The Government is committed to encouraging the increased development, access and use of low risk biopesticides as a key component of Integrated Pest Management and the UK Pesticides National Action Plan.

The Government has agreed with the EU to establish a common food safety area by way of a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. Pesticides, including biopesticides, are in scope. The EU is also committed to encouraging development and use of biopesticides, as highlighted in their proposed Food and Feed safety simplification omnibus package. The agreement provides an opportunity to work closely with the EU to support faster access to biopesticides.

Improving access to low risk biopesticides for farmers, growers and other land managers is a priority for this Government – as set out in the UK Pesticides National Action Plan, published this year.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which regulates the approval, authorisation and use of biopesticides in the UK runs a biopesticide scheme to support companies seeking to market biopesticides in the UK. Support provided through the scheme includes dedicated HSE biopesticide champions, free pre-submission advice, and capped fees for biopesticide active substance approval.

In May this year the government set out its intention to establish a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) area with the EU, by way of an SPS Agreement. Pesticides regulations are in scope of the SPS agreement. As set out in the EU Vision for Agriculture and its recent SPS Omnibus Package Call for Evidence, the EU shares our aim to improve access to biopesticides. We welcome the EU’s review of regulatory barriers to innovation and, look forward to working collaboratively to deliver our shared aims.

Defra is funding the Biopesticides Innovation Research Network (BIRCH) led by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH).

This network will act as a focal point between researchers, industry, regulators and policy and will work to develop advice to support the registration and risk assessment of biopesticides. The network will engage with EU organisations and at the international level to share knowledge and encourage alignment between relevant groups and projects.

As our main arm’s length body for nature in England and in line with its statutory purpose, Natural England is keen to keep Parliament and Parliamentarians up to speed with its operations. Natural England makes its wealth of science, evidence and experience of delivery available to Parliament in a number of ways including regular contributions to Parliamentary Select Committee inquiries and Parliamentary groups such as APPGs as well as individual meetings with MPs, Peers and Parliamentary staff where that is appropriate and adds value.

The Guide to Handling Correspondence, sets out the guidance for Government departments and executive agencies to follow in responding to correspondence from members of Parliament. While it is not mandatory for correspondence from members of Parliament to be answered by Chief Executive Officers of non-departmental public bodies, correspondence responses should be high quality and answered within set timeframes.

The cross-Government Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE) Group is convening a workshop in August 2025, focused on the environmental impact of pet parasiticides.

This event will bring together representatives from across the companion animal sector to share knowledge and expertise on this issue. The primary objective of the workshop is to collaboratively develop and agree on consistent messaging for pet owners regarding the appropriate use of topical parasiticides for cats and dogs. A key focus will be on how this messaging can be effectively disseminated across different settings - with the aim to minimise potential environmental impacts.

The roadmap to address levels of fipronil or imidacloprid in UK waterways will be published imminently, subject to ministerial clearance and upon receipt of a grid slot.

The Government is taking a joined-up approach to enhancing resilience to wildfires. Improvements are being driven in wildfire data collection through the introduction of the new Fire and Rescue Data Platform – a new incident reporting tool used by Fire and Rescue Services. This will introduce a formal definition for ‘wildfire’ for the purpose of fire incident reporting, which will enable Government to collect official data on the number of incidents and publish official statistics. These improvements will allow us to track data trends, the concentration of wildfire events and provide a solid evidence base for future wildfire policy and operational planning.

Prior to the transfer of fire functions to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Home Office convened a number of stakeholder workshops with the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), its agencies, and other stakeholders to identify policy options for addressing wildfire risk. This included a workshop, led by Defra, on land management issues. The outcomes of this work are currently being considered.

Officials continue to engage actively with landowners, land managers and wildfire specialists through established forums including the England and Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF).

The Government is taking a joined-up approach to enhancing resilience to wildfires. Improvements are being driven in wildfire data collection through the introduction of the new Fire and Rescue Data Platform – a new incident reporting tool used by Fire and Rescue Services. This will introduce a formal definition for ‘wildfire’ for the purpose of fire incident reporting, which will enable Government to collect official data on the number of incidents and publish official statistics. These improvements will allow us to track data trends, the concentration of wildfire events and provide a solid evidence base for future wildfire policy and operational planning.

Prior to the transfer of fire functions to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Home Office convened a number of stakeholder workshops with the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), its agencies, and other stakeholders to identify policy options for addressing wildfire risk. This included a workshop, led by Defra, on land management issues. The outcomes of this work are currently being considered.

Officials continue to engage actively with landowners, land managers and wildfire specialists through established forums including the England and Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF).

The Government recognises the challenge that bracken presents to land managers, particularly in upland regions. Mechanical control and chemical control using glyphosate can be useful tools in controlling bracken, though the government recognises their limitations. It is for individual land managers to decide how to control bracken within safe and legal means.

The Government encourages industry and other external partners to develop new tools that will help to address the challenge of managing bracken. Any herbicides not currently allowed for bracken control would require authorisation for that purpose by the Health and Safety Executive.

Parasiticides, such as those containing fipronil and imidacloprid, play an essential role in protecting both animal and human health against fleas and ticks and their associated vector-borne diseases, which can lead to parasitic disease in pets and present zoonotic risks to humans, as well as causing distress and discomfort. The concerns regarding the potential contribution of flea and tick treatments to the levels of imidacloprid currently being detected in UK surface waters are recognised. The Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMD) is currently gathering evidence on this issue and has initiated the formation of a cross-governmental Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE) Group.

The PiE Group has set out a roadmap of activities to address levels of fipronil and imidacloprid in UK waterways. The immediate priority is to collaborate with key stakeholders to enhance and promote consistent messaging to users on the appropriate use of topical parasiticides for cats and dogs, aiming to reduce potential environmental impacts. Beyond this, actions will focus on developing our evidence base through research and monitoring. The group will use this evidence to improve understanding of the issue and inform future policy activities in the longer term.

At this stage, there are no plans to restrict flea and tick treatments to prescription only. Any future regulatory decisions will be based on robust scientific evidence to ensure both environmental protection and continued access to essential veterinary medicines.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Secretary of State has recently announced that the secondary legislation necessary to implement the Precision Breeding Act for plants in England will be laid by the end of March.

Defra is also considering the animal welfare framework outlined in the Precision Breeding Act.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The European Commission has proposed to adopt a new, less restrictive, regulation for the marketing of plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques (NGTs) and their use for food and feed. An approach similar to that used in the Precision Breeding Act.

The proposal is still under consideration in the European Council and its contents are subject to change.

We will continue to monitor progress in the EU to understand implications for trade, including in the context of the Government's commitment to seek to negotiate a veterinary / Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement with the EU.

Defra is responsible for woodlands in England, and we are considering how to go further to reduce the impacts of grey squirrels and deer on our woodlands. We recognise the pressure on new and existing woodlands from the increasing damage caused by over-foraging of young trees and woodland flora by wild deer and from squirrels stripping bark from trees. In England this damage is primarily from grey squirrels due to their prevalence. As part of routine policy development, the department regularly engages with a variety of stakeholders, including the UK Squirrel Accord and the Deer Initiative Partnership.

We are considering how to go further to reduce the impacts of grey squirrels on our woodlands and will have an update in due course.

We are considering how to go further to reduce the impacts of deer on our woodlands and will have an update in due course.

Healthy functioning soil is at the heart of restoring natural systems and underpins our plans for environmental improvement. The Government is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of all commitments made by the last government to ensure they align with our new priorities and a decision regarding any future soil strategy or action plan will be made in due course.

Central to this is our rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan. We will develop a new, statutory plan to protect and restore our natural environment with delivery information to help meet each of our ambitious Environment Act targets. It will focus on cleaning up our waterways, reducing waste across the economy, planting millions more trees, improving air quality and halting the decline in species by 2030.

Peat policy is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Defra does not have any data on the percentage of Grade 1 and 2 lowland peat let on annual farm business tenancies.

In the Environmental Improvement Plan, we said that we are committed to halting the degradation of our lowland peat soils which causes such significant harm to the environment.

We have also agreed to take forward action on all recommendations of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force Chair's report, recognising the vital role that lowland peat soils play in producing food for our nation and supporting our rural economies.

We are currently funding approximately £12.5million on projects on paludiculture, local collaboration, and water management, as first steps towards a more sustainable future for lowland agricultural peat.

We are also developing a new England Peat Map that will help us identify areas for future intervention.

The backlog of applications for variety listing following EU exit has now largely been resolved.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency and Defra are working closely with stakeholders to monitor the processes involved in variety listing and are currently instigating improvements and resilience in the system.

The UK authorities are working together to develop the first UK Plant Variety and Seeds strategy. Following a Call for Ideas and further industry engagement, additional improvements in the plant variety listing process are anticipated.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has an active programme to promote awareness of tick-borne diseases among local authorities, health professionals and the public by 2025 in line with the Third National Adaptation Programme. This includes Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. UKHSA has worked to develop a toolkit for local authorities and key stakeholders to raise awareness of the potential risks created by ticks and tick-borne disease, a copy of which is attached. UKHSA also publishes Lyme disease data on Fingertips, which is an open access public health data platform which allows the public, health professionals, and local authorities to view trends, compare indicators and understand the incidence of Lyme disease in their area.

Clinicians are also engaged via teaching sessions for General Practitioners, seminars for infection specialists, and briefing notes to notify clinicians of the possibility of tick-borne diseases, with detail of compatible signs and symptoms. Disease messaging is shared through media, social, and stakeholder channels at a national and regional level, such as the #BeTickAware campaign which aims to raise awareness in the population, including those at risk of exposure through work or leisure.