Oral QuestionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Tabled: 29 January 2026Answered: 5 February 2026

Asked by

Kerry McCarthy

LabourBristol East

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Answer from Hansard

The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)

Once my hon. Friend gets the letter off to us, she will certainly get a reply. The UK has a robust regulatory framework to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. DEFRA and the Marine Management Organisation work closely with the devolved Governments, local authorities and port health authorities to ensure that documents are appropriately checked and verified on seafood imports from all countries. If she wants to demonstrate cases where that is not happening, I would be very interested indeed to hear from her.