Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the prevalence pet microchip databases on dog owners.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Under The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 all microchip databases are required to meet strict requirements, including having their records linked to each other to enable anyone searching for a microchip entry to know to which database it is registered. Any database found not to be complying with the 2015 Regulation faces a fine of up to £2,500 and having their ability to operate as a microchip database removed. There are currently thirteen compliant databases.
The 2015 Regulations are currently subject to a Post Implementation Review. As part of the review we will look at what effect the prevalence of microchip databases is having on dog owners.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement of the Pet Travel Scheme in 2019.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government takes the welfare of animals seriously, and that is why we have committed to cracking down on the abhorrent trade of puppy smuggling. We are currently considering the most effective approach to achieve this.
All pet animals entering Great Britain on approved routes under the EU Pet Travel Scheme undergo documentary and identity checks. The checks are performed by ferry, train or airline carriers or agents acting on their behalf. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) undertakes random checks of the pet animals travelling to ensure the carriers are performing checks to the required standard. The APHA also carries out quality assurance checks to ensure that the standard of performance of the carrier and approved checker is maintained.
The APHA continues to work collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the Pet Travel Scheme, disrupt illegal imports and seize non-compliant animals. The numbers of dogs quarantined after being illegally landed in Great Britain between 2016 and 2018 stands at 1,344. This includes those that were imported under the EU Pet Travel Scheme, as well as those imported commercially under the Balai Directive.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of restricting the use of netting across trees and hedgerows during the bird-nesting season.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
We all have a responsibility to our local environment and its inhabitants and this applies to developers too. When associated with development these sorts of practices should only be used to help protect birds. We expect local planning authorities to look at these practices closely and take action where necessary. Guidance is available for local authorities.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should contribute to, and enhance, the natural and local environment by minimising the impacts on, and providing net gains for, biodiversity.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the ratio between (a) fixed and (b) variable costs in the provision of domestic water supply.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Ofwat sets limits on the expenditure that water companies can recover from customers every five years. In setting these limits, Ofwat does not assess company expenditure with reference to fixed and variable costs.