There have been no meetings held between the Defra ministers and Scottish Ministers, so far. However, there are plans to hold discussions on this area in the near future.

The Home Office is responsible for animal testing. The Home Secretary made a statement which can be found here.

UK REACH retains the fundamental approach and key principles of EU REACH, ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment. The substances on the EU REACH candidate list were automatically carried forward into UK REACH at the end of the transition period. In future, substances will be added to the list on the basis of the best UK scientific advice, taking into account our own risk assessments. The interim approach to adding new SVHCs to the candidate list was agreed by Defra, the Welsh and Scottish governments, based on expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency, as well as feedback from a range of stakeholders. The approach made no practical change to the availability of consumer information.

We will review our approach and input will be sought from a range of stakeholders as we do this. The HSE intends to update the candidate list annually.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 February 2023 to the hon. Member for Blaydon, PQ 135453.

Water is a devolved matter and therefore it is for the Senedd to decide how best they can support Welsh water consumers, not Defra.

Regulation 27 of the Flood Reinsurance (Scheme Funding and Administration) Regulations 2015 sets out that Flood Re must produce a report at least every five years which reviews the scheme, considering total levy and reinsurance premium thresholds and the need to manage transition by 2039. Flood Re intend to publish their next Quinquennial Review in 2024 making recommendations, which the Secretary of State will consider.

During the 14 December 2021 meeting the Review Steering Group was re-named the Advisory Group. The group met on 11 May 2022.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee's (JNCC) seventh Quinquennial Review report was submitted to ministers on 19 April. It provides ministers with independent scientific advice on proposed changes to Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. We will consider the recommendations carefully before publishing JNCC's advice later this year. We will consider the report alongside the responses from the Nature Green Paper consultation before any decisions are made.

We recently consulted on potential legislative changes to implement certain proposals in our response to the Landscapes Review. National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty will form an important part of the Nature Recovery Network. We will increase the extent of our protected areas and drive up their biodiversity value to support the delivery of government's commitment to halt nature’s decline and protect 30% of land for nature by 2030, and deliver increased access to nature. We will respond to the consultation setting out next steps.

We recognise that the scale of the ambition set out in our response must be matched by equivalent resources to ensure effective delivery, particularly in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs).

We provide core funding for the protected landscapes, which for National Parks, AONBs, National Association of AONBs and Conservation Boards combined is: (a) £55,679,106 for 2021-22; (b) £56,585,136.00 for 2022-2023; and (c) £56,585,136.00 for 2023-24. During 2021-22, the Conservation Boards and 29 AONBs received an additional £940,000 in core grant funding.

We have increased the core grant for AONBs by nearly £1m (15%) for the next financial year. Additional investment is being provided through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, which is funding farmers in National Parks and AONBs to deliver projects that support climate, nature, people and place between July 2021 and March 2024. Approximately £11m of funding was provided through the programme in financial year 2021/22. The Government has also invested £27.8m to date in the England Coast Path, which will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world, linking up the best existing coastal paths and creating new ones where there were none before.

We recognise that the scale of the ambition set out in our response must be matched by equivalent resources to ensure effective delivery, particularly in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs).

We provide core funding for the protected landscapes, which for National Parks, AONBs, National Association of AONBs and Conservation Boards combined is: (a) £55,679,106 for 2021-22; (b) £56,585,136.00 for 2022-2023; and (c) £56,585,136.00 for 2023-24. During 2021-22, the Conservation Boards and 29 AONBs received an additional £940,000 in core grant funding.

We have increased the core grant for AONBs by nearly £1m (15%) for the next financial year. Additional investment is being provided through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, which is funding farmers in National Parks and AONBs to deliver projects that support climate, nature, people and place between July 2021 and March 2024. Approximately £11m of funding was provided through the programme in financial year 2021/22. The Government has also invested £27.8m to date in the England Coast Path, which will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world, linking up the best existing coastal paths and creating new ones where there were none before.