Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 proposed UK/EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement on the implementation of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We remain committed to moving forward with the Precision Breeding Act.
The EU has accepted there will need to be a number of areas where we need to retain our own rules. The details of these are now subject to negotiation, but we have been clear about the importance of being able to support the use of new and innovative technologies.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 potential sanitary and phytosanitary alignment with the EU on the UK's ability to (a) implement and (b) maintain a ban on the export of live animals for slaughter or fattening.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is too soon to discuss the details of the SPS agreement, which is subject to negotiation. We have been clear with the EU about the importance of establishing arrangements which enable us to maintain high animal welfare standards.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement on animal welfare standards in the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is too soon to discuss the details of the SPS agreement, which is subject to negotiation. We have been clear with the EU about the importance of establishing arrangements which enable us to maintain high animal welfare standards.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 recent trends in the level of inflation for food and drink on food security.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
UK consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Changes in food prices are dependent on changes in one or more of these factors.
The latest available data (up to 2023) show that food prices in the UK remained lower than in most advanced economies and the lowest among G7 countries (OECD).
After the USA, UK households spend the lowest share of their expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks in the G7 (OECD).
In FYE 2024, households spent 11.3% of their spend on food, rising to 14.3% for the lowest 20% by income. Over the last 10 years these figures have been relatively stable, barring the impact of coronavirus in 2020-22.
We have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, but we know there’s more to do to ease the cost of living – which working people face the brunt of.
That’s why we’ve raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and are rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
The Government has also extended Free School Meals to over half a million more children. That policy alone will lift 100,000 children out of poverty.
And our commitment to the Triple Lock means that 12 million pensioners will receive an increase of up to £470 a year – worth £1,900 over the Parliament.
Through our Plan for Change we’re going further and faster to put more money in people's pockets.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reducing inflation of food and drink.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Over the past year, Defra Ministers have regularly engaged with HM Treasury Ministers on cost-of-living pressures, including the inflationary impacts on food and drink.
The Child Poverty Taskforce provides a helpful cross-Whitehall forum for ministers across departments, including HM Treasury, to discuss and align measures to reduce household costs and improve access to affordable essentials. In parallel, Defra’s food strategy is developing policies to ensure that individuals across the country have access to affordable, nutritious food.
As a Government, we have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, but we recognise there is more to do to ease cost-of-living, which continues to place pressure on working households.
That’s why we’ve raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and are rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
Our commitment to the Triple Lock means that 12 million pensioners will receive an increase of up to £470 a year, worth £1,900 over the Parliament.
Through our Plan for Change we’re going further and faster to put more money in people's pockets.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 increase the number of cats being microchipped.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 10 June 2024, all owned cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database. The legislation is intended to improve pet welfare by increasing the likelihood of reuniting lost or stray pets with their keepers.
Defra works closely with stakeholders to communicate pet microchipping requirements to the public.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 are taking to help increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of vets in the public sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware of the numerous challenges facing recruitment and retention of qualified veterinary surgeons into Government roles. The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Food Standards Agency have been looking at ways to increase recruitment into Government and Defra has been working with the vet sector at blockers and options to support recruitment and retention.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 plans to hold discussions with the Animal and Plant Health Agency on their ability to respond to category five animal disease outbreaks.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency regularly discuss capacity and capability to manage disease outbreaks at a variety of governance boards including the Outbreak Readiness Board and the Disease Emergency Response Committee.
APHA has dealt with multiple disease incidents in 7 of the last 10 years, including concurrent outbreaks of bluetongue and avian influenza since 2023.
In the Public Accounts Committee hearing on 4 September, Defra acknowledged that a category 5 outbreak would pose challenges and explained that there are contracts and agreements in place that would enable draw down of additional veterinary and administrative capacity.
Outbreak structures and governance are set out in the ‘Contingency Plan for Exotic Notifiable Diseases of Animals in England’ published on GOV.UK. This is reviewed annually.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding has been issued from the Smaller Abattoir Fund since July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since July 2024, the Rural Payment Agency has paid £406,545 to customers of the Smaller Abattoir Fund.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding is remaining in the Smaller Abattoir Fund.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The total funding remaining for the Smaller Abattoir Fund is £704,928.