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 steps he is taking to increase the number of cats being microchipped.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 10 June 2024, all owned cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database. The legislation is intended to improve pet welfare by increasing the likelihood of reuniting lost or stray pets with their keepers.
Defra works closely with stakeholders to communicate pet microchipping requirements to the public.
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 steps her Department are taking to help increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of vets in the public sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware of the numerous challenges facing recruitment and retention of qualified veterinary surgeons into Government roles. The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Food Standards Agency have been looking at ways to increase recruitment into Government and Defra has been working with the vet sector at blockers and options to support recruitment and retention.
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 her Department plans to hold discussions with the Animal and Plant Health Agency on their ability to respond to category five animal disease outbreaks.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency regularly discuss capacity and capability to manage disease outbreaks at a variety of governance boards including the Outbreak Readiness Board and the Disease Emergency Response Committee.
APHA has dealt with multiple disease incidents in 7 of the last 10 years, including concurrent outbreaks of bluetongue and avian influenza since 2023.
In the Public Accounts Committee hearing on 4 September, Defra acknowledged that a category 5 outbreak would pose challenges and explained that there are contracts and agreements in place that would enable draw down of additional veterinary and administrative capacity.
Outbreak structures and governance are set out in the ‘Contingency Plan for Exotic Notifiable Diseases of Animals in England’ published on GOV.UK. This is reviewed annually.
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 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding has been issued from the Smaller Abattoir Fund since July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since July 2024, the Rural Payment Agency has paid £406,545 to customers of the Smaller Abattoir Fund.
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 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding is remaining in the Smaller Abattoir Fund.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The total funding remaining for the Smaller Abattoir Fund is £704,928.
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 has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting the 5 per cent rule for smaller abattoirs on the abattoir sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Working with Devolved Governments, Competent Authorities, and industry stakeholders, Defra has considered the potential merits of adopting the livestock unit regulatory flexibility (5% Rule) for smaller abattoirs, as part of its commitment to identifying opportunities to ease regulatory and administrative burdens on the sector.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the Renters Rights Bill on the number of renters who will not be able to request a pet.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Renters’ Rights Bill will give all private rented sector tenants the right to request a pet, which landlords will not be able to unreasonably refuse.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential impact of measures in the Autumn Budget 2025 on the farming sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer holds regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on a range of issues.
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, how many times the Floods Resilience Taskforce has met since September 2024; and on what dates.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Flood Resilience Taskforce meets quarterly to coordinate and drive forward work on national flood resilience by national and local government and partners including the emergency services, environment and farming sectors and community groups.
Since its launch, it has met four times: on 12 September 2024, 5 February 2025, 21 May 2025, and 8 September 2025 and discussed matters including preparations for autumn and winter flooding, flood insurance and reform of the floods funding formula. The fourth meeting is scheduled for 8 September 2025.
Taskforce members also meet frequently on specific issues. Examples include events on flood forecasting and warning, held on 19 December 2024, a briefing on the National Flood and Erosion Risk Assessment on 17 January 2025, and a roundtable on 20 January 2025 on delivering natural flood management.
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 steps he is taking to help tackle the designer breeding of (a) brachycephalic cats, (b) bully cats, (c) hybrid cats and (d) other cats.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) to examine the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. The report can be found here. The Government is carefully considering its recommendations.