Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 has requested from the British Horseracing Authority (a) information on racehorse deaths, (b) reviews by that authority of racecourses with unusually high mortality rates and (c) information relating to the number of racehorses killed in training.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Whilst officials have not met representatives of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to discuss racehorse fatalities during the years stated, I am aware that the BHA work alongside animal welfare organisations, such as the RSPCA, and regularly review the safety of racetracks and where necessary, make improvements. The Government is satisfied that the BHA work to make horseracing as safe as possible. Annual statistics on the numbers of racehorses killed on racetracks are available on the BHA website, here:https://www.britishhorseracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Equine-Injuries-and-Fatalities-2017-data-.pdf .
Regarding training fatalities, under BHA rules, all trainers are required to notify deaths of horses to Weatherbys. As part of their work on a new equine database, the BHA are also looking at enhancing the information to be provided in these circumstances.
The Government has been in regular contact with a number of stakeholders about a range of horse welfare issues including those relating to racehorses.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 take steps to review the licensing of glyphosate herbicides.
Answered by George Eustice
Herbicides can only be sold and used if their active substances (such as glyphosate) are approved at EU level and if the products are authorised nationally. Approval and authorisation are only granted if scientific risk assessments demonstrate that the intended use will not harm human health or have an unacceptable effect on the environment.
Glyphosate was approved at EU level at the end of 2017. The UK supported this decision on the basis that the scientific assessment was satisfactory. As is required following a new or renewed approval, the UK regulator is currently reviewing the authorisations for all glyphosate products.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 ask the British Horseracing Authority to publish the number of (a) reviews it has undertaken into equine mortality rates at racecourses since January 2013 and (b) the number of those reviews that are publicly available.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) provides annual statistics of the number of horse fatalities at racecourses, which are published on their website. These show that since 2013, the percentage of runners being killed at a racetrack has dropped steadily from 0.22% to 0.18% in 2017.
In April, the BHA announced a review into the six racehorse fatalities at this year’s Cheltenham Festival. One of the objectives of the review is to demonstrate openness and transparency by publishing the review, which seeks to improve continuously. The review is scheduled to report in the autumn.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 2 July 2018 to Question 157623 on Game: Animal Welfare, whether the consideration currently being given to reviewing the Code of practice for the welfare of gamebirds reared for sporting purposes includes the code as it applies in England.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra’s Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes applies to England and there are no proposals to change its territorial scope.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 had with the devolved administrations on the future review of each Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes applying to the respective nations.
Answered by George Eustice
We have an ongoing dialogue with the devolved administrations on animal welfare matters, which includes discussing plans to update the animal welfare codes. The case for reviewing the gamebird code remains under consideration.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 had with small and medium-sized businesses in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands about the financial effect of proposed clean air zones and associated air quality measures on their businesses.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra has not had direct discussions with small and medium-sized businesses in Birmingham or the West Midlands about the financial effect of clean air zones.
The Government assessed the impacts of charging Clean Air Zones on businesses nationally in the 2016 impact assessment. This did not look at the impacts on Birmingham or the West Midlands in isolation.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 conducted an economic impact study on the effect of clean air zones on businesses in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Government assessed the impacts of charging in clean air zones on businesses nationally in the 2016 impact assessment. This did not look at the impacts on Birmingham or the West Midlands in isolation.
The UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations is clear that local authorities must conduct feasibility studies with robust economic impact assessments, following the HMT Green Book approach. The feasibility studies being produced by local authorities will look at these impacts at a local level.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 prevent the import of chicken dosed with the antibiotic colistin after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
When we leave the European Union, we will maintain our current standards. We will keep our existing UK legislation, and the EU Withdrawal Bill will convert EU law into UK law as it applies at the moment of exit. Any future trade agreements must work for consumers, farmers, and businesses in the UK. We will not water down our standards on food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection as part of any future trade deals.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on New Clause 61 of the EU Withdrawal Bill on 20 December 2017, Official Report, column 1168 whether the standards currently set by REACH will remain in place in the UK, or whether the UK will continue to match its standards to those of REACH after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Withdrawal Bill will convert current EU law into domestic law wherever practical, giving consumers and businesses as much certainty as possible. This includes laws relating to chemicals. The UK is strongly committed to the effective and safe management of chemicals. That will not change when we leave the EU.
While it would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of the negotiations we will discuss with the EU and Member States how best to continue cooperation in chemicals regulation in the best interests of both the UK and the EU.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many visits to English and Welsh pheasant and partridge game farms the Animal and Plant Health Agency made in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how many breaches of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and its Code of Practice for Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes were discovered during those visits; what those breaches were; and what action was taken to address each such breach.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is only able to provide information relating to ‘Game Birds’ from June 2014. However, this data does not make any distinction between pheasant or partridge farms.
No comparable figures are available prior to 2014.
The attached table provides the statistics covering the number of visits, number of breaches, type of breach and action taken.