Josh Newbury 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.
26 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Agriculture: Sustainable DevelopmentDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 904884More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with the Northern Ireland Executive to support sustainable agriculture.
Answer: Agriculture is a devolved policy in the UK. Defra and the other UK nations work closely together through the consensus-based and well-established governance arrangements we have set up and operate under the Agricultural Support Framework. The regular meet...
Answered 2 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordSewers: Property DevelopmentDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53252More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of implementing schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 on the (a) number and (b) effectiveness of s
Answer: The Government is strongly committed to requiring standardised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in new developments. These should be to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits, offer...
Answered 22 May 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Electric VehiclesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49486More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.
Answer: The below table shows the number and proportion of lease cars that are electric vehicles. Please note that: - Lease cars relate to the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, Animal & Plant Health Agency, Rural Pay...
Answered 12 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordFish Farming: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49479More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of land-based fish farms which use indoor tanks instead of ocean- or lake-based pens on animal welfare.
Answer: Current legislation already provides protection for farmed fish kept for the production of meat or other products whilst on farm. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, including fish, or to...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFish Farming: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49478More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will consult on introducing animal welfare standards for farmed fish.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire, Ellie Chowns, on 6 March 2025, PQ 34489.
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordNature Restoration FundDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49477More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the proposed Nature Restoration Fund will (a) supersede and (b) compliment the existing biodiversity net gain obligations for new developments under the Environment Act 2021.
Answer: The Nature Restoration Fund will not supersede existing Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) obligations for new developments. BNG is a requirement which applies to most new development across England, aiming to leave habitats in a measurably better state than the...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimal Welfare: StandardsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49476More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the harmonisation in the upcoming Trade Strategy of animal welfare standards between domestical
Answer: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. We will promote robust standards nationa...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordAgricultural Products: UK Trade with EUDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49475More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of EU Commission proposals to phase out (a) enriched cages and (b) farrowing crates on UK-EU trade of agricultural goods.
Answer: We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently c...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimal Housing: FarmsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49474More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of phasing out the use of (a) enriched cages and (b) farrowing crates on English farms.
Answer: We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently c...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPackaging: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47858More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to introduce a target for the recycling of fibre-based composite packaging.
Answer: The Government continues to keep the need and timing for the introduction of a separate FBC targets under review. We will consider further once we have improved data on the tonnages of FBC placed on the marked, and the tonnage currently recycled, to estab...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47857More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered introducing (a) performance standards and (b) other mandatory requirements for material recovery facilities to sort materials collected at kerbsid
Answer: Defra is working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and waste industry representatives to support MRF (Material Recovery Facility) readiness for the Simpler Recycling requirements. We have engaged with MRF operators and local authorities thr...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47856More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department will introduce statutory guidance for the implementation of Simpler Recycling.
Answer: We have published non-statutory guidance to assist local authorities, other waste collectors and workplaces implement the Simpler Recycling requirements. This includes guidance on: Simpler recycling: household recycling in EnglandSimpler recycling: workpl...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRecycling: Local GovernmentDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46914More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that cartons collected by local authorities (a) currently and (b) following the implementation of Simpler Recycling requirements are (i) r
Answer: The Simpler Recycling reforms will require the same materials to be collected for recycling from every household and workplace (such as businesses, schools and hospitals) across England. These materials fall into the following core groups: metal; glass; p...
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordResponsible Dog Ownership Working GroupDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41522More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to reconvene the Responsible Dog Ownership Working Group.
Answer: Defra is continuing to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. We are currently considering the best way to take forward th...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: Cannock ChaseDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26361More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding from the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme has been allocated to projects in the (a) Cannock Chase constituency and (b) the Cannock Chase National Landscape ar
Answer: Over £570,000 has been spent on approved projects in the Cannock Chase National Landscape area since the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL) launched in July 2021, with further projects in progress and to be completed by the end of 24/25.
Answered 5 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Landscapes: AgricultureDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26360More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the farming in protected landscapes programme.
Answer: The interim evaluation of the programme found the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL) to be delivering positively for nature, climate, people, and place, with over 7,000 farmers participating and 3,700 projects in the first three years across...
Answered 4 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDomestic Waste: Waste DisposalDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19093More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support waste collection authorities to deliver mandatory household food waste collections from 2026-27.
Answer: To support waste collection authorities to deliver household food waste collections, we provided capital transitional funding in February 2024 to cover reasonable costs of purchasing trucks and bins needed to deliver weekly food waste collections from 31 ...
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordAnaerobic DigestionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19092More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the capacity of anaerobic digestion facilities, in the context of the planned introduction of mandatory food waste collection
Answer: The Government’s preference is for unavoidable food waste to be collected for treatment by anaerobic digestion (AD): producing bio-gas and digestate. Defra has been working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Waste and Res...
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordBeverage Containers: Fees and ChargesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14740More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a mandatory charge for single-use coffee cups.
Answer: The Government recognises the urgent need to limit the environmental impact of single-use plastic, including fibre composite cups. The Government has committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. The Secretary of State has convened a Small ...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSustainable Farming IncentiveDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11617More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce response times for applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Answer: The Sustainable Farming Incentive has been expanded to now include Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier actions, with around a further 80 new actions now available for customers to select. The scheme is in the late stages of the controlled rollout, something ...
Answered 5 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordLandfill: RegulationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11079More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the (a) powers and (b) resources of the Environment Agency to regulate landfill sites.
Answer: The regulatory framework in place is designed to serve operators and protect the local community. Where poor performance does occur the Environment Agency has a range of powers to bring sites back into compliance and, where necessary, to take enforcement ...
Answered 31 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFarms: Biodiversity and FinanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11077More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) increase biodiversity on farms and (b) ensure that farms are financially sustainable.
Answer: This Government will champion British farming. Our new deal for farmers will build a resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British farmers. We have already delivered on our commitment to restore stability by continuing the...
Answered 30 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPlastics: RecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11065More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the recycling rates of plastic film.
Answer: Yes, Defra is supporting the multi-million-pound FlexCollect project, launched in May 2022, funding local authorities to roll out kerbside plastic film collection trials. This will help gather insights to support effective collections more widely ahead of...
Answered 30 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPlastics: WasteDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11064More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with businesses on steps to reduce the (a) manufacture and (b) distribution of single-use plastic products other than wet wipes.
Answer: The Secretary of State has not held discussions on reducing the manufacture and distribution of single-use plastic products with businesses. However, officials have met with industry stakeholders through the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN), this ...
Answered 30 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPlastics: WasteDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11063More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce pre-consumer plastic waste in supply chains.
Answer: The Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy and asked his Department to work with experts from industry, academia, civil society, and the civil service to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy ...
Answered 30 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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