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Written Question
Cats: Animal Breeding
Friday 11th November 2022

Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will bring forward legislative proposals on cat breeding that are equivalent to regulations in Scotland.

Answered by Rebecca Pow

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) introduced licencing requirements in England for specified activities involving animals: selling animals as pets, providing for or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats and dogs, hiring out horses, dog breeding and keeping or training animals for exhibition.

The 2018 Regulations are due to be reviewed in 2023. This will be an appropriate time to re-examine the scope of the Regulations and consider whether there is evidence to explore potential licencing of additional activities. As part of this review, we are proactively working with partners, including local authorities to collate data that can provide a picture of licensed and unlicensed activities involving animals in England. A wide range of stakeholders including key trade associations and the Canine and Feline Sector Group will be integral to coordinating input from this diverse sector to inform Defra’s review.

Whilst animal welfare is a devolved matter, Defra officials liaise closely with their counterparts across the whole of the UK.

Written Question
Cats: Imports
Thursday 10th November 2022

Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the import of cats that have been declawed.

Answered by Rebecca Pow

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was re-introduced to the House of Commons in May and will progress to Report stage as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill introduces measures relating to the low welfare movements of pets into the United Kingdom and includes powers to introduce further restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

In August 2021, HM Government launched a consultation on how these powers should be used. The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats and kittens was the right approach. We are currently analysing the replies to this consultation and will publish our response in due course.

Written Question
Cats: Imports
Thursday 10th November 2022

Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to increase the minimum age for importing cats from 15 weeks to six months.

Answered by Rebecca Pow

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was re-introduced to the House of Commons in May and will progress to Report stage as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill introduces measures relating to the low welfare movements of pets into the United Kingdom and includes powers to introduce further restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.

In August 2021, HM Government launched a consultation on how these powers should be used. The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats and kittens was the right approach. We are currently analysing the replies to this consultation and will publish our response in due course.

Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 22 Jul 2021
Oral Answers to Questions

" What assessment the Committee has made of the potential effect of the proposal in the Elections Bill to introduce a strategy and policy statement for the Electoral Commission on the ability of the commission to discharge its functions. ..."
Gavin Newlands - View Speech

View all Gavin Newlands (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire North) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 22 Jul 2021
Oral Answers to Questions

"I thank the hon. Member for that response, but under the Government’s proposals in the Elections Bill, the Electoral Commission’s powers to ensure that criminal offences under electoral law are prosecuted will be drastically curtailed. Given the numerous instances over recent years of sharp practice and outright criminality, and the …..."
Gavin Newlands - View Speech

View all Gavin Newlands (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire North) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 22 Apr 2021
Oral Answers to Questions

" What recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of UK exports of food and drink to the EU. ..."
Gavin Newlands - View Speech

View all Gavin Newlands (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire North) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 22 Apr 2021
Oral Answers to Questions

"Since the Government’s precious Brexit, fish exports to the EU have collapsed and the Government said it was teething problems; cheese exports collapsed and the Government blamed exporters for poor paperwork; seafood exports collapsed and the Government said they might reclassify waters to make them cleaner. But nothing substantive has …..."
Gavin Newlands - View Speech

View all Gavin Newlands (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire North) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 08 Feb 2021
UK Shellfish Exports

"Deepdock, a mussel exporting specialist, says that it now requires 41 pieces of paper to ship 10 bags of mussels to the EU where only one was required before. Is this just, as the Secretary of State likes to say, a teething issue, or is it yet another sign that …..."
Gavin Newlands - View Speech

View all Gavin Newlands (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire North) contributions to the debate on: UK Shellfish Exports
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 10 Sep 2020
Oral Answers to Questions

"Food standards and geographical protections go hand in hand, and despite the Secretary of State’s earlier answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Deidre Brock), this Government are giving up on food standards and trade deals and are abandoning the EU’s protections on protected geographical …..."
Gavin Newlands - View Speech

View all Gavin Newlands (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire North) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in General Committees - Mon 25 Mar 2019
Draft Agriculture (Legislative Functions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Common Agricultural Policy (Financing, Management and Monitoring) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Common Agricultural Policy (Financing, Management and Monitoring Supplementary Provisions) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Common Agricultural Policy and Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

"It is a pleasure to have you in the Chair, Mr Hanson. I welcome the Minister back to Government, although how long that Government will last is up for debate given events outside this room. As I find myself saying fairly often, it is regrettable that this legislation has been …..."
Gavin Newlands - View Speech

View all Gavin Newlands (SNP - Paisley and Renfrewshire North) contributions to the debate on: Draft Agriculture (Legislative Functions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Common Agricultural Policy (Financing, Management and Monitoring) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Common Agricultural Policy (Financing, Management and Monitoring Supplementary Provisions) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Common Agricultural Policy and Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019