Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 plans to introducing licensing for (a) animal sanctuaries and (b) rescue and rehoming centres for (i) cats, (ii) dogs, (iii) horses and (iv) other animals.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Department continues to engage regularly with stakeholders across the animal welfare sector, including on issues relating to rescue and rehoming practices.
This Government will introduce the most ambitious plan to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department has initiated a series of meetings with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of an overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more detail of plans in due course.
Rescue and rehoming establishments in England must provide for the five basic welfare needs of the animals set out in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes has developed voluntary guidance on minimum standards, but significant variation does exist. Local authorities and the police have the same powers of entry for these premises as would apply to any welfare concerns under the Animal Welfare Act.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish the findings of stakeholder engagement carried out by his Department on the potential licensing of animal rescue centres in 2023.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Department continues to engage regularly with stakeholders across the animal welfare sector, including on issues relating to rescue and rehoming practices.
This Government will introduce the most ambitious plan to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department has initiated a series of meetings with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of an overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more detail of plans in due course.
Rescue and rehoming establishments in England must provide for the five basic welfare needs of the animals set out in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes has developed voluntary guidance on minimum standards, but significant variation does exist. Local authorities and the police have the same powers of entry for these premises as would apply to any welfare concerns under the Animal Welfare Act.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 has issued guidance to local authorities on interpreting the business tests under Part 1 of the Schedule of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 in cases in which animal rescue charities charge (a) standardised rehoming fees and (b) receive regular donations linked to adoptions.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 cover five licensable activities: selling animals as pets; providing or arranging boarding for cats or dogs; hiring out horses; breeding dogs; and keeping or training animals for exhibition.
Defra issues supporting statutory guidance, which furnishes practical detail on how the regulations should be applied, including in relation to the business test. Local authorities must have regard to this statutory guidance.
Defra regularly engages with a range of stakeholders across the animal welfare and charity sectors, including regulatory agencies. We continue to explore opportunities to improve coordination and information sharing where appropriate.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 has had discussions with the Charity Commission on improving (a) information sharing and (b) oversight of animal rescue organisations operating at scale but outside existing statutory licensing frameworks.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 cover five licensable activities: selling animals as pets; providing or arranging boarding for cats or dogs; hiring out horses; breeding dogs; and keeping or training animals for exhibition.
Defra issues supporting statutory guidance, which furnishes practical detail on how the regulations should be applied, including in relation to the business test. Local authorities must have regard to this statutory guidance.
Defra regularly engages with a range of stakeholders across the animal welfare and charity sectors, including regulatory agencies. We continue to explore opportunities to improve coordination and information sharing where appropriate.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 28 April 2025 to Question 44471 on Civil Service: Survey, if he will publish the Civil Service People Survey 2024 headline results for the No.10 business unit.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra does not hold this data. I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 30 April 2025 to PQ 46750.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there is a consolidated public list of each (a) public authority and (b) private body with public functions that is subject to the Environmental Information Regulations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No. There is no consolidated, public list of relevant bodies.
Bodies are made subject to the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) through the definition in regulation 2(2), rather than by designation. The Information Commissioner has jurisdiction to both investigate and decide whether a body is a public authority for these purposes. This definitional approach requires a contextual inquiry. The Commissioner’s decision may be subject to appeal through the courts. At best, a list of public authorities would be incomplete and rapidly out of date.
Most public authorities subject to the EIR are listed by name or category in Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what the Environment Agency purchased from VAT: GB 695449381 on 14 January 2025.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 14 January 2025, the Environment Agency purchased training for qualifying staff who hold a professional qualification provided by the Institute of Asset Management. The training was provided by Asset Management Consulting Limited, described on the publication as VAT: GB 695449381. The description comes from the supplier.
The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to ensure public expenditure offers maximum value to the taxpayer. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.
The policy detail can be found here:
Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what the Environment Agency purchased in the 95 transactions to Calders in January 2025.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In January 2025 the 95 transactions to Calders by the Environment Agency relate to its corporate contract for the provision of external meeting rooms and conference facilities. The dates in January relate to payment date and the provision of meeting rooms in these cases covered dates in October, November and December 2024.
The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.
The policy detail can be found here: Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what Natural England purchased from Sumup Event Bar Spar in January 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The expenditure detailed relates to a Christmas meal hospitality event held to recognise the contributions of volunteers at Fenn’s, Whixall, and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve. The total cost of £1,462.50 was processed for payment in January 2025, and it was attended by 65 volunteers invited to a celebratory event to thank them for their volunteering over the previous year. This is a total spend of approximately £22 per attendant.
This National Nature Reserve has the most volunteers (over 100 registered volunteers) for any Natural England National Nature Reserve in the West Midlands . The volunteers contribute to many aspects of the running of the National Nature Reserve. These include:
The volunteers in 2024/25 contributed over 6,000 hours to the National Nature Reserve.
The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.
The policy detail can be found here:
Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what Natural England purchased from Amazon Marketplace on 30 January 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The expenditure detailed relates to the purchase of equipment for public use (binoculars and a spotting scope) for a project at Goss Moor. The connecting people with nature project enables the public a closer view and experience of wildlife on the National Nature Reserves, it is funded through the national health and environment budget. The scope was necessary to be inclusive for people who would struggle to hold the binoculars for health reasons. The total amount of £625.42, including VAT, was processed for payment in February 2025.
This transaction is in line with our standard financial procedures, and the expenditure was reviewed and approved accordingly.
The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.
The policy detail can be found here:
Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK