Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
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 conduct a review of the statutory framework for biodiversity net gain; and if he will take steps with environmental horticulture experts to include cultivated plant diversity in its metrics.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is working with stakeholders, including the horticulture sector, to monitor the implementation of biodiversity net gain to make sure it is working as intended.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
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 reviewing the recommendations of the Animal Welfare Committee Opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices, published in December 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government welcomes the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. We are carefully considering the Committee’s recommendations.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for bringing forward measures to ban trophy hunting.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its Manifesto. We intend to deliver on this and are currently considering the most effective way to do so.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the children of families of boaters without a permanent mooring have daily access to education without falling under enforcement of the Canal and River Trust and other navigation authorities.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Navigation authorities are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, and boaters using navigable waterways are required to comply with the terms of their licences for the benefit of all waterway users. The country’s largest navigation authority owning the majority of the canal network, the Canal and River Trust, has provided assurances that appropriate enforcement action on its waterways is only used as a last resort in response to persistent non-compliance, to ensure fairness to all boaters. Those with children who choose to live on a boat without a permanent mooring are responsible for ensuring they have access to education; the Trust provides reasonable adjustments for anyone who qualifies under the Equalities & Human Rights Act.