Every parliamentary written question tabled by Vikki Slade this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 47 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to (a) provide guidance to veterinary practices on the pricing of Animal Health Certificates and (b) introduce regulations on the price levels for Animal Health Certificates set by veterinary practices.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to negotiate a longer-term pet passport arrangement with the European Union.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for farmed animal mortality data to be published on publicly accessible platforms.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to implement a ban on the emergency use of neonicotinoids as a matter of urgency.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on how many badgers were killed from (a) badger baiting and (b) badger culling in the South West as a proportion of the total number of badgers killed from those practices in England in each of the last five years.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to tackle (a) badger baiting and (b) badger culling in the South West.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of raising the maximum prison sentence for badger baiting under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 to
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to negotiate for alignment of deforestation regulations between the UK and the EU as part of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.
This Government is strengthening its approach to tackling deforestation in UK supply chains. In Great Britain, Defra will consult on the department’s aim to introduce an approach which works with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), including under the...
Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold discussions with (a) food producers and (b) retailers on how to achieve lower prices for gluten-free products in supermarkets.
The Government engages regularly with food producers and retailers through established forums to discuss issues affecting food supply, affordability and consumer choice. While pricing decisions remain a commercial matter for individual businesses, we will...
Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of areas in the UK that have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest in each of the last five years.
Notification of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) is a devolved matter and data for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are held by the respective administrations. Designation of SSSIs in England is a matter for Natural England. SSSI designation is a two‑stage process. Sites are first notified, at which point they become legally protected. Notifications are then confirmed, usually within nine months,once any objections or representations have been considered. For the purposes of this answer, “designated” is taken to mean confirmed SSSI notifications. On that basis, the number of SSSIs designated in England, by calendar year, is as follows: YearNumber of SSSIs designated2021620221202312024020250 Confirmation often takes place in a year following notification, so notified and confirmed figures do not necessarily relate to the same sites.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites.
The Government has committed to restoring plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) back to semi-natural woodland habitat. There are approximately 365,000 hectares (ha) of ancient woodland in England of which approximately 150,000 ha are under plantation. Forestry England has committed to restoring all 42,814 ha of their PAWS to ancient, semi-natural woodland. Restoration work has been carried out on over 20,000 ha of PAWS in the last ten years with over 16,000 ha now having a canopy that is predominantly native. Defra has improved the support for PAWS restoration on private land through the Higher Tier of the Countryside Stewardship scheme. This includes additional payments for restoration. In its first three years, the Countryside Stewardship grant ‘Manage and restore plantations on ancient woodland sites’ has been taken up across 2,100 hectares of PAWS. The Government is also supporting the establishment of new woodlands both for nature recovery and to produce timber.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on enforcing regulations to ban the (a) sale and (b) advertising of tourism activities abroad that involve treatment of animals that is illegal in the UK.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Slough on 26 February 2026 to PQ UIN 114064.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the use of exemptions in the Hunting Act 2004 for stag hunting on stag population numbers in the South West.
The department has made no assessment of the potential impact of the use of exemptions in the Hunting Act 2004 for stag hunting on stag population numbers in the South West.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending existing legislation to prohibit stag hunting with hounds.
The department has made no assessment of the potential merits of amending existing legislation to prohibit stag hunting with hounds.
Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Department's policy paper entitled Animal Welfare Strategy for England, published on 22 December 2025, whether her Department plans to publish a timetable for the introduction of dog licences for dog breeders.
Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a twelve-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. The Government is committed to ending puppy farming and the low welfare breeding of dogs. As part of the Animal Welfare Strategy, the Government has committed to launch a consultation on dog breeding reform. Next steps will be announced in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage industry to end the practice of culling male laying hen chicks; and if she will publish a timetable for taking these steps.
As stated in the recently published Animal Welfare Strategy1 the Government welcomes the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology. There has been rapid global progress in a range of technologies that could help end the routine culling of male chicks by identifying or determining the sex of chick embryos before hatching as set out in the Animal Welfare Committee’s ‘Opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industries’. Aside from in-ovo sexing technology, government is co-funding an initiative to assess the viability of dual-purpose poultry breeds, that is, breeds that can be used for laying eggs and meat therefore avoiding the need to cull males.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk to non-farmed animals of disease transmission from the nearby presence of a fish farm.
Defra’s disease control measures seek to contain the number of animals that need to be culled, either for disease control purposes or to safeguard animal welfare. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) are responsible for the delivery of aquatic animal health controls in England and Wales. The FHI maintains a comprehensive programme of inspections to assess farmed fish health, designed to prevent the introduction and spread of the most serious listed and emerging diseases, and ensure that all aquaculture production businesses operate under approved biosecurity plans. These plans must take account of the potential for infectious disease transmission to wild aquatic animals and set out measures to minimise that risk. The recently published Animal Welfare Strategy for England set out that we will commission the Animal Welfare Committee’s advice on the welfare of farmed fish prior to slaughter. Amongst other things this project will consider the effects of stocking densities. The Animal Welfare Strategy also commits to introduce humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish into legislation, subject to consultation.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she will take to improving the health of farmed fish during production; and if she will give consideration to increasing spacing to reduce the risk of disease transmission between fish.
Defra’s disease control measures seek to contain the number of animals that need to be culled, either for disease control purposes or to safeguard animal welfare. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) are responsible for the delivery of aquatic animal health controls in England and Wales. The FHI maintains a comprehensive programme of inspections to assess farmed fish health, designed to prevent the introduction and spread of the most serious listed and emerging diseases, and ensure that all aquaculture production businesses operate under approved biosecurity plans. These plans must take account of the potential for infectious disease transmission to wild aquatic animals and set out measures to minimise that risk. The recently published Animal Welfare Strategy for England set out that we will commission the Animal Welfare Committee’s advice on the welfare of farmed fish prior to slaughter. Amongst other things this project will consider the effects of stocking densities. The Animal Welfare Strategy also commits to introduce humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish into legislation, subject to consultation.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress her Department has made on bringing forward legislative proposals to prohibit the importation of hunting trophies.
The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, which is the most effective approach the Government can take on this matter. The department continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can implement a robust ban. Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a grading system for food labelling that rates the animal welfare standards in the food’s production.
As set out in the animal welfare strategy, the Government committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, the Government will continue working with relevant stakeholders, including the farming and food industry, scientists and NGOs to explore how improved animal welfare food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare.