Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 take steps to help improve the regulation of the pet industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Activities such as the breeding and sale of pets and pet boarding are regulated under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. Defra is in the process of completing a post-implementation review (PIR) of the Regulations. This review considers whether the regulations have met their objectives, and where there could be scope for further improvements. We recognise the importance of this PIR, and thus want to ensure that we have had sufficient time to properly consider the findings. The PIR will be published soon.
Defra values the engagement of sector partners, local authorities, animal welfare groups, and licensed and unlicensed businesses working in the sector. We will continue a close dialogue with these stakeholders as we work to implement the review’s recommendations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the ban on American Bully XL dogs.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has analysed the potential costs relating to the XL Bully ban. The cost estimates were generated using evidence and data collated in consultation with animal welfare charities, interested parties and key stakeholders. The assessment of the cost impact can be found in the Explanatory Memorandum which accompanied the Dangerous Dogs (Compensation And Exemption Schemes) (England And Wales) Order 2023.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will create a Dog Licensing Agency.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have no plans at this time to reintroduce such a scheme, as it would most likely amount to a database of responsible owners. The old dog licence was repealed by the Local Government Act 1988 because it cost more to administer than the revenue it generated. The old licencing system was in effect an ownership registration scheme. Now that microchipping is mandatory, this is no longer necessary.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,what his planned timetable is for publishing the Responsible Dog Ownership Steering Group report.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We expect the Responsible Dog Ownership working group to publish its findings soon.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions on fishing negotiations he has had with his counterparts in the Crown Dependencies.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All UK Government departments are responsible for their respective policy areas towards the Crown Dependencies and engage directly with them. Defra officials discuss relevant fisheries issues, including the fisheries negotiations, with the Crown Dependencies on a regular basis.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 take steps to fund research into bioplastics.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra prefers to use the term ‘bio-based plastic’ instead of ‘bioplastic’ to avoid confusion with, for example, biodegradable plastics.
The Government is not currently looking to fund bio-based plastic research. Defra has previously funded research in this area as part of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) £60m Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging programme, which supported a portfolio of 70+ projects with academia and industry. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is undertaking research on potential resource efficiency measures in the plastic sector, this includes bio-based plastics.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of fires in illegal dumps on public health in (a) Havering and (b) England.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, and it is an offence to dump waste on land without appropriate authorisation. The Prime Minister’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan set out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who fly-tip. We have raised the upper limit for fixed penalties for fly-tipping to £1,000 and taken steps to encourage councils to issue more of these penalties.
We are developing a toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, to help councils and others tackle fly-tipping. This includes a guide on how to present robust cases to court and a new framework on setting up and running effective local partnerships.
We have also awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots. We have recently launched another grant opportunity that could see a further £1m handed out in grants next year to help even more councils tackle the issue.
The Environment Agency (EA) investigates fly tipping if the incidents are large-scale, serious, organised illegal dumping or if it immediately threatens human health or the environment. They work in partnership with other local partners such as the police, local authorities, the fire service and United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as needed. This includes seeking advice from UKHSA about public health risks from illegal waste activities if necessary.
As part of its partnership work the EA has provided advice and guidance to the London Borough of Havering to help deal with a specific site in Havering and will continue to do so. The council is the lead authority on regulating this particular site and for monitoring air quality. Its work will take into account any advice on public health matters that it might receive from UKHSA.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has taken steps to assist local authorities to tackle illegal dumps in (a) general and (b) Havering.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, and it is an offence to dump waste on land without appropriate authorisation. The Prime Minister’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan set out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who fly-tip. We have raised the upper limit for fixed penalties for fly-tipping to £1,000 and taken steps to encourage councils to issue more of these penalties.
We are developing a toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, to help councils and others tackle fly-tipping. This includes a guide on how to present robust cases to court and a new framework on setting up and running effective local partnerships.
We have also awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots. We have recently launched another grant opportunity that could see a further £1m handed out in grants next year to help even more councils tackle the issue.
The Environment Agency (EA) investigates fly tipping if the incidents are large-scale, serious, organised illegal dumping or if it immediately threatens human health or the environment. They work in partnership with other local partners such as the police, local authorities, the fire service and United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as needed. This includes seeking advice from UKHSA about public health risks from illegal waste activities if necessary.
As part of its partnership work the EA has provided advice and guidance to the London Borough of Havering to help deal with a specific site in Havering and will continue to do so. The council is the lead authority on regulating this particular site and for monitoring air quality. Its work will take into account any advice on public health matters that it might receive from UKHSA.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to improve the (a) water quality and (b) biodiversity of (i) lakes, (ii) rivers and (iii) waterways (A) nationally and (B) in Romford constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In April, we published our landmark Plan for Water, to deliver clean and plentiful water for people, businesses and nature. The Plan for Water set out a suite of policy actions to tackle every source of pollution and increase our resilience to drought. This is essential to provide habitats for biodiversity to thrive. The Plan is underpinned by three things:
(A) In Romford constituency
As a member of the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne (RBI) Catchment Partnership, the Environment Agency is working with local partners to improve the water quality and biodiversity of waterbodies within Romford. Examples of current projects within Romford are:
Yellowfish and Junior River Wardens Project - The Environment Agency is working with Groundwork East to deliver a combined Yellowfish and Junior River Wardens project working with schools along the River Ingrebourne and River Rom. This unique new approach will help embed and sustain local learning, education and messaging around surface water and river health. Junior River Wardens helps participants experience the valuable role they can have monitoring water quality. Yellow Fish is shown to increase public awareness of issues affecting local rivers and the wider environment and how everyone can play a part.
Mink Eradication - The RBI Catchment Partnership is working collaboratively to deliver a catchment wide approach to Mink Eradication, building on the Mink Eradication project Essex Wildlife Trust have been running across Essex. Mink are a problematic invasive species in this location who pose a threat to water voles and other native species. Thames Chase Trust have applied for funding from the Environment Agency next financial year to further build on this catchment wide approach and deliver a project to trap Mink on the River Rom.
Additionally, as a statutory consultee in the planning process, the Environment Agency comments on development proposals that could potentially impact main rivers in Romford. They make sure that where possible developments comply with the Water Framework Directive as embedded within the river basin management plan. This ensures that they secure benefits for biodiversity and river geomorphology.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to regulate (a) the stunning and (b) other aspects of the welfare of farmed fish.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current legislation already provides protection for farmed fish kept for the production of meat or other products whilst on farm and during transport. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for welfare needs. Legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.
The Animal Welfare Committee has updated its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing and we are studying the recommendations carefully to determine next steps.