Written questions by Norris.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the RSPCA on animal cruelty at RSPCA-approved abattoirs.

The Department engages regularly with the RSPCA on a range of animal welfare topics.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions there have been for slaughterhouses in England not having CCTV in the last five years.

All approved slaughterhouses in England must have CCTV systems installed as required by the Mandatory Use of Closed-Circuit Television in Slaughterhouses (England) Regulations 2018. There have been no prosecutions for slaughterhouses in England for not having CCTV in the last five years. Where non-compliances with the legislation are identified the Food Standards Agency will apply their enforcement hierarchy, from verbal and written warnings to enforcement notices and referral to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for publishing a response to the Fairer Food Labelling consultation, which closed in May 2024.

A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken between March and May 2024 by the previous Government. This sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling. The consultation also sought views ...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the outcomes of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16); and what steps he is taking to help achieve those outcomes.

The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) was the first opportunity for Parties to take stock of the progress made in implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted at COP15. 27 important decisions were taken at COP16, including relating t...

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the import of (a) beef, (b) lamb and (c) mutton through the free trade agreement between the UK and Australia on UK farmer

This Government's commitment to farmers and the vital role they play, remains steadfast. We will never forget that farmers are the beating heart of our great country. It is their hard work that puts food on our tables and stewards our beautiful countrysid...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help mitigate the risk from Asian hornets to bees.

Contingency action has been taken against the Yellow-Legged Hornet (YLH) since the first GB incursion in 2016. Contingency action is delivered on the ground by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU). The NBU have located and destroye...

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with national park authorities where trail hunting takes place.

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only. The Government committed to enacting a ban on T...

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved administrations on a timetable for introducing activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

Animal welfare is a devolved matter and we continue to work closely with the devolved administrations on animal welfare policies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the continued use of neonicotinoid pesticides on bee populations.

This government recognises that nature is at a crisis point across Britain. We will therefore change existing policies to prevent the use of those neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten our vital pollinators.