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 is taking to ensure that regulations keep pace with emerging evidence on animal welfare.

Science advice is fundamental to good government. The Department benefits from academic expertise in animal welfare through several routes. Alongside its own scientific officers, the Department commissions research and evidence in the field of animal welfare to support policy development. It also receives independent, authoritative, impartial and timely advice through its expert committees, notably the Animal Welfare Committee.