Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of safety advice provided to users of the spot-on pet treatments containing fipronil.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The adequacy of safety advice provided to users of spot‑on veterinary medicines is assessed as part of the statutory authorisation process for veterinary medicinal products. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) conducts a comprehensive user‑risk assessment in accordance with established international guidance, including the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) guideline on user safety for veterinary medicinal products (EMA/CVMP/543/03‑Rev.1) and the CVMP guideline specifically addressing topically administered products (EMA/CVMP/SWP/721059/2014).

These assessments consider both direct and indirect routes of exposure, including contact with treated animals. Where the assessment identifies potential risks, appropriate risk‑mitigation measures are implemented. These are reflected in the product information, including the Summary of Product Characteristics and the package leaflet, and typically comprise clear instructions on correct application, advice to minimise human contact with the application site, and warnings intended to protect vulnerable household members, including children.

The adequacy of this safety advice is kept under continual review through the VMD’s pharmacovigilance system, which monitors reports relating to user safety and allows updates to product information where required. Publicly available assessment reports and product literature can be accessed via the Product Information Database on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to change the classification of spot-on pet treatments containing fipronil and imidacloprid from the current general sales (AVM-GS) to the prescription only (POM-V) classification.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Spot‑on flea and tick treatments containing fipronil and imidacloprid remain important for protecting animal and human health. Many of these products are currently classified as AVM‑GSL, meaning they may be supplied without professional advice. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) recognises increasing concerns about the environmental presence of these substances, which have been detected in some UK watercourses at levels above toxicity thresholds for aquatic invertebrates.

The VMD is carrying out a regulatory review of the AVM‑GSL status of products containing fipronil and imidacloprid. Further details on this review will be made available early this year. The review will assess whether requiring professional advice at the point of sale, such as through a minimum NFA‑VPS classification, could support more responsible use and disposal.

The regulatory review will consider all legal distribution channels with any future decisions being transparent, evidence‑based and to maintain animal welfare and access to treatment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether a user-risk assessment has been completed concerning the chronic human exposure to fipronil and its metabolites, especially in households where pets are treated with spot-on pet medicines containing those agents.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

User risk assessments (URAs) are a core element of the authorisation process for veterinary medicinal products, and they include consideration of chronic human exposure in households where pets receive spot‑on treatments. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate conducts URAs in line with established international guidance, including the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) Guideline on user safety for pharmaceutical veterinary medicinal products (EMA/CVMP/543/03‑Rev.1) and the CVMP Guideline on user safety of topically administered veterinary medicinal products (EMA/CVMP/SWP/721059/2014).

These assessments follow a stepwise approach: hazard identification (drawing on extensive pharmacological and toxicological datasets, including for vulnerable sub‑populations), exposure assessment (covering short‑term direct and longer‑term indirect exposures), and risk characterisation using appropriate safety thresholds and conservative assumptions. For fipronil, the assessment considers relevant metabolites. Where indicated, risk mitigation measures are applied, such as user safety warnings, child‑resistant closures, and advice to minimise contact with the application site, reflected in the Summary of Product Characteristics and product literature (package leaflet).

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the steps being taken to reduce the current levels of fipronil and imidacloprid in rivers will result in meeting their mandated obligation to achieve the Water Frameworks Directive’s requirement for good ecological and chemical status by 2027.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Pharmaceuticals in the Environment group, supported by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, has put in place a roadmap for reducing exposure of these substances to water courses, with workstreams looking at several complementary activities. These include educating vets and the pet-owning public, investing in research to plug scientific evidence gaps, including routes to the environment and pet owner behavioural change, and reviewing the guidance for environmental risk assessments, which will all contribute to the desired aim.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many complaints they have received about the operation of the systems and apps used to obtain a unique personal code for returns to Companies House.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Since 26 January 2025, 2.86 million people have obtained a personal code for Companies House. We have received 522 complaints relating to identity verification systems and apps, 93% of which were responded to in a timely manner, within the complaints response timescale agreed with the Department for Business and Trade.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 28 July 2025 (HL9720) and following the completion of parliamentary scrutiny of the Cape Town Agreement in December 2025, whether they intend to finalise its ratification process by the 113th session of the International Maritime Organization Legal Committee in April 2026.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Following conclusion of Parliamentary scrutiny of the Cape Town Agreement of 2012 on the Implementation of the Provisions of the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels 1977 on 17 December 2025, it is the Government’s intention to deposit the UK’s Instrument of Ratification with the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) before the 113th session of the IMO Legal Committee on 13-17 April 2026.

Found: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Interests as set out in the Register of Lords’ Interests Lord Teverson

Found: Q155 Lord Teverson: Minister, you are the Minister for Small Business.

Found: Baroness Carberry of Muswell Hill; Baroness Drake; Lord Fuller; Baroness Harding of Winscombe; Lord Teverson

Found: Baroness Carberry of Muswell Hill; Baroness Drake; Lord Fuller; Baroness Harding of Winscombe; Lord Teverson

Found: meeting Members present: Baroness Drake (The Chair); Lord Best; Baroness Harding of Winscombe; Lord Teverson

Found: Lord Teverson, you have a series of questions.