Lord Carlile of Berriew

The number of licence applications received to shoot avian predators over the last five years is set out in the table below:

*Due to licences being issued across an 8 month season which straddles years, more licences can be issued than received given any one year.

River and catchment data cannot be prepared within the timescale for response.

The number of licences issued to shoot avian predators in each of the past five years, broken down by species, is set out below:

This data has been taken from the Transparency data published by Natural England located here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summary-of-wildlife-licences-issued-by-natural-england-in-2023

The Environment Agency (EA) has a duty to maintain, improve and develop fisheries for freshwater and diadromous fish. Income from angling rod licence sales is reinvested in work across the country including monitoring, enforcement, fish stocking, fish rescues, responding to incidents and providing fisheries advice. This work is partially funded by rod licence income. The EA reports annually on how rod licence income is used. The 2023 report can be found here (attached).

The Government recognised recreational sea fishing in the Fisheries Act 2020 (FA2020) enabling it to contribute to the Act’s objectives as required by the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). Recreational sea fishing is being integrated into Defra’s evidence-based Fisheries Management Plans, which set out how the JFS objectives will be delivered. Progress towards the JFS will be assessed and reported every six years, in-line with section 3 of the FA2020.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only.

Salmon populations in England’s rivers are generally declining, with many detrimental factors suppressing recovery. Defra is a member of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation, working with international counterparts to conserve and restore Atlantic salmon, including measures to mitigate avian predation.

All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, including avian predators, regardless of their population or conservation status.

The Government does not aim to limit or reduce the population of any native wild bird. If evidence shows that species such as cormorant, heron or goosander are having a serious impact on fisheries or salmon, a licence can be issued.

Natural England (NE) sets evidence-based limits on the number of cormorants licensed to be killed each year to prevent irreversibly affecting their conservation status. Scarecer breeding species, including goosander, are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Licences issued by NE target specific locations when migrating salmon are most vulnerable, like during the smolt run, to improve the effect of protecting fisheries.

The Environment Agency funds two fisheries management advisors within the Angling Trust who provide bespoke advice to fisheries seeking predator control licences.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Natural England aims to assess individual licences within 30 working days.

Most licences are renewals. These have a streamlined application process and light touch reassessment process, whereby licensees indicate that they want to renew their licence when they submit their licensing report at the end of the licence period.

To shoot avian predators to prevent serious damage to fisheries or inland waters, specific legislative and policy tests relevant to the species and purpose must be satisfied for a licence to be granted.

For cormorant licensing:

• Serious damage is being, or is likely to be, caused by cormorants at the site.
• Non-lethal anti-predation measures have either been tried and found to be ineffective or are impracticable
• Shooting will reduce or prevent increasing levels of damage

For herons, mergansers and goosanders:

• All other reasonable non-lethal solutions have been tried and/or shown to be ineffective

• There is a genuine problem/need
• There is no satisfactory alternatives
• The licensed action will be effective at resolving the problem and is proportionate to the problem

If any one test cannot be satisfied, this will be the basis for refusing a licence application.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides licensing functions to permit the control of piscivorous birds, most often cormorants, to protect fisheries where it can be shown that non-lethal measures are failing to manage predation.

Licences are issued by Natural England, which has responsibility for setting a prudent upper limit on cormorant control to ensure that licensed removal does not irreversibly affect their conservation status. Licensing returns are monitored to ensure this limit is not breached. The Government is not currently proposing to license an increased culling of cormorants or other predatory species of birds.

Everyone leaving prison with a need for drug and alcohol treatment should be able to access high-quality provision that enables them to recover from their problems as quickly as possible. We will continue to ensure that the full range of evidence-based treatment interventions is available to address drug and alcohol needs among people who are in prison, or who have left prison, including abstinence-based interventions, to support recovery from drug and alcohol dependency.

A cross-Government implementation group has been established to support the introduction of the changes to the Standard Determinate Sentences (SDS40) that were announced in July, and includes the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, the Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England.

In September, the Department and NHS England issued clear clinical advice to support the delivery of SDS40 and give local services more flexibility to use additional drug and alcohol treatment and recovery grants to meet local needs.

There are no plans to publish Dame Carol Black’s recent work on drug treatment in prisons.

Following Professor Dame Carol Black’s 2021 review of drug misuse and treatment in the community, Dame Carol was asked to assess the scope, quality, and effectiveness of treatment and recovery provision in prisons in England, and the support provided by the HM Prison and Probation Service regime. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, the Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention, and the Chief Executive of NHS England have received Dame Carol’s completed report.

The Government is considering the implications of the report’s findings across departments and agencies, ensuring that improved drug treatment for prisoners is part of the delivery of our Health and Safer Streets Missions.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning services to prevent, mitigate and treat alcohol and drug related health harms, in response to local need. This includes supporting those who have been released from custody with high quality drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services.

The Department of Health and Social Care is continuing to invest in improvements to local alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services to enable people to access high quality help and support should they need it. Funding for drug and alcohol services in England is provided through the public health grant. In addition, in 2024/25, the Department of Health and Social Care has allocated local authorities a further £267 million to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, alongside £105 million made available by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve treatment pathways and recovery, housing and employment outcomes for people with drug and alcohol problems. The Chancellor will conclude a multi-year Spending Review in spring 2025.

A public appointment campaign for a permanent Chair of the Office for Place was launched on 5 December 2023.

The appointment of the Chief Executive, who will lead the Office for Place in Stoke-on-Trent, will be made in line with standard civil service procedures and is expected to conclude in the new year.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor has announced the creation of a Women’s Justice Board, with the clear goals of reducing the number of women in prison and addressing the distinct needs of women in the criminal justice system.

A bespoke resettlement model, with embedded probation pre-release provision, is in place in all women’s prisons. Pre-release teams screen for resettlement needs and signpost to specialist services within the prison, such as Prison Banking Administrators, Healthcare, and Rehabilitative Services. In liaison with the Community Offender Manager, they support pre-release planning activity throughout the period in custody.

Women-specific Commissioned Rehabilitative Services contracts deliver bespoke and specialist support to women on probation. including assisting physical and mental wellbeing; access to accommodation and employment; support with any finance, benefit and debt needs; maintaining relationships with families; and supporting any dependency and recovery needs.

We know that treatment is effective in reducing substance misuse, re-offending and other harmful outcomes. The Ministry of Justice works in partnership with the Department of Health & Social Care and NHS England to ensure that continuity of care is in place for all women leaving prison who have continuing drug and or alcohol treatment needs.