Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the sheep dip sufferers support group on organophosphate poisoning.
Answered by George Eustice
I met the Sheep Dip Sufferers Group in November last year. The concerns of the Sufferers Group were discussed in detail and we committed to providing information to the group, including the Government’s rationale for ending compulsory sheep dipping.
This information was provided to Tom Rigby (co-ordinator of the Sheep Dip Sufferers Group) in May of this year.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on the issues raised by the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group at the meeting of 19 November 2015 relating to (a) organophosphate sheep dip and (b) missing medical records from 1992; and if she will send the minutes of that meeting to the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra officials have been investigating this issue since the meeting in November and are in the process of finalising the information mentioned above for the Sheep Dip Sufferers Group. This is expected to be completed and released shortly.
The information will answer the actions from the meeting and include news releases from MAFF and the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) from 1992 and 1993. These explain why the decision was taken to end compulsory dipping and the conclusions of the VPC reviews of organophosphate sheep dips at the time.
A note of agreed actions from the meeting will be provided along with the information above.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government made during recent discussions with the Chinese Prime Minister in agreeing a timetable for closing legal ivory markets at international and domestic levels.
Answered by Rory Stewart
China is a key partner for the Government to work with in combating the illegal trade in wildlife. In the UK-China Joint Statement on Building a Global Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century, issued on 22nd October on the occasion of the State Visit of President Xi Jinping, the UK and China recognised the importance and urgency of combating the illegal wildlife trade, and committed to take active measures to tackle this global challenge. We warmly welcome the recent announcement by China that it intends, in due course, to close its legal domestic market for ivory, and will continue to work with China to encourage this to happen as soon as feasible.
The Government is committed to maintaining the current global ban on any new international trade in ivory. In addition, the UK does not permit trade in raw ivory tusks of any age and we are pressing for this approach to be taken across the whole of the European Union.