Written questions by Campbell.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) dogs and (b) cats were imported under commercial rules under the Ballai Directive in each month of 2024; and from which country.

In 2024, a total of 32391 dogs and 6226 cats were imported commercially under the Balai directive. The attached two tables show all commercial imports of dogs and cats by country of origin and month of import. The EU data may include animals that have originated from a non-EU country but have travelled through an EU Border Control Post (BCP). The database records the EU BCP Country as the Country of Origin for these imports. The Rest of the World data does not include animals that have arrived through an EU BCP. This information is drawn from external systems not directly controlled by the department and is a true reflection of the information that APHA has access to.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) dogs and (b) cats were imported non commercially under the PETS Directive in each month of 2024.

In 2024, a total of 335451 dogs and 32804 cats were imported non-commercially through the PETS Directive. The table below shows the number of dogs and cats imported each month in 2024: 2024CatsDogsTotal number of animalsJanuary32073035833565February18601575717617March23572687929236April27003021532915May20292153623565June30152613629151July26923314535837August38285062354451September20941542617520October31542916932323November23741854620920December34943766141155Total32804335451368255 The data provided is a summary of animals entering Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme via an approved route. It does not include pet animals that enter other parts of the UK (such as Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands) or pet animals that enter Great Britain from other parts of the UK. It does not include any animals that enter Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme from the Republic of Ireland as these movements do not need to follow an approved route. Data on the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by pet checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals and cannot be separated into EU and Rest of the World. This data can be subject to change due to when the carriers provide the data.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of establishing a dedicated body, similar to the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), to (a) oversee and (b) accelerate the (i) validation and (ii) acceptance of non-animal methods for (A) regulatory and (B) scientific use.

The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational and regulatory research and testing later this year. As part of this, we continually monitor international developments and bodies such as ECVAM and are in discussion with our overseas colleagues as to how we can work together on this matter.

What information her Department holds on trends in the number of animal tests that are taking place for regulatory purposes where a suitable non-animal alternative is already available; and if she will make an assessment of the reasons for those trends.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) ensures that all animal testing, including for regulatory purposes, is only carried out where no non-animal alternative can be used. Licence applicants are required to robustly evidence their consideration of why alternative methods cannot be used. The Home Office Regulator reviews all licence applications and will only issue a licence once it is satisfied there are no practicable alternative methods available. Therefore, if a non-animal alternative is available for the scientific outcome sought then the Home Office will not authorise that testing to take place.

Innovation and Technology, on what date was the last review of guidance to companies on the use of non-animal methods to meet specific data requirements across all sectors; and whether he plans to update that guidance.

There are a range of internationally accepted guidelines which ensure the safety assessment of new chemicals and medicines before they are licenced for use. OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals assess the potential effects of chemicals on human health and the environment, and similarly ICH guidelines assure the complete and thorough assessment of the potential quality, safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals. Guidelines are reviewed periodically by regulators and industry stakeholders as the science supporting the guidelines evolves. This will include how and when non-animal alternatives are acceptable and can be included to meet the aims of these guidelines.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that there is representation of independent (a) environmental experts and (b) clinicians on the Food Strategy Advisory Board.

We are forming a partnership between government and stakeholders from across the food system as we develop the food strategy. This partnership includes academics, charities, key thinkers, civil society organisations and consumer groups as well as industry representatives. Health experts and civil society are represented in the membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board announced in March, including Professor Chris Whitty as Chief Medical Officer for England at the Department for Health and Social Care, Professor Susan Jebb as Professor of Diet and Population Health at Oxford University, Anna Taylor of the Food Foundation and Ravi Gurumurthy of NESTA. We will conduct a series of of targeted stakeholder engagements that will include civil society organisations, environmental non-Government organisations, and citizen groups alongside the farming and the food industry

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that independent (a) environment experts, (b) health experts and (c) civil society groups are fully involved in the development of the National Food Strategy.

We are forming a partnership between government and stakeholders from across the food system as we develop the food strategy. This partnership includes academics, charities, key thinkers, civil society organisations and consumer groups as well as industry representatives. Health experts and civil society are represented in the membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board announced in March, including Professor Chris Whitty as Chief Medical Officer for England at the Department for Health and Social Care, Professor Susan Jebb as Professor of Diet and Population Health at Oxford University, Anna Taylor of the Food Foundation and Ravi Gurumurthy of NESTA. We will conduct a series of of targeted stakeholder engagements that will include civil society organisations, environmental non-Government organisations, and citizen groups alongside the farming and the food industry

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to provide safe accommodation for victims of domestic abuse.

Local authorities in England must ensure that support is available in safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims who need it. My Department has allocated £160 million for 2025-26, a £30 million uplift from the previous year. That funding is for local authorities to commission lifesaving support for victims in safe accommodation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle gender-based violence in Sudan.

The UK remains committed to tackling gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan. On 23-25 January, the Foreign Secretary visited the Sudan-Chad border to raise awareness of the conflict in Sudan and its impact on neighbouring countries, speaking directly to Sudanese refugees, including survivors, who shared harrowing stories of sexual violence and torture. The UK has galvanised international efforts on this issue, including through the UN Human Rights Council, Security Council and International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. On 13 March, the Minister for Africa chaired a UN Security Council (UNSC) Briefing on CRSV in Sudan, highlighting the worsening trends and emphasising the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities. This event followed his Sudan Roundtable with the Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan in Geneva on 25 February for permanent representatives which aimed to raise awareness of the critical human rights situation. The UK also co-led a Resolution at the UNSC with Sierra Leone on the protection of civilians which called on parties to take urgent steps to prevent CRSV and to improve protection and access to services. Despite unanimous support from the Council, the Resolution failed to pass due to a Russian veto.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to (a) phase out the use of cages for farmed animals and (b) introduce animal welfare labelling.

We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully. 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. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.

With reference to the accredited official statistics entitled Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023, published on 11 September 2024, for what purposes were procedures carried out on horses; and whether her Department is taking steps to reduce the use of horses in experiments for (a) the routine production of antibodies and (b) other areas.

The Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain 2023 provides details on the purposes of procedures using horses in scientific research.The published statistics show that no horses were used for the routine production of antibodies. The majority of horses are used for the taking of blood that is subsequently used in blood-based products as a supplement in cell culture media.

What discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers in winter 2024-25.

I was pleased to announce alongside energy suppliers a package of support that will ensure the most vulnerable are protected this winter. This £500m industry package, containing debt relief alongside other measures, and taken with the Warm Home Discount, ...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that veterinary agreement concluded with the European Union reflects existing animal welfare protections.

This Government is committed to resetting relations between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). As part of this, the Government is seeking to negotiate a veterinary/ sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement to boost trade and deliver be...

What fiscal steps she is taking to reform the pensions system.

The Pensions Investment Review, which I am leading, aims to drive the scale and consolidation of Defined Contribution pension schemes and the Local Government Pension Scheme. Our reforms could unlock £80 billion of productive investment into new infrastru...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will support the Fur (Import and Sale) Bill.

Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The report that they produce will support our understanding of the fur indus...

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take legislative steps to help improve welfare standards for (a) layer hens and (b) broiler chickens.

All farm animals, are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation: the Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of the ...

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of child poverty in North Ayrshire and Arran constituency; and what steps she is taking to help reduce child poverty in that constituency.

Statistics on the number of Children living in absolute and relative poverty per constituency are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication and can be found in tabs “5_Relative_ParlC” and “6_Absolute_Pa...