion. Our Joint Unit for Waste Crime is made up of EA and HMRC staff, as well as other arms of law enforcement, to ensure that all intelligence sources are tapped in to disrupt waste criminals. The waste crime action plan I mentioned earlier will see the unit strengthened by £45 million over the next three years: more boots on the ground and more drones in the air.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q10 Partial Answer
Munira Wilson Lib Dem
Twickenham
Context
The River Thames at Ham and Kingston is being designated as a bathing water area, but concerns have been raised about the proposed pumping of treated sewage.
Following the designation of the River Thames at Ham and Kingston as a bathing water area, does the Secretary of State think that Thames Water's proposals to pump treated sewage into the river downstream are compatible with this new status?
I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for her excitement at having the first ever bathing water designation in the city of London. There will obviously be extremely high standards when it comes to any waste water that comes from any treatment plant. One thing we are doing through the White Paper—in fact, I met Sir Chris Whitty yesterday—is to look really seriously at public health and waste water, and what we can do to ensure the highest possible standards so that it is safe for people to enjoy all designated bathing areas.
Assessment & feedback
Specific compatibility of sewage pumping with new designation was not addressed directly.
Response accuracy
Q11 Partial Answer
Perran Moon Lab
Camborne and Redruth
Context
The horticultural sector in Cornwall is heavily dependent on the Seasonal Workers Scheme, but numbers are only announced annually at the end of the year.
Given that over 80% of the world's cut daffodils come from Cornwall and the industry relies entirely on seasonal workers, can Ministers help me lobby the Home Office for a rolling two-year scheme to be announced no later than October each year?
I lobby the Home Office constantly on quite a lot of things; I will certainly make sure that daffodils are also taken into account.
Assessment & feedback
Concrete assistance in lobbying for timely seasonal worker numbers was not offered.
Response accuracy
Q12 Direct Answer
Gagan Mohindra Con
South West Hertfordshire
Context
Estimates suggest that 1,446 species in UK chalk streams could become extinct without conservation efforts.
Given the risk of extinction for many species dependent on chalk streams, can the Minister outline what steps the Department is taking to protect against biodiversity loss?
We have just announced our largest budget ever for species protection and restoration. We have lots of exciting plans to introduce and reintroduce iconic species, such as rare sea grasses and extinct snails.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q13 Direct Answer
Terry Jermy Lab
South West Norfolk
Context
The closure of a biomass-fuelled power station in the eastern region poses risks due to potential land spreading of over half a million tonnes of poultry litter.
Given that my hon. Friends' efforts to clean up waterways could be undermined by the planned closure of a biomass plant, and with more than 500,000 tonnes of poultry litter at risk of being spread on land, will my hon. Friend meet me to discuss how we can prevent this from happening?
We are working on successor schemes to the green gas scheme. It is imperative that that poultry litter is not spread on land and that an alternative is found. I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this topic.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy