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1379531

	registered interest
	date	17/11/2021
	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	Trapping
	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 snare traps; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	76640
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2021 answer text <p>While some people consider snares to be an inhumane and unnecessary means of trapping wild animals, others maintain they are an essential tool in controlling foxes and rabbits.</p><p> </p><p>There is a code of practice for the use of snares to control foxes in England which sets out clear principles for the legal and humane use of snares, using evidence from snare-use research to improve their deployment and design. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 also prohibits the use of self-locking snares and the setting of any type of snare in places where they are likely to catch certain non-target animals such as badgers. It also requires snares to be inspected on a daily basis.</p><p> </p><p>However, when used improperly, snares can cause immense suffering to both target and non-target animals including pet cats and dogs. The use of snares is therefore an issue we are looking at closely as part of our continued drive to maintain the highest animal welfare standards in the world.</p><p> </p><p>Through the Government’s Animal Action for Welfare Plan, published in May of this year, we are looking at whether changes need to be made to reflect concerns raised.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 10/12/2021 14:52:44 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1627581

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2023
	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 it remains her policy to implement the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, published on 12 May 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	184939
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2023 answer text <p>We plan to take forward our ambitious agenda of animal welfare and conservation reforms, as outlined in the 2021 Action Plan for Animal Welfare, during the current Parliamentary session and beyond. We will continue to introduce and support legislative and non-legislative reforms when we can.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 19/05/2023 10:45:19 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1601324

	registered interest
	date	06/03/2023
	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: 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, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Cruel electric shock collars for pets to be banned, published on 27 August 2018, what her planned timetable is for implementing a ban on the use of remote control electric shock collars.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	158889
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2023 answer text <p>We plan to introduce regulations soon which will prohibit the use of remote controlled electronic training collars that deliver an electric shock to cats and dogs.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 10/03/2023 14:00:33 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1173858

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2020
	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	Waste Disposal: Crime
	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 her Department is taking to tackle (a) organised waste crime and (b) fly-tipping.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	8995
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>Waste crime damages the environment, is a blight on local communities and the Government is committed to tackling this criminal activity. We have given the Environment Agency (EA) an extra £60 million to tackle waste crime since 2014 and have also made a range of legislative changes. In addition, the Resource and Waste Strategy sets out an ambitious package of further reforms to modernise the way waste is regulated, clamping down on illegal operators and improving performance across the sector. Some of these commitments are being taken forward in the Environment Bill, including measures to further strengthen EA powers when dealing with criminal operators.</p><p> </p><p>The new Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC), a taskforce dedicated to tackling serious and organised criminality in the waste sector was launched last month. The JUWC will tackle criminal activity including the large-scale illegal dumping, or false labelling of waste so it can be exported abroad to unsuspecting countries. It brings together the EA, the National Crime Agency, the police, HMRC, Natural Resources Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in a concerted UK-wide effort to share intelligence and resources to tackle crime which costs the economy at least £600 million every year.</p><p> </p><p>Fly-tipping is unacceptable whether it occurs on public or private land and tackling this crime is a priority for the Government. In recent years we have bolstered local authorities’ powers to tackle fly-tipping. As well as enhanced powers to search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, we have given them the power to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to £400 for fly-tipping offences, including to those caught fly-tipping and householders who pass their waste to a fly-tipper. FPNs provide local authorities with an efficient mechanism to hold fly-tipping perpetrators to account without having to go to court, which can be a time consuming, resource-intensive and expensive process.</p><p> </p><p>If a prosecution is taken, then a fly-tipper can receive a fine of up to £50,000, or 12 months imprisonment if convicted in a Magistrates' Court. The offence can attract an unlimited fine and up to 5 years imprisonment if convicted in a Crown Court. Defra has worked with the Sentencing Council to amend sentencing guidance for magistrates to ensure that they are aware of local fixed penalty levels for these offences, but will continue this work to help to secure tougher penalties in line with our manifesto commitment.</p><p> </p><p>We have also committed to the development of a fly-tipping toolkit, hosted by the National Fly Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG). This will be a web-based tool to help local authorities and others work in partnership to tackle fly-tipping. It will cover, for example, the use of new technology to report fly-tipping, sharing of intelligence within and between partnerships, dealing with unauthorised encampments and promoting the duty of care to individuals and businesses. The Government is also consulting at the moment about strengthening police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments. The NFTPG has also published a Fly-tipping Partnership Framework outlining best practice for the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipping and a series of fly-tipping prevention guides for householders, businesses and landowners.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 04/02/2020 17:23:33 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1601323

	registered interest
	date	06/03/2023
	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: Animal Breeding
	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 licensed dog breeders there were in England as of 1 March 2023; and how many of those breed more than three litters a year.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	158888
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2023 answer text <p>Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, local authorities are required to provide an annual return detailing the number of licences in force on 1<sup>st</sup> April each year, and the average fees associated with the grant or renewal of each licence. There is no requirement for local authorities to provide information on licence holders’ commercial activities, such as the number of litters bred by a licenced dog breeder. Under the 2018 Regulations, local authorities have until 31<sup>st</sup> May each year to provide their returns. Data from 2022 is published by Defra and can be found here: <a href="https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/525058ee-73c6-4cf9-8641-291999ace395/local-authority-licensing-of-activities-involving-animals-returns" target="_blank">Local Authority Licensing of Activities involving Animals returns - data.gov.uk</a></p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 10/03/2023 14:04:21 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1467635

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2022
	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	Marine Protected Areas: Fisheries
	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 mark World Oceans Day on 8 June 2022 by committing the UK to ban bottom-towed fishing gear and other destructive fishing activities from all offshore Marine Protected Areas to ensure their protection.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	13094
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2022 answer text <p>This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.</p><p><br>We have designated over 100 Marine Protected Areas since 2010, so that now 40% of English waters are within the protected area network. We have already committed that the next step is to ensure all of our MPAs are properly protected, supported by our proposed legally binding target under the Environment Act which we are consulting on at present. We have already introduced byelaws in the first four sites which ban bottom towed gear over sensitive habitats and published a call for evidence relating to the next thirteen sites. We are aiming to have all Marine Protected Areas in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 11832 13239 question first answered 09/06/2022 16:51:30 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1462492

	registered interest
	date	12/05/2022
	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	Marine Protected Areas: Fishing Vessels
	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 timeline the Government has agreed for ensuring that all offshore Marine Protected Areas designated for seabed features are fully protected from bottom trawling.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	1160
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2022 answer text <p>This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.</p><p> </p><p>We are aiming to have all Marine Protected Area seabed features in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024. Byelaws for the first four sites were announced in April and a call for evidence relating to the next thirteen sites was launched on 14 May. This is further supported by the legally binding target under the Environment Act that we are proposing to set for marine protected areas.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/05/2022 13:09:09 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1562813

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2022
	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	Reindeer: 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 reindeer were imported into the UK in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021; and from which countries they were imported.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	113212
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2023 answer text <p>There were no reindeer imports into Great Britain during 2020.</p><p>During 2021, there were two imports of reindeer (two consignments of two animals, a total of 4 animals). Both of these consignments came from Northern Ireland.</p><p>The information that we have provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into external customer facing systems by third parties.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/01/2023 10:53:40 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1562814

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2022
	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	Reindeer: Exports
	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 reindeer were exported from the UK in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021; and to which countries those exports were sent in each year.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	113213
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2023 answer text <p>There has only been one export of reindeer in 2021, this was exported from the United Kingdom to Northern Ireland and the consignment contained two reindeers.</p><p>There were no Exports of reindeer in 2020.</p><p>The information that we have provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into external customer facing systems by third parties.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/01/2023 10:58:54 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1688982

	registered interest
	date	16/02/2024
	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	Cetaceans: Import Controls
	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 his Department plans to introduce a ban on the (a) display and (b) importation of (i) dolphins, (ii) whales, (iii) porpoises and (iv) other cetaceans.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	13998
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>The UK Government considers cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) to be highly intelligent, social animals, with complex needs that are unlikely to be met when removed from their natural marine habitat and kept in captivity.</p><p> </p><p>The Zoo Licensing Act 1981 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 require high standards for the welfare of kept animals. We consider these protections sufficient to ensure cetaceans are not displayed or otherwise kept in captivity in this country.</p><p> </p><p>We are not aware of any cetaceans being kept in captivity or being displayed but if there was any indication that cetaceans were to be displayed or kept in captivity here again then we would of course consider further actions.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 26/02/2024 17:34:28 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith