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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to stocking density regulations on production levels in chicken farms.

No recent changes have been introduced to on farm poultry stocking density regulations. We are aware that many poultry producers are switching to lower stocking densities in response to a retailer led voluntary initiative as part of the industry’s Better Chicken Commitment. We continue to monitor the poultry market but have yet to see any significant fall in poultry production since the industry’s adoption of lower stocking densities.