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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has he made in delivering the Livestock Information Transformation Programme.

Defra's Livestock Information Transformation Programme (LITP) is delivering significant progress towards modernising England's livestock traceability systems. LITP will enable faster response to animal disease outbreaks, provide data to help improve animal health and welfare, give further assurances on food safety, support productivity, and facilitate trade.

LITP has completed the initial design and development phase for the new Livestock Information Service (LIS), which will replace outdated species-specific systems with a single, multispecies platform capable of near real-time movement reporting.

The pilot phase for the new cattle service will begin in December 2025 with selected cattle keepers, with wider availabillity to all cattle keepers across England planned over 2026.

Livestock traceability data from England, Wales and Scotland will continue to be integrated, enabling Chief Veterinary Officers to track livestock locations and movements across the UK. This ensures we maintain a robust biosecurity management, providing a more efficient system for both Government and industry.

Following cattle implementation, additional species will be added on to LIS, with timelines to be confirmed once cattle rollout is complete.

This programme represents the Government’s commitment to modernising livestock traceability and will deliver enhanced disease control capabilities, improved animal welfare monitoring, and stronger support for trade and the country’s farmers.