Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce a ban on male chick culling.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing, including male chicks from the egg production sector.
Permitted killing methods for chicks, such as gas stunning and maceration, are based on scientific research and assessment to ensure birds are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering. All laying hen hatcheries in the UK use argon gas mixtures as their stunning method.
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of technologies that allow chicks to be sexed in-ovo (within the egg). We welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of introducing a ban on male chick culling on the egg producing industry.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
In its 2024 ‘Opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industries’, the Animal Welfare Committee considered a range of technologies that could help end the routine culling of male chicks by identifying or determining the sex of chick embryos before hatching. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of these technologies, and we welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for consultation on activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.
Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed.
This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 provide additional time to businesses who have not prepared for the labelling requirements set out in the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The October 2023 date for labelling related to GB to NI movements is immovable as it is the product of negotiations and agreement with the European Union and is established in the Windsor Framework legal text.
We recognise that the new labelling requirements represent a substantial change for industry. The Government will be working with operators to ensure that goods flows are not disrupted as the new arrangements come into force. This includes, for example, a specific transition period in the legal text which means goods that are already on the market will not need to be relabelled. It also includes funding to support the cost of new labelling requirements. We will adopt a pragmatic approach to compliance in the initial phase of implementation.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 publish the Farm Animal Welfare Committee opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish at the Time of Killing.
Answered by Mark Spencer
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on 10 March 2023, PQ 158986.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 take steps to support the suppliers of fresh and frozen products seeking to send their products to Northern Ireland with labelling requirements.
Answered by Mark Spencer
On 9 June UK Government published guidance to support industry to implement the new labelling requirements. We also engage stakeholders regularly to provide further bespoke support. The UK Government will also provide financial support to help businesses with the new labelling requirements for October 2023. Further guidance on this will be provided later in the year.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to introduce the Not for EU labelling regulations for products destined for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Mark Spencer
As described in guidance published 9 June 2023, some food products will need individual product labels with the words ‘Not for EU’ to move via the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme. These requirements will be brought in through three phases from October 2023 to July 2025.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she had made with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of the (a) resources for and (b) capacity of border control posts in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The existing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) facilities in Northern Ireland are temporary and the Government's position has always been that these will need to be enhanced. Defra has worked closely, and will continue to do so, with multiple Government departments, and I can confirm that the resources for, and capacity of, the planned SPS inspection facilities are sufficient to meet the requirements committed to under the Windsor Framework.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether frozen third country products in Great Britain will need to be shipped to Northern Ireland before 1 October 2023 to meet labelling requirements.
Answered by Mark Spencer
Frozen products must meet the same requirements as non-frozen products. Products in scope must meet relevant labelling requirements to move through the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme. Details of these requirements can be found in the guidance published on 9 June.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department has issued on the (a) label size, (b) font, (c) location and (d) other specifications for the labelling of not-for-EU products.
Answered by Mark Spencer
The Government published technical requirements for not-for-EU labelling on 9 June 2023, as follows:
The label size, font, and location can be determined by the business as long as the above requirements are met.