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 regulate professional dog walkers.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Professional dog walkers must comply with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and other relevant legislation, such as welfare in transport regulations and the Health and Safety at Work Act, and any public liability or other insurance policy requirements.

The Government has no current plans to regulate professional dog walkers. The Canine and Feline Sector Group has published best practice guidance to assist dog walkers which can be found here: https://www.cfsg.org.uk/.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Post Office board.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Annually, in line with the Financial Reporting Council’s Corporate Governance Code, the Post Office Board runs a Board Evaluation exercise to determine skills gaps on the Board and areas for improvement. The outcomes of this review are shared with DBT as the Post Office Shareholder. The Government monitors the implementation of their recommendations via the Shareholder Representative, UK Government Investments, to support the continuous improvement of the Board.

In line with Post Office’s governance framework, the Government recently approved the Post Office Chair to lead the recruitment of new Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) specialising in technological transformation and organisational design to complement the Board’s existing composition. A further two new Postmaster NEDs should join the Board in the near future, providing an ongoing voice on behalf of the postmaster community.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 2.40 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, whether he has made an estimate of the number of GP practices which will close as a result of increased Employer National Insurance contributions.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget 2024, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

The Employer National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025, with the Department setting out further details on allocation of funding for next year in due course.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Ofwat on the potential impact of proposed changes to employers National Insurance contributions on the financial resilience of water companies.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Secretary of State has not had any discussion with Ofwat on the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions. Given the principle of regulatory independence, Ofwat conducts the price control review process at a distance from the Government. It would not be appropriate for the Government to interfere in this process.

As part of Ofwat's price review process, companies are given an allowance for their total expenditure. Ofwat expects companies to manage their costs within that allowance. Expenditure in excess of allowances may place pressure on a company's financial resilience, and this is an area that Ofwat closely monitors to ensure that companies are able to carry out their functions.

Ofwat will publish its final determinations for its 2024 price review in December, which will confirm the total expenditure for water companies for the next five years.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with ARIA on support for research into food biosecurity since July 2024.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of food biosecurity. It is critical in helping prevent the spread of disease-causing agents and protecting the safety of food, animals, and humans.

The Advanced Research & Invention Agency’s (ARIA) Synthetic Plants programme, backed by £62.4 million, will investigate research challenges related to sustainable food supply.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Economic and Social Research Council on research into food biosecurity since July 2024.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of food biosecurity. It is critical in helping prevent the spread of disease-causing agents and protecting the safety of food, animals, and humans.

The Department engages regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and its constituent Councils, on research and innovation priorities. UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) also works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and other stakeholders to coordinate and fund a range of cross-sectoral research activities in this area.

The BBSRC and Food Standards Agency fund the UK Food Safety Research Network, which connects the food industry, food and health policymakers and academia to collaboratively pursue shared research priorities that will protect the UK from foodborne hazards.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Arts and Humanities Research Council on research into food biosecurity since July 2024.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of food biosecurity. It is critical in helping prevent the spread of disease-causing agents and protecting the safety of food, animals, and humans.

The Department engages regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and its constituent Councils, on research and innovation priorities. UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) also works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and other stakeholders to coordinate and fund a range of cross-sectoral research activities in this area.

The BBSRC and Food Standards Agency fund the UK Food Safety Research Network, which connects the food industry, food and health policymakers and academia to collaboratively pursue shared research priorities that will protect the UK from foodborne hazards.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council on research into food biosecurity since July 2024.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of food biosecurity. It is critical in helping prevent the spread of disease-causing agents and protecting the safety of food, animals, and humans.

The Department engages regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and its constituent Councils, on research and innovation priorities. UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) also works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and other stakeholders to coordinate and fund a range of cross-sectoral research activities in this area.

The BBSRC and Food Standards Agency fund the UK Food Safety Research Network, which connects the food industry, food and health policymakers and academia to collaboratively pursue shared research priorities that will protect the UK from foodborne hazards.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on research into food biosecurity since July 2024.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of food biosecurity. It is critical in helping prevent the spread of disease-causing agents and protecting the safety of food, animals, and humans.

The Department engages regularly with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and its constituent Councils, on research and innovation priorities. UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) also works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and other stakeholders to coordinate and fund a range of cross-sectoral research activities in this area.

The BBSRC and Food Standards Agency fund the UK Food Safety Research Network, which connects the food industry, food and health policymakers and academia to collaboratively pursue shared research priorities that will protect the UK from foodborne hazards.