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, whether it is his Department's policy to authorise novel pharmaceutical products, therapies or medical devices for first-time human clinical trials by the MHRA on a case-by-case basis without relying on a standardised complement of pre-clinical animal toxicity or efficacy data; and what steps he is taking to promote the use of non-animal pre-clinical data.
Answered by Will Quince
There is no United Kingdom legislation that mandates animal testing. We do, however, work to a series of International Council of Harmonisation and Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use guidelines that describe ways to evaluate different non-clinical aspects of medicines, many of which use animals. These aspects include safety pharmacology, repeat dose toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, phototoxicity, and immunotoxicity.
The non-clinical assessors have always taken the approach that data from a suitably validated model that has been demonstrated to be predictive could be submitted in lieu of animal data. On a case-by-case basis, a non-clinical assessor will also accept appropriate justifications for not conducting animal tests, for example, no pharmacologically relevant species.
In terms of promoting use of non-animal methods, we do not consider this to be within the remit of non-clinical assessors. Rather, it is for those using these methods to tell the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) how they have validated them, or at least why they rely on the results and an assessor will then judge whether the data is appropriate to support the trial. The MHRA supports the developers of products by its offer of scientific advice services, the Innovation Office and the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway.
The MHRA fully supports the National Centre for the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement), and agency staff play an active role in projects to support adoption and adherence to the 3Rs principles in medicines regulation worldwide.
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, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) restrict as necessary fur imports from European countries, in the context of outbreaks of avian flu in Europe.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
While fur cannot be farmed in this country, and some fur from particular species is prohibited from import and sale, it is still possible to import and sell other types of fur from abroad. It is also possible to re-export fur and fur products that have been imported.
We have committed to explore potential action in relation to animal fur, as set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, and have since conducted a Call for Evidence on the fur sector. We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. However, currently we are not seeking to restrict fur imports based on avian influenza.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018 at preventing the use of automated software to purchase more tickets than the maximum permitted number.
Answered by John Whittingdale
We are committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We have strengthened the law in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.
The effectiveness of any legislation is dependent on people and organisations reporting suspected breaches to the relevant enforcement agencies, and we strongly encourage anyone with evidence of suspected ticketing fraud to report it to them.
Asked by: Giles Watling (Conservative - Clacton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many successful prosecutions there have been under the Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It is not possible to provide information about successful prosecutions under the Breaching of Limits on Ticket Sales Regulations 2018. This information is not centrally held in the Court Proceedings Database by the Ministry of Justice.
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 introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on supermarket products.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2021, Defra ran a call for evidence to gather data on the potential impacts of different types of labelling reform for animal welfare. We received over 1,600 responses and a summary of these responses is available on GOV.UK.
Based on the evidence provided, Defra is continuing to explore options for improving and expanding mandatory animal welfare labelling, covering both domestic and imported products.
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, what estimate she has made of the (a) proportion of egg production that will be cage-free by 2025 and (b) cost to the poultry sector of a ban on the use of cages for laying hens.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The proportion of eggs that come from caged hens has steadily decreased from 47% of total throughput in Q4 2017, to around 25% at the end of Q4 2022. No recent estimate of the proportion of egg production that will be cage-free by 2025 or the costs to industry of any ban on their use has been made.
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 - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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)