Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to issue supplementary cull licences in 2025.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Government has started work on a comprehensive new bovine TB strategy, to continue to drive down disease rates to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods and to end the badger cull by the end of this Parliament.
Licensing and authorisation decisions are made by Natural England as the delegated licensing authority for badger control in England. In accordance with the published policy guidance, which is available at the link below, no new intensive or supplementary badger control licences can be issued in 2025.
Existing cull processes will be honoured to ensure clarity for farmers involved in these culls whilst new measures can be rolled out through the new strategy. However, all remaining licences in the High Risk and Edge Area of England will end by January 2026.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects the first BSL GCSE course to begin.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The development of a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE is an important step toward fostering greater recognition of BSL as a language, and the government is committed to developing a qualification that benefits both students and the wider deaf community.
The department published subject content in December 2023, and Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, is in the process of finalising the assessment arrangements. We have worked closely with Ofqual throughout this process, as we do during the development of any new GCSE. Our focus is on ensuring that the BSL GCSE is of the highest quality. It is important that the assessment is fair, rigorous, and reflective of BSL as a language, so that the qualification meets the required standards and serves the needs of both students and the deaf community.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with Ofqual on the timing of the first teaching of the British Sign Language GCSE.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The development of a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE is an important step toward fostering greater recognition of BSL as a language, and the government is committed to developing a qualification that benefits both students and the wider deaf community.
The department published subject content in December 2023, and Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, is in the process of finalising the assessment arrangements. We have worked closely with Ofqual throughout this process, as we do during the development of any new GCSE. Our focus is on ensuring that the BSL GCSE is of the highest quality. It is important that the assessment is fair, rigorous, and reflective of BSL as a language, so that the qualification meets the required standards and serves the needs of both students and the deaf community.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) define and (b) set standards for the use of (i) biodegradable and (ii) compostable plastics.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A Circular Economy Taskforce of experts has been convened from across government, industry, academia and civil society to help us develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assess the potential toxicity of bioplastics; and whether he plans to introduce specific toxicity testing requirements beyond existing waste management regulations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Chemical substances, including monomers, which are constituent components of bioplastics manufactured in or imported into the UK are subject to the requirements of our regulatory framework. This includes UK REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & Restriction of Chemicals), for which Defra has policy responsibility, and which requires manufacturers and importers to understand the hazards of the chemicals they are placing on the market, including their toxicity and ecotoxicology.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to (a) research and (b) mitigate the potential health risks posed by microplastic exposure to humans.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency, in collaboration with Imperial College, is carrying out research and providing evidence to assist the understanding of the potential risks from exposure to micro and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes. The potential impact of microplastic materials on human health has been assessed by the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), who made a number of recommendations for further research. The most recent COT statement was published in 2024. The statements are available at the following link:
https://cot.food.gov.uk/M-statementsandpositionpapers#microplastics
Under the 2022/23 UK REACH Work Programme, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs initiated a research proposal to investigate the risks of intentionally added microplastics. The evidence project has reviewed their emissions, and the risks they pose both to human health and the environment. It also included a socio-economic assessment. It will advise on the most effective measures to address any risks and help identify wider evidence gaps that need to be addressed to support a more strategic approach to managing intentionally added microplastics. This project is expected to report in early 2025. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh and Scottish administrations will consider its findings once complete.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains, published in Nature Medicine on 3 February 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of microplastics in UK waters on (a) the environment and (b) public health.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Microplastics have been widely detected in the environment – in the air, soils, rivers, and the seas. We are aware there is still much work to be done to strengthen our understanding of the impacts of microplastics in the water and wider environment. Defra engages with the academic community working in this area and keeps a close observation of emerging evidence of the risks microplastics may pose to the environment.
Under the 2022/23 UK REACH Work Programme, Defra initiated a research proposal to investigate the risks of intentionally added microplastics. The evidence project has reviewed their emissions, and the risks they pose both to human health and the environment. It also included a socio-economic assessment. This project is expected to report in early 2025. Defra and the Welsh and Scottish Governments will consider its findings once complete.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), in collaboration with Imperial College, is carrying out research and providing evidence to assist the understanding of potential risks from exposure to micro and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes. The potential impact of microplastic materials on human health has been assessed by the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), who made a number of recommendations for further research. The most recent COT statement was published in 2024. The statements are available here.
The COT concluded that based on the available data a full risk assessment on the toxic effects of inhaled micro and nano plastics could not be carried out. The Committee concurred with the conclusions reached by other bodies, including the World Health Organization, that further research is required. The COT's statement is available here.
The Government is working with the devolved Governments to legislate for the ban on wet wipes containing plastic across the UK. We have been supporting Water UK’s behaviour change campaign to ‘Bin the Wipe’ which encourages consumers to dispose of wipes in the bin, not the toilet. The Government’s message is clear – if you need to use wet wipes, dispose of them in the bin, not the loo. Flushing wet wipes causes a number of environmental and drainage impacts.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to improve (a) broadband speed and (b) connectivity in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans.
More than £2 billion of contracts have been signed to connect over a million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband, predominantly in rural areas. This includes a £77 million Project Gigabit contract for Leicestershire and Warwickshire with the supplier CityFibre, benefitting the South Leicestershire constituency.
Through the Shared Rural Network, 4G geographic coverage from at least one mobile operator has now reached over 95% of the UK landmass. Our ambition is for all populated areas, including communities in rural areas, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to maintain 2024-25 funding levels for research to (a) replace, (b) reduce and (c) refine the use of animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is committed to supporting the development and uptake of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. A significant amount of UK research funding UK goes to underpinning technologies (e.g. cell-based assays and computer modelling) that have the potential to deliver 3Rs advances in the use of animals in science and other money supports research relevant to reducing animal use.
The Government invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). The NC3Rs is currently undergoing a five year funding review that will determine future allocation of resources.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a response to the Animals in Science Committee's research entitled Commission of advice: non-human primates bred for use in scientific procedures, published on 6 September 2022; and whether she plans to permit the import of monkeys whose parents have been taken from the wild for use in scientific procedures.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Through the UK legislation, the government requires the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) to be delivered for non-human primates (NHPs) in scientific research. When there is no alternative to using NHPs in scientific procedures, the Government is committed to high standards of welfare and refinement.
The Government is therefore keen to continue to take steps to ensure that NHPs used in Great Britain are from self-sustaining colonies, or are second-generation bred in captivity. The Government intends to publish strengthened policy, based on the Animals in Science Committee recommendations, later in 2025.