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Written Question
Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for consultation on activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.

Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed.

This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.


Written Question
Hydroelectric Power
Friday 21st April 2023

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Plan for Water, published in April 2023, if she will take steps to ensure that existing weirs are not removed without (a) a full assessment of their potential use for hydroelectric power (b) a local consultation carried out by the Environment Agency.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Through the development of the River Basin Management Plans, the Environment Agency evaluates in each water body where redundant physical modifications are damaging ecology and should be removed. Not all physical modifications are redundant and able to be removed, for example straightened rivers. More information is publicly available at: Physical modifications: challenges for the water environment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Environment Agency evaluates key criteria when determining if a weir is removed including ownership, use(s), condition, maintenance costs, any associated risks and additional benefits that the physical modifications provide. These evaluations consider local site-specific factors too, such as biodiversity, flood mitigation, water supply and other ecosystem services.


Written Question
Water: Infrastructure
Friday 21st April 2023

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Plan for Water, published in April 2023, how will her Department determine which physical modifications are redundant and should be removed.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Through the development of the River Basin Management Plans, the Environment Agency evaluates in each water body where redundant physical modifications are damaging ecology and should be removed. Not all physical modifications are redundant and able to be removed, for example straightened rivers. More information is publicly available at: Physical modifications: challenges for the water environment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Environment Agency evaluates key criteria when determining if a weir is removed including ownership, use(s), condition, maintenance costs, any associated risks and additional benefits that the physical modifications provide. These evaluations consider local site-specific factors too, such as biodiversity, flood mitigation, water supply and other ecosystem services.


Written Question
Nature Conservation: Planning Permission
Tuesday 14th June 2022

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues to planning authorities on approving planning applications in respect of land which adjoins ancient woodland and habitats of species, such as fallow deer, dormice, lapwings and bats.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government wants to make sure that our ancient woodlands are adequately protected and suitably managed to provide a wide range of social, environmental and economic benefits to society.

The National Planning Policy Framework states that development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, including ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees, should be refused unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists.

Natural England and the Forestry Commission have published ‘standing advice’ for ancient woodland, ancient trees and veteran trees. It is a material planning consideration for local planning authorities and as such should be taken into account when making planning decisions that affect ancient woodland, ancient trees or veteran trees.

Furthermore, on 27 May 2022 the Government published the newly updated Keepers of Time policy which recognises the value of England’s ancient and native woodlands and ancient and veteran trees. It restates our commitment to evaluate the threats facing these habitats and sets out our updated principles and objectives to protect and improve them for future generations.


Written Question
Animal Products: Imports
Friday 10th June 2022

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to bring forward legislative proposals on banning the import of hunting trophies from endangered species announced in December 2021.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have pledged to bring forward legislation to ban imports of hunting trophies from thousands of species. This ban will be among the strongest in the world, leading the way in protecting endangered animals. We intend to bring this forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.


Written Question
Animal Products: Imports
Thursday 9th June 2022

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

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 potential (a) costs and (b) benefits of banning imports of hunting trophies into the UK; and whether such assessments took into account the potential impact of such a ban on (i) levels of biodiversity and (ii) evolutionary harm to species.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The consultation and call for evidence on hunting trophies ran from 2 November 2019 to 25 February 2020. We received views and evidence on the costs and benefits of further restrictions, including the potential impacts on biodiversity and species.

The summary of responses and Government response to the consultation and call for evidence are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/hunting-trophies-controlling-imports-to-and-exports-from-the-uk/outcome/summary-of-responses-and-government-response--2.

Further information will be published when legislation is brought forward in due course.


Written Question
Animal Products: Imports
Wednesday 8th June 2022

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of hunting trophies from endangered species that have been imported into the UK since December 2019.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK recorded 63 imports of hunting trophies under CITES in 2019 and 26 imports in 2020.

Data for 2021 is currently being finalised and will be made available through the CITES trade database at https://trade.cites.org/.


Written Question
Animal Products: Imports
Tuesday 7th December 2021

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to ban trophy hunting imports.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This year we have already introduced our Animal Sentience and Kept Animals Bills to Parliament and we intend to legislate further to protect animals abroad as soon as parliamentary time allows. We will be setting out our detailed plans for action soon, including by publishing the Government’s response to the consultation on trophy hunting imports.


Speech in Westminster Hall - Wed 03 Nov 2021
Trophy Hunting Imports Ban: Endangered Species

Speech Link

View all Pauline Latham (Con - Mid Derbyshire) contributions to the debate on: Trophy Hunting Imports Ban: Endangered Species

Written Question
Zoos
Tuesday 21st September 2021

Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that his Department’s standards of modern zoo practice include (a) conservation activities on supporting endangered species through the collection of genetic material for research and (b) the provision of formal education sessions..

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Section 1A of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 currently sets the conservation, research and education requirements that licensed zoos in Great Britain must meet. The Government is proposing, via the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill currently before Parliament, to allow these standards instead to be set in the Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (‘the Zoo Standards’). This will mean that they may be updated more easily in future. The Zoo Standards are in the process of being updated by Defra, in consultation with the UK’s Zoos Expert Committee, and will include new conservation, research and education standards in preparation for the new legislation. Defra is aiming to publish a draft of the new Zoo Standards, for a targeted consultation of relevant zoo stakeholders, later this year.