Ben Goldsborough MP: written questions
4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025
How these years work
Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
32 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Water Companies: RegulationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 5 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57838More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to regulate water companies operating in protected landscapes to help prevent environmental harm.
Answer: This Government will continue to work with regulators to hold water companies to account on poor performance and drive improvements which benefit customers and the environment. The Water (Special Measures) Act delivers on our manifesto commitment to put w...
Answered 13 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSugar BeetDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41712More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure British Sugar agrees the (a) price and (b) terms of future sugar beet contracts with NFU Sugar.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers and their vital contribution to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSugar BeetDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41711More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of confirming NFU Sugar as the UK sugar beet growers’ representative in contract negotiations with British Sugar.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers and their vital contribution to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSugar BeetDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41710More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the sole processor negotiates with the growers’ collective representative in the sugar beet sector.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of sugar beet farmers and their vital contribution to UK sugar production. Also, that sugar beet itself, used in crop rotations, is beneficial to soil and crop health and allows arable farms a season of “rest” from...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInland Border Facilities: DoverDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25899More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there were any financial implications to the Exchequer of the sale of the White Cliffs Business Park that hosts the Bastion Point Inland Border Facility site on 4 September 202
Answer: Defra considers this to be commercially sensitive information and therefore may not be released.
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordImport Controls: Disease ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25898More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of vehicles entering the Port of Dover being under no obligation to attend Sevington Border Control Point if asked to do so on
Answer: Consignments called in to Sevington Border Control Post (BCP) for an inspection will have completed the necessary customs declarations and pre-notifications. These goods will not be legally cleared for sale or use within the UK until they have checked and...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25897More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many tonnes of (a) dangerous and (b) illegal meat were intercepted at the (i) Port of Dover, (ii) Port of Felixstowe, (iii) Port of Liverpool, (iv) Port of London, (v) Port of Grim
Answer: Please see the table below for total seizures of illegal meat, for full year on year. We are unable to provide further levels of detail as we do not release details of the location of seizure; this information could risk undermining border security, by pr...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimal Products: Import ControlsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25896More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many products of animal origin spot checks were undertaken at the (a) Port of Dover, (b) Port of Felixstowe, (c) Port of Liverpool, (d) Port of London, (e) Port of Grimsby and Immi
Answer: Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. To protect the integrity of this approach, we cannot share granular data on inspections.
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimal Products: Import ControlsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25895More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was spent on products of animal origin spot checks at the (a) Port of Dover, (b) Port of Felixstowe, (c) Port of Liverpool, (d) Port of London, (e) Port of Grimsby and Immingh
Answer: Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. To protect the integrity of this approach, we cannot share granular data on inspections
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordInland Border Facilities: DoverDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25894More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 10797 on Inland Border Facilities: Dover, what the operating status is of Bastion Point Border Control Point as of 22 January 2025
Answer: The site at Bastion Point is currently retained in a non-operational state. The Government will explore further options for the site in the future.
Answered 5 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimal Products: ImportsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25893More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times the Timed Out Decision Contingency Feature has been used for medium-risk animal products in each month since February 2024.
Answer: Individual Local and Port Health Authorities will hold local data and will be able to identify when the Timed Out Decision Contingency Feature has been used.
Answered 3 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25892More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many tonnes of (a) dangerous and (b) otherwise illegal meat have been intercepted by the Dover Port Health Authority in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answer: Please see the table below for total seizures of illegal meat year on year. The figures quoted are seizures from all ports who had returned seizure data to us from September 2022 onwards as part of Defra African Swine Fever programme. This does not reflec...
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordFloods: NorfolkDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24022More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of flooding have been reported in (a) South Norfolk constituency and (b) Norfolk in the last five years.
Answer: Lead Local Flood Authorities undertake formal investigations after significant floods and produce Section 19 reports, which include the number of properties affected. Not all floods require a Section 19 investigation. Criteria for investigation include th...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordSustainable Farming IncentiveDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15562More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Sustainable Farming Incentive payments were made (a) within and (b) after four months.
Answer: The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window with the first payment normally issued four months after the start of the agreement and quarterly thereafter. As of 21 November 26,329, payments have been made within fourth months and 371...
Answered 2 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordWater Abstraction: LicensingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15389More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 13929 on Water Abstraction: Licensing, what the regional breakdown of these water abstraction licences was in each of the last 10
Answer: The number of water abstraction licences (temporary, full and transfer) live for all or part of the financial year for each of the last ten financial years is shown in the tables below. This data is shown by former Environment Agency (EA) regions. This ha...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: WaterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13932More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) how many and (b) what value of water resource management grants were (i) granted and (ii) rejected by the Rural Payments Agency in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answer: The following table lists the answer: Qty RejectedValue RejectedQty GrantedValue Granted2017/180£ -2£215,974.422018/1911£1,708,260.72121£8,912,028.962019/2014£20,762.30179£ 311,127.362020/215£5,374.00201£ 203,902.002021/220£ -0£ -2022/23103£3,287,841.9638...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordWater Abstraction: LicensingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13931More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Water Abstraction License applications were (a) made and (b) granted in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answer: a) Applications for new full licences, normal variations and substantial variations: 2015-20162016-20172017-20182018-20192019-20202020-20212021-20222022-20232023-20242024-2025TotalTotal20632031168212604254832432652194475 b) Of those applications, granted...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordWater Abstraction: LicensingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13930More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Water Abstraction Licenses were not renewed in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answer: Financial YearNumber of water abstraction licences that were not renewed because no renewal application was received, the application was withdrawn or rejected as incompleteNumber of water abstraction licences that were not renewed because the application...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordWater Abstraction: LicensingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13929More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Water Abstraction Licenses were operational in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answer: The table below shows the number of water abstraction licences (temporary, full and transfer) live for all or part of the financial year for each of the last ten financial years. Financial yearNo. of water abstraction licences1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordHorticulture: Government AssistanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13882More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the horticulture sector.
Answer: The Government appreciates and values the vital work of the horticulture industry and, as part of our mission-driven government, we are committed to working with colleagues across Whitehall to support the sector. Underlining this commitment, the Seasonal ...
Answered 15 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFood SupplyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8034More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Government's proposed planning reforms on food security.
Answer: This Government places great importance on our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out how the best and most versatile agricultural land should be reflected in planning policies and decisions. The Framework i...
Answered 15 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAgricultureDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8033More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Government’s intended planning reforms on Controlled Environment Agriculture.
Answer: The Government is committed to a prosperous horticulture sector. Unlocking innovation is integral to enabling our growers to improve productivity sustainably, and to contribute to our food security. We are working with the industry to stimulate this, incl...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBiodiversityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8032More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the impact of Biodiversity Net Gain regulations on Controlled Environment Agriculture.
Answer: Following consultation in 2022, exemptions to the biodiversity net gain requirement set out within the regulations are narrow and focussed. This keeps the policy ambitious, whilst being proportionate and deliverable for developers and local authorities. M...
Answered 15 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBiodiversityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8031More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting Controlled Environment Facilities from Biodiversity Net Gain requirements.
Answer: Following consultation in 2022, exemptions to the biodiversity net gain requirement set out within the regulations are narrow and focussed. This keeps the policy ambitious, whilst being proportionate and deliverable for developers and local authorities. M...
Answered 15 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAgricultureDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8030More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will work with the relevant control bodies to enable vertical farms to apply for organic accreditation.
Answer: Organic production is internationally recognised as a soil-based system, that is strictly regulated by assimilated organic Regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008. Vertical farming relies on hydroponic production, the method of growing plants with their roots i...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
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4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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