Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have responded to the letter sent to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by the Low-Welfare Act Coalition, dated 19 February, concerning the implementation of the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023; and if so, whether they will publish that correspondence.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has received the Low-Welfare Act Coalition’s open letter dated 19 February and a reply will be shared with representatives of the coalition shortly.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (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 February (HL4971), by what date current funding for Operation Grange provided by the Home Office will be exhausted; and whether they intend to publish details of any subsequent requests for funding if they are made.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Funding from the Police Special Grant is drawn from the wider Police Funding Settlement. As such, budgets and awards are agreed annually. At the start of this financial year, previous Ministers agreed to provide the Metropolitan Police with up to £191,800 in respect of Operation Grange for 2024-25. Funding for 2025-26 will be decided in due course.
Special Grant awards are published on the Home Office website after the end of the financial year to which they relate. Police funding: special grant applications - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to introduce a ban on the retail sale of eggs and egg products from caged hens; and, if not, whether they plan to establish a consultation on the issue.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The transition to non-cage egg production has been accelerated in recent years by the major supermarkets pledging to stop selling shell eggs from hens kept in colony cages by 2025, and some supermarkets have extended this to products containing liquid or powdered eggs.
We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages for laying hens is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (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 Animal Welfare Committee’s report Opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices, published in September 2024, and its recommendation that the breeding of cats with known and harmful extreme traits should be banned.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government welcomes the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. We are carefully considering the Committee’s recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate, if any, they have made of the cost of the proposed State visit to the UK by President Trump.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has not made an estimate of the cost of the visit. President Trump received His Majesty's invitation for a State Visit last week and HMG will welcome him in due course. Further information about the State visit will be announced via the usual process.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what procedures there are within Government to sign off the issuing of an invitation for a State visit to the UK before that invitation is extended.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's recommendations for State Visits are discussed at the Royal Visit Committee. These are then endorsed by the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister before being presented to His Majesty The King for formal approval.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they take to ensure that local authorities clear litter on A roads within responsibility of those local authorities, and whether they keep this under review.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Roadside litter is not only unsightly but can be a threat to the environment. Litter-picking also diverts resources away from other essential road maintenance activities. The responsibility for clearing highway litter and sweeping carriageways is governed by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Each individual highway authority is responsible for clearing litter on the roads for which it is responsible, including local authority A roads.
Funding for local highway authorities to support them in the delivery of their highway maintenance responsibilities is provided by both the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (for revenue-funded operations including litter-picking) and by the Department for Transport (for capital-funded operations such as roads resurfacing). The Government has already announced that the Local Government Finance Settlement for the 2025/26 financial year will grant councils in England access to over £69 billion in funding, a 6.8% cash-terms increase on 2024/25. The Department for Transport has also announced a £500 million funding uplift for local highway authorities for the 2025/26 financial year which will enable them to deliver improvements to the condition of local highways.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (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 4 February (HL4235), whether they will set out the specific details of any proposals received from the Metropolitan Police for Special Grant Funding for Operation Grange in the financial year 2025–26; if they have received such proposals, when they expect to reach a decision on those requests; and if they have not received any proposals, when funding for Operation Grange will cease.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Decisions on the investigation and formal requests for funding are an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 6 January (HL3528), whether the Charity Commission has completed reviews of "its handling of the case, and communication with complainants", as recommended by the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman on 18 May 2024; if not, when they expect the reviews to be completed; and whether the reviews will be published.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Charity Commission has completed its reviews and informed the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman of the outcome. Any publication of the reviews is a matter for the Commission and the Ombudsman to determine.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, for Operation Grange, they have received any proposals from the Metropolitan Police Service for Special Grant funding for the financial year 2025–26; what costs have been incurred during the current financial year; and what the total expenditure has been to date.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Special Grant funding of up to £192,000 was agreed for provision to the Metropolitan Police Service for the costs of Operation Grange in financial year 2024/25. In-year costs will not be available until after the conclusion of the current financial year.
Special Grant funding is reviewed annually by the Home Office, and the Department liaises regularly with the Operation Grange investigation team to discuss progress and the use of funds.
The total expenditure to date since 2011 for Operation Grange, up to and including financial year 23/24, is £13.2m.