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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of (a) urban littering and (b) waste management on the behaviour of gull populations.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Government has not made a recent national assessment on the potential impact of urban littering and waste management on the behaviour of gull populations. The effective management of litter and waste are matters for local authorities in the areas in which they occur.

All wild birds in England, including gulls, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and only in exceptional cases does the law allow for certain exemptions to this protection, such as to preserve public health and safety.