Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting certain organisations, subject to full compliance with vaccine and testing requirements, from the current temporary suspension of commercial imports of dogs and cats where they originate from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments have temporarily suspended the commercial import of dogs, cats and ferrets into Great Britain if they originate from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine, until 9 July 2022.
We appreciate the impact that the temporary suspension will have on rescue organisations that operate in these countries. However, this measure is important to protect our biosecurity and the health of pets in this country.
This decision has been taken because of the serious health risk to humans and animals in Great Britain from commercial cats, dogs and ferrets from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine that do not comply with UK health and documentation requirements.
We understand the fluid situation at present due to the crisis and are aware that Romania, Belarus and Poland are currently experiencing high volumes of animal movements from Ukraine. Movements from these countries into Great Britain therefore present a higher risk at the current time due to the flow of animals from Ukraine.
In particular, there is evidence to suggest that commercial consignments of pet animals from Ukraine are being moved into Poland, Romania and Belarus, including strays, rescue and abandoned animals.
Unlike non-commercial pets accompanying Ukrainian refugees, these animals often have unknown history and disease status which increases the risk of disease spread.
Our standards of biosecurity are among the highest in the world. The Government takes the importation of pets seriously and is committed to preserving our high standards of biosecurity. The movement of commercial pets from Belarus, Poland, Romania and Ukraine represents a clear and serious enough biosecurity risk at the current time that we therefore consider the suspension of these movements necessary to protect the health of people and pets in Great Britain.
This risk has been exacerbated further by serious cases of non-compliance. There is a history of non-compliant movements of rescue animals into Great Britain from this region, which further increases the biosecurity risk.
The Government appreciates the work of genuine rescue and rehoming organisations who work to ensure that unwanted and abandoned animals are given the opportunity to find a forever home while importantly complying with our animal health and welfare legislation. It is important to note that this is a temporary measure which will be reviewed in due course. We would encourage organisations which are temporarily unable to import rescue dogs, cats, and ferrets into Great Britain to provide help and assistance to animals in situ.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will urgently review the temporary suspension of the commercial import of (a) rescue animals and (b) other dogs and cats, if they (i) have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine and (ii) can demonstrate that they will be fully vaccinated and blood tested by a registered charity.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments have temporarily suspended the commercial import of dogs, cats and ferrets into Great Britain if they originate from or have been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine, until 9 July 2022.
We appreciate the impact that the temporary suspension will have on rescue organisations that operate in these countries. However, this measure is important to protect our biosecurity and the health of pets in this country.
This decision has been taken because of the serious health risk to humans and animals in Great Britain from commercial cats, dogs and ferrets from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine that do not comply with UK health and documentation requirements.
We understand the fluid situation at present due to the crisis and are aware that Romania, Belarus and Poland are currently experiencing high volumes of animal movements from Ukraine. Movements from these countries into Great Britain therefore present a higher risk at the current time due to the flow of animals from Ukraine.
In particular, there is evidence to suggest that commercial consignments of pet animals from Ukraine are being moved into Poland, Romania and Belarus, including strays, rescue and abandoned animals.
Unlike non-commercial pets accompanying Ukrainian refugees, these animals often have unknown history and disease status which increases the risk of disease spread.
Our standards of biosecurity are among the highest in the world. The Government takes the importation of pets seriously and is committed to preserving our high standards of biosecurity. The movement of commercial pets from Belarus, Poland, Romania and Ukraine represents a clear and serious enough biosecurity risk at the current time that we therefore consider the suspension of these movements necessary to protect the health of people and pets in Great Britain.
This risk has been exacerbated further by serious cases of non-compliance. There is a history of non-compliant movements of rescue animals into Great Britain from this region, which further increases the biosecurity risk.
The Government appreciates the work of genuine rescue and rehoming organisations who work to ensure that unwanted and abandoned animals are given the opportunity to find a forever home while importantly complying with our animal health and welfare legislation. It is important to note that this is a temporary measure which will be reviewed in due course. We would encourage organisations which are temporarily unable to import rescue dogs, cats, and ferrets into Great Britain to provide help and assistance to animals in situ.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of Dr Geraint Coles’ proposals to reinstate the Chesterfield Canal’s route under the M1.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department has not made any such assessments. Responsibility for canals in England and Wales, including their operation, development or restoration rests with the bodies that own them and for which they are the navigation authority. The Canal and River Trust (C&RT) owns the eastern section of the Chesterfield Canal from the M1 motorway at Norwood to the River Trent, while to the west of the M1 motorway from Norwood the canal is owned by local authorities. The C&RT works closely with the Chesterfield Canal Trust and supports their canal regeneration plans.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of replacing the Chesterfield Canal's Norwood tunnel, which used to run under the M1.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Department has not made any such assessments. Responsibility for canals in England and Wales, including their operation, development or restoration rests with the bodies that own them and for which they are the navigation authority. The Canal and River Trust (C&RT) owns the eastern section of the Chesterfield Canal from the M1 motorway at Norwood to the River Trent, while to the west of the M1 motorway from Norwood the canal is owned by local authorities. The C&RT works closely with the Chesterfield Canal Trust and supports their canal regeneration plans.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the air quality statistics are for Rother Valley constituency in each year since 2010.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The UK Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) provides measurements of air pollutant concentrations throughout the UK for a range of pollutants. Currently, there are 171 monitoring sites across the UK which provide data to measure compliance with the Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010).
There are no AURN monitoring sites in the Rother Valley constituency. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council does carry out local air quality monitoring as part of the Local Air Quality Management process and produces annual reports on the status of air quality within the Borough area.
These can be accessed through the following URL: https://www.rotherham.gov.uk/downloads/download/229/2019-air-quality-report
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of applying minimum pricing to (a) alcohol, (b) sugar and (c) other products in the food and beverage sector.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
No assessment has been made on minimum pricing for food or drink, but the Government is committed to tackling obesity.
The DHSC launched ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ in July 2020. The strategy demonstrates an overarching, holistic campaign to reduce obesity, takes forward actions from previous chapters of the childhood obesity plan and sets out measures to get the nation fit and healthy, protect against Covid-19 and protect the NHS.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 reduce resource consumption in the UK.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Our plans for reducing resource consumption and preventing waste in England are set out in our draft Waste Prevention Programme for England - Towards a Resource Efficient Economy, which is currently out for consultation. This builds on the measures set out in the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy and includes designing products which last longer and that can be reused, repaired or remanufactured, coupled with supporting systems and business models to keep goods and materials in circulation for longer.
As part of this we are exploring ways to help consumers and producers make more sustainable decisions for instance through information and labelling, incentives such as the carrier bag charge, introducing producer responsibility schemes, and looking at how government and local authorities can support reuse and repair as well as alternative models such as renting and sharing.
The devolved administrations are aware of our consultation on a new Waste Prevention Programme, and the policy proposals it contains are being discussed at official level.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of hare poaching have been recorded in (a) South Yorkshire and (b) England since 2016.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
There is no requirement for the police to record incidents of hare poaching – it is a matter for individual police forces to decide whether and how they wish to do so. There is no national data on the number of hare poaching incidents in England.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 tackle hare poaching.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government takes wildlife crime seriously and is committed to ensuring the protection wildlife legislation offers is effectively enforced. We recognise the problems and distress which poaching and hare coursing causes for local communities.
We recognise the importance of preserving our iconic brown and mountain hare populations – and we are exploring a range of options to help drive their recovery across England.
Poaching (including hare coursing) is already one of the UK's six wildlife crime priorities. Each wildlife crime priority has a delivery group to consider what action should be taken and develop a plan to prevent crime, gather intelligence on offences and enforce against it.
The National Wildlife Crime Unit, funded partly by Defra and the Home Office, continues to support efforts to tackle poaching and hare coursing, assisting regional police forces in tackling these crimes by gathering and analysing intelligence, sharing this with the police and assisting police investigations.
Hare poaching is illegal under the Game Acts (the Game Act 1832 and the Night Poaching Act 1828). Enforcement is an operational matter for the police, and it is for individual Chief Constables to determine how their resources are deployed.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Game Act 1831 to enable the police to recover the kennelling costs incurred where dogs have been seized.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government is aware of various proposals which have been made to amend the Game Act. and will continue its discussions with all those concerned, whilst considering what further action could be taken.