The number of small reservoirs built on farmland in the last year is not collected centrally. Many small reservoirs are not subject to regulation and there is no requirement for farmers to report on these.

A review of agricultural tenancy legislation which provides the framework for agricultural tenancy agreements will be delivered by the Law Commission as part of their fourteenth law reform programme. The Government will consider and respond to outcome of the Law Commission review and recommendations as part of any plans to reform agricultural tenancy agreements in future. In the meantime, Defra is working with the Farm Tenancy Forum to ensure a thriving and collaborative farm tenancy sector.

The Farm Tenancy Forum most recently met on 18 June 2026 as part of its regular quarterly meeting schedule.

Supporting British farmers and boosting the nation’s food security are key priorities for the government. As set out in the Farming Roadmap, food security and restoring nature are not competing aims. They are, over the long term, inseparable. The most resilient farms are profitable precisely because they work with the environment, which is why Government is backing a shift towards lower input, more sustainable farming systems.

There are now 4,165 live SFI agreements and 658 live CS agreements within the West Dorset constituency. This uptake by farm businesses and land managers in the constituency is supporting them to build nature‑friendly farming systems that can sustain or enhance production while strengthening resilience and reducing input dependency.

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra has established a working group on fur, involving both industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur. The primary focus of the group will be to explore animal welfare concerns relating to the fur trade and the different ways in which they could be addressed. The department will seek appropriate input from relevant experts as needed as part of this.

Along with the previous government’s call for evidence and the Animal Welfare Committee’s opinion on fur, outputs from this working group will be used to inform future policy decisions on this issue.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton, Hannah Spencer, on 4 June 2026 to PQ UIN 3739.

The Environment Agency is reviewing its approach to high-flow abstraction to help farmers store water when it is available and to simplify access to long-duration abstraction licences. The review is ongoing, and its findings will be published in due course.

The Secretary of State has not held discussions with businesses on this matter. However, officials in the Department engage regularly with relevant businesses and stakeholders. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 June 2026, PQ UIN 12485.

Defra has considered a range of anticipated benefits of the Farmer Collaboration Fund, based on evidence about the economic impact of adopting new business practices following engagement with peers and advisers. The department focussed on reviewing evidence-based best practices recommended by industry experts including AHDB. The fund will also have a direct benefit by giving farmers access to Defra funded facilitators and expert advisers. The magnitude of benefits will depend on farm business circumstances, size and type. We expect all participating farms to benefit from the sharing of information and best practices between peers.

Defra regularly and actively engages with representatives from the farming industry through regular meetings and discussions, ensuring their views are heard, their concerns are understood, and their feedback considered.

In particular, Defra engaged over 30 stakeholder organisations on the policy design of the SFI26 offer.

This engagement included farmer representatives such as the National Farmers Union and the Tenant Farmers Association, ensuring the views of smaller farm businesses were fully considered.

Defra utilised the insight gathered from this engagement in developing the SFI26 offer, Window 1 of which was open 30 June – 28 August 2026 and Window 2 of which opens later this month.

Defra recognises that small and medium-sized farms can face barriers to adopting any new technology, including high upfront costs, access to finance, skills requirements, uncertainty over returns, connectivity constraints, and integrating new technologies into existing farm businesses. Through the Farming Innovation Programme and ADOPT, Defra is supporting innovation, testing and adoption.

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for livestock keepers who are dealing with the impacts of this disease.

Defra, working closely with APHA, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), The Pirbright Institute and industry partners, has taken a range of actions to support the sector.

This includes, ensuring farmers receive timely information and practical guidance, implementing and maintaining control measures based on the latest scientific and veterinary advice, and increasing testing capacity. Information has been shared through regular disease alerts, social media updates, weekly communications to livestock keepers and a programme of industry webinars. The Battle Bluetongue campaign, running with industry partners since early 2025, continues to urge farmers to work with their private vet to vaccinate their animals.

With vaccination, the only viable long-term control measure, Defra is also working closely with the VMD and other partners to monitor vaccine availability and support continuity of supply. Including by working with vaccine companies to make available additional stocks to farmers over the autumn.

England and Wales have both been BTV restricted zones since November 2025. This supports farmers by allowing free movement of animals within the zones, including to market where they are not showing clinical signs of disease.

This Government also works closely with industry, veterinary professionals and farming welfare organisations to ensure that affected farmers have access to the latest welfare support. Details can be found on Wellbeing support for farmers and through the Rural Payments Agency helpline on (03000 200 301).

In December 2025, Defra published The Animal Welfare Strategy for England, a comprehensive package of reforms designed to enhance the lives of millions of animals, including farmed animals. This Government continues to make progress towards delivering the commitments set out in the strategy. The Department supports livestock farmers to improve disease prevention and biosecurity through existing initiatives, such as the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.

The Environment Agency assesses the environmental risk through the assessment of environmental permits to protect habitats from air pollution, and compliance with regulations to protect land and water. Measures are checked through regular compliance inspections.

There are a number of different farming systems in use in England and farms of all sizes have a role to play in promoting sustainable agriculture. All farms, regardless of size and type of production system, must comply with comprehensive legislation aimed at protecting animal health and welfare. The Government remains firmly committed to improving animal welfare and wants to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. Ministers recently met with several representatives of various farming sectors to discuss the Animal Welfare Strategy. This outlines the Government’s plans to improve farm animal welfare including through transitioning away from intensive confinement systems such as cages or crates.

Ammonia from poultry farms contributes to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution concentrations across the country. The precise contribution is difficult to assess and will vary according to the prevailing weather conditions and other sources of PM2.5. Long term exposure to fine particulate matter is associated with a number of serious health conditions. Intensive poultry farms with a capacity of 40,000 poultry places or more require a permit under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, to control their emissions into the environment.

Where animal welfare is impacted by farming practices, this can lead to increased health risks to humans through either the food chain, direct animal contact or through environmental contamination. For gastrointestinal disease this can occur through increased shedding of human pathogens where animals are at heightened stress, such as Salmonella spp and Campylobacter spp. Increased shedding of bacteria can also increase the risk antimicrobial resistance can spread.

Any individual exposed to positive detections of HPAI in poultry will be managed according to UKHSA’s public health guidance. Guidance for the management of people exposed to birds or other animals infected with influenza A(H5) - GOV.UK (copy attached).

Time limits are a legislative requirement for abstraction licences. The Environment Agency (EA) issues licences with time limits from 6 to 18 years in line with its approach to managing water abstraction. Applicants can apply for a long duration licence for up to 24 years. The EA are reviewing the criteria to make it easier to apply for a long duration licence. The Government plans to move abstraction and impoundment regulation into the Environmental Permitting Regulations to improve how we use water resources; new permits will be issued without time limits.

The Government encourages the use of reservoirs to store high winter flows. The Environment Agency (EA) have committed to review its approach to abstraction at high flows and its approach to long duration licences.

We are also taking the following measures to support the development of new on farm reservoirs to capture high-flow water after heavy rainfall:

• The EA supported Water Resources East to create a leaflet to help farmers developing on-farm storage.
• Our Local Resource Options studies are enabling small groups of farmers and growers to identify future water resilience projects in their areas including irrigation reservoirs.
• Defra officials are also working closely with MHCLG to clarify planning practice for permitted development rights to support the creation of on farm reservoirs.