Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on reports on the presence of a tunnel beneath Al-Shifa Hospital.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK cannot comment on specific reports. However, it is clear that Hamas has put Palestinians at grave risk by embedding themselves in the civilian population and using civilians as human shields. The Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 23 November, where he met President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and other senior Israeli interlocutors to discuss the conflict. We are also clear that, in pursuing its legitimate right to self-defence against Hamas, Israel's military actions in Gaza must be carried out in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and Israel must take all possible measures to protect civilians.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Habitats Directive on airfield planning applications.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is supportive of airport growth where it can be delivered within its environmental obligations.
Every development proposal should be judged by the relevant planning authority, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, including environmental impacts and proposed mitigations.
Airport planning applications need to take into account the European Commission Habitats Directive where they could lead to significant impacts on areas of nature conservation, which could include a Habitat Regulations Assessment of the implications of the plans for that site.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding she plans to allocate to the Animal and Plant Health Agency in each of the next five financial years.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) Defra funding for financial year 2023-24 is £185.2 million RDEL (Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit) and £15.7 million CDEL (Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit). Indicative funding for 2024-25 has been set but is not yet confirmed and is expected to be agreed by January 2024. Future year funding beyond this is subject to the Government-wide spending review process which will determine the overall funding for Defra and APHA.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
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 made of the adequacy of Animal Plant and Health Agency veterinary resources; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
APHA has approximately 430 veterinary posts and at the end of May 2023, 60 of these were vacant. Recruitment is underway and locum vets are being used while vacancies are being filled. Because of the nature of APHA work, veterinary resource needs can change rapidly. This was seen during last winter and the large avian influenza outbreak that required a prioritising resource allocation and the temporary expansion of the Agency’s workforce.
APHA has contracts in place to enable it to bring in more veterinary resource from private veterinary practices at times of peak demand and this was heavily used during the outbreak.
APHA also was also able to draw on veterinary resource from core Defra. There are other potential changes to APHA’s responsibilities which will require more veterinary resource. These changes are individually impact assessed to identify resource requirements. One such example is the new Border Operating Model where APHA is likely to need significant extra veterinary resource to check imported live animals. Defra provides APHA with additional funding to expand veterinary resource where needed.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential impact of notifiable disease outbreaks on exports.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade maintains regular dialogue with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on a wide range of issues relating to agriculture and trade. The government will continue to prioritise trade facilitation in our FTAs to benefit UK exports.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps to (a) review and (b) update the notifiable avian disease control strategy, published on 30 August 2018.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current avian influenza disease control policy considers the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice, reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control. Defra’s approach to avian influenza is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain, published in September 2019. This document is currently under review and is being updated to reflect the recent legislative and policy changes that have already been implemented and an updated version will be published on gov.uk prior to the 2023/2024 high risk season. The Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain is supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales, an updated version of which was published in March 2023.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to suspend the import of (a) animals and (b) animal products from France after the commencement of its avian flu vaccination programme in autumn 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is important to note that, according to Great Britain's Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy, avian flu vaccination, barring those in licensed English zoos, is currently not permitted for poultry and captive birds. These steps represent our commitment to maintaining animal and public health.
In response to France's commitments on its autumn 2023 avian flu vaccination programme, my department has formed a task force to explore broader vaccination use as a preventive measure against avian influenza.
This group, consisting of Government and industry experts, will formulate potential domestic strategies, with considerations for trade impact and necessary mitigations to prevent trade barriers, potentially including suspension of import of animals and animal products from France. All proposed changes will be backed by robust risk assessments.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on developing an avian influenza vaccination trade strategy.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken planning exercises in the last 10 years to test the UK's preparedness for managing a farm animal disease outbreak.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There have been four UK-wide exercises involving Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency including their operational partners and stakeholder organisations:
We have also completed numerous operational, field and laboratory-based exercises to test and refine contingency plans on a yearly cycle, and our response capability has been tested by real-world outbreaks such as the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to condemn Iran for its alleged support for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s recent attacks on Israel.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government regularly assesses the impact of Iran's destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial and military support to several militant and proscribed groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Such activity compromises the region's security, its ability to prosper and escalates already high tensions, with consequences for the international community. It is for this reason that we currently have over 350 sanctions in place against the Iranian regime. PIJ and other terrorist groups must cease their campaign of violence, for which there is no justification. As the Foreign Secretary said in his 14 May statement, we welcome the current Egyptian-brokered ceasefire and urge all sides to de-escalate tensions.