Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
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 she has made of air quality in London.
Answered by Rory Stewart
We assess compliance annually for a range of pollutants covered by European directives for all UK zones, including Greater London. The latest compliance report Air Pollution in the UK 2014 was published in September last year and is available on the UK-Air website:
http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/viewonline?year=2014_issue_1
The air quality plan we published in December last year sets out the measures we are taking to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide in London. The plan is available on the GOV.UK website at:
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
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 (a) enforce the European Commission Interpretative Notice, C2015 7834 final, on the indication of origin of goods from territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 and (b) ensure that penalties for mis-labeling of such products are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Answered by George Eustice
The principal feature of the Interpretative Notice is a recommendation that goods imported into the EU which originate from Israeli settlements in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 should bear an indication which makes that provenance clear. That recommendation was included in technical advice to UK retailers and importers concerning labelling agricultural produce from the West Bank that was issued by Defra in 2009. We are currently in discussion with other Departments to consider whether revisions need to be made to the 2009 advice in the light of the Interpretative Notice. As regards sanctions and penalties for mis-labelling, these are dealt with in various pieces of legislation depending on the goods concerned.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many convictions there have been for animal neglect and cruelty in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015 to date.
Answered by George Eustice
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Lord Black of Brentwood on 3 July 2015. PQ UIN HL795 listed the number of offenders found guilty of animal neglect and cruelty (which is prosecuted under Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006) in England and Wales as a whole in 2014:
The number of prosecutions for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for each of the last five years, for which records are available, can be viewed in the table below. Centrally held statistics do not record the species of animal involved.
Defendants proceeded against at magistrates' court and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to causing, permitting or failing to prevent unnecessary suffering(1), England & Wales, 2010-2014(2)(3) | ||||||
Offence | Outcome | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
Causing, permitting or failing to prevent unnecessary suffering | Proceeded against | 1,077 | 1,277 | 1,385 | 1,266 | 1,016 |
Found Guilty | 856 | 1,010 | 1,101 | 1,006 | 800 | |
(1) An offence under SS4(1) & 32(1) and 4(2) & 32(1) Animal Welfare Act 2006, which came into force on 6 April 2007.
(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.
Criminal Justice statistics for 2015, including those found guilty of offences under Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 are planned for publication in May 2016.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prison sentences were handed down for offences under (a) section 4 and (b) section 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
The information requested is available in the attached table.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many successful prosecutions there have been for offences under (a) section 4 and (b) section 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in (i) England and (ii) Wales in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
The information requested is available in the attached table.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prison sentences awarded to people convicted of offences under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in (a) England and (b) Wales were for (i) one month, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four, (v) five and (vi) six months in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
The information requested is available in the attached table.