Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to help improve the (a) recording and (b) traceability of farm animals through the Livestock Information Service.

The Government’s ambition is to achieve a comprehensive, multispecies Livestock Information Service, allowing disease to be identified and controlled more effectively, helping to meet our key priority of supporting farmers to boost our food security.

Through its Livestock Information Transformation Programme (LITP), Defra will replace existing livestock traceability systems across England, enhancing digitisation of livestock movement reporting, reducing paper use, and introducing electronic cattle tagging by 2027. It will deliver near real-time, accurate data to improve traceability, accelerate disease response, and better protect public and animal health.

We are working with the devolved Governments to ensure that similar changes being made in Scotland and Wales work together effectively across Great Britain.