Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to commission a study into the potential impact of Halal meat on animal welfare.

Legislation requires that animals must be stunned prior to slaughter so that they are unconscious and insensible to pain. The only exception to the requirement to stun is where animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites. The Government would prefer animals to be stunned before slaughter but respects the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their beliefs. Legislation sets out the main requirements to protect the welfare of animals when being slaughtered and there are additional rules that apply when animals are slaughtered by either the Jewish or Muslim method to ensure that animals are spared avoidable pain, suffering, or distress during the slaughter process. Many animals that are slaughtered for halal meat are stunned before slaughter. The Government’s Farm Animal Welfare Committee published a report in 2003 which considered the welfare detriment involved in slaughter without prior stunning. The European Food Standard’s Authority also published advice on the topic in a 2004 report. The Department will continue to review any new scientific research and evidence which emerges.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department were hired via positive action schemes in the last financial year.

The core department complies with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, as regulated by the Civil Service Commission, to recruit using a fair and open process and appoint on merit. The Government and Civil Service is committed to a diverse workforce a...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent further damage following coastal erosion in Hemsby; and what his Department’s timetable is for reviewing the funding formula for flood de

I refer the Honourable Member to the answers to his previous questions; PQ 12005, tabled on 30 October 2024, and PQ 8968, tabled on 14 October 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department uses sewage to estimate population changes.

Defra does not routinely measure population changes and therefore does not use sewage monitoring for this purpose. Sewerage undertakers account for population changes in their business planning by using local Government growth plans and population data su...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the Summer Development Internship Programme 2025 is open to all applicants.

As a public body, the Environment Agency (EA) is committed to meeting the obligations set out in the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty. These require public bodies to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster goo...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will ensure (a) internships and (b) job opportunities in (i) his Department and (ii) its non-departmental public bodies are open to all applicants.

The core department complies with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles by ensuring that appointments to the Civil Service are made on the basis of merit following a fair and open competition. Defra’s Non-Departmental Public Bodies are accredited by Th...

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December to question 16316 on Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Energy if he will publish data on each Department's energy use, broken down by en

Defra publishes data on Government departments' overall and direct emissions within the Greening Government Commitments framework.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the use of Bovaer.

The Food Standards Agency has advised milk from cows given Bovaer, an authorised feed additive used to reduce methane emissions, is safe to drink. Bovaer has undergone a rigorous safety assessment and is approved for use in Great Britain.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many international (a) air miles and (b) flights have been completed by (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in their Department since 5 July 2024.

Data on Ministers’ overseas travel and on senior civil servants’ business expenses is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-hospitality-gifts-meetings-overseas-travel

Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms he has visited since 5 July 2024.

Since 5 July the Secretary of State has had frequent engagement with the sector, including; attending the Great Yorkshire Agriculture Show in July 24; visiting a farm and meeting with a group of local farmers in Essex in September 24; meeting with the Pre...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the protected status of seagulls.

The Government has no plans to change the legal protections for gull species. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee Seabird Census (2015-2021) and the 2024 Birds of Conservation Concern report indicate substantial population declines due to, for example...

Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department plan to attend the NFU farming rally on 19 November 2024.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spoke to farmers who attended the NFU farming rally on 19 November and has had frequent engagement with the farming sector, including with NFU President Tom Bradshaw the evening before the ral...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) limiting and (b) banning commercial trading of fishing licence quotas.

The Government is not planning any assessment on commercial trading of fishing licence quotas. Quota trading helps our fishing industry by allowing quota to flow to those who most need it. This helps maximise uptake and mitigate choke risks. It also provi...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) introduce a licence fee for access to UK (a) territorial and (b) exclusive economic zone waters to foreign vessels granted permission to catch fish and (b) use that fee

The licensing of UK vessels to fish in UK waters is a devolved matter. The licensing of foreign fishing vessels to access UK territorial waters and exclusive economic zone is reserved. Defra has no plans to introduce licence fees, although has powers to d...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will amend the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 in line with the Merchant Shipping Act 1988.

The Government is not planning to amend the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 in line with the repealed Merchant Shipping Act 1988.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) UK's initial demand for total allowable catch and (b) agreed outcome was for quotas for each species in its negotiations with the EU on fish quotas in each year since 2021

Due to the nature of the negotiations, it is not appropriate to publicly disclose negotiating documents detailing the UK’s opening positions. The Written Records detailing the outcome of the UK’s annual fisheries negotiations with the EU are published on ...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) provenance and (b) tax tests to prevent vessels with foreign owners from flying a UK flag of convenience when c

The Government is not considering the introduction of provenance and tax tests on owners of British fishing boats. These vessels are already required to provide genuine economic benefits to the UK through the economic link licence conditions.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to require that all fish caught in (a) UK territorial waters and (b) the UK exclusive economic zone are

The Government is not considering the introduction of legislation that would require all fish caught within UK waters to be landed and processed in the UK. British fishing boats currently have the flexibility to land their fish into ports and markets whic...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the expiration of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement provisions on fishing on 30 June 2026.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides reciprocal access for UK and EU vessels during the fisheries adjustment period. The adjustment period ends in June 2026 after which access becomes a matter for annual negotiation as is typical between coa...

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning all foreign supertrawlers from UK waters.

If foreign vessels were prohibited from fishing in UK waters without clear evidence of their negative impacts, we could expect reciprocal action to be taken against UK vessels. For actions relating to the EU, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement sets out v...