Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the reduction of animals being subjected to non-stun slaughter is not an objective in their Animal welfare strategy for England, published on 22 December 2025.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.
An industry-led initiative called the Demonstration of Life Protocol, which the Government supports, provides assurance for Muslim consumers that the stunning of sheep and goats is compatible with halal slaughter requirements, while protecting the welfare of the animals involved and supporting opportunities for trade.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the individuals and communities who consume meat that is slaughtered under the derogation in the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 that applies to non-stun slaughter of meat for religious purposes.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All animals must be stunned before slaughter to make them unconscious and insensible to pain. The only exception to this is when animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites. The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter but respects the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.
No assessment has been made of the individuals and communities who consume meat from animals slaughtered without stunning.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to restricting the UK’s export of non-stun slaughter sheep meat as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council–United Kingdom free trade agreement negotiations.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal welfare, and nothing in the proposed GCC agreement will change our animal welfare standards.
All slaughter of animals for export of meat – whether from animals slaughtered with or without stunning – must comply with UK rules on animal welfare. Legislation requires that all animals must be stunned before slaughter to make them unconscious and insensible to pain. The only exception to this is when animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites, for the food of Muslims and Jews.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there is sufficient oversight of biosecurity border controls; and whether they plan to provide any further resources to biosecurity border controls, following reports of attempts to smuggle large quantities of meat into the UK illegally.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Protecting UK biosecurity remains paramount, and the Government will do whatever it takes to protect farmers. Defra is continually improving its oversight of operations, and we are undertaking relevant analysis to support ongoing operational oversight and develop further strategic border oversight functions.
Border checks are one component of the border biosecurity system, providing robust assurance that the underlying system of biosecurity controls are working as intended. The system also includes risk assessments, import conditions and health certificates signed by vets in the exporting country. The border checks are important, but they are not the primary mechanism for managing biosecurity risks. Defra has also imposed additional restrictions on imports of animal products, including those for personal consumption, in direct response to animal disease outbreaks in countries we trade with.
Defra officials are working with Border Force and Dover Port Health Authority to assess where enhanced enforcement activity would have the greatest impact. Defra is also discussing additional funding with for Dover Port Health Authority to support operations at Dover, indeed Defra has already invested significantly in additional capacity and has provided over £14.4m since October 2022 for port health authority operations at the port of Dover.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 26 March (HL15813), how many licences they granted for the use of (1) beagles, and (2) non-human primates, in scientific procedures in 2025.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025, a total of 12 project licences were granted that included the use of beagles and/or non-human primates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986: 4 authorising the use of beagles; 4 authorising the use of non-human primates; and, 4 authorising the use of both beagles and non-human primates.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 26 March (HL15813), what assessment they have made of the compatibility of granting licences for the use of animals in scientific testing with their Replacing animals in science strategy, published 11 November 2025.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Replacing animals in science strategy recognises that, while the long‑term vision is to replace the use of animals in science wherever possible, some animal use remains necessary at present to develop and test new medicines, advance understanding of biology and disease, and to protect human and animal health and the environment. These activities are integral to the UK’s national health preparedness and resilience, including the ability to respond to emerging health threats. Progress towards the phasing out of animal use must be science‑led and supported by reliable alternative methods.
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the use of animals in scientific procedures is subject to a strict regulatory framework. Project licence applications must demonstrate that the harms to animals are justified by the expected benefits to society, the environment or animals themselves. They must also comply fully with the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (the 3Rs). This means that animals cannot be used if a suitable non‑animal method exists, the minimum number of animals must be used, and any harms must be minimised through the most refined methods available.
Accordingly, the licensing regime is compatible with the strategy; it enables only tightly controlled animal use where it is scientifically justified and no suitable alternative exists, while continuing to drive the development, validation and uptake of non-animal approaches.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the outcomes of the ministerial round table on achieving gender equality and the empowerment of older women at the 70th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Equalities Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith led the UK delegation at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), alongside UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls Harriet Harman, HRH the Duchess of Edinburgh and Ministry of Justice Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones.
We were pleased to host an event during CSW in partnership with Age International, which highlighted the voices, experiences and specific needs of older women in relation to violence against women and girls. We were regrettably unable to be represented at the Ministerial Roundtable on Older Women due to other commitments during CSW, but we look forward to the chair's summary and will carefully consider any agreed findings and actions in our domestic and international work.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contributions their delegation made to promoting the rights of older women at the 70th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Equalities Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith led the UK delegation at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), alongside UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls Harriet Harman, HRH the Duchess of Edinburgh and Ministry of Justice Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones.
We were pleased to host an event during CSW in partnership with Age International, which highlighted the voices, experiences and specific needs of older women in relation to violence against women and girls. We were regrettably unable to be represented at the Ministerial Roundtable on Older Women due to other commitments during CSW, but we look forward to the chair's summary and will carefully consider any agreed findings and actions in our domestic and international work.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the UK was represented at the ministerial round table of the 70th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Equalities Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith led the UK delegation at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), alongside UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls Harriet Harman, HRH the Duchess of Edinburgh and Ministry of Justice Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones.
We were pleased to host an event during CSW in partnership with Age International, which highlighted the voices, experiences and specific needs of older women in relation to violence against women and girls. We were regrettably unable to be represented at the Ministerial Roundtable on Older Women due to other commitments during CSW, but we look forward to the chair's summary and will carefully consider any agreed findings and actions in our domestic and international work.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they will take to support women and girls in the use of overseas development aid, in particular in terms of the amount of aid allocated, specific projects and diplomacy.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the statements made by the Foreign Secretary and myself on 19 March when announcing the Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. This included setting an increased target for at least 90 percent of the UK's bilateral ODA programmes to have a focus on women and girls by 2030.