Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many currently used veterinary medicine products will not be available in Northern Ireland following the Windsor Framework proposals taking effect on 31 December.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Continued access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period remains a Government priority. After extensive stakeholder consultation, the current situation indicates our current estimate is that 10-15% of products are expected to be discontinued. Many of these authorisations are dormant or sold in very low volumes. We do not anticipate significant animal health or welfare issues as a result of these discontinuations. The Government also set out two new schemes, The Veterinary Medicine Internal Market Scheme and the Veterinary Medicine Health Situation Scheme, in its policy paper 'Protecting Animal Health' on 19 June. These two schemes are designed to build resilience and to plug any gaps that arise in the supply or availability of veterinary medicines necessary for animal health and welfare.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of bluetongue disease in cattle and sheep in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 26 August 2024, there have been 263 cases of BTV detected in Great Britain: 262 BTV-3 cases and 1 BTV-12 case. Of these, 42% were detected because animals showed clinical signs of disease. The remaining positive cases showed no clinical signs, but were detected through surveillance activities (27%), pre and post movement testing (16%) tracings from other positive cases (8%) and private testing (7%).
Clinical impacts of disease have been far less severe than feared, usually involving very small numbers of animals that have tended to recover from what have broadly been short-term effects. Vaccination is the most suitable long-term approach to controlling disease and safe and effective vaccines have been available since October 2024.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent agreement, if any, they have had with the European Union about the issue of Northern Ireland veterinary medicine.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
After the summit with the EU on 19 May, the UK and the EU committed to negotiating an SPS Agreement, which will facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, protecting the UK’s internal market, reducing costs for businesses, and improving consumer choice. While we do not expect this Agreement to cover veterinary medicinal products, this remains a priority for Government and we remain committed to safeguarding supply to protect animal health and welfare in Northern Ireland. Officials continue to engage regularly with the EU, and the Government will be setting out its approach on this in due course.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the provisions of the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975 to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Farriers (Registration) Act 1975 promotes the proper shoeing of a horse, preventing suffering or cruelty to horses, and provides regulations for the establishment of a Farriers Registration Council to register persons engaged in farriery. There are no plans to amend this legislation currently.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve co-operation with the Northern Ireland Executive and government of Ireland in order to facilitate movement of equine animals between their respective areas, and improve processes for their registration.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy. The majority of equine movements into and out of Great Britain take place with the island of Ireland, so we regularly engage with the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland and the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the Republic of Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to reach agreement with the European Union on the issue of veterinary medicine supplies for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A grace period arrangement for veterinary medicines remains in place until the end of 2025 and provides for the continuity of supply to Northern Ireland. Maintaining availability of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland after the end of 2025 is a priority. This Government continues to progress work on this issue as quickly as possible and engage with the agricultural and pharmaceutical industries to fully understand the potential impacts.
The Veterinary Medicines Working Group, including experts, industry representatives and elected representatives, was also re-established to advise the Government on this matter.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - 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 steps she is taking to support beekeepers whose colonies are at risk from fatal diseases.
Answered by George Eustice
Bee health is a devolved matter. In England, Defra supports beekeepers through the work of the National Bee Unit (NBU). NBU Bee Inspectors carry out inspections of over 5,000 apiaries each year looking for bee pests and diseases. Where key pests and diseases are found the inspectors take necessary statutory action for their control. They also provide beekeepers with free training and advice.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - 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 steps she is taking to address the high cost of fertilisers for farmers.
Answered by George Eustice
The trade in fertilisers is part of a global market and prices are determined by the market place. Defra monitors farmer input costs, which include fertilisers, and farmers have access to advice on the efficient use of these products under the industry-led Greenhouse Gas Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - 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 she has made of the potential effect on the agriculture and fishing sectors of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
We have not made any assessment of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on the UK agriculture and fishing sectors.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to recommend that insurance companies make public their geographical data suppliers in respect of areas deemed to be at risk of flooding.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Insurance companies determine the flood risk element of the premiums they charge. Insurers use a variety of models to identify flood risk which may differ by area and organisation and will depend on their approach to risk and their underwriting strategies. Insurance companies do not have to disclose the criteria they use. The criteria and data suppliers that insurers use is commercially sensitive information which, if made public, could serve to distort the effective operation of the market.