Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29188 on Agriculture and Business: Inheritance Tax, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing her Department's data collection methods to enable the collection of data on the number of estates containing woodlands impacted in the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC guidance sets out that woodland is only agricultural property, and therefore qualifies for agricultural property relief, if it is occupied with, and that occupation is ancillary to, agricultural land or pasture. It will include woodland shelter belts, game coverts, fox coverts, coppices grown for fencing materials and clumps of amenity trees or spinneys. Woodlands occupied for purposes that are not agricultural, such as amenity woodland or woodland used for the production of commercial timber, are not agricultural property. However, they may be eligible for woodlands relief or business property relief.
Executors must include the value of any timber and woodland owned by the deceased that is not part of a farm in box 69 of the IHT400 form, alongside the value of the deceased’s other interests in any business or partnership (which may or may not be related to woodlands). Some farms may also include coppices, small woods and belts of trees that shelter the land, and the value of these should be included in the value of any farm, farmhouses and farmland owned by the deceased in box 68 of the IHT400 form.
However, as stated in our answer to UIN 29188, while estates include supporting documentation about the type of assets on which they claim agricultural and business property reliefs when submitting their claims, only the value of eligible assets is digitally captured in a format available for further analysis. It is also combined with the value of other assets in the boxes mentioned above, and these may or may not be related to woodlands. As such, any further level of detail is not readily available from historic claims to estimate how many future estates might contain woodland. It would be disproportionately costly for HMRC to manually review historic claims to digitally capture this information.
As detailed in my recent letter to the Chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, Inheritance Tax is currently operated by HMRC using a predominantly paper-based system. As part of my work to modernise HMRC, we plan to move to a digital system.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on compensation, disinfection of premises and other costs associated with avian flu outbreaks at poultry and game farms, in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Figures include (i) compensation claims related to the avian influenza compensation scheme; and (ii) operational costs, which includes culling, disposal, and cleaning and disinfection at infected premises.
2023/24 Total costs of £13.1 million, made up of £2.9 million compensation claims and £10.2million of operational costs
2022/23 Total costs of £84.5 million, made up of £38.3 million compensation claims and £46.2 million of operational costs
2021/22 Total costs of £24.8 million, made up of £6.5 million compensation claims and £18.3 million of operational costs
2020/21 Total costs of £4.5 million, made up of £1.5 million compensation claims and £3.0 million of operational costs
2019/20 Total costs of £0.1 million, made up of £0.1 million in operational costs, there were no compensation claims.
Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of existing measures in place to both respond to, and reduce the risk of, outbreaks of avian flu at poultry and game farms.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s approach to avian influenza is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.
All avian influenza disease control and prevention measures are kept under regular review as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza, and all decisions regarding these measures are based on risk assessments containing the latest scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to support the conservation of the barn owl population in (a) general and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Environmental land management schemes include financial incentives for actions that are beneficial for barn owls, for example, the provision of nesting boxes. Through the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, the Government granted £123,700 to the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Owl Box Initiative. The project was set up to help support barn owls by providing nest boxes for them on farms and researching barn owls’ farmland habitat use across the southwest of England.
Furthermore, from July this year, restrictions on the open use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides will be brought into force to avoid negative impacts on non-target species such as barn owls.
We have no records of any actions for this species specific to the Romford area.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential shortage of birds for commercial hunting given the avian flu pandemic and restrictions on bird movement.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The United Kingdom is currently experiencing its biggest ever outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) in poultry and captive birds. Defra’s approach aims to reduce adverse impacts on the rural and wider economy, the public, rural communities and the environment (including impact on wildlife), whilst protecting public health and minimising the overall cost of any outbreak.
During AI outbreaks the release of game birds in the UK is tightly restricted. Due to the global nature of AI, countries such as France which supply the UK with gamebird hatching eggs have also been affected by AI.
Biosecurity at our borders is also paramount in protecting our game farming and shooting sectors. The restrictions put in place on imports, limiting the number of gamebirds that can enter the country, ultimately exist to prevent further outbreaks in poultry farms and gamebird premises.
We recognise that any sustained interruption to normal supplies of gamebirds due to AI outbreaks is likely to impact those business that make available gamebirds for commercial hunting in the UK.
We continue to monitor the current situation both in Europe and globally, as well as the effectiveness of any disease control measures taken. Any future decisions on disease control measures will be based upon the latest scientific, ornithological, and veterinary advice.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps has he taken to improve the (a) health and (b) welfare of farmed animals.
Answered by Steve Double
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Government shares the public’s high regard for animal health and welfare, having committed to working with producers and the food sector to raise standards across the board. We are delivering a series of ambitious reforms that will continue our collective drive to improve standards in farm animal health and welfare through, for example, delivery of the Action Plan for Animal Welfare.
As part of our plans for future farming, this autumn will see the launch of Annual Health and Welfare Review, the first step on the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, which will fund vet visits to undertake a health and welfare review for farms across England. In 2023 we will introduce Animal Health and Welfare Grants, followed by Endemic Disease Eradication and Control Programmes and a Payment-by-Results trial. Beyond this financial assistance, the Pathway also aims to stimulate market demand for higher welfare products by increasing transparency and strengthening the regulatory baseline.
We also remain committed to delivering the Government’s bovine TB (bTB) eradication strategy. Developing a deployable cattle bTB vaccine with the objective of introduction by 2025 is one of the Government’s top priorities. A deployable cattle bTB vaccine is expected to be a game-changer in terms of providing a strong additional tool to help eradicate bTB. Field trials began in 2021.
We have a strong track record in raising the bar for welfare standards — the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 now provides legal recognition that animals are sentient beings and introduced an Animal Sentience Committee as a new scrutiny mechanism requiring Ministers to explain how policy decisions have taken into account their impact on animals.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the use of cages in the breeding of game birds; how many animal welfare inspections of game bird farms in England and Wales were undertaken in 2021; how many of those visits resulted in action being taken against the person responsible for a welfare breach; and whether follow up inspections were carried out in those circumstances.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Government shares the public's high regard for animal welfare. We are delivering a series of ambitious reforms, as outlined in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. We are actively exploring options for improving the welfare of farmed animals and are considering the case for introducing further reforms, in areas such as the use of cages for gamebirds.
We need to gather evidence on the welfare of gamebirds and the use of cages in the sector to inform future policy development. The expectation is that we will be calling for evidence later this year.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carry out targeted inspections on gamebird breeding and rearing units in response to intelligence received. Intelligence led monitoring and offering advice on compliance are key components of all APHA inspections. Where welfare regulations are breached, appropriate action is always taken.
According to APHA records, 10 inspections took place in England and Wales in 2021. One inspection in England resulted in non-compliances being identified and a follow up inspection was carried out to ensure corrective action had been taken.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
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 ban cages for breeding (a) partridges, (b) pheasants and (c) other game birds.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
We are committed to maintaining our position as world leaders in farm animal welfare and want to improve and build upon that record, working in partnership with farmers to support healthier, higher welfare animals. As referenced in the recently published Action Plan for Animal Welfare we are actively exploring options for strengthening the UK system moving forward and are examining the evidence around the use of cages in farming, including their use for breeding and rearing of gamebirds.
The welfare of gamebirds is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal. The Statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes offers additional protection and provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their gamebirds as required by the 2006 Act. It recommends that barren cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used and that any system should be appropriately enriched.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carry out targeted inspections on gamebird farms. Appropriate action is taken against anyone who breaks the law.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that game farms are compliant with the keeping gamebirds Codes of Practice.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
We are committed to maintaining our position as world leaders in farm animal welfare and want to improve and build upon that record, working in partnership with farmers to support healthier, higher welfare animals. As referenced in the recently published Action Plan for Animal Welfare we are actively exploring options for strengthening the UK system moving forward and are examining the evidence around the use of cages in farming, including their use for breeding pheasants and partridges.
The welfare of gamebirds is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal. The Statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes offers additional protection and provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their gamebirds as required by the 2006 Act. It recommends that barren cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used and that any system should be appropriately enriched.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carry out targeted inspections on gamebird farms. Advice on compliance with the gamebird code and welfare legislation is a key component of all APHA inspections. Appropriate action is taken against anyone who breaks the law.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the use of cages in the breeding of game birds; how many animal welfare inspections of game bird farms in England and Wales were undertaken in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020; how many of those visits resulted in action being taken against the person responsible for a welfare breach; and whether follow up inspections were carried out in those circumstances.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
We are committed to improving our already high standards of animal welfare and are examining the evidence around the use of cages in farming, including their use for breeding pheasants and partridges.
The welfare of gamebirds is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal. The Statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes offers additional protection and provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their gamebirds as required by the 2006 Act. It recommends that barren cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used and that any system should be appropriately enriched.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) carries out targeted inspections on gamebird farms. Advice on compliance is a key component of all APHA inspections.
APHA game bird inspections conducted and action taken:
| Inspections | District Holdings Inspected | Advisory Letter | Follow Up Visit |
2019 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
2020 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 4 |