Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to promote the transition to a circular economy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy and has convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help develop the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England, for which we plan to publish for consultation in the coming autumn.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
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 support the commercialisation of circular economy innovations in UK supply chains.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises that commercialising circular economy innovations in UK supply chains is critical to driving genuine circular change and economic growth. In taking a whole-economy approach, the Circular Economy Taskforce will consider how the Government can support innovation, particularly at scale, as it develops the Circular Economy Strategy for England.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the £2.65 billion allocated under the Government’s flood defence investment programme is being directed to flood mitigation schemes in Wiltshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We’re investing a record £2.65 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The full list of over 700 schemes to benefit from fresh funding this year was announced on 31 March and can be found here.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of flooding incidents reported in Wiltshire (a) since 2020 and (b) each of the previous five-year periods.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since 2010, the Wiltshire Council area has experienced multiple flood incidents that have required the response of the Environment Agency and other Flood Risk Authorities. This included widespread flooding during 2023/24, resulting in two-thirds of towns and parishes in the county being flooded and over 450 properties flooded. Flooding was also particularly acute during 2012-2014, with heavy rain and ten storms experienced between October 2013 and February 2014.
Projects such as Salisbury River Park, that helps to better protect 350 properties from flooding, and property flood resilience measures that were installed in areas such as Dauntsey in 2015, help to create more flood resilient communities.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
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 legislative steps to require platform providers to collect proof of (a) qualifications, (b) insurance and (c) local authority licenses from people offering pet (i) boarding or (ii) walking services on their platform.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 require anyone in the business of boarding cats and dogs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities. There are no plans to make it mandatory for platforms to collect proof in relation to pet boarding or walking services.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of long-term water supply resilience in (a) the South West of England and (b) Wiltshire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
South West Water recently received permission from Defra to publish and implement its Water Resources Management plan. Wessex Water and Bristol Water published their plans in 2024.
Key to achieving sustainable water resources, will be the development of a range of Strategic Resource Options, and improved water demand management. The plans covering the South West region show companies are planning to build new reservoirs, including new reservoirs at Cheddar and East Mendips. South West Water is currently building a new desalination plant in Cornwall. For Wiltshire, the most significant of these involves the development of a new reservoir in the Mendips, providing confidence in supplies well into the future.
Improved investment is allowing water companies to improve drought resilience, and they will be able to cope with a 1:500 year drought by 2040, ensuring a high level of resilience.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average time taken is between suspected incidents of animal cruelty and the receipt of those reports by the Animal and Plant Health Agency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is not keeping records of time between suspected incidents of animal cruelty and the receipt of those reports by the Agency; consequently, this information is not held by Defra. However, over the last 12 months there have been instances where activist groups have been collecting evidence over long periods of time and APHA has not been informed until the exposés were made public.
This information is not held by Defra. We urge anyone having concerns of farm animals being neglected, abused, or mistreated to contact APHA immediately and – in all circumstances- without undue delays. For England and Wales, there is a telephone number which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In Scotland, people can call their local APHA field service office.
Guidance on how to report animal welfare concerns in England is available on Gov.uk Report farm animal welfare concerns - GOV.UK; the full list of contact details including Wales and Scotland is available on the following page Contact APHA - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
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 made an assessment of trends in the level of compliance among individuals offering pet services via online platforms with the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 regulate commercial activity in relation to selling animals as pets; providing for, or arranging for, the provision of boarding for cats or dogs; hiring out horses; dog breeding and keeping or training animals for exhibition. Anyone conducting these activities as a business needs a valid licence. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences.
Local authorities provide a statutory annual data return including information on the number of licences issued, varied and revoked by local authorities for each activity. Returns are published here.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of sows in the UK kept in farrowing crates in each of the last five years.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra does not hold official data, however, for the last five years estimates have consistently maintained that 60% of the UK breeding herd were kept indoors with the vast majority of sows using farrowing crates to give birth. The remaining 40% farrow freely on outdoor units with no option for confinement.
Recent industry estimates suggest that the number of sows kept indoors has declined to 50%. Of these, around 8% of the British indoor pig herd were reported to be flexibly farrowed where the sow can be confined on a temporary basis and for a limited period.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications have been received under the 2025 round of animal health and welfare grants; and what proportion of these applications have been approved in Wiltshire.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF 25) opened for applications on the 29 May this year and will close at midday on 10 July 2025. The application process is ongoing; therefore, applications have not been approved at this stage.