It is a pleasure to see Philip Davies in the Chair and I congratulate Julian Sturdy on bringing this subject forward. The minister for farming, fisheries and food, Victoria Prentis, would have been responding but she is at the National Farmers Union conference. Everything that I do as Environment Minister is science-led; we gather data and assessment to ensure evidence-based policy-making. Food production matters in the UK's levelling-up agenda with 60% of our food supply need produced locally and nearly 100% self-sufficient for certain products like poultry, eggs, and swedes. Producing sustainable, healthy food is linked to a healthy environment; DEFRA's agricultural transition plan is informed by evidence from world-leading UK research institutes and stakeholders including NGOs. We invest in new research on land use and agricultural systems with £75 million allocated to R&D in DEFRA sectors announced in the net zero strategy. The £90 million UKRI-led transforming food production challenge fund supports innovation, such as a fruit-scouting robot and alternative feed usage. We are moving away from reliance on chemical pesticides and investing in sustainable farming incentive standards and net zero strategy development. Evidence plays a critical role in policy programmes' evaluation and monitoring; we also engage with academia and the science community for robust evidence-based policies. DEFRA funds innovative research on sustainable intensification and agrifood protection via core agrifood research programmes, acknowledging that regenerative approaches might be more suitable for biodiversity value areas. The UK must ensure a resilient and clean water supply for agriculture while maintaining long-term food security through healthy soil, water management, and biodiverse ecosystems. We are conducting data gathering and closely working with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology on natural capital and ecosystem assessments.