Petition Ban the use of agricultural land for solar panels

On Wednesday 19 July, MPs debated the matter of planning and solar farms. During the debate, MPs raised concerns about the installation of large-scale solar farms, especially on agricultural land.

• Watch the debate
• Read a transcript of the debate

The debate was led by Dr Caroline Johnson MP. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Andrew Bowie MP, responded on behalf of the Government.

What are Westminster Hall debates?

Westminster Hall is the second Chamber of the House of Commons.

Westminster Hall debates give MPs an opportunity to raise local or national issues and receive a response from a government minister. Any MP can take part in a Westminster Hall debate.

Debates in Westminster Hall take place on ‘general debate' motions expressed in neutral terms. These motions are worded ‘That this House has considered [a specific matter]'.

Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament

Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.

MPs on the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee have called for the Government to seize its opportunity to ensure deliver food security, following an inquiry into environmental change and food security.

• Read a press notice about the Committee's report

What has the Committee said?

On 8 December, the Committee published a report on the UK's preparedness and resilience to future food supply stresses or shocks caused by climate change and biodiversity loss.

The report calls on the Government to implement the following key measures:

• Publish the Land Use Framework no later than the 19th December 2023 and integrate food security as a central principle
• Designate food security as a public good
• Provide more clarity on its plans for baseline metrics in food sustainability
• Publish a strategy for innovative food production technologies

You can read a summary of the Committee's report, and the Committee's full report on their website. You can also find out more about the Committee's work on environmental change and food security.

The Government now must respond to the committee's report within two months. The committee will publish the Government’s response on the Committee's website.

What is the Environmental Audit Committee?

The Environmental Audit Committee is a cross-party group of backbench MPs that considers the extent to which the policies and progress of government departments and non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development and audits their performance against sustainable development and environmental protection targets.

• Find out more about the committee on its website
• Follow the committee on X (formerly Twitter) for updates on its work

The Environmental Audit Committee is a select committee. Find out how select committees work.

Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament

Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.

On Thursday 21 March MPs debated reports on food security from three parliamentary committees. The findings and recommendations of the reports were discussed, including the impact of environmental change and insect decline on food security.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Robbie Moore MP, responded on behalf of the Government, outlining the steps that the Government is putting in place to address the issues highlighted in the reports.

• Watch the debate
• Read a transcript of the debate

The debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee.

What reports were MPs discussing?

MPs were discussing three reports that parliamentary committees have published in the last year:

• A report on insect decline and UK food security, published by the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on 7 March 2024.
• A report on environmental change and food security, published by the Environmental Audit Committee on 21 March 2024.
• A report on food security, published by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on 28 July 2023.

The committees that published these reports are cross-party groups of MPs that look into the work of the Government.

• Find out how select committees work

What are backbench business debates?

Backbench business debates give backbenchers (MPs who aren’t ministers or shadow ministers) an opportunity to secure a debate on a topic of their choice, either in the Chamber or Westminster Hall.

MPs can make a request for a debate to the Backbench Business Committee, which decides which debates to schedule.

Backbench debates can either be general debates (which do not end in a vote) or be on a substantive motion (which calls for an action and can end in a vote). This debate was a general debate.

Visual explainer: Backbench Business debates

Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament

Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.

Large-scale solar farms were debated by MPs on 18 April in Westminster Hall. The debate was led by Dr Caroline Johnson MP.

• Watch the debate
• Read a transcript of the debate
• Read the research from the House of Commons Library

What is a Westminster Hall debate?

Westminster Hall is the second chamber of the House of Commons. Westminster Hall debates give MPs an opportunity to raise local and national issues and receive a response from a government minister. Westminster Hall debates are general debates that do not end in a vote.

Visual explainer: Westminster Hall debates

Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament

Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.