Written questions by Rosindell.

Food, and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to prevent heat-related deaths of farm animals in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

All farm animals are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation whether on-farm, during transport or at slaughter, with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 making it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide the welfare needs of the animal. It is the responsibility of livestock keepers and authorised transporters to have contingency plans in place to ensure their animals' welfare in extreme weather, including advice on checking on animals more regularly and ensuring all animals have easy access to water on a daily basis, and not transporting animals in temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius. We also publish advice on GOV.UK specifically for keepers: Keeping farm animals and horses in extreme weather Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) also closely monitors weather forecasts and issues guidance to all authorised transporters on key actions that can be taken when transporting animals to help mitigate the impact of extreme temperatures.

Food, and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to prevent cold-related deaths of household pets in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the Act), owners and keepers must protect their animals from harm and provide for their welfare needs in line with best practice. The Act is supported by Codes of Practice for Dogs and Cats. The Codes include guidance on providing a suitable environment for the animal, including information on protecting the animal from extreme temperatures and weather conditions. Local authorities and the police have powers to enforce the Act and can intervene where an animal is suspected to be suffering.

Food, and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to prevent heat-related deaths of household pets in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the Act), owners and keepers must protect their animals from harm and provide for their welfare needs in line with best practice. The Act is supported by Codes of Practice for Dogs and Cats. The Codes include guidance on providing a suitable environment for the animal, including information on protecting the animal from extreme temperatures and weather conditions. Local authorities and the police have powers to enforce the Act and can intervene where an animal is suspected to be suffering.

Food, and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce harms done by (a) foxes and (b) badgers to agricultural property.

It is lawful for farmers and landowners to manage foxes causing damage to property, so long as this is done in a lawful and humane way. Advice on protecting property from damage by foxes is included in this Natural England guidance note: Foxes, moles and mink: how to protect your property from damage - GOV.UK. Badgers are a protected species. There are options to legally manage damage problems but if these are unsuccessful and the damage is serious, farmers may apply for a licence to take action to address damage problems from Natural England. There is no charge for these licences.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of extended producer responsibility charges on the viability of brewers participation in the glass bottle market.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector. The Government has worked closely with industry, including the brewing sector, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR). Feedback from stakeholders was factored into finalising the regulations, including formally consulting stakeholders on a draft of the pEPR regulations in 2023.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to improve tree coverage in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

The Government is working towards the statutory target to reach 16.5% tree canopy and woodland cover in England by 2050. Defra is funding a significant package of grants and supporting activity across England to increase tree coverage. This includes funding a national network of fifteen Community Forests. These Forests are planting thousands of hectares of new trees and woodland in and around our towns and cities providing social, economic and environmental transformation. The Thames Chase Community Forest is part of this network with tree planting sites in Romford.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the sale of electronic training devices for dogs.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation and will bring forward plans in due course. Ministers will be considering available evidence around the use of hand-controlled e-collars and their effects on the welfare of animals.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will (a) provide local authorities with sufficient resources and (b) create a legal duty for local authorities to enforce requirements for all cats and dogs to be microchipped.

Under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, both cats and dogs are required to be microchipped. There are no current plans to publish best practice guidance on enforcing the requirement for all cats and dogs to be microchipped and we will continue to keep this under review. Local authorities and police have powers to enforce breaches of the Regulation. It will be for each local authority to determine on a case-by-case basis whether enforcement action is proportionate.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to publish best practice guidance for local authorities on enforcing the requirement for all cats and dogs to be microchipped.

Under the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, both cats and dogs are required to be microchipped. There are no current plans to publish best practice guidance on enforcing the requirement for all cats and dogs to be microchipped and we will continue to keep this under review. Local authorities and police have powers to enforce breaches of the Regulation. It will be for each local authority to determine on a case-by-case basis whether enforcement action is proportionate.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the hospitality sector on the potential impact of double counting and duplication of packaging waste fees under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority and will share more information soon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential impact of Extended Producer Responsibility on breweries and pubs in (a) the UK, (b) Europe and (c) internationally.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4th April 2025, UIN 42346.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department issues import permits for hunting trophies of cheetahs.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), an executive agency of Defra, is responsible for issuing import permits for hunting trophies. APHA only issue import permits when the strict criteria set out in the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations are satisfied, including that the import does not have a detrimental impact on the conservation status of a species. Data on permits issued for hunting trophies is publicly available on the CITES trade database - https://trade.cites.org/

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the double counting of packaging waste in pubs under the extended producer responsibility scheme.

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to grant local authorities the power to issue conditional fixed penalty notices for non-compliance with microchipping regulations for dogs and cats.

We will keep under review whether to grant local authorities the power to issue conditional fixed penalty notices for non-compliance with microchipping regulations for dogs and cats.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing local councils to facilitate glass recycling for hospitality businesses if they choose to cancel their commercial waste contracts.

Local authorities have a duty to arrange the collection of commercial waste when requested to by an occupier of a premise in its area. This may mean providing a service or entering into a contract with a private waste collector. There is no requirement for waste collection authorities to begin offering collection services to premises where they do not already have a service in place, unless a request is made by any such premises. All services arranged by the local authority to collect commercial waste must be compliant with Simpler Recycling from 31 March 2025, unless the micro-firm exemption applies (which allows workplaces with less than 10 full-time equivalent employees an additional 2 years to comply, until 31 March 2027). Simpler Recycling requires collection of glass, either as part of a dry mixed recycling service, or through a dedicated glass collection (depending on the preference of the local authority). It also requires the collection of the other core materials: plastic, metal, paper and card, and food waste.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the (a) cost and (b) complexity of the implementation of extended producer responsibility regulations in (i) the UK and (ii) other G7 economies.

There has been no formal assessment, but these matters were all considered in depth during the policy development and consultation process under the previous government.Illustrative base fee estimates for the UK are in the same order of magnitude of other countries’ fees. However, comparisons are not straightforward because of differences in waste infrastructure and waste management approaches.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to protect the ecosystems of mountain ranges.

Mountain ranges, and specifically the montane habitats they contain, can support a unique flora and fauna. They receive the same statutory protection as other nationally important sites in England. The Cumbria High Fells for example has 110 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that cover about 18 per cent or 35,852 hectares (ha) of the area. The majority of this SSSI area (31,286 ha) is also designated under the Habitats Regulations as ‘Special Areas of Conservation’ (SAC).

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with local authorities on access to affordable glass recycling services by pubs.

Local authorities have a duty to arrange the collection of commercial waste when requested to by an occupier of a premise in its area. This may mean providing a service or entering into a contract with a private waste collector. There is no requirement for waste collection authorities to begin offering collection services to premises where they do not already have a service in place, unless a request is made by any such premises. All services arranged by the local authority to collect commercial waste must be compliant with Simpler Recycling from 31 March 2025, unless the micro-firm exemption applies (which allows workplaces with less than 10 full-time equivalent employees an additional 2 years to comply, until 31 March 2027). Simpler Recycling requires collection of glass, either as part of a dry mixed recycling service, or through a dedicated glass collection (depending on the preference of the local authority). It also requires the collection of the other core materials: plastic, metal, paper and card, and food waste.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the current Extended Producer Responsibility framework.

The previous Government consulted on the principles, objectives, and proposals for extended producer responsibility in 2019 and 2021, and these received high levels of support. We continue to work closely with the devolved governments, environmental regulators, and industry to review the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging with a view to introducing amendments to the scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with industry stakeholders on the exemption of on-trade packaging from Extended Producer Responsibility fees.

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging.Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority.