Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
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 is taking steps to ban the export of livestock for fattening; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government has always been clear that it would prefer animals to be slaughtered close to the point of production. Our manifesto made it clear that we would take early steps to control the export of live farm animals for slaughter, once we leave the European Union (EU).
We recently launched a call for evidence on the control of live animal exports for slaughter and on improving animal welfare during transport for all purposes including fattening after the UK leaves the EU. The call for evidence closed on the 22 May 2018 and we are currently analysing the responses. The Government has also asked the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) to look at what improvements could be made to the transport regulatory regime for all animals and for all purposes, we hope to receive the recommendations from the FAWC later in the year.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of dogs being brought illegally into the UK.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK carries out more checks of pets at the border than most other EU Member States and penalties are in place where people are found to be breaking the rules.
The purpose of the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) is to facilitate the travel into the EU and between Member States of owners with their pets, whilst protecting the country from risks to animal and public health.
Some commercial operators have abused the PETS to traffic underage puppies into Great Britain, using falsified pet passports to conceal the animals’ true ages and appropriate action is taken.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is working in partnership with Dogs Trust, enforcement bodies and transport carriers to identify non-compliant animals destined for Dover and Folkestone ports. This partnership began in December 2015 resulting in 720 puppies being seized and placed into quarantine.
Puppy buyers are sometimes misled into purchasing an illegally imported puppy they believe to be domestically bred. Defra has published guidance for owners on buying a pet. This contains guidelines such as buying from a reputable supplier and viewing the animal and its documentation, and also highlights the trade in illegal imports. Defra also works closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to drive up standards for online advertisements and make potential pet owners and website operators more aware of rogue dealers.
Asked by: Chris Williamson (Independent - Derby North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessments (a) his Department and (b) Public Health England have made of air quality in the area of the Lancaster Estate, North Kensington, London, since the fire at Grenfell Tower; and in what ways the results of those assessments have been communicated to local residents.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Public Health England (PHE) has been assessing and monitoring air quality in the area surrounding Grenfell Tower (Lancaster West Estate) since the start of the fire on 14 June. Results to date have not detected elevated levels of pollutants of concern, therefore, current evidence suggests the risk to public health from air pollution remains low.
The results of the monitoring are published weekly on the PHE website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-monitoring-following-the-grenfell-tower-fire) and publication is announced on Twitter when the latest report goes live. Details of these reports are included on a regular basis in the residents’ newsletter which is published by the Grenfell Response Team. Representatives from PHE have also attended a number of community meetings to explain the air quality monitoring and answer any queries from local people.