Written questions by Beales.

Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to launch its consultation on phasing out carbon dioxide gas chambers as a method of pig slaughter; and what timeline it intends to set for completing this phase-out.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on the trail hunting consultation; and if he will an assessment of the potential merits of (a) reviewing current exemptions within the Hunting Act to prevent exploitation, (b) introducing stronger deterrents to illegal hunting, and (c) enhancing protections for (i) deer and (ii) other wildlife from being hunted with dogs.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England and Wales only. This government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans in a generation to improve animal welfare and that is exactly what we will do. As part of this, we are committed to banning trail hunting. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing. Further details will be set out on due course. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. Enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will set a timeline for publishing a consultation on the introduction of licensing regulations for animal sanctuaries and rehoming organisations.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department has initiated a series of meetings with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of an overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more detail of our plans in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the regulation of wastewater treatment processes to reduce the levels of (a) pharmaceuticals, (b) microplastics and (c) per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances entering the (i) environment and (ii) food chain.

The Environment Agency works with the water industry on the Chemicals Investigation Programme (CIP). This is funded through the water industry price review and considers chemicals in sewage effluent, including some pharmaceuticals and Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The fourth CIP has just started. Regulation does not currently cover microplastics from treated wastewater. 99% of microplastics are removed by sewage treatment processes. The EA and water industry are commencing six investigations under CIP considering generation of microplastics within wastewater treatment works through attrition of plastic equipment, emerging sewage treatment technologies and path of microplastics from biosolids applied to land to soils and groundwater. The EA sits on the Pharmaceuticals in the Environment Group. Pharmaceuticals are not required to undergo an environmental impact assessment, but a few have ecotoxicological thresholds that inform an assessment of potential risk. The EA Is currently investigating potential ecological risks of mixtures of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment. CIP4 is looking at PFAS from wastewater treatment works. CIP2 identified domestic sewage as a significant source of PFAS. On-going work includes identifying sources of or Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS), a type of PFAS, in catchments to inform approaches to permitting discharges, and to reduce/eliminate PFOS at source.