Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
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 imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2012 to 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The number of cats imported through the Pet Travel Scheme in each year from 2017 to 2021 are as follows:
Year | Number of Cats |
2017 | 26480 |
2018 | 29570 |
2019 | 31890 |
2020 | 21972 |
2021 | 28667 |
In line with data retention the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) does not hold data prior to 2017 so previous years have not been supplied.
The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals.
The information provided is a true reflection of the information that APHA has access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into the pets returns by a third party.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
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 potential merits of the UK re-joining the EU pet passport scheme.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The UK has been formally ‘listed’ as a ‘Part 2’ third country for the purposes of the EU pet travel scheme, which means that new rules apply to pet movements from Great Britain (GB) to the EU and to Northern Ireland. The pet health and documentary requirements for such pet travel are set out under the EU Pet Travel Regulations.
Defra recognises the impact that these changes are having on pet owners and assistance dog users. We are continuing to seek agreement from the European Commission on awarding GB ‘Part 1’ listed status and recognition of the UK’s tapeworm-free status, and we see no valid animal health reason for these not to be granted.
Achieving these would alleviate a number of pet travel rules for all travellers. We have one of the most rigorous pet checking regimes in Europe to protect our biosecurity and we are engaging with the EU to progress this issue.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has held with the devolved Administrations on improving the clarity of the regulatory framework that applies to the import of colonies and packages of bees to Great Britain via (a) Northern Ireland or (b) other routes since the end of the transition period.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Since only queen honey bees can be imported into Great Britain, packages or colonies arriving here would be returned to the country of export. Guidance on the new rules for importing bees was published and known importers were contacted prior to the end of the transition period.
Movements of queens, packages and colonies from Northern Ireland to Great Britain remain permitted. There is, and will remain, unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods including honey bees to the rest of the UK market.
We are aware of concerns raised by some beekeepers and we continue to listen to beekeepers and their associations as part of our monitoring of the new trading arrangements. We have continued to update guidance in response to questions raised.
Regular discussions take place between Defra and colleagues in the devolved Administrations working in this policy area. We are keeping the situation under review to ensure that there are suitable trading arrangements for the UK beekeeping sector.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
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 protect (a) imported packages of and (b) colonies of bees in the context of (i) permissible bee imports to GB extending only to queen bees and (ii) sectoral uncertainty on bee imports via Northern Ireland.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Since only queen honey bees can be imported into Great Britain, packages or colonies arriving here would be returned to the country of export. Guidance on the new rules for importing bees was published and known importers were contacted prior to the end of the transition period.
Movements of queens, packages and colonies from Northern Ireland to Great Britain remain permitted. There is, and will remain, unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods including honey bees to the rest of the UK market.
We are aware of concerns raised by some beekeepers and we continue to listen to beekeepers and their associations as part of our monitoring of the new trading arrangements. We have continued to update guidance in response to questions raised.
Regular discussions take place between Defra and colleagues in the devolved Administrations working in this policy area. We are keeping the situation under review to ensure that there are suitable trading arrangements for the UK beekeeping sector.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department is providing to (a) areas of Salford and (b) the UK who experience poor air quality.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
(a) Government support has included £250 million, since 2017 alone, to Greater Manchester for cleaner better transport to help improve air quality. Manchester authorities, including Salford, are working together to develop a Clean Air Plan for Manchester. The Government is committed to providing the required financial and technical support to local authorities to enable delivery of their air quality plans. We are working closely with Greater Manchester to reduce air pollution and have committed £495 million for local authorities to implement and mitigate their plans. We will be able to consider Greater Manchester’s funding requirement once their final plan is received; it was due in December 2018, but will not be provided until March 2019.
(b) The UK continues to meet all current international air quality limits, except for Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations (NO2). In July 2017, we published the NO2 Plan, backed by £3.5 billion of funding, which sets out the steps we are taking to reduce NO2 concentrations in the shortest possible time, thus complying with NO2 limits as soon as possible. We are working intensively with local authorities, to identify measures to swiftly bring forward compliance, and support them with guidance and funding. This includes major cities outside the Capital which are exceeding NO2 limits, including Greater Manchester Authorities, such as Salford. Additionally, we published our new world leading Clean Air Strategy on 14 January 2019, which has been welcomed by the World Health Organisation as “an example for the rest of the world to follow”.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
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 reduce air pollution in (a) Salford and (b) the UK.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
(a) Government support has included £250 million, since 2017 alone, to Greater Manchester for cleaner better transport to help improve air quality. Manchester authorities, including Salford, are working together to develop a Clean Air Plan for Manchester. The Government is committed to providing the required financial and technical support to local authorities to enable delivery of their air quality plans. We are working closely with Greater Manchester to reduce air pollution and have committed £495 million for local authorities to implement and mitigate their plans. We will be able to consider Greater Manchester’s funding requirement once their final plan is received; it was due in December 2018, but will not be provided until March 2019.
(b) The UK continues to meet all current international air quality limits, except for Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations (NO2). In July 2017, we published the NO2 Plan, backed by £3.5 billion of funding, which sets out the steps we are taking to reduce NO2 concentrations in the shortest possible time, thus complying with NO2 limits as soon as possible. We are working intensively with local authorities, to identify measures to swiftly bring forward compliance, and support them with guidance and funding. This includes major cities outside the Capital which are exceeding NO2 limits, including Greater Manchester Authorities, such as Salford. Additionally, we published our new world leading Clean Air Strategy on 14 January 2019, which has been welcomed by the World Health Organisation as “an example for the rest of the world to follow”.