Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in what way is the Animal and Plant Health Agency verifying that approved methods are used in (a) farms with large integrated businesses and (b) other sized farms.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has legal powers under Section 28 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to inspect farm premises. These inspections help ensure that animals bred or kept for farming purposes are treated in accordance with welfare regulations.
APHA conducts a set number of welfare inspections on farms each year. These visits are often unannounced and are intended to assess compliance with animal welfare legislation.
In addition, APHA investigates complaints of the illegal slaughter or killing on farms. APHA provides advice on how to achieve compliance and where necessary, APHA supports the local authority in carrying enforcement actions, including prosecutions, to ensure compliance.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to ensure that approved methods of killing piglets on farms are being adhered to through proactive inspections.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has legal powers under Section 28 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to inspect farm premises. These inspections help ensure that animals bred or kept for farming purposes are treated in accordance with welfare regulations.
APHA conducts a set number of welfare inspections on farms each year. These visits are often unannounced and are intended to assess compliance with animal welfare legislation.
In addition, APHA investigates complaints of the illegal slaughter or killing on farms. APHA provides advice on how to achieve compliance and where necessary, APHA supports the local authority in carrying enforcement actions, including prosecutions, to ensure compliance.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 considered the potential impact of the recent consultation on Biodiversity Net Gain on (a) investors and (b) developers.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are mindful of the impacts of any changes to Biodiversity Net Gain on all those involved, especially developers and investors. Government remains fully committed to BNG and will work closely with stakeholders to provide policy clarity and certainty.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason his Department is consulting on proposals to change Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for small sites and medium sites one year after Biodiversity Net Gain became mandatory; and what evidence he has used to inform this approach.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has been working closely with stakeholders to gather feedback and evidence on how BNG is being implemented. Early information suggests BNG implementation is largely working as intended, but there is emerging evidence that some smaller developments and specific types of development are finding BNG more challenging than anticipated. The proposals in the consultation seek feedback on potential changes to make it quicker, cheaper and easier for developers to deliver BNG obligations, while broadly maintaining environmental outcomes.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for small and medium sites on nature.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will publish an impact assessment alongside its response to the consultation ‘Improving biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development’.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 introduce a ban on male chick culling.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing, including male chicks from the egg production sector.
Permitted killing methods for chicks, such as gas stunning and maceration, are based on scientific research and assessment to ensure birds are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering. All laying hen hatcheries in the UK use argon gas mixtures as their stunning method.
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of technologies that allow chicks to be sexed in-ovo (within the egg). We welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 of introducing a ban on male chick culling on the egg producing industry.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
In its 2024 ‘Opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industries’, the Animal Welfare Committee considered a range of technologies that could help end the routine culling of male chicks by identifying or determining the sex of chick embryos before hatching. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of these technologies, and we welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for consultation on activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.
Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed.
This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to provide additional time to businesses who have not prepared for the labelling requirements set out in the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The October 2023 date for labelling related to GB to NI movements is immovable as it is the product of negotiations and agreement with the European Union and is established in the Windsor Framework legal text.
We recognise that the new labelling requirements represent a substantial change for industry. The Government will be working with operators to ensure that goods flows are not disrupted as the new arrangements come into force. This includes, for example, a specific transition period in the legal text which means goods that are already on the market will not need to be relabelled. It also includes funding to support the cost of new labelling requirements. We will adopt a pragmatic approach to compliance in the initial phase of implementation.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the Farm Animal Welfare Committee opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish at the Time of Killing.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on 10 March 2023, PQ 158986.