Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
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 her Department's policy paper entitled Animal Welfare Strategy for England, published on 22 December 2025, what her Department's planned timetable is for launching the consultation on dog breeding.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to ending puppy farming and the low welfare breeding of dogs. As part of the Animal Welfare Strategy, the Government has committed to launch a consultation on dog breeding reform. Next steps will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 on the phasing out of the use of animals in scientific research and testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting the development and uptake of alternatives to the use of animals in science and has published the Replacing Animals in Science strategy which lays out the steps we are taking to achieve that end. The strategy states that the Government will continue to support the use of animals in science where it is necessary and appropriate. The Government assesses that Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 will have no direct impact on the phasing out of the use of animals in scientific research and testing.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which local transport authorities did not provide road condition data for at least one road type from the last 2 years; and what steps are being taken to ensure they can provide full data in future.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Official statistics on the condition of local roads in England in are published annually Road conditions in England to March 2024 - GOV.UK. Where information was not provided the Department for Transport (DfT) this is denoted in the relevant tables. Local authorities were also required to provide information on road condition as part of the local highway's maintenance transparency report published on local authority websites Highway maintenance funding: guidance for local authorities - GOV.UK.
The Government has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance from 2026/27 to 2029/30. As was the case in the 2025/26 financial year, a portion of this funding will be designated as incentive funding. This funding will be subject to local highway authorities demonstrating that they comply with best practice in highways maintenance, for example by spending all the Department for Transport’s capital grant on highways maintenance and adopting more preventative maintenance. All incentive funding will be withheld if reports are not published.
On 11 January, the Department published a new traffic light rating system for every local highway authority. Under this system, all local highway authorities in England received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how effectively they spend their record Government funding, and whether they do so using best practice. The Department also published an interactive map which means residents can see how their authority is performing and allow the Government to target support to those who need extra help.