Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to co-ordinate its work with regulatory bodies on supporting the water industry in the roll-out of smart water meters to protect the sustainability of the UK’s water supply and reduce carbon emissions.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department will set out its policy in relation to smart meters in the Government’s response to the 2019 consultation on measures to reduce personal water consumption, which we intend to publish in 2021.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the role of smart water meters in (a) protecting the sustainability of the UK’s water supply and (b) reducing carbon emissions.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department will set out its policy in relation to smart meters in the Government’s response to the 2019 consultation on measures to reduce personal water consumption, which we intend to publish in 2021.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) there are sufficient incentives supporting the Water Industry to install smart water metering technology and (b) barriers to rollout of that technology are removed.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department will set out its policy in relation to smart meters in the Government’s response to the 2019 consultation on measures to reduce personal water consumption, which we intend to publish in 2021.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to bring forward legislative proposals to mandate the universal rollout of smart water meters.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department will set out its policy in relation to smart meters in the Government’s response to the 2019 consultation on measures to reduce personal water consumption, which we intend to publish in 2021.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to review the safety of cannabidiol-containing products sold to consumers.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Any food product containing Cannabidiol (CBD) is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency. To bring industry into compliance with the Novel Foods Regulations, in February 2020 the Food Standards Agency announced a deadline of the end of March 2021 for businesses to have validated applications which will be submitted for risk assessment and any subsequent risk management considerations. This process will involve approval based upon dossiers (including safety data), submitted to and reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Novel Food Products.
In addition to this, the Committee on Toxicology has reviewed the available evidence on the safety on CBD in food. Its independent, expert advice was used to help set the current recommendations and consumption limits.
After the deadline any products not linked to a validated application will no longer be allowed to remain on the market and no new products have been allowed on the market since February 2020 without pre-market authorisation. CBD-containing food products are no different to other foods in that they are also subject to all other relevant food laws.
In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland has regulatory responsibility for CBD used in food products. Food Standards Scotland is working with local authorities and other partners to keep the safety of CBD food products currently on the market under review, and to ensure that products stating they contain this ingredient do so.
Cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPM) are not consumer products and are regulated separately. CBPMs must comply with the requirements of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and Humans Medicines Regulations 2012.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much money his Department has spent on researching the effect of electric shock collars on dog welfare in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
Between 2007 and 2010 Defra spent £469,000 researching the effects of electric shock collars on dogs, conducting studies to assess the effect of pet training aids, specifically remote static pulse systems, on the welfare of domestic dogs. Between 2010 and 2011 the department spent a further £69,925 on the research, totalling £538,925. No other research on e-collars has been funded before or since the aforementioned years.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of dogs that have been trained with an electric shock collar in the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The department does not keep this information.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many animal welfare organisations have made representations to his Department supporting a ban on electric shock collars in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The department does not keep this information. However I can state that in 2017 over 140 animal welfare organisations responded to our public consultation on the proposed ban for electronic training collars for cats and dogs in England.