Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to introduce the ability to rehome section one listed dogs to prevent their euthanasia.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 prohibits the owning or keeping of four types of dog: the Pit Bull terrier, the Dogo Argentino, the Fila Brasileiro and the Japanese Tosa.
Despite the general prohibitions on these types of dog, an individual prohibited dog can be kept by its owner or by the person for the time being in charge of the dog if a court judges that the dog is not a danger to public safety. In its assessment, the court must consider the temperament of the dog and its past behaviour, whether the proposed keeper is a fit and proper person, and may consider any other relevant circumstances, such as whether the dog can be kept in a suitable environment. If the court considers these criteria to be met, the dog can be listed on the Index of Exempted Dogs and must be kept under strict conditions, including being on a lead and muzzled in public.
The Dangerous Dogs Exemption Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015 sets out the circumstances where an exempted prohibited dog may be transferred to a new keeper should the current keeper become seriously ill or die. The Government is not planning to introduce additional abilities to enable exempted prohibited dogs to be transferred to new keepers.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to ban supertrawlers from fishing in UK waters.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, during the transition period, we have agreed that we will continue to apply current fisheries rules and shared access to waters will continue until the end of 2020. When the transition period ends, we will be able to restrict the fishing activities of all vessels, including supertrawlers, throughout our waters.
The UK will be able to decide what vessels can access our waters to fish and the new licensing framework within the Fisheries Bill will allow us to apply conditions to the activities of all vessels fishing in UK waters. Any vessels granted access to fish in our waters, regardless of nationality, will need to abide by UK rules including those on sustainability.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many soliped and equidae were imported from Ireland for slaughter in Great Britain in (a) 2019 and (b) in each month of 2020.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System) is a European Commission system used by EU member states to facilitate and record animal/animal product movements into and throughout the EU. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), as the competent authority, is able to extract information from TRACES for imports of live animals into the UK.
Based on the information available, there were no solipeds or equidae certified for slaughter which had been imported from Ireland in 2019 or 2020.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what quantity of horse meat was exported from the UK in 2019.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) issues Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for animals and products of animal origin exported to non-EU countries. In 2019, APHA did not issue any EHCs for the export of horse meat to non-EU countries.
APHA is not able to provide any data regarding the quantity of horse meat exported from the UK to the EU in 2019. Data for such trade is currently drawn from EU systems based on movements of animals to the EU that require an Intra-Trade Animal Health Certificate (ITAHC). An ITAHC was not required for movements of meat between the UK and the rest of the EU in 2019.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the British Horseracing Authority on that organisation's consultation on the rules and penalties for misuse of a whip in racing; and whether that consultation will follow Government principles for consultations.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials have regular discussions with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), including recently on its Horse Welfare Board’s five-year Horse Welfare Strategy “A life well-lived”. The Strategy recommends that the BHA should consult as soon as possible and ideally by October 2020 on increased penalties for whip offences. The Strategy also recommends that this consultation should gather views on future restrictions on whip use and on a possible ban. As part of ongoing regular discussions, Defra officials will be advising the BHA about how to follow Government principles for conducting consultations, and Defra will be taking a close interest in how this progresses.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the consumption of dog meat.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
It is already illegal to sell dog meat for human consumption and the Government has seen no evidence that dog meat is being sold or consumed in this country. We are confident that the current position in this country sends a clear message that the slaughter and consumption of dogs will never be acceptable.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations officials in her Department have made to the British Horseracing Authority on banning the use of the whip in horseracing.
Answered by George Eustice
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton, Dr Rupa Huq, on 20 January 2020 PQ 1916.
Defra officials are in regular dialogue with the British Horseracing Authority to discuss the safety and welfare of racehorses and will continue to work with the industry to safeguard horse welfare.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
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 he has allocated to air pollution alert systems in each of the last three years; and what steps he has taken to locate those systems in (a) schools, (b) hospitals and (c) nurseries.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Air quality is a devolved matter.
In England, the government is committed to making sure the best independent evidence and information on pollution events is available to the public. As part of this commitment a five-day air quality forecast service from the Met Office is available to the public on Defra’s UK Air website. It provides up-to-date information on air pollution, and alerts during periods of elevated pollution. The latest real world measurements from monitoring sites are also available. The cost of providing this forecasting and dissemination platform is just over £1m.
The national network of air quality monitors currently comprises 282 sites across the UK and is managed by the Environment Agency. Sites are organised into networks that gather information for a wide range of pollutants in towns and cities as well as in rural areas. Monitoring stations for key pollutants are sited in accordance with criteria set out in the EU Air Quality Directive to ensure measurements are representative and also comparable across all member states. The 9 National monitoring networks cost just under £6m per year to operate.
As part of the Clean Air Strategy we are looking at providing a messaging system to inform the public about the air quality forecast, providing clearer information on air pollution episodes and accessible health advice.
Local authorities also have requirements to monitor air pollution.
The government provides guidance, including helpdesk advice, to local authorities on the appropriate type of monitoring to install. Where local authorities conduct air quality monitoring, they are expected to site monitors in accordance with local and national priorities, which may include schools and other locations where there is high risk of public exposure.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
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 his Department has allocated to (a) school behaviour change programmes and (b) other projects designed to protect children's health from air pollution in each of the last three years.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Air quality is a devolved matter. Local authorities can bid for additional government funding via the air quality grant fund for projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions affecting schools, businesses and residents. In 2016/17, the London Borough of Islington was awarded £50,000 to run a local school-focused awareness and engagement campaign through the air quality grant.
Local authorities have a duty to monitor and assess air quality and to take action to reduce pollution where these breach statutory limits, and are best placed to determine local priorities. Their local knowledge and interaction with the communities that they serve means that they know the issues on the ground in detail and the solutions that are best suited to local circumstances.
The government awarded a total of £2.4 million to local authorities from the 2017/18 air quality grant fund; £3.7 million was awarded to local authorities in 2016/17 and £0.5 million in 2015/16. £3 million has been allocated for 2018/19.
The government has also put in place a £3.5 billion plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions, which includes £475 million for councils to improve air quality. We have consulted on our Clean Air Strategy, which includes ambitious goals, legislation, investment and policies which will help us to clean up our air faster and more effectively.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to open to public consultation the draft Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra consulted on proposals to review the existing animal activities licensing regime in 2015-16. In July 2016 we published a summary of responses, and in February 2017 we published our Next Steps document which outlined our proposals following the consultation responses. Since then we have been working with representatives of key stakeholders to develop the new regulations. The draft regulations will now be laid in early 2018.