Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the role of the UK in helping to preserve peace in Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We remain committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a just and lasting Cyprus settlement within the UN parameters, as stressed by the Foreign Secretary when he met the former Cypriot Foreign Minister Kasoulides in November. The UK actively engages with all parties on this and contributes to the settlement process in a number of ways, including through our deployment of military personnel to UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. In January we led the drafting of the UNSC resolution to renew the mandate of the Peacekeeping Force, which was unanimously adopted by the UNSC, maintaining the Council's longstanding unity on Cyprus.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will meet with a delegation of tidal range developers to discuss support for the advancement of tidal power.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the tidal range energy in the bays and estuaries around our coastlines, including barrage schemes and other alternatives. The developers should write to my office in the first instance and set out the issues they would like to explore in discussion.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a code of practice to the regulate the breeding of dogs.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All dog breeders are obliged under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) to protect their animals from suffering and provide for their welfare needs in line with best practice. A breach of these provisions may lead to imprisonment, a fine, or both. The 2006 Act is backed up by a Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs: Code of practice for the welfare of dogs (publishing.service.gov.uk).
This code of practice provides owners with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their dogs, as required by the 2006 Act. The code of practice recommends owners seek the advice of a veterinary professional on the risks of inherited and exaggerated features, that could affect the welfare of the puppies, before allowing their dog to breed.
Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, commercial dog breeders in England are prohibited from breeding from a dog where it can be reasonably expected that its genotype, phenotype, or state of health could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or the health or welfare of its offspring.
More detailed advice for those wishing to breed from their dogs can be found in the Canine & Feline Sector Group’s Code of Practice for Dog Breeding which is available here: Code of Practice for Dog Breeding 2020.indd (cfsg.org.uk)
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for preventing dog breeding which results in puppies with extreme conformation.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All dog breeders are obliged under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) to protect their animals from suffering and provide for their welfare needs in line with best practice. A breach of these provisions may lead to imprisonment, a fine, or both. The 2006 Act is backed up by a Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs: Code of practice for the welfare of dogs (publishing.service.gov.uk).
This code of practice provides owners with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their dogs, as required by the 2006 Act. The code of practice recommends owners seek the advice of a veterinary professional on the risks of inherited and exaggerated features, that could affect the welfare of the puppies, before allowing their dog to breed.
Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, commercial dog breeders in England are prohibited from breeding from a dog where it can be reasonably expected that its genotype, phenotype, or state of health could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or the health or welfare of its offspring.
More detailed advice for those wishing to breed from their dogs can be found in the Canine & Feline Sector Group’s Code of Practice for Dog Breeding which is available here: Code of Practice for Dog Breeding 2020.indd (cfsg.org.uk)
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Code of Practice for the Welfare for Dogs will be reviewed.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs provides dog owners and keepers with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their animals, as required under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The code of practice is kept under review and updated when required, and in line with legislative developments and changes in animal welfare practice.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to allow private dentists in Clacton who trained overseas to see National Health Service patients.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
All dentists wishing to practice in the United Kingdom, must register with the General Dental Council (GDC). The Government has laid secondary legislation to provide the GDC with greater flexibility on how it operates the Overseas Registration Exam and to expand the registration options open to international dentists. This will enable the GDC to increase the number of dentists it can assess, potentially allowing overseas dentists to join its register more quickly.
In addition to being registered with the GDC, dentists wishing to see National Health Service patients in England must apply to join the Dental Performers List (DPL), managed by NHS England. Any dentist registered with the GDC, whether trained in the UK or overseas, can apply to join the DPL. Inclusion on the DPL provides assurance that they are fit to provide NHS dental services, and it is for NHS England as the holder of the DPL to determine which dentists, who trained overseas, can see NHS patients.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to set up a national database for microchip companies to input data received for dogs and cats.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are not proposing to create a single cat and dog microchip database. Database operators are commercial enterprises which offer a range of services and provide choice for pet owners.
A consultation seeking views on changes to the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 closed on 20th May 2022 and we are analysing the responses. The consultation sought views on creating a single point of access facility for approved users to quickly search compliant databases for a microchip record. We intend for this to also apply to cat microchip records.
This is a devolved matter and these developments relate to the situation applying in England.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
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 set up a national database for dog and cat microchips.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are not proposing to create a single cat and dog microchip database. Database operators are commercial enterprises which offer a range of services and provide choice for pet owners.
A consultation seeking views on changes to the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 closed on 20th May 2022 and we are analysing the responses. The consultation sought views on creating a single point of access facility for approved users to quickly search compliant databases for a microchip record. We intend for this to also apply to cat microchip records.
This is a devolved matter and these developments relate to the situation applying in England.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
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 bring forward legislation to stop holiday firms promoting experiences with Asian elephants to tourists.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 21 June to the hon. Member for Crawley, PQ 19607.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made regarding the impact of artificial intelligence developments on employment opportunities for performers and creative workers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the global trends which will transform our future, changing jobs across the economy, including those working in the arts and creative industries.
The creative industries’ growing interdependence with the digital sector is inspiring business growth, invention and investment. The sector already makes ingenious use of AI in many ways: to recommend content on streaming platforms, to create Luke Skywalker’s voice in The Mandalorian, and to govern the behaviour of non-playable characters in video games. However adoption of AI is not uniform across the sub sectors, which risks us missing prime opportunities to improve productivity and growth.
We want our creative workers to be able to build further on these technological opportunities, which will play an increasingly vital part in the sectors’ success, whilst safeguarding against risks associated with increasing automation. Our Creative Industries Sector Vision will set out a long-term strategy focused on promoting growth, with a section dedicated to the exciting future of this dynamic workforce, including the impact of AI.
In the National AI Strategy, the government set out a number of steps it is taking to develop the brightest, most diverse workforce: from bolstering the provision of higher level skills at PhD and Masters level to developing research that helps employees, from across sectors, to understand what skills are needed for them to effectively use AI in a business setting.
Additionally, UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is developing a programme to help accelerate the adoption of AI in certain low AI maturity sectors which are key to the UK economy, with the creative industries being a potential priority sector to explore, which will help to improve the sector’s productivity.