Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact of the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on (1) domestic food producers, and (2) the animal welfare practices associated with imported food products.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Impact Assessment for the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was published on 17th July 2022 and outlines sectoral impacts. The Government has negotiated a balanced agreement, with significant opportunities for UK agri-food businesses and which also has strong protections for the UK's sensitive agricultural products.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what engagement they undertook with representatives of domestic food producers prior to taking the decision to accede to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government has ensured that UK food producers have been able to express their views on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific partnership (CPTPP) through frequent engagement with the agricultural sector.
We have regularly spoken to representatives of domestic food producers, including the Food and Drink Association, National Farmers' Union, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the Agricultural Industries Confederation and the British Poultry Council.
The Department has also hosted roundtable events specifically for agricultural stakeholders, further giving them a forum to provide perspectives on CPTPP.
Agricultural stakeholders were also able to contribute to the consultation exercise on CPTPP, which received almost 150,000 responses. The Government's response to that consultation was published in June 2021 at the outset of negotiations.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - 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 social value to people and communities of the canal network; and whether they believe their long-term funding settlement for the Canal & River Trust will increase or decrease that social value.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises that canals provide many public benefits, including social value to people and communities. When the Canal and River Trust was set up in 2012 to replace British Waterways, the Government agreed to provide an annual grant over 15 years to provide a measure of financial stability while the Trust developed alternative income streams. This was on the clear understanding, set out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Defra and the Trust at the time, that the Trust would progressively reduce reliance on Government grant funding. During this 15-year period the total value of the grant payments will be around £740 million. The Government also transferred a property portfolio, generating around £50 million per annum and now worth around £1 billion, to support their costs.
Following a comprehensive evidence-based review of the grant that included consideration of the public benefits provided by canals, and while there was no obligation to do so, the Government has agreed to provide the Trust with a further £400 million grant over ten years from 2027 to support their continued efforts towards providing public benefits and delivering a safe and resilient canal network. This is consistent with the original strategic intent for the Canal & River Trust to reduce dependence on taxpayer funding as an independent charity.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - 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 likely impact of their long-term funding settlement for the Canal & River Trust on the condition and safety of the canal network.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises that canals provide many public benefits, including social value to people and communities. When the Canal and River Trust was set up in 2012 to replace British Waterways, the Government agreed to provide an annual grant over 15 years to provide a measure of financial stability while the Trust developed alternative income streams. This was on the clear understanding, set out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Defra and the Trust at the time, that the Trust would progressively reduce reliance on Government grant funding. During this 15-year period the total value of the grant payments will be around £740 million. The Government also transferred a property portfolio, generating around £50 million per annum and now worth around £1 billion, to support their costs.
Following a comprehensive evidence-based review of the grant that included consideration of the public benefits provided by canals, and while there was no obligation to do so, the Government has agreed to provide the Trust with a further £400 million grant over ten years from 2027 to support their continued efforts towards providing public benefits and delivering a safe and resilient canal network. This is consistent with the original strategic intent for the Canal & River Trust to reduce dependence on taxpayer funding as an independent charity.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the proposed amendments to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 by the Renters (Reform) Bill to include pet insurance as a permitted payment by landlords, what discussions they have had with insurance providers to ensure those charges are affordable.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Officials in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including insurance providers, whilst developing the legislation introduced in the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Insurance policies vary in their terms, conditions and charges, and the Government would encourage landlords and tenants to agree on a policy covering pet damage that suits both their needs. It will ultimately be a personal choice for tenants whether they wish to keep a pet and therefore whether they are willing to pay for insurance as a part of their agreement with their landlord.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the proposed amendments to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 by the Renters (Reform) Bill to include pet insurance as a permitted payment by landlords, what support will be provided to pet-owning tenants (1) on low incomes, or (2) who receive benefits, to make those payments.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Officials in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including insurance providers, whilst developing the legislation introduced in the Renters (Reform) Bill.
Insurance policies vary in their terms, conditions and charges, and the Government would encourage landlords and tenants to agree on a policy covering pet damage that suits both their needs. It will ultimately be a personal choice for tenants whether they wish to keep a pet and therefore whether they are willing to pay for insurance as a part of their agreement with their landlord.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the application of existing animal welfare offences to content shared on or otherwise facilitated by regulated internet services.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Animal cruelty in England and Wales is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Similar legislation is in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Sentencing Council recently updated its sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines include ‘use of technology to record, publicise or promote cruelty’ as an aggravating factor for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines specify that this includes circulating details/photographs/videos etc of the offence on social media. There is no central recording of the use of such factors in sentencing.
The number of prosecutions in England and Wales for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for the last three years for which we have full data is set out in the table below:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Prosecutions under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 | 1719 | 949 | 965 |
Depending on its nature, digital transmission of animal cruelty content may be an offence under different legislation, such as (but not exclusively) the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and the Communications Act 2007.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions have been brought under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in each of the last three years, in relation to the creation or sharing of online content relating to animal welfare.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Animal cruelty in England and Wales is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Similar legislation is in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Sentencing Council recently updated its sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines include ‘use of technology to record, publicise or promote cruelty’ as an aggravating factor for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The guidelines specify that this includes circulating details/photographs/videos etc of the offence on social media. There is no central recording of the use of such factors in sentencing.
The number of prosecutions in England and Wales for animal cruelty offences under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for the last three years for which we have full data is set out in the table below:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Prosecutions under sections 4-8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 | 1719 | 949 | 965 |
Depending on its nature, digital transmission of animal cruelty content may be an offence under different legislation, such as (but not exclusively) the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and the Communications Act 2007.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a public database containing non-technical summaries of research projects involving testing on animals.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Guidance on completing the non-technical summary, in accordance with the legislation, is published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#guidance-notes-for-project-licence-applications. The non-technical summaries provided by project licence applicants are assessed by Inspectors in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) against the published guidance before issuing a granted licence.
ASRU has no plans to introduce a non-technical summaries database. All non-technical summaries are made available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#non-technical-summaries. The Home Office seeks to continually improve their standard and publication accessibility through stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of non-technical summaries of research projects involving animal testing.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Guidance on completing the non-technical summary, in accordance with the legislation, is published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#guidance-notes-for-project-licence-applications. The non-technical summaries provided by project licence applicants are assessed by Inspectors in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) against the published guidance before issuing a granted licence.
ASRU has no plans to introduce a non-technical summaries database. All non-technical summaries are made available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#non-technical-summaries. The Home Office seeks to continually improve their standard and publication accessibility through stakeholder engagement.