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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has allocated staff resources or established a dedicated unit in his Department to deal with proposed amendments to the Hunting Act 2004.

Some departmental staff time has been used to look into the issues raised by Welsh farmers about lamb predation by foxes and the stalking and flushing out exemption of the Hunting Act 2004. This has not involved establishing a unit dedicated to this issue within the Department. Staff resources are allocated to look into issues as they arise on a flexible basis. The Government has no plans to bring forward legislation to make amendments to the Hunting Act 2004 this Parliament.