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 25 May to Question 3747, on what date did his officials become aware that academics his Department commissioned to research electronic training collars for dogs had previously made representations to the Department to ban them.

I refer the hon. Member back to my answer of 25 May to PQ 3747. In particular, the Government is satisfied that the processes for tendering and considering bids, relating to the research on e-collars in 2007, were conducted in accordance with the rules on government procurement exercises. The Government is also satisfied that the resultant peer-reviewed Defra-commissioned research carried out between 2007 and 2010 is robust.