Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to restrict the importation of Brazilian beef and chicken.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working as quickly as possible to assess Brazilian production systems to ensure that beef and chicken from animals treated with certain antimicrobial products are not exported to Great Britain and is keeping trade restrictions under review. The assessment will include an urgent in-country audit. Sanitary and phytosanitary trade measures must be evidence-based and proportionate in line with World Trade Organization rules.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
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 ensure that Artificial Intelligence applications used across the public sector are subject to ongoing assurance, auditing and governance.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The government is committed to ensuring the ethical, safe and responsible adoption of AI to improve public service outcomes and boost public sector productivity. Seizing this opportunity requires strengthening public trust.
That is why we are implementing a mandatory rollout of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard across government departments and arm’s length bodies.
Alongside this, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science & Trade is taking steps to strengthen the UK’s AI assurance ecosystem, as set out in the Trusted Third-Party AI Assurance Roadmap.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement a cross-government Artificial Intelligence Assurance strategy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
AI assurance helps to build justified trust and confidence in AI systems, support responsible AI adoption, and drive economic growth.
That is why the Department for Business, Innovation, Science & Trade is taking action to implement the Government’s AI assurance strategy, as set out in the Roadmap to Trusted Third-Party AI Assurance (2025). This includes establishing the Centre for AI Measurement, led by the National Physical Laboratory to develop the technical and scientific foundations of AI assurance and deliver the AI Assurance Innovation Fund. We are also convening a multi-stakeholder consortium, led by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, to support the development of a recognised AI assurance profession.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what measures her Department is taking to ensure the safe development and deployment of agentic AI.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government will continue to a take long-term, science-led approach to understand and prepare for emerging risks from AI. The UK’s AI Security Institute (AISI) maintains strong relationships with all frontier AI developers and continues to test the world’s most capable models prior to their deployment to build a rigorous scientific understanding of their capabilities and risks, and make sure policy decisions are grounded in evidence.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of devolution in England on equitable grant funding for English farmers in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Agriculture is devolved. Defra administers farming policy in England, while the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive determine their own agricultural policies and support schemes. As part of this arrangement, funding for agriculture and fisheries was baselined and un-ringfenced in each devolved governments block grant from 2024-25.
The Barnett formula, which aims to give each country the same pounds-per-person change in funding, will apply to any future changes in UK Government funding from 2025-26 for agriculture and fisheries in the usual way. This is the normal operation of funding arrangements for the devolved governments. It is for devolved governments to allocate funding as they see fit and they are accountable to their devolved legislatures for those decisions.
The Government is acting in England to support farmers and give them clarity to plan and invest. The recently published Farming Roadmap and Farming Profitability Review response set out a range of short-term and long-term actions. These include investment in ELM funding, support for and investment in innovation and technology, and action to make supply chains fairer. The government has also established the Farming and Food Partnership Board, bringing together senior leaders from farming, food, retail and finance to drive profitability and strengthen food security. Defra continues to cooperate openly and transparently with devolved government colleagues on these frameworks – as well as ongoing policy development across the four nations - via informal and formal structures established under the Common Framework for Agricultural Support.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve testing capacity for blue tongue.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has taken proactive steps to strengthen the national capacity for the testing of bluetongue in response to increased demand. Testing is now also being undertaken by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at Weybridge alongside the National Reference Laboratory at The Pirbright Institute, helping to manage high sample volumes and support timely results.
A new online reporting form will be launched on Friday 11 September, which makes it easier and quicker for vets to report suspect cases and clinical signs directly to APHA. This will allow private vets to diagnose bluetongue after examining affected animals, with cases formally confirmed by APHA at a premises level.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what safeguards are in place to ensure disabled workers do not lose workplace support from Access to Work at renewal without change in (a) need and (b) circumstances.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Access to Work renewal decisions are made on the basis of an individual's current needs and circumstances that can change. Customers receiving support can apply to renew their grant before it ends, and their support requirements are reviewed as part of that process.
Access to Work staff receive appropriate training and must complete comprehensive checks and assurance processes before taking responsibility for a caseload. Staff apply departmental guidance when considering renewals, and quality assurance measures are in place to ensure decisions are made consistently and in line with policy. Renewals are assessed on the evidence available to ensure customers continue to receive appropriate support where eligibility and need remain.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what accountability mechanisms are available to disabled people for Access to Work decisions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Customers who do not agree with the decision made on their Access to Work application are able to ask for a reconsideration of the decision. Information about how to do this is provided to every customer on their award letter.
In addition, customers who are dissatisfied with the service they have received may make a complaint through the Department's formal complaints process.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what engagement his department has undertaken with survivors of sexual violence, during the formulation of the early release scheme as part of the Sentencing Act 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
First, I would like to express my sincere sympathy with all victims of these appalling crimes. This Government inherited a prisons system days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Alongside our record prison building programme, our landmark Sentencing Act 2026 will help prevent the catastrophic consequences of prisons running out of space. Without intervention, police could be forced to halt arrests, placing unacceptable pressures on the criminal justice system. Keeping prison capacity available for arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment is essential to protecting the public and the progression model which will help ensure there are always enough places for the courts to be able to send offenders to custody. The worst thing for victims would be running out of prison space and not being able to lock up dangerous offenders.
The progression model amends release points for offenders on Standard Determinate Sentences. Over 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences like Extended Determinate Sentences or life sentences will be unaffected by these reforms and will be kept in prison for as long as they are now. Once released, offenders will be managed under strict licence conditions in the community. Offenders released on licence can be recalled if they breach their conditions or if they cannot be safely managed in the community.
The Government recognises the devastating impact of sexual offending on victims and survivors. Ministers regularly engage with victims and the victims’ sector to inform relevant areas of policy. During the development of the reforms in the Sentencing Act 2026, Ministers and policy officials met with victims’ stakeholders through a range of individual meetings, roundtables and sector-wide engagement groups. We remain committed to continuing to engage with the victim sector to monitor the impact of these changes.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consideration has been made to exempt sexual offenders from eligibility for early release.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
First, I would like to express my sincere sympathy with all victims of these appalling crimes. This Government inherited a prisons system days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Alongside our record prison building programme, our landmark Sentencing Act 2026 will help prevent the catastrophic consequences of prisons running out of space. Without intervention, police could be forced to halt arrests, placing unacceptable pressures on the criminal justice system. Keeping prison capacity available for arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment is essential to protecting the public and the progression model which will help ensure there are always enough places for the courts to be able to send offenders to custody. The worst thing for victims would be running out of prison space and not being able to lock up dangerous offenders.
The progression model amends release points for offenders on Standard Determinate Sentences. Over 18,000 offenders serving more serious sentences like Extended Determinate Sentences or life sentences will be unaffected by these reforms and will be kept in prison for as long as they are now. Once released, offenders will be managed under strict licence conditions in the community. Offenders released on licence can be recalled if they breach their conditions or if they cannot be safely managed in the community.
The Government recognises the devastating impact of sexual offending on victims and survivors. Ministers regularly engage with victims and the victims’ sector to inform relevant areas of policy. During the development of the reforms in the Sentencing Act 2026, Ministers and policy officials met with victims’ stakeholders through a range of individual meetings, roundtables and sector-wide engagement groups. We remain committed to continuing to engage with the victim sector to monitor the impact of these changes.