Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) dogs and (b) cats were imported under commercial rules under the Ballai Directive in each month of 2024; and from which country.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2024, a total of 32391 dogs and 6226 cats were imported commercially under the Balai directive.
The attached two tables show all commercial imports of dogs and cats by country of origin and month of import.
The EU data may include animals that have originated from a non-EU country but have travelled through an EU Border Control Post (BCP). The database records the EU BCP Country as the Country of Origin for these imports.
The Rest of the World data does not include animals that have arrived through an EU BCP.
This information is drawn from external systems not directly controlled by the department and is a true reflection of the information that APHA has access to.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) dogs and (b) cats were imported non commercially under the PETS Directive in each month of 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2024, a total of 335451 dogs and 32804 cats were imported non-commercially through the PETS Directive. The table below shows the number of dogs and cats imported each month in 2024:
2024 | Cats | Dogs | Total number of animals |
January | 3207 | 30358 | 33565 |
February | 1860 | 15757 | 17617 |
March | 2357 | 26879 | 29236 |
April | 2700 | 30215 | 32915 |
May | 2029 | 21536 | 23565 |
June | 3015 | 26136 | 29151 |
July | 2692 | 33145 | 35837 |
August | 3828 | 50623 | 54451 |
September | 2094 | 15426 | 17520 |
October | 3154 | 29169 | 32323 |
November | 2374 | 18546 | 20920 |
December | 3494 | 37661 | 41155 |
Total | 32804 | 335451 | 368255 |
The data provided is a summary of animals entering Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme via an approved route.
It does not include pet animals that enter other parts of the UK (such as Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands) or pet animals that enter Great Britain from other parts of the UK. It does not include any animals that enter Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme from the Republic of Ireland as these movements do not need to follow an approved route.
Data on the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by pet checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals and cannot be separated into EU and Rest of the World. This data can be subject to change due to when the carriers provide the data.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
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 end the use of enriched cages for hens in England.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Liverpool West Derby, Ian Byrne, on 16 May 2025, PQ 50228.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the forthcoming roadmap to phase out animal testing include plans to conduct systematic reviews to identify areas of research or disease models to phase out.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year. Any systematic approach for identifying research priorities for new alternative methods will be outlined in the upcoming strategy. Implementation of these ambitions is to be determined in consultation with the life sciences community.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of establishing a dedicated body, similar to the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), to (a) oversee and (b) accelerate the (i) validation and (ii) acceptance of non-animal methods for (A) regulatory and (B) scientific use.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational and regulatory research and testing later this year. As part of this, we continually monitor international developments and bodies such as ECVAM and are in discussion with our overseas colleagues as to how we can work together on this matter.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on what date was the last review of guidance to companies on the use of non-animal methods to meet specific data requirements across all sectors; and whether he plans to update that guidance.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
There are a range of internationally accepted guidelines which ensure the safety assessment of new chemicals and medicines before they are licenced for use. OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals assess the potential effects of chemicals on human health and the environment, and similarly ICH guidelines assure the complete and thorough assessment of the potential quality, safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals. Guidelines are reviewed periodically by regulators and industry stakeholders as the science supporting the guidelines evolves. This will include how and when non-animal alternatives are acceptable and can be included to meet the aims of these guidelines.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on trends in the number of animal tests that are taking place for regulatory purposes where a suitable non-animal alternative is already available; and if she will make an assessment of the reasons for those trends.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) ensures that all animal testing, including for regulatory purposes, is only carried out where no non-animal alternative can be used. Licence applicants are required to robustly evidence their consideration of why alternative methods cannot be used. The Home Office Regulator reviews all licence applications and will only issue a licence once it is satisfied there are no practicable alternative methods available. Therefore, if a non-animal alternative is available for the scientific outcome sought then the Home Office will not authorise that testing to take place.
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that independent (a) environment experts, (b) health experts and (c) civil society groups are fully involved in the development of the National Food Strategy.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are forming a partnership between government and stakeholders from across the food system as we develop the food strategy. This partnership includes academics, charities, key thinkers, civil society organisations and consumer groups as well as industry representatives.
Health experts and civil society are represented in the membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board announced in March, including Professor Chris Whitty as Chief Medical Officer for England at the Department for Health and Social Care, Professor Susan Jebb as Professor of Diet and Population Health at Oxford University, Anna Taylor of the Food Foundation and Ravi Gurumurthy of NESTA.
We will conduct a series of of targeted stakeholder engagements that will include civil society organisations, environmental non-Government organisations, and citizen groups alongside the farming and the food industry
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
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 ensure that there is representation of independent (a) environmental experts and (b) clinicians on the Food Strategy Advisory Board.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are forming a partnership between government and stakeholders from across the food system as we develop the food strategy. This partnership includes academics, charities, key thinkers, civil society organisations and consumer groups as well as industry representatives.
Health experts and civil society are represented in the membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board announced in March, including Professor Chris Whitty as Chief Medical Officer for England at the Department for Health and Social Care, Professor Susan Jebb as Professor of Diet and Population Health at Oxford University, Anna Taylor of the Food Foundation and Ravi Gurumurthy of NESTA.
We will conduct a series of of targeted stakeholder engagements that will include civil society organisations, environmental non-Government organisations, and citizen groups alongside the farming and the food industry
Asked by: Irene Campbell (Labour - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to provide safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities in England must ensure that support is available in safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims who need it. My Department has allocated £160 million for 2025-26, a £30 million uplift from the previous year. That funding is for local authorities to commission lifesaving support for victims in safe accommodation.