Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 report entitled Bovine TB Control Strategy for England, published in June 2026, what specific criteria her Department intends the proposed framework for determining when the evidence threshold for permitting lethal badger control will apply; who will develop the framework; which body will adjudicate whether the threshold has been met in any given case; and whether the criteria, and each future determination made under them, will be published before any lethal control is authorised.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is currently considering the proposals set out in the recommended bovine TB control strategy for England. As a result, no decisions have yet been taken on the evidence threshold for permitting lethal badger control, including the criteria that might apply or governance arrangements for developing and applying any framework.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 implications for her Department's policies of the policy paper entitled Bovine tuberculosis Godfray evidence review update 2025, updated on 26 September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is currently considering the proposals set out in the recommended Bovine TB Control Strategy for England, which drew on the findings of the Godfray evidence review, commissioned by this Government in December 2024. Decisions on bovine TB policy will be taken in light of that process. No separate assessment of the policy implications of the review has therefore been completed.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to real-time local air quality monitoring and forecasts for (a) people with cystic fibrosis and (b) other vulnerable groups.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra provides the public with access to real-time local air quality monitoring and forecasts, as well as associated health advice, through the Check Air Quality webservice. This information is available to everyone, and specific advice is provided for people with lung or heart conditions.
Defra is continuing to improve the way air quality information is communicated to ensure information reaches the people that need it the most. Last week Government launched a new air quality alert service which allows people to select an area relevant to them, and receive an alert by SMS or email when air pollution is measured or forecast to be high. This will help people who are more susceptible to harm from air pollution, and those who care for them, make informed decisions about reducing exposure during periods of poor air quality.
The Department also works with a range of partners including local authorities, the UK Health Security Agency and health charities to support clearer public messaging on air pollution and health. This includes establishing the Air Pollution Awareness Coalition (APAC); a cross-sector coalition to improve public understanding of air pollution and support action to reduce harm.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support the wider availability of organoid testing as a replacement to methods involving animals.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is supporting the wider availability of organoid testing through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy. As announced on 12 August 2026, the new £20 million Pre-clinical Translational Models Hub will lead work to build and share models of human tissue, including organoids, using cells donated by NHS patients. The Hub will accelerate the development of these human-relevant approaches and make them available to researchers in universities and industry. Through UKCVAM and other strategy commitments, the Government is also supporting the validation and uptake of alternative methods where scientifically appropriate.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of greater partnerships between the NHS and medical researchers on developing non-animal methods for scientific testing.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the important role that collaboration between the NHS, researchers and industry can play in accelerating the development of life sciences innovations. Through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, we are supporting partnerships that bring together expertise, data and human biological samples to develop more human-relevant approaches to research and testing. For example, the new Pre-clinical Translational Models Hub will support the development of models using cells donated by NHS patients, helping researchers better understand how people may respond to new treatments and supporting innovation in medicines development.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has made of the potential public health benefits of (a) introducing a national public awareness campaign on the health impacts of air pollution and (b) updating the thresholds used in the Daily Air Quality Index.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government is committed to making air quality information accessible and actionable. The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out how we are working to improve public understanding of air pollution and how people can reduce their exposure.
In 2025, the Air Quality Information System steering group published their report on how to improve air quality communications. As part of this work, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs commissioned the study Ricardo report: Evaluation of the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI) to evaluate whether the DAQI services are achieving the intended objectives and to provide recommendations for improvements. The report is available at the following link:
The current DAQI is based on a consideration of the evidence of health effects following short-term exposure to elevated air pollution and is aligned with most air quality indexes used in other countries
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England plans to publish its completed gap analysis of freezer capacity for the fresh freezing and storage of brain tumour tissue; and if he will publish the underlying data from that analysis.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
NHS England has completed a gap analysis of the need for freezer capacity and is looking at how to support services to provide an equitable expansion of that capacity.
The Department and NHS England will work with professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists, to review tissue retention guidance and consent processes.
The Department is looking at ways to support trusts to expand freezer capacity, and will provide an update on this in the autumn.
There are no plans to publish the full gap analysis. The data is management information which is not routinely published.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department intends to engage with (a) community organisations, (b) charities and (c) people with lived experience of air pollution during the upcoming review of the Air Quality Strategy.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of hearing from a wide range of stakeholders, including people directly affected by air pollution, when reviewing air quality policy.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of involving people directly affected by air pollution in the review of the Air Quality Strategy.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of hearing from a wide range of stakeholders, including people directly affected by air pollution, when reviewing air quality policy.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress Government has made in implementing its strategy to phase out animal testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 April 2026 to Question UIN 126489