Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the National Audit Office’s report entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what assessment his Department has made of failing to implement the statutory digital equine ID system on the risk of (a) disease preparedness, (b) livestock traceability and (c) biosecurity measures at the border.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Defra recognises the importance of a robust equine identification and traceability regime. The current paper-based system supports disease outbreak management, public health and biosecurity. Biosecurity is also protected by the UK’s imports requirements and imports health certificates for equines.
Defra has no current plans to implement statutory digital equine identification.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraphs 8 and 10 of the National Audit Office’s report entitled Resilience to animal diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what plans his Department has to (a) deliver an effective digital identification system for horses, (b) enforce the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 and (c) upgrade the Central Equine Database.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine identification and traceability.
The SPS agreement, outlined at the UK-EU Leader’s Summit on 19 May 2025, will establish a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area, aimed at facilitating the safe and efficient movement of trade. The SPS Agreement will cover sanitary rules and the regulation of live animals, including animal health conditions governing the movement and importation of Equidae.
Enforcement of Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018 lies with within the responsibilities of the Local Authorities.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on when the full redevelopment of the Animal and Plant Health Agency headquarters in Weybridge will be completed.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is making good progress with the redevelopment of the APHA Weybridge site. Planning consent is in place, construction of interim science facilities is underway, work is proceeding on the design of the main National Biosecurity Centre and with the appointment of construction partners. The main construction works are expected to begin in 2027, be completed by 2032 with licensing and commission complete by 2034.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report by the National Audit Office entitled Resilience to Animal Diseases, published on 4 June 2025, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK's preparedness to respond to a major animal disease outbreak.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and APHA actively assisted the National Audit Office in the collation of the data and information used to inform their report and will carefully work through the findings and recommendations to inform a plan for improvement. The National Audit Office will monitor progress against the recommendations at approximately 6 monthly intervals and we look forward to working with them on this. We are committed to improving biosecurity and resilience to animal diseases.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 10799 on Meat: Smuggling, how much illegal meat was seized (a) from 11 October 2024 to 31 December 2024 and (b) in 2025.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Illegal meat seized figures captured as part of Defra's African Swine Fever Programme:
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on the environmental impact of disposable vapes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 1 June the sale and supply of disposable vapes across the UK was banned, this will remove these harmful products from shelves and reduce the waste cause by their disposal. We will work closely with the Department of Health to ensure that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill continues to consider the environmental impacts of vaping.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) amend and (b) pause the extended producer responsibility scheme to mitigate the impact on pubs.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 came into effect on 1 January 2025, PackUK, the Scheme Administrator has been appointed, and producers have started to accrue scheme costs from the 1 April 2025. pEPR has been subject to extensive consultation and stakeholders have had ample opportunity to understand the design of the scheme. We will be consulting on potential amendments to address the issue of dual use packaging.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the glass manufacturing sector on the potential impact of extended producer responsibility on glass packaging since 14 May 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Officials also joined a panel for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association on 21 May, and have met with the Food and Drink Federation and the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the pub and brewing sector on the potential impact of extended producer responsibility on glass packaging since 14 May 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Officials also joined a panel for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association on 21 May, and have met with the Food and Drink Federation and the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of extended producer responsibility on pubs in Epping Forest constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has worked closely with industry, including the pub sector, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging. In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by constituency. We do not intend to do any specific analysis on pubs in the Epping Forest constituency.