Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of UK-grown chickens in comparison with those farmed in other countries, particularly with regards to 1) animal welfare, 2) animal lifespan and premature mortality, and 3) food quality implications for humans on consumption.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, the government is considering how we can support voluntary efforts to move away from the use of fast-growing meat chicken breeds. The Department has not made such assessments of comparison between UK-grown chickens and chickens reared abroad.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of differences in animal welfare and meat quality between UK-grown chickens and imported chicken meat sold in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, the government is considering how we can support voluntary efforts to move away from the use of fast-growing meat chicken breeds. The Department has not made such assessments of comparison between UK-grown chickens and chickens reared abroad.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what further legislative actions her Department is considering to mandate or ban the use of specific breeds of chicken in UK farming.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are currently no plans to mandate or ban the use of specific breeds of chicken. As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, the government is considering how it can support voluntary efforts to move away from the use of fast-growing meat chicken breeds.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the scale of the use of fast-growing chicken breeds in the UK, both in terms of UK farming and UK retail sales.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Current estimates are that around 95% of meat chickens in the UK are fast growing breeds. The Department has not assessed the scale of the use of fast-growing chicken breeds in the UK in terms of UK retail sales.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken and plans to take to support rescue efforts and humanitarian relief following the flooding on the Nepal-Tibet border.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is providing up to £5 million to support the most urgent humanitarian needs in Nepal, announced on 27 August by the Prime Minister. The funding will support the Government of Nepal's response efforts through a combination of UN, Red Cross and NGO interventions, alongside local and international responders providing emergency assistance. This includes £750,000 through the Red Cross movement for emergency assistance such as clean water, shelter and medical support; £1 million through Start Fund Nepal to help local organisations deliver lifesaving aid; £3 million through the UN to meet urgent humanitarian needs including shelter, WASH and Protection; and up to £250,000 to deploy UK humanitarian experts to strengthen coordination and the effective delivery of assistance. The UK has also deployed specialist humanitarian experts to Nepal to support and coordinate the response efforts. Following the floods, the Minister for the Indo-Pacific visited Nepal to meet with the Nepalese government, UN and other agencies.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of risk of further humanitarian disasters due to flooding around the Nepal-Tibet border 1) in the rest of 2026 and 2) in future years.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) considers there to be a significant risk of further flooding in the high-mountain terrain along the Nepal-China border throughout the remainder of this year's monsoon season. This risk is likely to reduce during the colder, generally drier months of October to December. FCDO assesses that further landslide-related floods are possible during the remainder of this year, including as a result of the formation and sudden failure of barrier lakes. FCDO also assesses that there is a significant risk of flooding in future years. The scale of the humanitarian impact of flooding events would depend on their precise location, the size and density of population in the affected areas, and the effectiveness of monitoring, early warning systems and emergency preparedness.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress is being made towards establishing Fracture Liaison Services across all NHS trusts by 2030.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services by 2030, and outlines our vision for a more devolved health service.
We are acting across the whole pathway of fracture prevention. This includes improving access to diagnosis, supporting the adoption of effective treatments, and encouraging local systems to develop services that identify people at the highest risk of future fractures and intervene early.
We want integrated care boards (ICBs) to shape services for their localities, and we have set expectations that ICBs will prioritise community-based models when commissioning new services.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of adopting the legislative framework championed by Animal Free Research UK known as Herbie's Law.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government has assessed that the UK’s existing legal framework already requires animals to be used in science only where no validated alternative exists. Through the Replacing Animals in Science strategy, we are accelerating the development, validation and regulatory uptake of alternative methods, supported by investment, regulatory reform and strengthened delivery oversight. The strategy sets out a long-term vision to eliminate animal use in science in all but exceptional circumstances. While the Government keeps the legislative framework under review, our current priority is delivering this science-led programme rather than introducing further legislation.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her Nigerian counterpart on the recent kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 27 November 2025 (HCWS1105), where I addressed the security challenges facing Nigeria due to the activities of terrorist groups and criminal bandits, and set out how the UK is supporting the Nigerian authorities to respond. We continue to work closely with the Government of Nigeria to tackle insecurity, including through our ongoing Security and Defence Partnership.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of levels of NHS funding for children living in areas of high deprivation and inequality.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and to ensuring that all children can access timely support that meets their health needs. We are delivering on the vision for neighbourhood health set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to bring care closer to babies, children, and young people. Neighbourhood health services will work together with Best Start Family Hubs, schools, and colleges so that children get support quickly, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
We are targeting resources where they are most needed. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are gradually ending the practice of providing deficit support funding and moving organisations to what is their fair share of National Health Service funding, worth £2.2 billion in 2025/26. This allows funding to be redirected more quickly to areas with the greatest health need across the country as part of integrated care board (ICB) allocations. We are also reviewing the general practice funding formula, the Carr-Hill formula, to ensure that resources are targeted most effectively.
ICBs are responsible for commissioning services that meet the diverse needs of their local populations, including children. All ICBs in England are required to have an Executive Lead for Children and Young People, to ensure the interests of children are reflected in decision-making. Further information on the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation and on ICB allocations for 2026/27 to 2028/29 is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/allocations/