Written questions by Fox.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is considering (a) transitional measures, (b) grace periods and (c) temporary arrangements to prevent compliant owners of dogs registered on the Index of Exempted Dogs from breaching the law due to a lack of available insurance.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of compliant third‑party insurance becoming unavailable while remaining a mandatory condition of exemption on owners of dogs registered on the Index of Exempted Dogs.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that statutory obligations imposed on exempt dog owners remain reasonably capable of being complied with.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Dogs Trust Companion Club third‑party insurance scheme for exempt dogs ceasing on 30 June 2026 on owners’ abilities to comply with the exemption conditions under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that compliant third‑party liability insurance remains reasonably available to owners of dogs registered on the Index of Exempted Dogs after June 2026.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has held discussions with (a) insurance providers and (b) other relevant organisations on the provision of replacement or alternative third‑party insurance arrangements for exempt dog owners.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to (a) introduce, (b) support and (c) facilitate a replacement insurance scheme similar to the Dogs Trust Companion Club.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the inclusion of glass in the Welsh government's deposit return scheme on businesses in other parts of the UK.

The UK Government acknowledges the concerns raised by businesses in relation to differences in approach to Deposit Return Scheme across the UK. We will continue to engage with the Welsh Government on this matter as they finalise their policy positions and legislation. The Welsh Government will be responsible for developing an impact assessment of their scheme.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of the deposit return scheme that will be used in (a) Wales and (b) the rest of the UK on the (i) economy and (ii) environment.

The Government published a Final Impact Assessment for the deposit return scheme (DRS) in England and Northern Ireland alongside the regulations in January 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of operating different deposit return scheme frameworks in different parts of the UK on costs for (a) producers and (b) retailers.

A new organisation called UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO) will run the scheme. It’s a not-for-profit group, led by businesses. They were officially appointed in May 2025 (England & NI) and June 2025 (Scotland).The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland have been designed with interoperability in mind to ensure the schemes look and feel like one scheme in all three nations.I and my officials remain in close working partnership with the Welsh Government as they develop further detail of their scheme, and it is reassuring that they have decided to align their scheme launch date with DRS in the rest of the UK.Government will continue to work closely across the sector, and now with UK DMO, to ensure the smooth implementation of the DRS for businesses and consumers. We will also maintain regular engagement with retailers, producers and interested groups to monitor implementation progress.Each nation has or will set out the costs of their schemes in their respective impact assessments. The full impact assessment for England and Northern Ireland was published when the regulations came into force in January of this year and can be found here.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department taking to ensure that the Deposit Management Organisation can operate effectively in the context of the Welsh government’s decision to proceed with a scheme that includes glass.

The regulations allow the Deposit Management Organisation(s) for England and Northern Ireland to work in an interoperable way with any other deposit return schemes. We previously published agreed interoperability requirements which would ensure that schemes can operate as one, including commitments to single registration and reporting, processes for reciprocal takeback of material, single logos and the same deposit level. These requirements currently apply for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Officials are working closely with the Welsh Government as they develop their regulations to ensure interoperability between the schemes where possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Welsh government on the interoperability of its deposit return scheme with the schemes in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland.

I and my officials remain in close working partnership with the Welsh Government as they develop further details of their scheme, with particular consideration of interoperability with DRS in the rest of the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of staff in his Department have flexible working arrangements; and how many of those work compressed hours.

Based on the information recorded centrally about working patterns, Defra can report that 13.5% of employees work compressed hours. Additionally, working from home is a form of flexible working and almost all roles in Defra include some flexibility to work from home for up to 40% of their hours, in line with wider Civil Service policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of staff in his Department did not meet the minimum office attendance target in the latest period for which data is available; and what sanctions his Department issues to staff who do not meet this target.

On 24 October 2024 the Cabinet Office announced that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time. Occupancy rates in our London HQ are given in the published Civil Service Headquarters occupancy data.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether there are any requirements for civil servants to book a desk in advance in order to attend the office in person in each of (a) their Department's office workplaces and (b) the arm’s length bodies of their Department.

There is an online booking tool for Core Defra and arm’s length bodies’ staff to use to book workspaces in advance at some office locations (including desks, meeting rooms, and collaboration spaces). It is not a requirement to have the online booking tool in place at all office locations.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2024 to Question 13354 on Dangerous Dogs, if he will take steps to set out a more detailed timeline on when he plans to publish guidance on withdrawing a Certificate of Exemption for XL Bully dogs.

Defra is currently working to develop a withdrawal scheme and will provide more information about this process soon.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of neonicotinoids in spot pet treatments on natural habitats.

Parasiticides play an important role in the protecting of animal health from fleas, ticks, and vector-borne diseases, and in protecting human health from zoonotic transfer of disease. Therefore, their regulation requires a careful balance between effective parasite control for animal health and welfare and human health whilst minimising potential risks to the environment. To address environmental safety, every veterinary pharmaceutical undergoes an environmental exposure assessment, with products for companion animals usually ending in a phase 1 assessment. If exposure is deemed high, a more detailed Phase II risk assessment is conducted, evaluating potential environmental impact based on expected exposure and toxicity. The findings from these assessments are considered as part of the final benefit/risk assessment during the approval process. There are also warnings that accompany products advising on use and to mitigate against dogs entering water courses directly after treatment. Environmental assessments are conducted in accordance with international guidelines and data standards. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is conducting a number of research activities to provide further evidence on environmental impacts and causes. Furthermore, the VMD supports a review of the international environmental risk assessment guidelines for companion animal parasiticides, which has been proposed and is currently under consideration by the body for International Cooperation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VICH).

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of neonicotinoids in spot pet treatments on the environment.

Parasiticides play an important role in the protecting of animal health from fleas, ticks, and vector-borne diseases, and in protecting human health from zoonotic transfer of disease. Therefore, their regulation requires a careful balance between effective parasite control for animal health and welfare and human health whilst minimising potential risks to the environment. To address environmental safety, every veterinary pharmaceutical undergoes an environmental exposure assessment, with products for companion animals usually ending in a phase 1 assessment. If exposure is deemed high, a more detailed Phase II risk assessment is conducted, evaluating potential environmental impact based on expected exposure and toxicity. The findings from these assessments are considered as part of the final benefit/risk assessment during the approval process. There are also warnings that accompany products advising on use and to mitigate against dogs entering water courses directly after treatment. Environmental assessments are conducted in accordance with international guidelines and data standards. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is conducting a number of research activities to provide further evidence on environmental impacts and causes. Furthermore, the VMD supports a review of the international environmental risk assessment guidelines for companion animal parasiticides, which has been proposed and is currently under consideration by the body for International Cooperation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VICH).

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to update data held on farms by (a) constituency and (b) local authority.

Defra does not routinely publish farming statistics by parliamentary constituency. The latest available data on the number of farms by constituency are for 2021, but there are currently no plans to update these. Farming statistics by local authority are usually published every 5 years and are next due to be updated in March 2025 with 2024 data. The dataset will be published here Structure of the agricultural industry in England and the UK at June - GOV.UK

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 9617 on DEFRA: Buildings, how many civil servants are assigned to work in his Department's headquarters in London; and how many individual desks are available in that office.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 November to Question 9616.