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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle trends in the (a) number of abandoned pets and (b) pressure on animal rescue centres.

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

Defra regularly meets animal welfare stakeholders to understand issues and trends affecting the sector.

Defra welcomes the support that the animal sector has provided through pet food banks and financial support with veterinary treatment; and the financial support that the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) provided to its members experiencing financial difficulties due to cost-of-living pressures.

The animal sector offers helpful advice to potential pet owners on the responsibilities that come with pet ownership including free guides on the estimated lifetime costs of owning a pet.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether ETSU-R-97 is (a) the only framework methodology used for the assessment of onshore wind turbines and (b) the most (i) effective and (ii) up to date guidance; what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the size of wind turbines on the effectiveness of ETSU-R-97; and if he will review the ETSU-R-97 guidance.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

ETSU-R-97 is the primary guidance used for the assessment of noise from onshore wind turbines across the UK. Government has contracted an external consultancy to update ETSU-R-97 following a 2023 scoping review which recommended targeted updates to ensure the guidance is in line with contemporary evidence and policy, and suitable for modern turbines. Government aims to publish the updated guidance in Spring 2025.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current level of spending on heavy rail infrastructure in Wales is.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Network Rail’s planned investment in the Wales rail network in the current financial year is £259m. Investment in the Core Valley Lines is the responsibility of Transport for Wales.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding her Department plans to provide for rail infrastructure in Wales in each of the next three financial years; and whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of increasing the rate of electrification of railways in Wales.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Investment in rail infrastructure in Wales in future years will be considered as part of the current Spending Review, which is expected to conclude in spring 2025. In considering this we will have regard to the investment priorities identified by the Wales Rail Board.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for (a) her policies on reducing Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticide exposure in wildlife and (b) the Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme of the report entitled Lost nature, published by Wild Justice on 12 December 2024.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the hon. Member to the previous reply PQ 15550.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 210 on Development Aid, what fiscal circumstances are required for the restoration of the Official Development Assistance budget to 0.7% of gross national income.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government remains committed to international development and restoring Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending to the level of 0.7 percent of GNI as soon as the fiscal circumstances allow. The ODA fiscal tests determine that a return to 0.7 percent of GNI is possible when the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)’s fiscal forecast confirms that, on a sustainable basis, we are not borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling. Each year, the Government will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development (ODA Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7% GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast. In the meantime, the UK remains one of the most generous donors of development assistance amongst the G7.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effect of access to nutritious, appetising hospital food on patient's health, recovery and time spent in hospital; and what plans he has to introduce policies to improve access to that food.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Independent Review of Hospital Food, applicable to hospitals in England only, and published in October 2020, made a suite of recommendations for improving hospital food. The review made clear the positive effect on patient recovery and wellbeing of access to nutritious, healthy food.

In response to the Independent Review of Hospital Food, NHS England published their updated Food and Drink Standards in November 2022. These set out the expectations for National Health Service trusts regarding the food they provide to patients and staff. Emphasis is placed on providing healthy, nutritious food options.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to review the noise limits for onshore wind turbines defined in the ETSU-R-97 guidance, in the context of (a) advancements in onshore wind turbine technology and (b) evidence of the potential impact of wind turbine noise.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is committed to ensuring that decision makers have access to the best guidance, enabling onshore wind to be built whilst also balancing potential impacts.

The Government has concluded that the ETSU-R-97 guidance should be updated to bring it into line with the most up to date evidence and policy. We aim to publish the updated ETSU-R-97 guidance in Spring 2025. In the meantime, the current ETSU guidance should continue to be applied when assessing wind turbine noise.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many agricultural workers claim Universal Credit.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information is not held. We do not systematically collect data on the employment sector background of Universal Credit (UC) claimants because this does not affect entitlement to UC.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the findings on trends in the level of rat poison found in birds of prey in the report by Wild Justice entitled The Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme, published on 10 November 2024, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that non-target species are not harmed by rat poison.

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

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) rather than Defra has responsibility for regulating rodenticides/rat poisons. Given the potential risks posed to the environment by rodenticides, they are subject to strict regulation.

Where wild birds of prey or any non-target species of wildlife are killed illegally by rat poison the full force of the law should apply to proven perpetrators of the crime. Defra is a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit which helps prevent and detect illegal poisoning by obtaining and disseminating intelligence and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations. Defra also provides funding for England’s Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme which determines the underlying cause of death of wildlife where illegal use of pesticides or rodenticides/rat poison is suspected.

To help ensure that non-target species are not harmed by rat poison, Defra would further advise anyone seeking to lawfully manage rodents to consider the most humane method of control and apply the least severe solution. There are a range of effective, alternative methods for successful rodent management including elimination of harbourage, food and water. The use of spring traps and live capture traps are also inexpensive, reusable and widely available.

Import and sale of real fur

Afghan women and girls

Possible sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili

Protecting children from sexual abuse

Implications for rural communities of the Autumn Budget 2024

Government response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on communication of changes to women’s State Pension age

Reform of electoral law

Healthy lunches

The EU and the arms trade, human rights, and the Israel-Gaza conflict

Democracy and human rights in Myanmar

Fuel Poverty Awareness Day

Domestic Abuse Offences

Cuts to the International Development Budget

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Ruth Jones (Chair); Aphra Brandreth; David Chadwick; Ann Davies;

Found: For Committee use only Wednesday 30 October 2024 Members present1 Ruth Jones, in the Chair2 David Chadwick

Found: Watch the meeting Welsh Affairs Committee members present: Ruth Jones (Chair); David Chadwick; Ann Davies

Submit Evidence (by 2 Feb 2025)

Wales has a proud industrial heritage based on activities such as coal mining, slate quarrying, copper smelting, steelmaking and manufacturing among others.