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, whether her Department plans to introduce a national minimum urban tree canopy cover target for local authorities.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to meeting the statutory Environment Act target to increase tree canopy and woodland cover in England to at least 16.5% by 2050. We continue to support local authorities and partners to increase tree cover, including in towns and cities, through a range of tree planting and establishment programmes.
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, how much funding was provided to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research in each year from 2020 to 2025; and what proportion of that funding was allocated to replacing the use of animals in scientific procedures.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 08 September 2026 to Question UIN 23681 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
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, if she will list the professions of the members on DEFRA’s Infrastructure Board.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Defra Infrastructure Board is an internal cross-government forum, with representation from a range of government departments and public bodies. It draws on expertise from across government, with relevant technical experts attending as required.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in each constituency in the East of England have been identified by HMRC as being owed pension tax relief as a result of not receiving the full tax relief available on pension contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HMRC do not hold information on owed pension tax relief by constituency.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2025, published in July 2026, what assessment she has made of the use of 11,213 mice in procedures reported under the LD50 and LC50 test.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
All procedures using protected animals, including the LD50 and LC50 tests, are subject to strict regulation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). No project licence can be granted unless a Home Office inspector has completed a harm-benefit analysis and concluded that the likely benefits justify the harms to the animals.
As part of that assessment, inspectors consider the scientific rationale, whether the proposed method is appropriate to achieve the stated benefits, and whether suitable non-animal alternatives are available. The use of animals is authorised only where those tests are judged necessary, justified and proportionate.