Pippa Heylings MP: written questions
4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026
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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.
73 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Environment ProtectionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6553More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the ecology sector as part of delivering nature recovery objectives and wider green economic growth.
Answer: Our environmental improvement plan provides a stable, long-term framework for investment and a guide for the developing the technologies and skills to deliver it. We recognise the importance of the ecology sector in supporting project pipelines for Biodiv...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordNature ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6552More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on protecting 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030; and what role ecological expertise will play in supporting sustainable development, habitat protection
Answer: Our 30by30 commitment, to effectively conserve and manage 30% of our land and seas by 2030, sits at the very heart of our aim to ensure nature’s recovery. We will publish a 30by30 Delivery Plan, to show how we will lead, support, and inspire action across...
Answered 10 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordWater: PollutionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6550More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of freshwater nature recovery on water pollution and the long-term health of waterways.
Answer: The Government recognises that freshwater nature recovery plays a vital role in improving water quality and the long-term health of waterways. Agricultural pollution and surface runoff remain significant pressures, affecting many water bodies in England. ...
Answered 10 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordDrinks: NutritionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6245More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of renaming the National Food Strategy as the National Food and Drink Strategy to recognise the impact of drinks on diet.
Answer: The Good Food Cycle, published in July 2025, identifies for the first time the outcomes we want from the food system. It is the first part of an on‑going programme to create a healthier, more affordable, sustainable and resilient food system. The Governme...
Answered 10 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordFisheries: QuotasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 580More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 91562 on Fisheries: Quotas, what percentage of England's fishing catch quota for 2026 has been distributed through (a) Fixed Quot
Answer: In 2026, 5% of English allocated quota was distributed via the Quota Application Mechanism. Around 86% of quota was via methods based on Fixed Quota Allocation Units (‘existing quota’ and ‘additional quota’) and 9% via alternative routes.
Answered 22 May 2026
Original Parliament recordRivers: ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126802More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the number of chalk streams designated as (a) Sites of Special Scientific Interest or (b) Special Areas of Conservation.
Answer: Chalk streams are an incredible source of national pride. As one of Britain’s most nature- rich habitats, they support some of our rarest wildlife. Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are notified by Natural England (NE) under section 28 of the W...
Answered 16 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordSustainable Farming Incentive: RiversDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126801More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a dedicated chalk stream action in the Sustainable Farm Incentive.
Answer: The Sustainable Farming Incentive already contains a wide range of actions to protect and enhance the watercourses of England. These include a range of buffer and habitat strips that can be used adjacent to water bodies and further actions for low intensi...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordWater Restoration Fund: RiversDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126799More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing ring-fenced funding for chalk stream restoration in the Water Restoration Fund.
Answer: The Government is investing £1.8 million through the Water Restoration Fund (WRF) and Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF) for locally-led chalk stream clean-up projects. On 20 January this year the Government announced that it is reinvesting £29 mi...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordWater Restoration FundDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126798More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Water Restoration Fund will open for new applications.
Answer: The Government is investing £1.8 million through the Water Restoration Fund (WRF) and Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF) for locally-led chalk stream clean-up projects. On 20 January this year the Government announced that it is reinvesting £29 mi...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordBirds: FisheriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121050More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce seabird mortality from fisheries bycatch in UK waters.
Answer: Defra recognises that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as seabirds. To tackle this, Defra funds numerous programmes and projects including: Clean Catch, which is carrying out a seabird b...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordEnvironmental Land Management SchemesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121049More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Environmental Land Management schemes in supporting nature-friendly farming and species recovery.
Answer: Environmental Land Management schemes have seen high levels of uptake by the farming sector with 50,000 farm businesses and over half of all agricultural land involved in schemes. Detailed uptake of each action in schemes is published here Agri-environmen...
Answered 25 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBirds: Marine Protected AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121048More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to undertake a Special Protection Area review for the Marine Protected Area network for seabirds.
Answer: As part of the England Marine Protected Area (MPA) network review we are considering designations and MPA protection for seabirds. The review is mapping hotspots of seabird activity in English seas to understand how these relate to current Special Protect...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordEnvironment ProtectionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121047More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve the condition and management of protected sites for nature in England, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Answer: The Department is taking action to improve the condition and long-term management of protected nature sites, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). We have set an interim target in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 (EIP25) for 50% o...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordConvention on Biological DiversityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121046More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the UK meets commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030.
Answer: The Government is committed to achieving the goals and targets adopted under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Domestically, in England, the Environmental Improvement Plan and delivery of the legally binding targets under the Envir...
Answered 19 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordClimate Change: BiodiversityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117945More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential impact to GDP in the UK from nature and biodiversity loss due to climate change.
Answer: Defra co-funded a 2024 report on Assessing the Materiality of Nature-Related Financial Risks for the UK, led by the Green Finance Institute working with academic partners. The report found that environmental degradation could lead to a potential reduction...
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordForests: RegulationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 116921More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of need to urgently implement the Forest Risk Commodities regulation.
Answer: and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030 while supporting sustainable development. The UK helped lay the foundation for the 2030 forest commitment through our own COP26 Presidency, including by rallying over 140 partners behind the Glasgow...
Answered 5 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBiodiversity: Property DevelopmentDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108877More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department is assessing reports of widespread abuses of the de minimis exemption to Biodiversity Net Gain; and whether this exemption is still needed in light of the new exempti
Answer: A full consultation response and impact assessment to the Biodiversity Net Gain small, medium and brownfield development consultation will be published soon. This will set out whether any changes will be made to the de minimis exemption alongside the intr...
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: FungicidesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105295More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential (a) implications for her policies of routine use of fungicides in the seed supply chain and (b) impact of their use on (i) integrated pe
Answer: Plant protection products (PPPs – also known as pesticides) may only be placed on the market in Great Britain (GB) if they have been authorised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), GB’s pesticide regulator. This only happens following a thorough scie...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForests: Oxford-Cambridge ArcDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101917More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what governance structures are in place to coordinate delivery of the Oxford-Cambridge Forest across local authority boundaries; and whether she plans to establish a dedicated coordina
Answer: The exact location of the new forest in the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor is subject to design work and discussion with partners. Further detail will be provided in due course.
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForests and Tree PlantingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101916More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement mechanisms for the development of tree planting and woodland restoration policy.
Answer: Defra Ministers and officials regularly engage with stakeholders on tree planting and woodland restoration policy through one-to-one meetings and wider stakeholder engagement forums. In addition, the Forestry Commission carries out a broad set of stakehol...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTree PlantingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101915More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Tree Planting Taskforce's progress; and what involvement that Taskforce has had in the development of the Tree Action Plan.
Answer: The UK-wide Tree Planting Taskforce brings together the relevant ministers from across the four UK nations. It has made good progress, enabling cross-UK collaboration and furthered understanding of shared challenges and opportunities. Given the UK-wide na...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTree PlantingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101914More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where saplings planted to meet EIP25 interim targets will be sourced from.
Answer: Defra’s Nature for Climate Fund continues to invest working to increase the availability of domestically grown saplings for woodland creation through its Sector Capacity project. Forestry Commission publish annually the Tree Supply Report and Tree Nursery...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTree PlantingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101913More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her proposed timeline is for publishing the Tree Action Plan.
Answer: The Government will publish a new Trees Action Plan in 2026.
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTimberDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101912More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that domestic timber production does not adversely impact biodiversity and habitat creation targets.
Answer: We encourage woodlands in England to be planted and managed in compliance with the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) which is an agreed UK wide approach to sustainable forest management. In commercial woodlands which are managed in line with the UKFS or where s...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordForests: Environment ProtectionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 101911More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department are taking to ensure that the restoration of ancient woodland through agri-environment schemes is accessible to small landowners.
Answer: Woodlands as small as 0.5ha are now eligible for the Countryside Stewardship supplements “Manage and restore Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWs)” and “Manage native woodland including Ancient Semi-Natural Woodlands”, ensuring support is available...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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