Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to change the classification of spot-on pet treatments containing fipronil and imidacloprid from the current general sales (AVM-GS) to the prescription only (POM-V) classification.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Spot‑on flea and tick treatments containing fipronil and imidacloprid remain important for protecting animal and human health. Many of these products are currently classified as AVM‑GSL, meaning they may be supplied without professional advice. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) recognises increasing concerns about the environmental presence of these substances, which have been detected in some UK watercourses at levels above toxicity thresholds for aquatic invertebrates.
The VMD is carrying out a regulatory review of the AVM‑GSL status of products containing fipronil and imidacloprid. Further details on this review will be made available early this year. The review will assess whether requiring professional advice at the point of sale, such as through a minimum NFA‑VPS classification, could support more responsible use and disposal.
The regulatory review will consider all legal distribution channels with any future decisions being transparent, evidence‑based and to maintain animal welfare and access to treatment.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether a user-risk assessment has been completed concerning the chronic human exposure to fipronil and its metabolites, especially in households where pets are treated with spot-on pet medicines containing those agents.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
User risk assessments (URAs) are a core element of the authorisation process for veterinary medicinal products, and they include consideration of chronic human exposure in households where pets receive spot‑on treatments. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate conducts URAs in line with established international guidance, including the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) Guideline on user safety for pharmaceutical veterinary medicinal products (EMA/CVMP/543/03‑Rev.1) and the CVMP Guideline on user safety of topically administered veterinary medicinal products (EMA/CVMP/SWP/721059/2014).
These assessments follow a stepwise approach: hazard identification (drawing on extensive pharmacological and toxicological datasets, including for vulnerable sub‑populations), exposure assessment (covering short‑term direct and longer‑term indirect exposures), and risk characterisation using appropriate safety thresholds and conservative assumptions. For fipronil, the assessment considers relevant metabolites. Where indicated, risk mitigation measures are applied, such as user safety warnings, child‑resistant closures, and advice to minimise contact with the application site, reflected in the Summary of Product Characteristics and product literature (package leaflet).
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of safety advice provided to users of the spot-on pet treatments containing fipronil.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The adequacy of safety advice provided to users of spot‑on veterinary medicines is assessed as part of the statutory authorisation process for veterinary medicinal products. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) conducts a comprehensive user‑risk assessment in accordance with established international guidance, including the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) guideline on user safety for veterinary medicinal products (EMA/CVMP/543/03‑Rev.1) and the CVMP guideline specifically addressing topically administered products (EMA/CVMP/SWP/721059/2014).
These assessments consider both direct and indirect routes of exposure, including contact with treated animals. Where the assessment identifies potential risks, appropriate risk‑mitigation measures are implemented. These are reflected in the product information, including the Summary of Product Characteristics and the package leaflet, and typically comprise clear instructions on correct application, advice to minimise human contact with the application site, and warnings intended to protect vulnerable household members, including children.
The adequacy of this safety advice is kept under continual review through the VMD’s pharmacovigilance system, which monitors reports relating to user safety and allows updates to product information where required. Publicly available assessment reports and product literature can be accessed via the Product Information Database on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the steps being taken to reduce the current levels of fipronil and imidacloprid in rivers will result in meeting their mandated obligation to achieve the Water Frameworks Directive’s requirement for good ecological and chemical status by 2027.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Pharmaceuticals in the Environment group, supported by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, has put in place a roadmap for reducing exposure of these substances to water courses, with workstreams looking at several complementary activities. These include educating vets and the pet-owning public, investing in research to plug scientific evidence gaps, including routes to the environment and pet owner behavioural change, and reviewing the guidance for environmental risk assessments, which will all contribute to the desired aim.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to replace or roll over the Countryside Stewardship agreements terminating at the end of this year.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are aware of the concerns raised by farmers and stakeholders regarding farmers whose current Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier agreements expire at the end of the year and are considering how we can support continued delivery of environmental outcomes through environmental land management schemes.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many queen honeybees have been imported into Great Britain via Northern Ireland since 2021.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All consignments of honey bee queens imported into Northern Ireland (NI) must be accompanied by health certificates confirming that the area the bees originated from is free of certain pests and diseases. The health certificate must be issued no more than 24 hours prior to dispatch and the certifying officer must also confirm that a pre-export inspection took place. When the imports arrive in NI they are cleared by NI officials. Great Britain (GB) officials do not have access to the systems used by NI so we do not have figures for how many queen honeybees have been imported into NI. Once the imports have been cleared by NI officials, the bees can be moved to GB without any further controls so information about the number of queen honeybees moved from NI to GB is not collected.
NI officials have shared intelligence that since 2021 they have received increased numbers of queen honey bee imports into NI while the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit has recorded fewer imports of queen honey bees into GB.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a mandatory registration scheme for all marine vessels to combat the problem of abandoned boats on rivers, estuaries and the shoreline.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is leading an action under the second OSPAR Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter to improve the management of end-of-life recreational vessels. The Government commissioned the environmental consultancy Resource Futures to undertake research on the number of vessels reaching end-of-life and the policy options to reduce the issue of marine litter from abandoned vessels. This research will inform further OSPAR action, including the development of best practice guidance.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that queen honeybees imported into Great Britain via Northern Ireland are free from pests and diseases, in particular the small hive beetle.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All consignments of honey bee queens imported into Northern Ireland (NI) must be accompanied by health certificates confirming that the area the bees originated from is free of certain pests, including small hive beetle, and diseases. The health certificate must be issued no more than 24 hours prior to dispatch and the certifying officer must also confirm that a pre-export inspection took place. Imports into NI are cleared by NI officials.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have had of the approach by European nations, in particular France, to solving the issue of abandoned and derelict boats in rivers and estuaries.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
End of life recreational vessels are recognised as a source of litter and pollution when abandoned. The UK is leading an action under the second OSPAR Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter, to improve the management of end-of-life recreational vessels.
The Government commissioned research on the number of vessels reaching end-of-life and the policy options to reduce the issue of marine litter from abandoned vessels. This work reviewed existing good practices, including the extended producer responsibility scheme in place in France. OSPAR Contracting Parties have agreed to produce best practice guidance to inform regional and national action, based on the research commissioned. This guidance is currently under development.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce a mandatory requirement for remote electronic monitoring systems to be installed on all pelagic trawl vessels over 24 metres in length operating in English waters.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is taking a phased approach to implementing remote electronic monitoring, working first with volunteers to design and test systems before moving to mandatory implementation.
We are currently evaluating the progress of the project. Once implementation issues have been appropriately addressed, we will issue notification that mandatory requirements will be coming in, with a minimum of 24 months lead in time before mandatory requirements were introduced.
This is to ensure the fishing industry has time to adapt to the change.