Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
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 publish additional statutory guidance for local authorities on the sorting of materials collected from households.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recently consulted on the content of the statutory guidance for Simpler Recycling. We will publish our final statutory guidance once the regulations relating to Simpler Recycling have been made.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on recycling rates of mandating the sorting of co-mingled materials collected from households under the Simpler Recycling policy.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of Simpler Recycling, we have consulted on the provision of an exemption to allow local authorities and waste collectors in England to co-collect two or more dry recyclable waste streams in the same container, and to co-collect food and garden waste together in one container, without the need for written assessment. This consultation is now closed and we are analysing the responses and feedback from stakeholders gathered through this process. We will be communicating the outcome of the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
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 the Simpler Recycling policy takes into account the expectations of consumers about what happens to items they send for recycling.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In October 2020, we amended the Environmental (England and Wales) Permitting Regulations 2016 to include a permit condition for landfill and incineration operators, meaning they cannot accept separately collected paper, metal, glass or plastic for landfill or incineration unless it has gone through some form of treatment process first and is the best environmental outcome.
Under the Environment Act 2021, recyclable household waste must be collected separately from other household waste and must be collected for recycling or composting.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of the large businesses that responded to the consultation entitled Improving food waste reporting by large food businesses in England were in favour of mandatory waste reporting by large businesses.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
46 respondents to the consultation on Improved food waste reporting were large businesses. 30 large businesses (65%) were in favour of introducing mandatory food waste reporting for large businesses.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of puppies that have been illegally smuggled into the UK for sale in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Due to the nature of smuggling, the Animal and Plant Health Agency does not hold specific data on the total number of puppies illegally smuggled each year.
The total number of non-compliances detected on certificates accompanying commercially imported dogs, cats and ferrets from EU countries are:
Year | Number of non-compliances |
2021 | 20,347 |
2022 | 17,833 |
2023 (up to September) | 6,195 |
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which professions have legal authority to (a) assess and (b) identify dogs suspected of being an American Bully XL.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
During the transition period, it is up to owners to identify whether they think their dog may be in scope of the XL Bully ban and whether they wish to apply for a Certificate of Exemption. We recommend taking a precautionary approach. If they are unsure if their dog is a XL Bully or whether any puppies may grow up to be of this dog type, owners should comply with the relevant requirements and restrictions as they come into force. From 1 February 2024 it will be a criminal offence to own an XL Bully dog in England and Wales without a Certificate of Exemption. Dog Legislation Officers are responsible for identifying prohibited breed types for the purposes of Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and enforcing the ban once it comes into force. If the police find an XL Bully dog after the transition period that does not have a Certificate of Exemption, the police can seize the dog, take the owner to court for a criminal prosecution, and the court may decide to euthanise the dog if the court decides that the risks the dog poses to public safety are not acceptable.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
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 pages 6 and 12 of his Department's Action Plan for Animal Welfare, published on 12 May 2021, what his timeline is for examining the use of cages for laying hens and farrowing crates for pigs.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 November 2023 to the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford, PQ UIN 157.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations his Department has received from the British Fur Trade Association on the proposals on fur sales in UK in his Department's Action Plan for Animal Welfare, published on 12 May 2021.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. We have run the Call for Evidence on the fur market in Great Britain and continue to directly engage with stakeholders including the British Fur Trade Association.
We have also commissioned a report from our expert Animal Welfare Committee into the issue of what constitutes responsible sourcing in the fur industry. This report will help inform our next steps, and the Animal Welfare Committee will be in contact with the British Fur Trade Association as part of taking this forward.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the British Fur Trade Association on the proposals on fur sales in UK in his Department's Action Plan for Animal Welfare, published on 12 May 2021.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. We have run the Call for Evidence on the fur market in Great Britain and continue to directly engage with stakeholders including the British Fur Trade Association.
We have also commissioned a report from our expert Animal Welfare Committee into the issue of what constitutes responsible sourcing in the fur industry. This report will help inform our next steps, and the Animal Welfare Committee will be in contact with the British Fur Trade Association as part of taking this forward.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the species from which the greatest proportion of hunting trophies was imported in each of the past five years.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK records data on import permits for hunting trophies of certain species. An import permit is required for hunting trophies of all species listed on Annex A of the Wildlife Trade Regulations, and 6 species listed on Annex B.
Data on the international trade in endangered species, including information about UK imports of hunting trophies, is published in the CITES trade database (available online at trade.cites.org). The UK has submitted data for 2022 imports, which will be publicly available shortly.