Written questions by Thomas.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that cats are appropriately considered within the Government’s animal welfare agenda.

The Animal Welfare Strategy was published on 22 December 2025 and sets out our priorities for animal welfare for England. It is a comprehensive set of reforms which will improve the lives of millions of animals.In the Strategy the Government has committed to take steps to improve the uptake of the pet selling licence by those who sell cats and kittens as pets. The Government will also improve our understanding of the size, scale and current management practices related to cat breeding, drawing on expertise from the sector, and consider any further steps which may improve welfare practices in the cat breeding sector. Cats will benefit from broader measures outlined in the Strategy including tackling low welfare imports and implementing the measures contained in the Renters’ Rights Act to make it easier for tenants to keep pets in rented accommodation.

Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason does the Animal Welfare Strategy for England not include measures to reduce the impact of fireworks on pets.

The Animal Welfare Strategy sets out the UK Government’s priorities for England and is a comprehensive set of reforms which will improve the lives of millions of animals. The Government continues to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks, including on animal welfare.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.

Defra does not offer a credit unions payroll deduction process to staff. Defra does operate a comprehensive employee benefit offering with access to retail discounts, savings, Cycle to Work schemes, dental and health wellbeing programmes, and has recently launched additional Financial Wellbeing products, accessible through payroll savings, the Government “Help to Save” scheme and access to more affordable borrowing solutions through our benefit partners.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on (a) the management of foot and mouth disease and (b) recent restrictions on (i) meat and (ii) dairy imports.

Defra and the European Commission regularly exchange information in relation to (a) the management of foot and mouth disease outbreaks in the European Union in 2025 and (b) the import restrictions on meat and dairy products that we put in place to protect UK farmers. This information includes details of surveillance, testing, movements of animals and goods, and other outbreak controls.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she made of the potential impact of agricultural cooperatives on the rural economy.

The Government strongly supports the benefits co-operatives can bring and recognises the important role they play in rural communities. For instance, through collaborating farmers and growers can benefit from peer to peer learning, being able to share equipment and being able to act at scale.