Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many FTE civil servants his Department has allocated to work on developing a single point of search for the microchip database for (a) dogs and (b) cats.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
There are many civil servants across Defra that are responsible for multiple animal welfare policies, working flexibly according to business need. Civil Servants work across animal welfare, transforming farm animal health and welfare, wildlife and rural teams, with some responsibilities sitting across other teams.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many FTE civil servants his Department has allocated to work on the exemption scheme for dogs initially classified as XL bullies.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
There are many civil servants across Defra that are responsible for multiple animal welfare policies, working flexibly according to business need. Civil Servants work across animal welfare, transforming farm animal health and welfare, wildlife and rural teams, with some responsibilities sitting across other teams.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of incorporating targeted cattle-based testing, enhanced slurry management, and wildlife vaccination from the Gatcomb project into its TB eradication strategy.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Work is underway on a comprehensive new bovine tuberculosis eradication strategy, and findings from local initiatives such as the Gatcombe farm project will be considered as part of its development.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
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 help (a) tackle threats and abuse faced by and (b) promote respectful behaviour towards veterinary professionals.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We value the vital work of the veterinary profession and the commitment and dedication of the veterinary workforce towards animal health and welfare.
Abuse towards the veterinary sector is taken very seriously; monitoring of this is conducted by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as the regulator for the profession.
We are aware of the numerous challenges faced across the veterinary industry. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) is undertaking a market investigation into the sector, and we will consider any recommendations for the department when they are available.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
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 (a) monitor and (b) help tackle the abuse and harassment of veterinary professionals.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We value the vital work of the veterinary profession and the commitment and dedication of the veterinary workforce towards animal health and welfare.
Abuse towards the veterinary sector is taken very seriously; monitoring of this is conducted by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as the regulator for the profession.
We are aware of the numerous challenges faced across the veterinary industry. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) is undertaking a market investigation into the sector, and we will consider any recommendations for the department when they are available.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
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 recent trends in levels of (a) abuse and (b) harassment in the veterinary sector levels on recruitment and retention in that sector.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government is aware of the high demand for veterinary capacity across the UK and is taking action to support the industry. Defra is exploring various avenues to improve both short- and long-term capacity issues.
We will continue to support the vital work of the veterinary profession and acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the veterinary workforce towards animal health and welfare.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
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 reduce (a) delays and (b) administrative burdens on zoos undertaking international animal transfers for conservation purposes.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra continues to work closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) to address immediate challenges to the cross-border movement of endangered species, including the availability of Export Health Certificates and Border Control Post capacity.
An SPS Agreement will establish a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone aimed at reducing trade barriers and facilitating the safe and efficient movement of terrestrial and aquatic zoo animals. Our ambition is to reach an agreement that reduces administrative burdens by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.
Where animals are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), permits will be required to ensure specimens have been legally and sustainable acquired. These are typically valid for 6 months and can be applied for in advance of any planned move to avoid delay. The application process is digital and live animal movements are prioritised to avoid welfare implications. We are currently in the process of reviewing existing CITES regulations to ensure they support conservation and sustainable trade and minimise administrative burdens on businesses.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing a national beach accessibility framework on (a) public health and (b) the economy; and if he will consider providing funding to improve access to beaches in (i) Torbay and (ii) other deprived coastal areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors.
The Government is also already delivering several policies to increase access to nature including in coastal areas, where we are:
Working to complete the King Charles III England Coast Path which, at around 2,700 miles, will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world. Over 2,000 miles have now been approved as King Charles III England Coast Path, with over 1,000 miles already open. It will also create 250,000 hectares of new open access land within the coastal margin
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Minister has made an assessment of the merits of adopting a Nature Inclusive Design as a standard requirement for offshore projects to (a) boost marine biodiversity and (b) create jobs in coastal communities.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the potential for nature-inclusive design (NID) to have a positive environmental benefit when used in suitable areas of the marine environment. However, we are developing Marine Net Gain policy to deliver further positive environmental enhancement which could incorporate the use of NID and consider its wider benefits.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the steps wind energy developers are taking to incorporate nature-inclusive design as standard in offshore wind infrastructure.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the potential for nature-inclusive design (NID) to have a positive environmental benefit when used in suitable areas of the marine environment. Developers must already follow the mitigation hierarchy to avoid, minimise, mitigate, and compensate for their impacts.