Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to commence the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022; and whether she plans to use the statutory powers in that Act to introduce a glue trap licensing scheme for England.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Glue Traps (Offences) Act does not stipulate a commencement date but as stated during the passage of the Bill, the intention is to bring the Act into effect after a two year transition period.
I intend to use the statutory powers of the Act to introduce a licencing regime in order to permit the use of glue traps in England in the most exceptional circumstances by professional pest controllers for the purposes of preserving public health and safety, when there is no satisfactory alternative.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support the Government (a) has provided, (b) is providing and (c) plans to provide to assist in the purchase of equipment for the depuration of cockles for export to the EU from waters where depuration was not required prior to the end of the transition period; and what proportion of that support is available as (i) grants and (ii) loans.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
There is no scientific or technical justification for the European Commission banning the import of Live Bivalve Molluscs (LBMs), including oysters, from class B waters (where depuration/processing is required after harvest). We are seeking urgent resolution on the European Commission’s decision.
Grant funding to support the purchase of equipment for depuration was previously made available across the UK through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). In England similar support was delivered through the Maritime and Fisheries Fund (MFF), with equivalent funding provided to the devolved administrations. The MFF will continue to fund activities such as depuration as long as funding remains available under this scheme.
At the Spending Review the Government provided replacement funds to enable the four nations of the UK to deliver their own domestic funding schemes, tailored to the needs of their sector. In England, we intend to open a new scheme for delivering grant funding in April. This will include support for the purchase of new equipment for depuration. The devolved administrations are responsible for the design and delivery of their own schemes.
All of the support available has been provided through grants.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with Natural Resources Wales on enabling it to refuse Dee Estuary cockle fisheries licences to applicants who have not made use of a previous such licence issued to them in order to increase availability of such licences for new applicants.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Whilst the Dee Cockle fishery straddles England and Wales, it is managed by Natural Resources Wales, and therefore comes under the auspices of the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the use of (a) remote controlled hand-held and (b) bark-activated electronic training collars for dogs.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is committed to banning the use of hand-held remote controlled electronic dog collars and will lay the necessary legislation for such a ban as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The ban will not include dog bark induced collars or collars that work in connection with perimeter fencing.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
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 will be working with the Department for Education to develop a plan of action to introduce education in schools promoting responsible dog ownership and preventing dog attacks on cats and other animals.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is serious about tackling irresponsible ownership of dogs, which is why Defra is funding research being carried out by Middlesex University to gain a better understanding of the reasons for dog aggression, whether this is towards people or other animals, such as cats. We expect to have the findings of the research by the end of the year.
In the Government’s response to the EFRA Select Committee report on controlling dangerous dogs, we committed to a plan of action with stakeholders on the most effective way to reach children across the country to help promote responsible dog ownership from an early age. We are taking this work forward in the context of the findings from the research project.
Defra has provided local authorities and police with guidance in relation to the controls on dangerous dogs. This guidance is available on GOV.UK and the Local Government Association website in addition to the publication “Dangerous Dogs Law: Guidance for Enforcers”, which is available on GOV.UK. There are no central records of the number of dog attacks on cats.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department is proposing to do to reduce the number of dog attacks on cats.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is serious about tackling irresponsible ownership of dogs, which is why Defra is funding research being carried out by Middlesex University to gain a better understanding of the reasons for dog aggression, whether this is towards people or other animals, such as cats. We expect to have the findings of the research by the end of the year.
In the Government’s response to the EFRA Select Committee report on controlling dangerous dogs, we committed to a plan of action with stakeholders on the most effective way to reach children across the country to help promote responsible dog ownership from an early age. We are taking this work forward in the context of the findings from the research project.
Defra has provided local authorities and police with guidance in relation to the controls on dangerous dogs. This guidance is available on GOV.UK and the Local Government Association website in addition to the publication “Dangerous Dogs Law: Guidance for Enforcers”, which is available on GOV.UK. There are no central records of the number of dog attacks on cats.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department has provided to local authorities to prevent dog attacks on cats.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is serious about tackling irresponsible ownership of dogs, which is why Defra is funding research being carried out by Middlesex University to gain a better understanding of the reasons for dog aggression, whether this is towards people or other animals, such as cats. We expect to have the findings of the research by the end of the year.
In the Government’s response to the EFRA Select Committee report on controlling dangerous dogs, we committed to a plan of action with stakeholders on the most effective way to reach children across the country to help promote responsible dog ownership from an early age. We are taking this work forward in the context of the findings from the research project.
Defra has provided local authorities and police with guidance in relation to the controls on dangerous dogs. This guidance is available on GOV.UK and the Local Government Association website in addition to the publication “Dangerous Dogs Law: Guidance for Enforcers”, which is available on GOV.UK. There are no central records of the number of dog attacks on cats.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many cats were attacked by dogs in each of the last three years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is serious about tackling irresponsible ownership of dogs, which is why Defra is funding research being carried out by Middlesex University to gain a better understanding of the reasons for dog aggression, whether this is towards people or other animals, such as cats. We expect to have the findings of the research by the end of the year.
In the Government’s response to the EFRA Select Committee report on controlling dangerous dogs, we committed to a plan of action with stakeholders on the most effective way to reach children across the country to help promote responsible dog ownership from an early age. We are taking this work forward in the context of the findings from the research project.
Defra has provided local authorities and police with guidance in relation to the controls on dangerous dogs. This guidance is available on GOV.UK and the Local Government Association website in addition to the publication “Dangerous Dogs Law: Guidance for Enforcers”, which is available on GOV.UK. There are no central records of the number of dog attacks on cats.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to bring wild animals within the scope of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 once the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 expire in January 2020.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It remains the Government’s intention to introduce legislation banning the use of wild animals in travelling circuses by the time the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 expire in January 2020. Wild animals are already within the scope of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. However, there is an exemption from licensing for those animals already subject to a licence under either the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 or the Zoo Licensing Act 1981.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty sentences from six months to five years imprisonment.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government has announced that it intends to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty from 6 months’ imprisonment to 5 years’ imprisonment. The necessary legislation needed to make this change will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows.