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 convene an expert group of industry representatives, animal welfare organisations and other stakeholders to advise on developing a method of production labelling scheme.

As set out in the Government’s animal welfare strategy, the department is committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, Defra will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare. The Government will set out next steps in due course.