To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
White Fish: Monitoring
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many pollack otolith bones were analysed by his Department in International Centre for the Exploration of the Seas area (a) VI and (b) VII in 2021.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Data is provided only for International Centre for the Exploration of the Seas Area VII. My department has not analysed pollack otolith bones from Area VI.

In 2021, 818 otolith bones were analysed by Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.


Written Question
Import Controls: Fees and Charges
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

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 19 March 2024 to Question 17736 on Import Controls, whether the common user charge will include costs related to the processing of imports via the Border Target Operating Model.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Port Health Authorities (PHAs) have charging mechanisms in place for covering the costs of checking SPS consignments, and the Government, in conjunction with devolved administrations, is working with them to review fee levels and support the implementation of new checks of imports from the EU in early 2024.

Commercial BCP fees are a business decision for the operators of those sites.

The Common User Charge is to recover the costs of operating government-run BCP facilities in England. Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels. Defra has used feedback to inform the final policy and rates, which we expect to publish shortly.

PHAs or local authorities undertake checks on animal products and High-Risk Feed or Food Not of Animal Origin (HRFNAO) at BCP. APHA is the competent authority with responsibility for the inspections of plants and plant products at all BCPs and control points.


Written Question
Animal Welfare: Charities
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of provisions in the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill on the work of animal rescue charities.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill introduced by Selaine Saxby MP on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill completed second reading in the House of Commons on 15 March 2024.

In August 2021 we launched a consultation on the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. It was a wide-ranging consultation with excellent engagement with key stakeholders including animal rescue charities. We are carefully reviewing the feedback from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and the consultation response will be published soon.


Written Question
Poultry: Animal Welfare
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Trees (Crossbench - Life peer)

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Animal Welfare Committee report Opinion on the welfare implications of different methods and systems for the catching, carrying, collecting and loading of poultry, published in March 2023, whether they have any plans to introduce the recommendation contained in that report to amend the law so that "it is legally permitted to lift chickens, and turkeys weighing less than 10-kg, by two legs".

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Animal Welfare Committee Opinion on the welfare implications of different methods and systems for the catching, carrying, collecting and loading of poultry was published in February 2024. We are carefully considering its findings before deciding on next steps and are working with the Welsh and Scottish Governments to ensure a consistent approach across Great Britain.


Written Question
Dangerous Dogs: Euthanasia
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many XL Bully dogs have been seized by the police since 1 January 2024; and how many and what proportion of those seized have been euthanised.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra does not hold data on XL Bully dogs which have been seized by the police. This information would be held by individual police forces.


Written Question
Bluetongue Disease
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to mitigate the threat from bluetongue virus as the midge vector increases in activity.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) officials took robust action following findings of cases of Bluetongue virus, following our well-established processes for managing cases of disease. We are planning for a possible resurgence of the disease over the coming months as the weather warms, and the risk of infected midges blowing over from northern Europe increases. We recently held a Ministerial roundtable with key industry stakeholders to discuss the options and understand their priorities over the coming months. Surveillance of susceptible animals and epidemiological assessments continue, and we are actively engaging with vaccine manufacturers on the development of BTV-3 vaccines for use in the UK. We are modelling the risk of incursion and proactively raising awareness with animal keepers in higher-risk areas, and are monitoring vector activity.


Written Question
Horses: Northern Ireland
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost associated with veterinary checks on horses moving from (a) Great Britain to Northern Ireland and (b) Northern Ireland to Great Britain since the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government's Movement Assistance Scheme is available to reimburse costs (including veterinary checks), in line with the terms of the scheme, for horses moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Horses moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain have unfettered access.


Written Question
Methane: Pollution Control
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the usage of emerging technologies that help directly reduce methane levels in the atmosphere.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Methane reduction technologies are within scope of Defra’s £270 million Farming Innovation Programme and were in scope of its predecessor, Farming Innovation Pathways.

Defra’s evidence programme includes Research & Development exploring ways to reduce emissions from livestock. The portfolio includes research on nutrient and livestock management, feed and grazing regimes, methane suppressing feed products, ways to identify and selectively breed for more sustainable and productive animals, and ways to better manage manures.

Defra considers that Methane Suppressing Feed Products (MSFPs) are an essential tool to decarbonise the agriculture sector. In England, our objective is to establish a mature market for these products, encourage uptake and mandate the use of MSFPs in appropriate cattle systems as soon as feasibly possible and no later than 2030. We are committed to working with farmers and industry to achieve this goal, and in early March convened the inaugural meeting of a Ministerial-led industry taskforce on MSFPs.

The UK catalysed action on methane during our COP26 Presidency, including being one of the first countries to support the Global Methane Pledge - a collective commitment to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030, against 2020 levels. As part of its commitment to the Global Methane Pledge, the UK published a Methane Memorandum in November 2023 during COP27. The Memorandum outlines how the UK has achieved a robust track record in reducing methane emissions and how it continues to explore and implement measures to secure future progress. We were pleased that methane emissions were prioritised at COP28, with more countries joining the Pledge and a particular focus on mobilising finance to support developing countries with their methane emissions. The UK committed £2 million to the Methane Finance Sprint.


Written Question
Import Controls
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

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 19 March 2024 to Question 18133 on Import Controls, what standards goods will be required to demonstrate they meet via an export health certificate in order to be eligible for import into the UK.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Specific requirements will vary by commodity, with details available on the Gov.uk pages for certification Import goods into the UK: step by step - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The BTOM will operate a sophisticated approach to risk categorisation, with the intensity of controls calibrated to the level of risk presented by each commodity.

For high-risk and medium-risk goods, we will retain health certification and BCP inspection, albeit with frequently lower inspection rates than under the EU model. Documentary-only checks will be performed remotely instead of all regulated goods having to present documents at a BCP.

For low-risk animal products as a matter of routine we will only require electronic pre-notification, which is already in place. Low-risk plant produce (fruit and vegetables with no known specific disease or pest risk associated) will be removed from import health control requirements altogether. There will no longer be any requirements for pre-notification, with enhanced inland monitoring and surveillance in place to ensure it is compliant with the UK's high food safety and standards and to keep track of any issues. We will simplify Export Health Certificates and make health certificates digital wherever possible.

For medium-risk goods, we will extend the well-established concept of trusted trader into the SPS sphere, by working with industry to pilot new trusted trader authorisations for SPS goods.


Written Question
Import Controls: Fees and Charges
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)

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 19 March 2024 to Question 17736 on Import Controls, if he will publish a list of all Border Control Posts where imports will (a) be subject to the Common User Charge and (b) subject to other charges.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Common User Charge for the recovery of BCP operating costs applies only to government-run BCPs in England. Commercial operators will independently set charges for their own BCP facilities.

Defra has consulted on its proposed methodology and rates to inform charging levels. Defra has used feedback to inform the final policy and rates, which we expect to publish shortly.