Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of stray dogs being euthanised in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Department does not collect data on the euthanasia of stray dogs.
The obligations for dealing with stray dogs are laid down in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and the responsibility for implementing these obligations lies with each local authority.
Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of references to Year 1 Foundation Doctors in the impact assessment of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, whether new graduates will be expected to be involved in the assisted dying process.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill continues to be a matter for Parliament. The Government is neutral on the substantive policy questions relevant to how the law in this area could change, and on the principle of assisted dying.
The impact assessment considered different scenarios for illustrative purposes only, and does not indicate a Government position. If the bill progresses, detailed work on a delivery model would need to be developed.
As part of this work, the Government would consult with relevant stakeholders before bringing forward affirmative regulations on the training requirements for assessing doctors.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings he has had on (a) assisted dying and (b) palliative care since his appointment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department ministers have attended 16 meetings on assisted dying and palliative care since July 2024.
These were a combination of introductory meetings to the policy area, meetings with the bill team and bill meetings with officials and the sponsor.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have started preparing a shadow body of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Commissioner.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
The Government has not started preparing a shadow body of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Commissioner. This is a provision of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, on which the Government remains neutral and which is still under consideration by Parliament.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unused animals originally acquired for scientific procedures were euthanized in 2023 due to (a) a surplus to requirement and (b) any other reason.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2023 was published on the 11 September 2024. The statistics provide full details on the number of licensed procedures carried out, the species of animals and the purposes for which the procedures have been undertaken.
The 2023 Annual Statistics show that 2.68 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain in 2023; this is a decrease of 3% on last year and the lowest number since 2001.
In 2017, the Home Office published additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping. That data is available at: Additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures, Great Britain, 2017. The additional statistics are not presently routinely collected. Future publication of this data is under review.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the euthanasia of healthy animals without their owners' prior consent.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) provides guidance on obtaining consent before euthanasia. The person presenting the animal is required to sign a consent form attesting to the fact they are the owner or are authorised by the owner.
Defra has worked closely with the veterinary profession to provide greater assurance that alternatives to euthanasia are explored before a healthy dog or cat is put down. Following these discussions, the RVCS agreed to incorporate the principle of microchip scanning before euthanasia into the guidance that underpins their Code of Professional Conduct.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29868 on Euthanasia: Scotland, whether any staff employed in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel provided (a) advice and (b) other assistance on the drafting of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is a Scottish Member's Bill. Therefore, there has been no involvement from the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel who is responsible for drafting UK government Bills.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of greyhounds that have been killed at racetracks since 2023.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has published data for injuries, retirements and euthanasia of greyhounds from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers each year since 2018. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/injury-and-retirement-data/(opens in a new tab).
The long-term trend for the total number of greyhounds that have died at racetracks has shown, with the exception of figures for 2023, a welcome decline. Defra will continue to monitor figures published by GBGB in the coming years to see whether any new trends are identifiable.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what involvement the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel had in drafting the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill from both 2023 and 2024 are Scottish bills. Therefore, there has been no involvement from the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel draft Government legislation for Westminster.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there will be no cuts to the other parts of the health budget to pay for assisted dying if it is legalised in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As per long-standing convention, the Prime Minister has set aside collective responsibility on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Care) Bill, so the Government will remain neutral on the passage of the bill. As with all bills, there are multiple stages for it to go through before it can become law, and this continues to be a matter for Parliament.
If the will of Parliament is that the law on assisting dying should change, the Government would work to ensure that the law is implemented in the way that Parliament intends and that is legally effective.
Autumn Budget 2024 set budgets for this year and the next financial year. Funding for future years and future decisions across the health budget will be decided through the normal spending review process.