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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

1126901

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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	Assistance Animals
	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 people travelling with assistance dogs to the EU will face disruption at EU borders at (a) train stations, (b) ports and (c) airports in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	254715
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government understands that assistance dog users, who have become familiar with the benefits of using the EU Pet Travel Scheme to travel to EU Member States, are concerned about the changes that could take place when the UK leaves the EU.</p><p> </p><p>In any exit scenario owners of assistance dogs from the UK will still be able to travel to the EU with their animals. After exit we want owners of assistance dogs to be able to take their animals to the EU with the minimum of disruption.</p><p> </p><p>If the UK leaves the EU without a deal and becomes an unlisted third country under the EU Pet Travel Scheme, assistance dogs would need to be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies, as now, but would also need to undergo a blood titre test to demonstrate that their rabies vaccination has been effective.</p><p> </p><p>On 25 March 2019 Defra issued updated guidance on pet travel to Europe after Brexit, which can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit</a>. This advises of the contingency planning owners should consider to make sure their animals can travel to the EU in the scenario that the UK is not granted listed third country status under EU Pet Travel Scheme rules. The guidance advises owners to contact their vet at least four months before travelling to get the latest advice.</p><p> </p><p>Defra has submitted an application for the UK to become a listed country under the EU pet travel regulations. Should the UK become a Part 1 listed country, there would be little change to the current arrangements, with only minor changes needed for documentation and, in most cases, no change for owners from what they currently need to do in terms of their animal’s health preparation. It is now for the EU Commission to consider our application for listed status.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work with assistance dog organisations to share the latest advice and guidance (in accessible formats) with their members. We will also work with carriers to ensure that assistance dog owners have the correct health preparation and documentation to enable them to enter the EU. When further information becomes available it will be published on GOV.UK. Email alerts on pet travel can be subscribed to at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications</a>. We will also ensure that vets who issue pet travel documents have the most up to date information.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/05/2019 14:19:39 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126945

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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	Cats and Dogs: Imports
	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 steps his Department is taking to ensure compliance with the Balai Directive to protect the UK from disease in relation to EU and Third country imports of stray cats and dogs.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	254769
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Defra takes the threat to public and animal health posed by animals entering the United Kingdom (UK) very seriously. This includes the rescue and rehoming of stray cats and dogs from EU and Third countries under the Balai Directive, which is classed as a commercial import not as a pet import. Importation of stray dogs and cats, whose history is unknown can pose a biosecurity risk to the UK and therefore enforcement measures are in place to ensure compliance.</p><p> </p><p>All consignments of stray dogs or cats from Third countries must enter through a Border Inspection Post (BIP), and receive documentary, physical and identity checks upon arrival for compliance with import requirements.</p><p> </p><p>All EU consignments of dogs or cats receive documentary checks on entry and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) conduct further checks post-import. A risk-based approach is used to determine which consignments receive a further post-importation identity and documentary check at their destination in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Where animals fail to meet the necessary health requirements for entry to the UK, they must either be quarantined until compliant, returned to their country of origin, or euthanised – all at the expense of the owner or importer. This helps to preserve the UK’s high standards of biosecurity, and acts as a deterrent to those who might otherwise be motivated to abuse Balai import requirements. The UK CVO is in correspondence with her EU counterparts in Member States where issues of non-compliance have been detected.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 22/05/2019 16:08:56 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1126873

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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 steps he is taking against dog owners whose dogs have attacked (a) other dogs and (b) people; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
	tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
	uin	254725
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 makes it an offence to allow a dog, of any breed or type, to be dangerously out of control. This includes instances where dogs attack other animals including dogs, as well as people. We have discussed this application of the 1991 Act with the police.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/05/2019 14:40:48 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

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

1126566

	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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Sick Leave
	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 and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	254075
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>We can confirm we have searched our records and can provide the information below. This information covers the period 1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019. We do not hold data relating specifically to stress as a separate category of sick leave absence. Instead we have provided data relating to all mental health absences. This category includes psychological illnesses such as stress, depression, anxiety and any other mental health condition.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>How many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to mental health in the last 12 months</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>109 members of staff 2.25% of total staff headcount</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>What proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Absences relating to mental health made up 34.9% of all sickness absences</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>What the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total cost of mental health sickness is £427,559.55</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The proportion of officials taking sick leave for reasons relating to mental health has remained constant at around 2% for the last five years.</p><p> </p><p>We have various services and support mechanisms in place to support employee mental health. For example we have an internal employee led mental health ‘buddy’ network, and employees have access to an external provider Employee Assistance Programme, and Occupational Health Service. We also have a process in place for notifying and managing work related stress.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 22/05/2019 14:37:00 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126882

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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: Imports
	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 dogs were imported (a) in total and (b) from each country of origin using the Balai Directive in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
	tabling member printed	Alex Norris
	uin	254872
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The numbers of dogs that were imported in total and from each country of origin using the Balai Directive in 2018 were as follows:</p><p> </p><p>The total number of dogs imported in 2018 was <ins class="ministerial">37,144</ins><del class="ministerial"><strong>20,845</strong></del>.</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of this figure by country is as follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Country Of Origin</p></td><td><p>Dogs</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Austria</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1</ins><del class="ministerial">10</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Belgium</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1</ins><del class="ministerial">4 </del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Bulgaria</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">216</ins><del class="ministerial">61</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Croatia</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">265</ins><del class="ministerial">149</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Cyprus</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">3566</ins><del class="ministerial">3156</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Czech Republic</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">63</ins><del class="ministerial">115</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> <ins class="ministerial">Denmark</ins></strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1 </ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Estonia</strong></p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Finland</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">3</ins><del class="ministerial">2</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>France</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">72</ins><del class="ministerial">19</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Germany</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">13</ins><del class="ministerial">4</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Greece</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">107</ins><del class="ministerial">125</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Hungary</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1585</ins><del class="ministerial">519</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Ireland (Rep. of)</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">7828</ins><del class="ministerial">4896</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Italy</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">26</ins><del class="ministerial">24</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Latvia</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1</ins><del class="ministerial">2</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Lithuania</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">6</ins><del class="ministerial">9</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Malta</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">4</ins><del class="ministerial">6</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Netherlands</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">111</ins><del class="ministerial">19</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Poland</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">881</ins><del class="ministerial">420</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Portugal</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">173</ins><del class="ministerial">2</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Romania</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">17189</ins><del class="ministerial">7461</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Slovakia</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">23</ins><del class="ministerial">9</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Slovenia</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">3</ins><del class="ministerial">2</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Spain</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">4995</ins><del class="ministerial">3816</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Sweden</strong></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">9</ins><del class="ministerial">8</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><del class="ministerial"><strong>Switzerland</strong></del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">2</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><del class="ministerial"><strong>UK</strong></del></p></td><td><p><del class="ministerial">3</del></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong><ins class="ministerial">37,144</ins><del class="ministerial">20,845</del></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>The data for commercial imports covers the number of animals imported into the UK, and was extracted from TRACES through the Qlikview facility by searching for imports of dogs and their commodity codes in 2018 to the UK by country of origin. These figures cover all commercially imported dogs, including commercial puppies, rescue dogs, research dogs and unaccompanied pets.</p><p> </p><p>The information that the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has provided is a true reflection of the information that is held. APHA cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as the information has been entered into TRACES by a third party.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/05/2019 14:25:58 question first ministerially corrected 04/06/2019 10:12:38 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 119293 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

1126883

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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: Imports
	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 dogs were imported (a) in total and (b) from each country of origin via the Pet Travel Scheme in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
	tabling member printed	Alex Norris
	uin	254873
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">194,712</del> <ins class="ministerial">307,357 </ins>dogs were imported in total via the Pet Travel Scheme in 2018.</p><p> </p><p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is unable to provide a breakdown of the number of dogs travelling under the scheme by country as it does not hold that information.</p><p> </p><p>The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme is taken from APHA’s system for recording pets’ throughput based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals.</p><p> </p><p>The information that APHA has provided is a true reflection of the information that is held. APHA cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as it can only rely on the information that has been entered into the pets’ returns by a third party.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/05/2019 14:34:26 question first ministerially corrected 04/06/2019 10:12:59 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 119296 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

1126926

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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	Electronic Training Aids
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2019 to Question 249947, whether the Government has plans to bring forward legislation to ban the use of electronic shock collars by mid-July.
	tabling member constituency	Scunthorpe
	tabling member printed	Nic Dakin
	uin	254811
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The necessary legislation needed to prohibit the use of remote controlled hand-held electronic training collars for dogs, will be laid before Parliament in due course. Timings for this legislation will be announced in the normal way.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 22/05/2019 16:13:17 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4056 label Biography information for Nic Dakin

1126606

	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	Farmers: Suicide
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to suicides in the farming sector, what steps he is taking to monitor levels of distress in that sector.
	tabling member constituency	Stroud
	tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
	uin	254107
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>Defra takes the issue of farmers and agricultural workers’ wellbeing very seriously. I am aware that rates of suicide are higher across the agricultural sector generally than they are for the general population. I know that they often have a solitary lifestyle, it is hard work and their businesses are subject to unpredictable factors such as the weather. As part of the Future Farming programme we are looking at the impact of policies on wellbeing, and we are also working with partners to foster personal and business resilience.</p><p> </p><p>As part of our on-going work using data on the farming sector, we monitor the published ONS statistics on suicides by employment group. As well as headline mortality numbers, we keep under review the issues that may affect broader experiences of positive and negative wellbeing.</p><p> </p><p>Officials meet regularly with farming and rural charities to hear first-hand about resilience in the farming sector. This provides an indication of how farmers and farm workers are responding to any pressures affecting the sector.</p><p> </p><p>Government launched its first ever Loneliness Strategy in October 2018. One of Defra’s commitments is to hold regular stakeholder roundtables to tackle the issues of loneliness and isolation in rural areas. The next roundtable, to be chaired by Lord Gardiner, is being held on 11 June 2019. Defra also provides financial support through an annual grant of £1.7 million to Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), whose network of 38 rural community councils work on housing and transport issues that we know can affect farming communities.</p><p> </p><p>Defra works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on this issue. The National Suicide Prevention Strategy highlights the higher risk of suicide experienced by certain occupational groups, and this includes agricultural occupations. Through the Strategy, DHSC has ensured that every local authority has a suicide prevention plan in place to implement tailored approaches to reducing suicides based on the needs and demographics of local communities.</p><p> </p><p>In October 2018, the Prime Minister announced the first Minister for Suicide Prevention, and she recently met the Farming Community Network to understand better the issues facing farmers.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that farmers are aware of the people they can turn to if they are going through difficult times. In particular, the farming charities – the Farming Community Network, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and the Addington Fund – all do a brilliant job in supporting farmers and their families. The National Farmers Union also has a regional network of advisers who can provide support.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 21/05/2019 14:49:38 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
	tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew