Asked by: Rob Marris (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of staff employed by her Department are employed on a contract which is (a) full-time permanent, (b) part-time permanent, (c) for less than two years' duration, (d) on an agency basis and (e) zero-hours.
Answered by George Eustice
As at 31 March 2017 the proportion of staff employed in the department is shown below:
| Headcount | % |
Full-Time permanent staff | 1587 | 76.6% |
Part-Time permanent staff | 265 | 12.8% |
Fixed / Short Term appointments employed for less than two years | 98 | 4.7% |
Agency Basis staff | 121 | 5.8% |
Zero-Hours | 0 | 0.0% |
Total | 2071 |
|
It is not Defra Policy to employ staff on “Zero-Hours” contracts.
Asked by: Rob Marris (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
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 8 December 2016 to Question 56069, what plans the Government has to remove the exemption from licensing requirements of people repeatedly selling kittens bred from their non-pedigree pet cat, currently in place under the provisions of the Pet Animals Act 1951, within new regulations governing the sale of pet animals made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Answered by George Eustice
As part of the review of animal establishment licensing schemes, the Government is proposing to remove the licence exemptions in the Pet Animals Act 1951. These exemptions are for those in the business of selling either pedigree animals that have been bred by them or the offspring of an animal that has been kept by them as a pet, for instance, the offspring of their non-pedigree pet cat. We will be publishing our ‘Next Steps’ document on the proposals shortly.
Asked by: Rob Marris (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to respond to the letter to her Department from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 26 October 2016 on the transportation of live animals.
Answered by George Eustice
We received the letter to which the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West refers on 22 December, and you can expect a reply imminently.
Asked by: Rob Marris (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
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 bring forward proposals to amend the Pet Animals Act 1951 to prohibit repeat breeding and sale from the family cat or cats.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is in the process of reviewing the animal establishments licensing schemes, including those that regulate the sale of pet animals. We have proposed to replace the Pet Animals Act 1951 with regulations made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. One of our proposals is to remove the exemption whereby someone can sell any number of pedigree animals without a licence if they have been bred from the family pet.
Asked by: Rob Marris (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Government has paid from the public purse in compensation to farmers for animals culled in efforts to control bovine tuberculosis since 1998.
Answered by George Eustice
Net government compensation paid to farmers for animals culled in efforts to control bovine tuberculosis in England since 1998 is as follows. Net figures take account of any carcass salvage income received by government:
Asked by: Rob Marris (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Government has paid in compensation to farmers for animals culled in efforts to control bovine tuberculosis since 2010.
Answered by George Eustice
The net compensation expenditure paid to farmers for animals culled in efforts to control bovine tuberculosis since 2010 is as follows:
2010/11 – £24.3m
2011/12 – £23.5m
2012/13 – £23.9m
2013/14 – £22.6m
2014/15 – £20.9m
2015/16 – £20.9m
Asked by: Rob Marris (Labour - Wolverhampton South West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 24 February 2016 on Game Farming in the UK, case reference ZA3022.
Answered by George Eustice
The letter from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 24 February 2016 on Game Farming in the UK was replied to on 18 April 2016.