Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to question 91282, what assessment she has made of the relative merits of (a) the forest-risk commodities regime and b) the approach of the EU Deforestation Regulations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK and the EU share the common commitment to tackle deforestation in supply chains. The UK is continuing to monitor and engage with international frameworks on deforestation, including measures such as the EU Deforestation Regulation, and their impact on global supply chains which will inform any UK measure.
We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is currently considering its approach to forest risk commodities and will set out plans in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2025 to question 85098, when she will bring forward due diligence measures on forest-risk commodities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK recognises the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation.
The Government is carefully considering the best regulatory approach to address deforestation in UK supply chains; we will set out this approach in due course. We need to balance a range of factors, including the broader policy landscape and relevant international frameworks.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she will publish in full the Global Ecosystem Assessment report.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra routinely conducts and updates assessments on a range of threats. The Government publishes assessments in the National Risk Register and Chronic Risks Analysis, including on biodiversity loss and its interactions with ecosystems, on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the decision by Israel to recognise Somaliland and the implications for the UK's own policy on recognition.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is the UK's long-standing position that the settlement of Somaliland's status is an issue for authorities in Mogadishu and Hargeisa to decide through a consultative process and dialogue, in line with the principles of the UN charter.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish a new national Hate Crime Action Plan.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime wherever in the country it occurs, and whoever is responsible for committing it. We expect the police to fully investigate these appalling offences and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.
The Home Office is already working closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and other government departments, to strengthen the response to hate crime going forward so we can tackle this offending head on.
The Government funds an online hate crime reporting portal called True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also continue to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme on UK growers, fresh food supply chains and consumers; and what plans she has to support the fresh food sector after that scheme ends.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to our horticulture sector and its role in providing fresh home-grown produce that helps to feed the nation. The EU Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme was limited to Producer Organisations, with only about 20% of the sector benefitting. Future support for the sector will include Defra’s work to rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver maximum benefit for food security and the taxpayer. Significant investment is already underway – of the £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, nearly £40 million—- 26% of total awards—has funded research projects helping fruit and vegetable businesses become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Government has also put in place a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing stability for growers, and an extension of easements on import checks for medium-risk produce ahead of the new SPS agreement with the EU.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women in the Bristol East constituency have been affected by faulty PIP breast implants.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The role of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is to monitor all incidents that are reported to us, making sure that these incidents are investigated fully and that any necessary action is taken. The poly implant prothèse (PIP) issue was a result of the use of a non-approved silicone in the production of the breast implants and fragile shells. Not all PIP implants manufactured during the affected period used industrial-grade silicone or had more fragile shells. As a result, rupture rates vary depending on the batch received and early rupture typically occurs within the first five to 10 years. Due to the overall fraudulent activity, we do not know how many fall into this category.
We worked with the National Health Service and other health partners to ensure the issue was properly investigated. It is important to note that while PIP implants are associated with a higher risk of rupture, leading to symptoms such as tenderness or swollen lymph glands, there is no evidence linking ruptured PIP implants to serious long-term health issues. The PIP breast implants were withdrawn from the United Kingdom in 2010, and two independent reviews have identified lessons learned, the Howe Review (2012) and the Keogh Review (2013), with further information available on both, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-regulation-of-cosmetic-interventions
One of the concerning issues for women with breast implants at the time of PIP was that women didn’t know they had PIP breast implants. It is estimated that approximately 47,000 British women had PIP implants fitted. We are unable to provide the granularity for individual constituencies, although further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pip-implants/
However, please note that any PIP implants still in place have now exceeded 15 years in situ, which is the upper end of the 10 to 15 year typical life expectancy of a breast implant. As with any medical device reaching the end of its expected lifespan, clinical decisions regarding removal or replacement should be made on an individual basis in discussion between the doctor and the individual involved.
The health system has enacted important changes since the publication of reviews focused on PIP implants. As a result of the Keogh Review, since 2016 the Breast and Cosmetic Implant Registry collects data on all types of breast implant and removal surgery in England and Scotland, which aims to help detect emerging safety issues and trace patients if necessary.
As part of MHRA’s regulatory reform program, we are intending to also improve the traceability of medical devices through the introduction of Unique Device Identifiers (UDI) which will help identify individual medical devices and who manufactured the device or placed it on the market.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 ensure that trail hunting is not used as a cover for the illegal hunting of wild mammals with dogs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to enacting a ban on trail hunting in line with our manifesto commitment. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and we will consult on how to deliver a ban in the new year.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has received recent representations on breaches of the Hunting Act 2004.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will expand substitution therapy interventions for those with opioid dependency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services according to local need, and this includes the provision of opioid substitution treatment such as methadone and both oral and long-acting injectable buprenorphine.
On 20 November, the Government announced an investment of over £13.4 billion, a 5.6% cash increase, over the next three years in local authorities’ vital public health work through a consolidated Public Health Grant. This includes the overall £1 billion Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant. The Department advises local areas to prioritise resourcing opioid substitution therapy prescribing from this funding if the current provision is not adequate. Opioid substitution therapy is currently available in all local authorities in England, but access to long-acting injectable buprenorphine is too limited in some.
The Department supports interventions to expand the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine. We are currently doing more analysis to understand cost-effectiveness, developing clinical guidance, and scoping how best to expand access to long-acting injectable buprenorphine further.