Every parliamentary written question tabled by Damien Egan this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–7 of 7 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure the timelines set out in the animal welfare strategy are met.
The Animal Welfare Strategy sets out the priority issues that this Government will address, focusing on the changes and improvements that Defra aim to achieve by 2030. Policies will be delivered throughout this time. This Government will convene regular m...
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of public toilet facilities on the health and wellbeing of people with stomas.
The Government oversees policy and legislation with respect to the safe management of waste and litter as well as the protection of drains and sewers. This however does not extend to compelling or explicitly encouraging local authorities with regard to types of waste receptacles or their placement. These decisions are for local authorities to make.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has conducted a review of (a) the effectiveness of police enforcement of and (b) the level of compliance with the ban on live hunting under the Hunting Act 2004.
Defra has not undertaken such reviews. The enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police. It is for individual Chief Constables to determine how their resources are deployed and it is for locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners to hold their forces to account.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating the use of alternatives to snares for animal control practices.
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra has not made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the use of any particular alternatives to snares for animal control practices. This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation and this included a commitment to bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. Defra is considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) protect and (b) maintain water supply infrastructure from hostile actors.
Defra is the Lead Government Department (LGD) in England with responsibility for the Water Sector, including as a Critical National Infrastructure sector. The equivalent bodies in the Devolved Governments are responsible for water, including Critical National Infrastructure in their respective nations. Defra’s work to deter, detect and counter threats from hostile actors includes developing, maintaining and implementing legislation, including the Security and Emergency Measures Direction (SEMD) 2022 and the Network Information Systems (NIS) regulations (2018) (UK). The SEMD sets out legal responsibilities for the Water Sector in England on matters such as security and emergency planning. Defra also works with other government departments and water companies to understand risks from hostile actors and develop mitigations. Water companies are Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and as such have legal duties to assess, plan and advise on risks. They work with partner organisations through Local Resilience Forums to prepare, respond and recover from emergencies.
Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans are in place to ensure the continuity of food supply chains in the event of a natural disaster or armed conflict.
Defra assesses the potential impacts of natural disasters and conflicts along with other risks to the food supply chain, as outlined in the National Risk Register (NRR). Defra works with Cabinet Office, as leads for the NRR, and the wider resilience and Critical National Infrastructure community across the Government to ensure impacts to food supply are considered in risk assessments and contingency planning.
Food and Rural Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to secure an (a) ambitious and (b) legally binding target to cut plastic production at the UN Global Plastics Treaty.
As a member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution and a signatory to the Bridge to Busan Declaration, the UK is pushing for an ambitious treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics, including reducing production and consumption ...