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794315

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
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	Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
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 has taken to reflect Decision 17.225 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115288
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2017 answer text <p>At the 17 Conference of the Parties for CITES the UK contributed to achieving strong outcomes for tigers and other Asian big cats species.</p><p> </p><p>Since then Defra has funded a workshop which took place in Vietnam on 7 and 8 September 2017. The UK Border Force, along with the National Crime Agency and others held a training workshop with Vietnam’s border staff to share expertise in tackling wildlife crime at the borders including issues such as illegal shipment of animal parts and derivatives. The programme included best practice in training wildlife crime officers and setting wildlife crime priorities.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 01/12/2017 12:29:12 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794316

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
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 Wild Animals Act 1976
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 has taken to review compliance with and enforcement of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115289
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2017 answer text <p>The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 was updated in 2007, following review and consultation. The Act was updated again in 2010 to allow local authorities to focus their enforcement activity more effectively. Based on available evidence we consider that the Act is currently providing appropriate protections.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 01/12/2017 11:37:54 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794482

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
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	Slaughterhouses: 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 launch an investigation into the variation in rates of animal welfare between (a) non-stun halal and (b) other abattoirs.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115455
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2017 answer text <p>Official veterinarians (OVs) from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are present in all approved slaughterhouses in England and take a prompt, proportionate and risk based approach to enforcement action when animal welfare breaches are identified.</p><p>The government is introducing mandatory CCTV recording in slaughterhouses which will further enable OVs to monitor and verify animal welfare standards in the slaughterhouse.</p><p>The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter but respects the rights of Jewish and Muslim communities to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. We are aware of the audit data suggesting a variation between non-stun and stun slaughterhouses and are investigating this with FSA.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 08/12/2017 17:20:28 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794483

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Slaughterhouses: Inspections
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to protect Food Standards Agency inspectors against abuse, intimidation and assault during inspection of slaughterhouse premises.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115456
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2017 answer text <p>Like all employers, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has an obligation to ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) the health, safety and welfare at work of all our employees and contractors under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The promotion of a good and harmonious work environment, the maintenance of bullying and harassment incident data (as reported by FSA employees and contractors), the Agency’s zero tolerance approach and the proportionate action we take in response to reported bullying and harassment incidents are all essential elements that the Agency will continue to uphold. This is to ensure that the Agency delivers our duty of care to our employees and contractors under health and safety legislation.</p><p> </p><p>Following consultation with industry through the Help Shape our Policy Pages of food.gov in England and Wales available at:</p><p><a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/help-shape-our-policies/proposed-policy-unacceptable-fbo-behaviour" target="_blank">http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/help-shape-our-policies/proposed-policy-unacceptable-fbo-behaviour</a></p><p>Following several presentations within Partnership Working Group arrangement (an Industry and Food Standards Agency joint working party) a new Policy (Dealing with Unacceptable Behaviour by Food Business Operators - Withdrawal of Veterinary and Inspection Services) was formally launched in July 2017. This new policy contains a clear process to enable the Agency to manage reported incidents of bullying and harassment consistently and proportionately.</p><p> </p><p>Where the FSA considers that unacceptable behaviour by a Food Business Operator, their management, employees or representatives may present a serious risk to the health and safety of FSA staff or contractors action will be taken to remove our staff or contractors from the workplace, which may amount to a withdrawal of service (WOS) by the Agency. Due to the significant effect that such a step will have upon the commercial operation of an approved premise, the WOS would be a measure of last resort and where other options would be insufficient to protect the health and safety of FSA staff. WOS will only be applied where a single incident is considered to be of a sufficiently serious nature, or where evidence of continued or persistent bullying and harassment has been established to an extent which may pose a risk to the health and safety of FSA employees and contractors.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine question first answered 30/11/2017 15:31:07 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794484

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Slaughterhouses: Inspections
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to ensure that slaughterhouses cease operations after receiving an unsatisfactory audit result.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2017 answer text <p>The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for auditing slaughterhouses. When conducting audits at slaughterhouses the FSA will assess that establishments are operating in accordance with its Food Safety Management System, Food Safety Standards and has met the requirements of the Regulations.</p><p> </p><p>During the audits, we will consider the day to day enforcement conducted by the on-site FSA Veterinarian since the last audit. Where it is identified that the food business is not fully meeting these requirements, the Food Business Operator and FSA officials will be informed of the deficiencies identified during the closing meeting immediately after the audit and a formal Non-Compliance Report will be issued with the audit report.</p><p> </p><p>Any slaughterhouse receiving an unsatisfactory audit will be subject to additional follow-up audits and unannounced inspections.</p><p> </p><p>If the performance of the slaughterhouse does not improve and the FSA remains concerned that there is an imminent risk to the public the meat can be detained and the business closed until remedial action is taken to resolve the issue. Similarly, if the business is posing a risk to animal welfare similar measures can be imposed to require the business to remove the risk to welfare before it is permitted to recommence operations.</p><p> </p><p>Ultimately, if the FSA no longer has confidence in the ability of the food business to meet the required standards it may withdraw its approval. The FSA last withdrew the approval of a slaughterhouse in July 2017.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine question first answered 30/11/2017 15:33:53 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794486

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Slaughterhouses: Inspections
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department take to ensure that businesses that receive animal products from premises that have received an unsatisfactory Food Standards Agency audit result are (a) aware of that audit result and (b) protected against potential food safety risks.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115459
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2017 answer text <p>Audit reports are issued to the Food Business Operator, the Official Veterinarian, and Food Standard Agency (FSA) officials responsible for each establishment within 10 days of the audit taking place.</p><p> </p><p>The overall outcomes are provided as ‘Good’, ‘Generally Satisfactory’, ‘Improvement Necessary’ or ‘Urgent Improvement Necessary’.</p><p> </p><p>The outcomes of the audits conducted by the FSA are then published on its website:</p><p><a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/meat/audit" target="_blank">https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/meat/audit</a></p><p>Audit results are published each month as part of the FSA transparency commitment.</p><p> </p><p>The role of the auditor is to assess that establishments are operating in accordance with its Food Safety Management System, Food Safety Standards and has met the requirements of the Regulations.</p><p> </p><p>Where it is identified that the food business is not fully meeting these requirements, the Food Business Operator and FSA officials for this establishment will be informed of the deficiencies identified during the closing meeting immediately after the audit and a formal Non-Compliance Report will be issued with the audit report.</p><p> </p><p>The outcome of these audits will determine the audit frequency so any establishment which has the outcome ‘Improvement Necessary’ or ‘Urgent Improvement Necessary’ will receive increased audits and may also be subject to further unannounced inspections.</p><p> </p><p>It is the role of the FSA to keep the approval granted to establishments under review. If the audit outcome does not improve, and the FSA is concerned that the manner in which a food business is operating is such that it poses an imminent risk to the public the meat can be detained and the business closed until remedial action is taken to resolve the issue.</p><p> </p><p>Ultimately, if the FSA no longer has confidence in the ability of the food business to meet the required standards it may withdraw its approval. Four establishments have had their approval withdrawn by the FSA in the last 12 months.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine question first answered 30/11/2017 15:14:07 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794487

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
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	Slaughterhouses: 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 the Government will ban non-stun animal slaughter.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115460
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2017 answer text <p>We are clear that animals must be stunned before slaughter unless they are being slaughtered for religious purposes. The law enables people of Jewish or Muslim faith to eat meat killed in accordance with their religious beliefs. There are strict rules to provide the maximum possible protection to animals subject to religious slaughter.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 04/12/2017 18:16:43 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794518

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Public Sector: Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the revised Eatwell Guide is (a) required or (b) advisory guidance for decisions on public procurement of food and drink.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115491
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2017 answer text <p>The Eatwell Guide aims to assist the population in choosing a varied and balanced diet to meet latest Government dietary advice. It reflects the most up to date recommendations including those from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition on the consumption of sugars and fibre. The guide is suitable for everyone over the age of five years.</p><p> </p><p>Procurement of food within central Government Departments is determined through the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services, which include a set of minimum mandatory standards for inclusion in tender specifications and contract performance conditions. The standards are still to be aligned with latest dietary recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine grouped question UIN 115492 question first answered 30/11/2017 15:15:39 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794519

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Government Departments: Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the revised Eatwell Guide on public procurement decisions on food and drink in Government Departments.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115492
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2017 answer text <p>The Eatwell Guide aims to assist the population in choosing a varied and balanced diet to meet latest Government dietary advice. It reflects the most up to date recommendations including those from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition on the consumption of sugars and fibre. The guide is suitable for everyone over the age of five years.</p><p> </p><p>Procurement of food within central Government Departments is determined through the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services, which include a set of minimum mandatory standards for inclusion in tender specifications and contract performance conditions. The standards are still to be aligned with latest dietary recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Winchester answering member printed Steve Brine grouped question UIN 115491 question first answered 30/11/2017 15:15:39 answering member 4067 label Biography information for Steve Brine
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

794521

registered interest
date	23/11/2017
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	Birds of Prey: 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 progress his Department has made on determining the reasons for the disappearance of raptors satellite tagged by Natural England.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	115494
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2017 answer text <p>Any hen harriers tagged by Natural England which disappear are immediately reported to the police for further investigation. Any hen harrier corpse which is recovered by Natural England is submitted for a full post-mortem.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England’s satellite tracking data, including last fix locations of tagged birds is currently being analysed independently to enable publication of the data next year.</p><p> </p><p>The National Wildlife Crime Unit, which is jointly funded by Defra and the Home Office, works closely with Natural England and key partners to investigate raptor disappearances and tackle illegal persecution.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 01/12/2017 13:25:27 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy