Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with local authorities to enhance enforcement against (a) puppy smuggling and (b) the sale of dogs with cropped ears.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation, including the cropping of a dog’s ears. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 creates tougher penalties for anyone convicted of such an offence face, either being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by the hon. Member for North Devon on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears.
Defra regularly engages with stakeholders, including local authorities, on a range of animal welfare issues, including the smuggling of pets into the UK and the cropping of dogs’ ears.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
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 has taken help tackle the import of dogs with cropped ears since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already an offence in England and Wales to carry out a non-exempted mutilation, including the cropping of a dog’s ears or the docking of their tails. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 creates tougher penalties for anyone convicted of such an offence face, either being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by the hon. Member for North Devon on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the EU's decision to prohibit the use and export of dental amalgam by 1 January 2025 on dentistry in Northern Ireland due to the Windsor Framework and Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The explanatory memorandum (EM) for European Union (EU) mercury products legislation COM(23)395 and C(23)4683, was published on 1 November 2023. The EM provides a summary of the proposal to amend EU regulation 2017/852 on the manufacture, import and export of mercury products. The Department of Health and Social Care is continuing to work with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland to assess all possible impacts of the decision.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to safeguard firms from the effects of rising prices and supply chain disruptions.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government is committed to ensuring that the UK is a reliable, supportive place to do business where firms can import the goods they need efficiently. At Spring Budget 2024 the government announced measures that continue to support business, including increasing the VAT registration threshold and extending the Recovery Loan Scheme (now named the Growth Guarantee Scheme).
Mitigating supply chain disruptions remains a priority for government. In January 2024, the government published the Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, which will help UK businesses build secure and reliable supply chains and access the goods they need.
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, what steps her Department plans to take to enforce the 24-hour notification process for medium-risk goods under the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will look to implement the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) in a way that recognises that new requirements are being placed on traders. As a result, we will introduce the BTOM in a way that will focus on improving trader compliance rather than enforcement. However, enforcement will be implemented where there is evidence of deliberate avoidance, fraud or biosecurity concerns.
From 30 April, our approach to compliance and enforcement will be carefully calibrated to balance an expectation that businesses will do their best to comply, with an understanding that there will be a period of adjustment to the new controls and the importance of minimising disruption to the flow of goods. We are working with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Port Health Authorities to reach a clear and consistent understanding of how this calibrated approach will be implemented.
We will continue to pursue an approach of supporting businesses towards full compliance via guidance and warnings where possible and only escalating enforcement where necessary. For medium-risk animal products, all consignments will receive a documentary check from 30 April, and all medium-risk plant consignments that undergo a Border Control Post inspection will have a document check.
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, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Border Target Operating Model on the just-in-time models of (a) cold-chain haulage and (b) storage businesses.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has and will continue to engage stakeholders across the food supply chain in the design and implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), including the cold chain haulage and storage industries. We have listened carefully to this feedback, and designed the BTOM so that it minimises disruption and friction for traders to the greatest extent that is consistent with the imperative to protect UK biosecurity. We recognise that these controls do place a new requirement on such businesses, and that they will need time and support to adjust. As such the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Port Health/Local Authorities will adopt a carefully calibrated approach to enforcement that minimises the risk of disrupting trade flows, with an emphasis on educating and supporting businesses to comply. We are confident that Border Control Post infrastructure will have sufficient capacity and capability, including temperature-controlled facilities, to handle the volume of expected checks from 30 April. This will further ensure the impact on just-in-time models is minimised.
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, what the process will be for importers to derogate the 24-hour notification process for medium-risk goods to four hours under the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The requirement for IPAFFS (Import of products, animals, food and feed system) prenotifications to be submitted one working day ahead of an animal product consignment’s arrival in GB is an existing requirement for goods from the EU, excluding goods from the island of Ireland. The requirement will remain as is from 31 January for those EU goods it currently applies to, and will be introduced for EU and non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods from the island of Ireland. The way in which this requirement will be enforced will also remain unchanged from now in the January-April period. This aligns with our wider approach to implementation. From the point that controls at the border are introduced, importers will be able to contact Port Health Authorities (PHAs) to request a derogation to reduce the pre-notification window to a minimum of four hours. It may be possible to negotiate a global derogation for certain routes with the PHA, benefiting regular shipments on these paths. However, this would need to be based on agreement with the relevant PHA.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
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 (a) publish the responses to the 2021 consultation on the commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into Great Britain and (b) commit to a legislative timeframe to ban the import of dogs with cropped ears.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are carefully reviewing the feedback gathered from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published in due course.
The practice of non-exempted mutilations such as cropping dogs' ears is abhorrent and has rightly been banned in the UK for over 10 years.
The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by the hon. Member for North Devon on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears.
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, what steps her Department is taking to assess the readiness of proposed border control post facilities in the context of the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working closely with all border stakeholders to ensure readiness for the implementation of physical controls from 30 April. This includes participating in a cross-government programme of operational testing at Border Control Posts to assure infrastructure and processes for implementation.
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, with reference to the Border Target Operating Model, what guidance his Department has issued to veterinary professionals in Europe on the checks needed ahead of approving an export health certificate for a consignment before import to the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is engaging stakeholders across all SPS sectors across the EU and with trading partners around the world to raise awareness of, and aid preparedness for, the Border Target Operating Model (TOM). Information is being shared through a series of live and virtual engagement events and communications detailing actions required. Online guidance is available on GOV.UK. The UK CVO has also written to the European Commission and EU counterparts providing updates on the BTOM implementation. Ultimately it is for the Competent Authority of the exporting country to advise their Official Veterinarians of the checks required, just as we do for Official Vets signing Export Health Certificates for consignments going from the UK.