Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve data collection of attacks on domestic animals with a) air weapons, b) catapults and c) other weapons.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government does not collect data on attacks on domestic animals by specific weapon type. The department has no plans to introduce separate data collection for attacks involving air weapons, catapults or other weapons.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the England Tree Action Plan.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We remain committed to publishing the Trees Action Plan by the end of 2026 as set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the spread of emerald ash borer across Europe; and what steps she plans to take to prevent its spread into the UK.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has robust measures in place to prevent the introduction of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), which is not present in the UK and has never been intercepted here. Imports of ash trees from countries where EAB occurs are prohibited, while imports of ash wood and bark are subject to strict controls.
Defra monitors EAB across Europe through international surveillance, research and information sharing activities, including the International Plant Sentinel Network, EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization), and the FraxNet project. Defra also supports research to strengthen surveillance, improve risk assessment, and inform contingency planning.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to address the 38 per cent increase in non-human primates bred in Africa and used for the first time in scientific procedures in the UK in 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that non-human primates used in scientific procedures are sourced responsibly and used only where no suitable alternative is available. In 2025, 1,845 non-human primates were used for the first time in scientific procedures in Great Britain. All marmosets, tamarins and rhesus monkeys were born at licensed establishments in the UK, while the majority of cynomolgus monkeys were born overseas, but were not sourced from the wild.
Following advice from the Animals in Science Committee, the Home Office strengthened its sourcing requirements from 1 August 2025 so that non-human primates should come from established captive-breeding populations rather than being sourced from the wild. These requirements are supported by a time-limited transitional arrangement and a commitment to review their operation.
The Government supports the use of UK-bred non-human primates where suitable animals are available. However, sourcing decisions must take account of scientific requirements, animal welfare, biosecurity and the availability of appropriate breeding populations. The Home Office will continue to monitor sourcing data and the effect of the strengthened requirements.
The Government is also investing £75 million through its strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal use.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the use of non-human primates in scientific procedures.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that non-human primates used in scientific procedures are sourced responsibly and used only where no suitable alternative is available. In 2025, 1,845 non-human primates were used for the first time in scientific procedures in Great Britain. All marmosets, tamarins and rhesus monkeys were born at licensed establishments in the UK, while the majority of cynomolgus monkeys were born overseas, but were not sourced from the wild.
Following advice from the Animals in Science Committee, the Home Office strengthened its sourcing requirements from 1 August 2025 so that non-human primates should come from established captive-breeding populations rather than being sourced from the wild. These requirements are supported by a time-limited transitional arrangement and a commitment to review their operation.
The Government supports the use of UK-bred non-human primates where suitable animals are available. However, sourcing decisions must take account of scientific requirements, animal welfare, biosecurity and the availability of appropriate breeding populations. The Home Office will continue to monitor sourcing data and the effect of the strengthened requirements.
The Government is also investing £75 million through its strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal use.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase the proportion of non-human primates used in scientific procedures that are bred in the UK.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that non-human primates used in scientific procedures are sourced responsibly and used only where no suitable alternative is available. In 2025, 1,845 non-human primates were used for the first time in scientific procedures in Great Britain. All marmosets, tamarins and rhesus monkeys were born at licensed establishments in the UK, while the majority of cynomolgus monkeys were born overseas, but were not sourced from the wild.
Following advice from the Animals in Science Committee, the Home Office strengthened its sourcing requirements from 1 August 2025 so that non-human primates should come from established captive-breeding populations rather than being sourced from the wild. These requirements are supported by a time-limited transitional arrangement and a commitment to review their operation.
The Government supports the use of UK-bred non-human primates where suitable animals are available. However, sourcing decisions must take account of scientific requirements, animal welfare, biosecurity and the availability of appropriate breeding populations. The Home Office will continue to monitor sourcing data and the effect of the strengthened requirements.
The Government is also investing £75 million through its strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal use.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of animals in scientific procedures undertaken to meet regulatory requirements outside the UK and EU.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are supporting the development, validation and international acceptance of alternative methods, including through the forthcoming UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM), engagement with international regulators and participation in OECD test guideline programmes. We are also strengthening bilateral and multilateral partnerships to support the global uptake of validated alternatives, helping to reduce reliance on animal testing while maintaining high standards of human, animal and environmental safety.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact of the rule that prohibits UK television broadcasters from showing live Premier League matches on Saturdays between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on (a) attendance of non premier league football games and (b) pirating of Premier League matches.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Article 48 of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Statutes, which facilitates the “3pm blackout” is voluntarily adopted by the Football Association (the FA) with the aim of protecting ticket sales for lower leagues in the football pyramid.
As the Minister stated on the floor of the House of Commons during Second Reading of the Sporting Events Bill on 3 September, this is “an issue for the Football Association, but we support the current situation, as we recognise the importance of this for the lower leagues'".
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is taking steps to support the approval of air-to-air heat pumps for inclusion in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is taking steps to support the inclusion of air-to-air heat pumps in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The necessary legislative changes have already been made and the scheme is ready to provide £2,500 grants for eligible installations.
It is also necessary to ensure that there are standards in place and installers are accredited to install air-to-air heat pumps. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is working closely with the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme and Certification Bodies to deliver these.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of public funding allocated to the development, validation and uptake of human-specific research methods in each year from 2020 to 2025.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 August 2026 to Question UIN 23680 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament