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1126504

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to (a) ensure local authorities have a duty to provide access to a fully trained Animal Welfare Inspector with responsibility for enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and (b) provide additional funding for that role; what estimate he has made of the number of local authorities that do not employ an Animal Welfare Inspector; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	254174
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, local authorities, the Animal &amp; Plant Health Agency and the police all have powers of entry to inspect complaints of suspected animal cruelty and take out prosecutions where necessary. Local authorities must be able to make decisions based on local needs and resource priorities and the arrangements that work best for them. It is for local authorities to determine how to prioritise their resources. We do not hold data centrally on the number of inspectors appointed under the Act.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities will often work in close partnership with others, such as the RSPCA, to ensure that the welfare of animals is protected. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 allows anyone to be able to investigate allegations of animal neglect and if necessary take forward a prosecution and it is on this basis that the RSPCA have been enforcing animal welfare legislation in this country. Although they have no specific powers under the 2006 Act, the RSPCA do investigate allegations of cruelty and successfully prosecute 800 to 1,000 people each year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/05/2019 14:57:36 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1126512

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Veterinary Medicine: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of additional accredited vets that will be required in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Ashford
	tabling member printed	Damian Green
	uin	254054
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, all animals, products of animal origin (POAO), fish, shellfish, crustaceans, germplasm or fishery products exported from the UK to the EU will require an export health certificate (EHC). EHCs have to be certified by either a suitably accredited Official Veterinarian (OV) or, in the case of fish and fish products, either an OV or an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) employed by a local authority.</p><p> </p><p>Defra does not employ OVs or EHOs so we have engaged with the private sector and local government to identify means of increasing the number of authorised signatories available. From February we have provided free training for vets to become accredited to sign EHCs. Over 300 vets have completed the training, an increase of just under 50% in the total number of suitably qualified OVs.</p><p> </p><p>To support OVs we also created a new role of Certification Support Officer (CSO). A CSO can handle preparatory and administrative aspects of EHCs (checking documents, identifying products or sealing containers). This will free up OV time and capacity to provide the final assurance required. The number of qualified CSOs stands at 84.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 22/05/2019 16:28:47 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	76 label Biography information for Damian Green

1126091

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Livestock: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of a ban on all caged farming.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	253508
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare and the welfare of our farmed livestock in all systems is protected by comprehensive and robust legislation. This is backed up by statutory species specific welfare codes, which encourage high standards of husbandry and which keepers are required by law to have access to and be familiar with. Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency inspectors and local authorities conduct inspections on farms to check that the animal welfare standards are being met.</p><p> </p><p>Whatever the system of production, the most important factor in determining animal welfare is good stockmanship and the correct application of husbandry standards. This reflects the advice of the Farm Animal Welfare Committee.</p><p> </p><p>We have already banned cages or close confinement systems where there is clear scientific evidence that they are detrimental to animal health and welfare. For example, we banned the keeping of sows in close confinement stalls in the UK in 1999, and the use of conventional (‘battery’) cages for laying hens in 2012.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/05/2019 16:40:38 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1126124

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in his Department who were transferred or seconded to work (a) in other departments or (b) on other departmental briefs on preparations for the UK to leave the EU, have since returned to his Department.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	253454
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>EU departure is an all-of-Government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is responsible for overseeing negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. The Department for International Trade works to secure UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade.<strong><br></strong></p><p>Departments continually review workforce plans and reprioritise and assess changing needs, which includes identification and cessation of non-priority work where appropriate. We have accelerated our plans, and at the same time, the Civil Service as a whole is working to ensure that exit implementation is carried out to a high standard without impacting public service delivery across the whole of Government.</p><p>For Defra, information relating to all staff who have been transferred or loaned to another department since June 2016 is provided below. We are not able to confirm how many of these were related to exit roles as this information is not held.</p><p>We have interpreted the second part of the question relating to ‘other departmental briefs’ as those working on projects with or in other departments through any informal arrangement that is not a formal loan or secondment. Based on this interpretation, Defra does not hold this data and is unable to provide this information.</p><p>The information is from June 2016 – present.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Total number of staff transferred to another Government department (OGD) between June 16 – March 19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>445</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number of staff transferred to an OGD who have since returned to Defra</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total number of staff loaned to an OGD between June 19 – March 19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>118*</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number of staff loaned to an OGD who have since returned to Defra</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>14</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*This figure includes 30 loans where the end dates are between May 2019 and January 2022, and therefore we would not expect staff to have returned to Defra. All loans are generally for a period of two years.</p><p> </p><p>We do not use the term ‘secondment’ to refer to Civil Servants moving between departments, instead we use the term ‘loan’. Therefore we have interpreted this question to refer to those who have moved to other departments on loans.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/05/2019 14:09:10 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1125667

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has plans to improve animal rights after the UK leaves the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Welwyn Hatfield
	tabling member printed	Grant Shapps
	uin	252554
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>We will maintain and enhance our high animal welfare standards as we leave the EU.</p><p> </p><p>We recently laid legislation to ban travelling circuses from using wild animals and to tackle puppy farming by ending third party sales. We have made CCTV mandatory in slaughterhouses and are introducing one of the world’s toughest bans on ivory sales to protect elephants from poaching. Each of these measures goes further than EU rules require.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 14/05/2019 16:03:41 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	1582 label Biography information for Grant Shapps

1125763

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Dogs: Tagging
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislation for mandatory microchip scanning for all pet dogs at routine visits to the veterinarian.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	252516
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government agrees with the British Veterinary Association (BVA) that it is good practice for veterinary practices to scan dogs that are presented to them, and particularly for the first time, but that it should not be compulsory for them to do so, as in some circumstances this might deter some owners from presenting their dogs at veterinary practices for much needed treatment.</p><p> </p><p>On 23 April 2019, I understand representatives of the group Vets Get Scanning and the BVA met to discuss this issue. The BVA has undertaken to remind veterinary practices to scan dogs in line with best practice and help owners understand the importance of keeping their microchipping records up to date.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 14/05/2019 14:27:16 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1125766

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Dangerous Dogs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing behaviour testing of dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in order to reduce the number of dogs needlessly destroyed.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	252517
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>A dangerous dogs exemption scheme already operates under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 which allows the Courts to decide that individual dogs of types subject to the general prohibition may be kept, subject to certain conditions, if they are considered not to represent a risk to the general public based on the dog’s temperament and behaviour and that the owner is a fit and proper person.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 14/05/2019 14:25:13 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1125772

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Dangerous Dogs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of breed specific legislation in reducing the number of dog attacks.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	252518
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government considers that the general prohibition on certain types of dog bred for fighting, or that share the characteristics of dogs bred for fighting, should remain in place. Evidence shows that pitbull type dogs are responsible for a disproportionate number of attacks on people and fatalities, and should not be kept without individual dogs being subject to a public safety test including that the owner is a fit and proper person. We have not seen any evidence that shows removing the general prohibition would reduce the number of dog attacks.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 14/05/2019 13:50:03 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1125780

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Tree Planting
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on the target to plant eleven million trees between 2015 and 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	252670
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has planted 15 million trees since 2010, and remains committed to planting 11 million trees in this Parliament, 2017-22. Woodland creation is a key activity of our 25 Year Environment Plan.</p><p> </p><p>The Forestry Commission routinely publishes statistics on planting rates as part of its Corporate Performance Indicators. The latest figures show that from April 2017 to end March 2019 at least 3.2 million trees have been planted, equivalent to approximately 2,083 hectares of woodland creation.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s support for this woodland creation has predominantly been from the Countryside Stewardship scheme. Further Government support has been through the Environment Agency and National Forest Company.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In the Autumn Budget the Government announced an additional £60 million for tree planting initiatives, comprising £10 million to fund urban tree planting and £50 million for a Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme. This will add to other new planting in the pipeline, supported by the High Speed 2 Woodland Fund, the Woodland Carbon Fund and the Government’s kick start investment in the Northern Forest.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 14/05/2019 13:41:40 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1125306

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Circuses: Animal Welfare
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to compensate circus owners who will no longer be able to use wild animals in their circuses under the Wild Animals in Circuses (No 2) Bill.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	251947
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>We have no plans to compensate circus owners who will no longer be able to use wild animals in travelling circuses.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 15/05/2019 13:50:38 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies