Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to review the eligibility criteria and application deadline for the Zoo Animals Fund.

The initial Zoos Support Fund was superseded by the £100 million Zoo Animals Fund which incorporated different eligibility criteria. To make this fund more accessible we expanded the eligibility criteria so that grant payments to zoos begin when zoos reach their final 12 weeks of finance, rather than six weeks. Zoos can also apply at any time (and can apply now), before reaching this 12 week point to help with their business planning. We have expanded the range of eligible costs so zoos can now claim costs relating to pre-planned essential maintenance and repair works as well as animal care costs. We have also recently announced an extension of the application deadline to 29 January 2021.