Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to improve the level of transparency of method-of-production welfare labelling for (a) pork, (b) chicken and (c) eggs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for York Central, Rachael Maskell, on 8 October 2025, PQ UIN 76016.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the reasons why over 4,100 women from the most deprived deciles of multiple deprivation have donated their eggs in return for payment of £750 since 2011.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not plan to undertake an assessment, however, academic research in the United Kingdom has consistently found that donating eggs and sperm is driven by altruism.
The compensation rate for egg donation is set by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), as provided for in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The HFEA has advised that the donor compensation levels originally set in 2011 followed a thorough ethical review, which identified a set of principles that ensured altruism remained at the heart of donation and that there weren’t any unjustifiable barriers to donation.
HFEA published data shows that egg and sperm donors in England from 2011 to 2020 lived in similar or more affluent socio-economic areas than the general population.
The HFEA’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee recently reviewed the published evidence of health outcomes for those having fertility treatment, including egg donors. The last 10 years of evidence were reviewed and the HFEA will update the relevant information on its website as needed.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of (a) the health impacts of egg retrieval on and (b) the financial motivations of the 829 women aged between 18 and 20 who donated their eggs between 2000 and 2022.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not plan to undertake an assessment, however, academic research in the United Kingdom has consistently found that donating eggs and sperm is driven by altruism.
The compensation rate for egg donation is set by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), as provided for in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The HFEA has advised that the donor compensation levels originally set in 2011 followed a thorough ethical review, which identified a set of principles that ensured altruism remained at the heart of donation and that there weren’t any unjustifiable barriers to donation.
HFEA published data shows that egg and sperm donors in England from 2011 to 2020 lived in similar or more affluent socio-economic areas than the general population.
The HFEA’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee recently reviewed the published evidence of health outcomes for those having fertility treatment, including egg donors. The last 10 years of evidence were reviewed and the HFEA will update the relevant information on its website as needed.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 4 July 2025 to Question 64014 on Food Supply, by what metrics his Department (a) measures and (b) forecasts annual domestic food production.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra produces a comprehensive set of metrics to measure annual domestic food production but does not produce forecasts of domestic food production. These statistics cover a wide range of indicators, including:
These metrics are publicly available in either the annual publication "Agriculture in the United Kingdom" at Agriculture in the United Kingdom - GOV.UK or on the Food & Farming Statistics publication page at Food, Farming and Bio-security statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the reason that over 4,100 women from the poorest backgrounds in the UK have donated their eggs since 2011.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not undertaken an assessment, however, academic research in the United Kingdom has consistently found that donating eggs and sperm is driven by altruism.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) published data shows that egg and sperm donors in England from 2011 to 2020 lived in similar or more affluent socio-economic areas than the general population.
The following table shows the number of egg donors living in each of the multiple deprivation deciles in England at time of registration, between 2011 and 2020:
Multiple deprivation decile | Number of egg donors |
1 | 1,117 |
2 | 1,488 |
3 | 1,542 |
4 | 1,360 |
5 | 1,310 |
6 | 1,214 |
7 | 1,114 |
8 | 1,097 |
9 | 1,050 |
10 | 860 |
Source: the HFEA report, Trends in egg, sperm and embryo donation 2020.
Notes:
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of £985 per cycle payments to egg donors on the level of incentive to women from the poorest backgrounds to donate eggs because of financial need.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The compensation rate for egg donation is set by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), as provided for in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The HFEA has advised that the donor compensation levels originally set in 2011 followed a thorough ethical review, which identified a set of principles that ensured altruism remained at the heart of donation and that there were not any unjustifiable barriers to donation. The HFEA has advised that the increase in donor compensation from 1 October 2024 to £985 per cycle reflects the rise in inflation since the compensation rates were first introduced in 2011.
Academic research in the United Kingdom has consistently found that donating eggs and sperm is driven by altruism, and HFEA published data shows that egg and sperm donors in England from 2011 to 2020 lived in similar or more affluent socio-economic areas than the general population.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK–India Free Trade Agreement on his Department.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
We are delivering our Plan for Change by striking a new trade deal with the fastest-growing economy in the G20. This comprehensive deal is expected to increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion, and boost wages by £2.2 billion each and every year in the long run. Once the deal is signed, we will publish an Impact Assessment as part of the UK’s standard treaty scrutiny process. This will offer a breakdown of the deal’s impact across sectors and regions. This landmark trade deal is a major boost win for our world-class food and drink industry. British farmers and producers of lamb, salmon, whisky and gin can now benefit from lower tariffs and exciting new opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing markets. The deal also protects sensitive sectors such as sugar, milled rice, pork, chicken, and eggs by excluding them from liberalisation. |
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the summary of responses and Government response to the public consultation on fairer food labelling on 12 June, whether they intend to implement mandatory method-of-production labelling for eggs, pork and chicken.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 12 June 2025 we published the summary of responses and the Government response to the fairer food labelling consultation, which was undertaken last year by the previous Government. The response is available here on GOV.UK.
We recognise the strong support from the public and other stakeholders for clearer information for consumers on welfare standards for their food. We have also heard and understood the views raised on the detail of the consultation proposals by the many interested parties who have responded to this consultation.
We will consider the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of the ongoing development of the government’s wider animal welfare and food strategies.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the detailed criteria his Department uses to calculate avian flu compensation payments for industrial poultry units.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Compensation paid for birds culled by the Government for disease control purposes is designed to promote prompt reporting of suspicion of disease and is only payable for healthy birds as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981. There is no compensation available for sick birds or birds that have died. Compensation is not paid for consequential losses, including business interruption caused by control measures, nor for eggs or poultry meat.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) makes its assessment of the disease status of the birds based on clinical inspection and veterinary judgment. The amount of compensation is established by APHA using the relevant valuation rate card (or for specialist stock by a specialist valuer). The valuation rate cards are updated by APHA five times per year (in January, March, June, September and November) to ensure rates are in line with average market values for the types of birds.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to consultation outcome document entitled Summary of responses and government response, published on 12 June 2025, what his Department's timetable is for implementing mandatory method-of-production labelling for (a) eggs, (b) pork and (c) chicken.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
On 12 June 2025 we published the summary of responses and government response to the fairer food labelling consultation, which was undertaken last year by the previous government. The response is available here on GOV.UK.
We recognise the strong support from the public and other stakeholders for clearer information for consumers on welfare standards for their food. We have also heard and understood the views raised on the detail of the consultation proposals by the many interested parties who have responded to this consultation.
We will consider the potential role of method of production labelling reform as part of the ongoing development of the Government’s wider animal welfare and food strategies.