Written questions by Mayer.

What training her Department provides for prosecutors on links between domestic violence and animal abuse.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and ending the scourge of domestic abuse is a crucial aspect of this.Prosecutors in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) must have regard to the Government’s statutory guidance framework for controlling or coercive behaviour (the “Framework”). The Framework is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/controlling-or-coercive-behaviour-statutory-guidance-framework.CPS guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship explicitly refers to and expands on this Framework. When considering evidence of coercive or controlling behaviour, the guidance states that relevant behaviour can include “threatening to hurt or physically harming a family pet”. CPS guidance is available here: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/controlling-or-coercive-behaviour-intimate-or-family-relationship.CPS prosecutors can access a wide range of domestic abuse learning modules and instructor-led programmes, in which they are prompted to consult the CPS guidance above. Prosecutors also recently completed the roll out of a national course on domestic abuse, which all prosecutors who handle these cases were required to attend.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) scam and (b) nuisance calls.

The Department works closely with Ofcom, who are responsible for tackling silent and abandoned calls, and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who lead on enforcement of unsolicited direct marketing calls and ensuring companies adhere to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The new Data (Use and Access) Bill will empower the ICO to take action against companies sending nuisance communications.To address scam calls, the Department works closely with Ofcom, and the Home Office (who are responsible for fraud policy). From January, new Ofcom rules will require telecoms operators to block calls from abroad presenting with a UK number.

With reference to the data dashboard on UK gynaecology waits published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on 24 July 2024, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential reasons for differences in growth of waiting lists for (a) gynaecology and (b) other elective specialties.

It is unacceptable that patients are waiting too long to get the care they need, including the nearly 600,000 on gynaecology waiting lists.We are looking into this issue to understand what is driving demand for gynaecology and what steps we could take to return to the 18-week standard. Women’s health hubs play a key role in shifting care from hospitals to the community. There are a range of efforts underway to address challenges identified, including support to trusts where performance is of concern, ongoing efforts to transform outpatient pathways, and the use of surgical hubs which provide high volume low complexity surgery, including for gynaecology.Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. The Government will prioritise women’s health as we build a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future, modernising care so that it takes place efficiently and closer to home, prioritising patient experience, and ensuring that regardless of what treatment you are waiting for, you will be seen, diagnosed, and treated in a timely way.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a centralised database of licenced (a) breeders and (b) sellers of (i) dogs and (ii) other pets.

Interested parties can check whether a dog breeder or pet seller is licensed without separately referring to a database. Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, licensed dog breeders and pet sellers must display a copy of their licence at any premises where the activity is carried out and their licence number and name on any website used for the activity. The associated statutory guidance also recommends that local authorities publish a list of licenced businesses and their star ratings on their website.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish a consultation on the regulation of dog behaviour and training services.

Defra are working with police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to promote responsible dog ownership. As part of this work, we will continue to consider the role of education and training (for both dogs and their owners) in encouraging responsible dog ownership.

Whether her Department is taking steps to help improve the welfare of HGV drivers through improved lorry parking facilities.

My department recognises the need to ensure all hauliers have access to appropriate roadside facilities, including to attract and retain a more diverse workforce.That is why DfT and industry are jointly investing up to £43.5 million to upgrade truckstops across England. This is on top of up to £26 million joint investment by National Highways and industry in roadside facilities along the Strategic Road Network. This investment will improve working conditions for lorry drivers, supporting jobs, and getting us back on track for growth.The Department continues to engage with key stakeholders to encourage the development of more safe, secure, and high-quality lorry parking to improve driver welfare.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the carbon footprint of the private jets registered in the UK.

The government is committed to delivering greener transport and is currently considering its strategic approach to decarbonising aviation.DfT commissioned research in 2022 which estimated the carbon footprint of UK-registered General Aviation aircraft arriving and departing from UK aerodromes in 2019. General Aviation consists of all non-scheduled civil aviation activity, including recreational flying, business aviation and other aviation activities. By considering the typical maximum takeoff weight of aircraft used for business aviation, this research indicates that approximately 370 ktCO2e were emitted by business aviation aircraft in 2019, although this figure may also incorporate emissions from larger recreational aircraft, or those engaged in specialty air services.

Communities and Local Government, how many fines have been issued for violating tree preservation orders in each year since 2010.

Fines for violating tree preservation orders are issued locally through Magistrates Courts and the government does not hold information on fines issued. Anyone found guilty of violating a Tree Preservation Order is liable to a fine of up to £20,000.

Whether her Department plans to update the cycling and walking investment strategy.

The second statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2) sets out objectives to increase journeys in towns and cities that are cycled or walked. We will set out our plans beyond 2025 in due course.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent (a) e-bike, (b) e-scooter and (c) other micro-mobility vehicle trials in England.

My department is running trials of rental e-scooters to better understand the benefits of e-scooters and their wider impact on public space, to inform options for future regulations. In December 2022 we published a national evaluation of the e-scooter trials. This project represents one of the largest evaluations of e-scooters internationally in terms of the breadth of evidence collected, which includes data on 14.5 million rental e-scooter trips and 1.8 million responses from users on mode shift, journey purpose, and feelings of safety.My department is not currently running e-bike or other micromobility vehicle trials.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2024 to Question 728 on Working Conditions: Temperature, when her Department plans to bring forward proposals for consultation on workplace temperatures.

The government remains committed to modernising health and safety guidance, including addressing workplace temperatures. In ‘Next steps to Make Work Pay’ published on 10 October the government acknowledged that some reforms will take longer to undertake and implement. We have committed to bring forward this review in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on catchment-based water systems planning.

Since taking office, we have prioritised engagement with our stakeholders to reap the benefit of their expertise through information sharing. The Secretary of State and I have held one-to-one meetings and shared panels with several organisations involved in catchment-based approaches such as the Rivers Trust. Defra is supportive of the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) and officials regularly meet with local catchment partnerships and nationally through attendance at the CaBA National Support Group. Wednesday 23 October we announced that the UK and Welsh governments are launching an independent commission, led by a chair and supported by expert advisors, to recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system. One of the objectives of the commission will be to ensure there is a strategic spatial planning approach to the management of water across sectors of the economy, tackling pollution and managing pressures on the water environment and supply at a catchment, regional and national scale. This approach should recognise the cross-border challenges that water can present. The scope of the independent commission will include catchment approaches and Stakeholder engagement will be a key component of the review. The commission will consult experts in areas like the environment, public health, engineering, customers, investors and economics, reporting to the Secretary of State for Environment and Wales’ Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs by Q2 2025.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the relative merits of fixed fleet caps against dynamic fleet caps for micro mobility schemes in the UK.

The Government is still considering next steps for on-street micromobility rental and will use a wide range of evidence and consultation before making any final policy decisions.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory labelling on (a) furniture and (b) other products that have been tested on animals.

Animal testing of chemical substances is prohibited in all but a very limited number of circumstances where it is essential for the protection of human and animal health or environmental safety, as prescribed by the REACH Regulations. As a result, there are no plans to make it mandatory for labelling of furniture or other products to indicate whether animal testing has been undertaken in the manufacture of that product.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of bus fires.

In July 2023 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) published a significant review into bus fires and safety: Investigation into bus fires reported to DVSA from 2020 to 2022 - GOV.UK DVSA has worked with industry and the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and agreed an approach where all parties can work together in a collaborative forum. This will not only apply the recommendations from the review but create a forum that will allow a continual improvement process to be adopted. DVSA continues this positive engagement with industry, with the latest working group having taken place last week.

What steps he has taken to improve awareness of the hereditary risk of pancreatic cancer.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Colne Valley on 14 October 2024 to Question 7305.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the water industry provides funding for catchment-based solutions for natural flood management.

Defra recognises that nature and catchment-based solutions in the water sector have an important role to play. The strategic policy statement in 2022 set out the governments priorities for Ofwat. This set out that water companies should significantly increase their use of nature and catchment-based solutions to achieve multiple benefits for the environment and the public including natural flood management. We expect companies and regulators to work towards delivering these solutions as a matter of preference. The Working with Natural Processes (NFM) Evidence Directory, will be updated this year provides natural flood management information and case studies: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-with-natural-processes-to-reduce-flood-risk.The Environment Agency is producing new long-term investment scenarios to quantify the benefits of natural flood management for the next 50 to 100 years in England.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of households that are located on estate roads that have not been adopted by their local authority as of 17 October 2024.

We do not hold comprehensive information on the number of households that are located on estate roads that have not been adopted by their local authority.The impact assessment for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act estimated that 1,557,000 households lived on freehold estates. This is based upon data from the English Housing Survey (up to 2021 – 22) about the self-reported circumstances of households. This will include estates with a range of different charges not all of which will have unadopted roads. The impact assessment noted that this was likely to be an underestimate.It is likely that the number of households living on freehold estates has increased since this estimate was completed. The Competition and Markets Authority estimated that over 80% of properties built in 2021 – 22 by the largest 11 housebuilders, representing around two fifths of all new builds across England Scotland and Wales, were subject to estate management charges.The Government has published its response the Competition and Market’s Authority’s housebuilding study. This includes bringing forward a new consumer code for housebuilders and a New Homes Ombudsman service which will empower homeowners to rightly challenge developers for any quality issues they face in their home.As outlined in the King’s Speech, the government is committed to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end – we will consult on the best way to achieve this. As part of this work, the government will consult with homeowners, developers, local authorities, management companies and others, to gather evidence in support of this commitment. We will also implement new protections for homeowners on private estates in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the impact of drought conditions on (a) the economy and (b) food supplies in each year since 2010.

The UK agricultural sector is highly resilient and adaptable and operates in an open market with the value of commodities established by those in the supply chain. We have seen evidence of this particularly in recent years following global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. There are a wide range of factors that affect harvest size and livestock production, including input costs, currency fluctuations and market demand.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of rain conditions on (a) food supplies and (b) the economy in each year since 2010.

The UK agricultural sector is highly resilient and adaptable and operates in an open market with the value of commodities established by those in the supply chain. We have seen evidence of this particularly in recent years following global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. There are a wide range of factors that affect harvest size and livestock production, including input costs, currency fluctuations and market demand.