Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 respond formally to the Soil Association's Save Our Anti-Biotic campaign.
Answered by George Eustice
No formal response will be made. On 16 September 2016 the Government published its response to the final report and recommendations of the Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. The response outlines future plans and ambitions to reduce the need for antibiotics and tackle antibiotic resistance.
We continue to work with a wide-range of stakeholders and use emerging, scientifically sound evidence to develop policy.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to minimise the use of antibiotics in livestock management.
Answered by George Eustice
On 16 September 2016 the Government published its response to the final report and recommendations of the Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
The response includes clear commitments to reducing the need for antibiotics in livestock. We have committed to work closely with different individual sectors to ensure that appropriate sector specific reduction targets are agreed by 2017. This will ensure that future reductions are greatest where there is most scope, and that they are underpinned by improvements which focus on encouraging best practice and responsible use of antibiotics.
This work aligns with the actions already set out in the Government’s Five-Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, including improving the stewardship of existing antibiotics, improving infection prevention and control and optimising prescribing practice.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment the Government has made of the public health danger posed by the use of antibiotics for agricultural purposes.
Answered by George Eustice
Representatives from Defra sit on the European Medicines Agency’s ad hoc Antimicrobial Expert Group (AMEG). The group is comprised of experts on human and animal health.
In 2013, AMEG assessed the risk posed to human health by the use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. Their assessment was revised in 2016 following the discovery of bacteria resistant to colistin, a last resort antibiotic in human medicine. They recommended that colistin was classified as a critically important antibiotic to human health and called for a reduction of its use in veterinary medicine.
AMEG will continue to assess emerging evidence and bring recommendations where necessary.
Asked by: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what preparations her Department is making to support the agricultural economy in the Northern Ireland in the event of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation. We believe we can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis.