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 make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the Scottish Government's planned consultation on the use of (a) cages for game birds and laying hens and (b) farrowing crates for pigs.

The UK Government is committed to strengthening animal welfare standards and is currently examining the use of cages

Intergovernmental discussions between Defra and the devolved governments on these matters are ongoing at both ministerial and official level. While animal welfare is a devolved matter under the devolution settlements, the provisional Animal Health and Welfare Common Framework puts in place shared ways of working between Defra and the devolved governments to drive forward common approaches to animal health and welfare law and policy, where agreed by all administrations.

Should one or more administrations propose to pursue a divergent approach, Defra and the devolved governments would undertake an assessment of the impacts of any proposed divergence in line with arrangements set out in the Framework.