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 Animal Welfare Strategy for England published on 22 December 2025, what steps her Department is taking to (a) track and (b) publicly report enforcement actions taken in response to animal welfare non-compliance in the farming sector; which enforcement bodies will be included; what categories of enforcement action will be reported; and when she expects to publish the first report covering the 2026 calendar year.

Local authorities will submit annual returns detailing compliance support and actions taken in cases of non-compliance within the farming sector. Data will be incorporated into Annual Reports on Official Controls performed in Great Britain under the OCR Multi-Annual National Control Plan. The Annual Reports are published online and set out official controls across the UK agri-food system, including animal welfare. From 2027, the Annual Reports will consolidate enforcement actions from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and local authorities in a single report. Enhanced data collection will enable comprehensive reporting of enforcement measures, including warnings, improvement notices and penalties. The first report covering the 2026 calendar year is scheduled for publication in 2027.