Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she will consider increasing the transparency of operations by the Animal and Plant Health Agency in line with the Food Standards Agency's audits of slaughterhouses.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government acknowledges the importance of transparency in animal welfare regulation. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) publish details of successful prosecutions in its annual report to Parliament, as required by Section 80 of the Animal Health Act, and Defra publishes APHA regulatory data in the Official Controls report under the Multi-annual National Control Plan (MANCP). The content of these reports is regularly reviewed; however, the Government is not considering introducing additional reporting or audits beyond what is already published.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of ending the routine culling of day-old male chicks in the UK egg industry; and whether the forthcoming Animal Welfare Strategy will consider the use of in-ovo sexing technology.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 July 2025 to the hon. Member for Stockport, PQ UIN 64121.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to publish the Animal Welfare Strategy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. As set out by the Prime Minister, we will publish our Animal Welfare Strategy this year which will set out our priorities for animal welfare.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to increase the significance of improving animal welfare within the work of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Animal welfare is, and will continue to be, a high priority for the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). Through its knowledge and expertise, effective delivery of regulatory functions, and provision of guidance and advice, APHA plays a critical welfare role.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will create new regulatory protections from hazardous chemicals similar to those of the EU in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The revised Environmental Improvement Plan will set out our approach to chemicals management.
The ‘UK REACH Rationale for Prioritising Substances in the UK REACH Work Programme: 2025 to 2026’ policy paper set out our strategic approach to chemicals regulation. Notably that we are seeking to draw more from regulatory decision-making in other jurisdictions, and that this should enable new protections to be applied more quickly, more efficiently, and in a way which is more aligned with our closest trading partners.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Animal and Plant Health Agency's guidance entitled Animal welfare on farms inspection, published on 12 January 2016, requiring complaints to be lodged before inspection of a farm.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
APHA carries out inspections for a number of different reasons, including (but not limited to) in case of allegation of poor animal welfare on farm. Any allegations of poor animal welfare are logged and assessed. Where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action is taken, this includes unannounced inspections carried out within 24 hours and follow-up inspections at a later date to confirm compliance.
Information on how to report an animal welfare concern is available on this page:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-farm-animal-welfare-concerns.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to require the Animal and Plant Health Agency to publish the (a) outcomes of inspections, (b) rates of compliance and (c) types of non-compliance on farms.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra publishes data in the Multi-annual National Control Plan (MANCP) annual reports, relating to animal welfare official controls and enforcement activities undertaken within GB, which the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) contributes to. Outcomes of inspections, rates of compliance and types of non-compliance on farms are included in the report.
MANCP reports are available here.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Animal and Plant Health Agency procedures on providing farms with advanced notice of an inspection on the enforcement of animal welfare standards.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All farm animals are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation.
The Animal and Plant Agency (APHA), as the national regulator for farmed animal welfare in Great Britain, undertake proactive and reactive inspections on farm to monitor compliance with legislation. The proactive inspections are risk based taking into account factors such as previous non-compliances, frequency of inspections and mortality rates. Reactive inspections are triggered by complaints and/or FSA referrals; any allegations of poor animal welfare is assessed by APHA and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action is taken. This may include a follow-up, unannounced, inspection by APHA at a later date to confirm compliance. In most animal health and welfare cases of non-compliance, the statutory enforcement body will be the Local Authority.
Defra publishes data in the Multi-annual National Control Plan (MANCP) annual reports, relating to animal welfare official controls and enforcement activities undertaken within GB. Outcomes of inspections, rates of compliance and types of non-compliance on farms are included in the report.
MANCP reports are available here.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farm inspections were conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency following a complaint of alleged breaches of animal welfare in each of the last five years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All farm animals are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation.
The Animal and Plant Agency (APHA), as the national regulator for farmed animal welfare in Great Britain, undertake proactive and reactive inspections on farm to monitor compliance with legislation. The proactive inspections are risk based taking into account factors such as previous non-compliances, frequency of inspections and mortality rates. Reactive inspections are triggered by complaints and/or FSA referrals; any allegations of poor animal welfare is assessed by APHA and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action is taken. This may include a follow-up, unannounced, inspection by APHA at a later date to confirm compliance. In most animal health and welfare cases of non-compliance, the statutory enforcement body will be the Local Authority.
Defra publishes data in the Multi-annual National Control Plan (MANCP) annual reports, relating to animal welfare official controls and enforcement activities undertaken within GB. Outcomes of inspections, rates of compliance and types of non-compliance on farms are included in the report.
MANCP reports are available here.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many reports the Animal and Plant Health Agency has received of alleged animal welfare breaches on farms in each of the last five years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All farm animals are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation.
The Animal and Plant Agency (APHA), as the national regulator for farmed animal welfare in Great Britain, undertake proactive and reactive inspections on farm to monitor compliance with legislation. The proactive inspections are risk based taking into account factors such as previous non-compliances, frequency of inspections and mortality rates. Reactive inspections are triggered by complaints and/or FSA referrals; any allegations of poor animal welfare is assessed by APHA and where there are non-compliances with the regulations, appropriate action is taken. This may include a follow-up, unannounced, inspection by APHA at a later date to confirm compliance. In most animal health and welfare cases of non-compliance, the statutory enforcement body will be the Local Authority.
Defra publishes data in the Multi-annual National Control Plan (MANCP) annual reports, relating to animal welfare official controls and enforcement activities undertaken within GB. Outcomes of inspections, rates of compliance and types of non-compliance on farms are included in the report.
MANCP reports are available here.