Angus MacDonald MP: written questions
4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026
How these years work
Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
79 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Poultry: Animal HousingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 May 2026AnsweredUIN 3694More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with The Humane League UK on the banning of cages for laying hens.
Answer: The Department has had wide ranging discussions with animal welfare organisations and other stakeholders on the banning of cages for laying hens.
Answered 4 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordPoultry: Animal HousingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 May 2026AnsweredUIN 3693More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his department plans to take in response to the consultation on the use of cages and crates for laying hens which closed on 9 March 2026.
Answer: The Government is analysing consultation responses and will publish a formal response in due course.
Answered 22 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordTimber: ImportsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 1052More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has plans to establish a cross-government taskforce to develop a strategy for reducing the United Kingdom's dependence on imported timber and strengthening domestic supply.
Answer: This Government recognises the growing global demand for timber. The Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 and the relaunched Timber in Construction Roadmap (2025) sets out our commitment to increase the supply and use of domestic timber. This includes work...
Answered 19 May 2026
Original Parliament recordTimber: ImportsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 1051More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the risk to UK national security posed by the country importing over 80% of its timber requirements.
Answer: This Government recognises the growing global demand for timber. The Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 and the relaunched Timber in Construction Roadmap (2025) sets out our commitment to increase the supply and use of domestic timber. This includes work...
Answered 19 May 2026
Original Parliament recordFire and Rescue Services: ScotlandDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119816More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to meet the National Fire Chiefs Council to discuss the Scottish Government’s Strategic Action Plan on Wildfires, published on 5 March 2026.
Answer: Wildfire is a devolved issue. Whilst Defra works closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council there are no plans to meet with them to discuss the Scottish Government’s Strategic Action Plan on Wildfires.
Answered 17 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: Rural AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 92471More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of rural depopulation on the carbon intensity of delivering public services in remote and sparsely populated areas.
Answer: Rural policy is a devolved matter. Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics including rural population trends, and rural service provision in The Statistical Digest for Rural England. Net internal migration within Engl...
Answered 25 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordClimate Change: Rural AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 92402More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of demographic decline in rural areas on long-term climate adaptation needs for remote communities.
Answer: Defra publishes statistics on rural population trends in The Statistical Digest for Rural England. Defra prepares a Climate Change Risk Assessment every five years which considers the key risks that relate to both rural and urban areas. It’s followed by a...
Answered 11 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordRural AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 92401More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with stakeholders on the potential impact of rural depopulation on land management, biodiversity and progress towards national climate targets.
Answer: Rural policy is a devolved matter. Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics including rural population trends, and rural service provision in The Statistical Digest for Rural England. Net internal migration within Engl...
Answered 26 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFood Strategy Advisory BoardDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91746More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria her Department uses to determine eligibility for appointment to the Food Strategy Advisory Board.
Answer: The Food Strategy Advisory Board is a small group of senior leaders selected for their wealth of experience, collectively reflecting important elements within the food system and its diversity. The Board stress tests ideas and provides advice. Members do ...
Answered 24 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFood Strategy Advisory BoardDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91745More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of appointing people from organisations that have recently undertaken remedial action on animal welfare issues on the Food Strategy
Answer: Defra is committed to upholding high standards across the food system, including in relation to animal welfare. I was extremely concerned to see allegations and footage of animal welfare and environmental abuse at Cranswick farms. The film taken and share...
Answered 24 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFood Strategy Advisory BoardDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91744More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people appointed to the Food Strategy Advisory Board uphold high standards across the food system, including on animal welfare.
Answer: The Food Strategy Advisory Board is a small group of senior leaders who represent a wealth of experience and important elements within the food system and reflect the diversity of the sector. The Board considers ideas and provides advice on the food strat...
Answered 24 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordNature ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 89176More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent offences against protected species.
Answer: The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously and there is a range of legislation in place to protect it. Most notably, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all wild birds and some wild animals in England and Wales. Under this Act, as w...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordWater SupplyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88180More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve water efficiency and (b) reduce leaks in the public water supply network.
Answer: The Government is delivering on improvements in water efficiency and leakage reductions via a series of water demand targets, which will reduce water usage by 20% per person by 2038 and cut leakage in halve by 2050. To meet these targets, the Government i...
Answered 11 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFish FarmingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87679More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is supporting research into potential methods for reducing the environmental impact of fish farm escapes on wild fish populations.
Answer: In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of esc...
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFish FarmingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87678More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of interbreeding between escaped farmed fish and wild fish on the genetic integrity of wild populations.
Answer: In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of esc...
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFish FarmingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87677More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the risk of fish escaping from aquaculture sites due to (a) infrastructure failures, (b) human error and (c) severe weather events.
Answer: In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of esc...
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFish FarmingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87676More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence of fish farm escapes and (b) potential impact of fish farm escapes on wild fish populations.
Answer: In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of esc...
Answered 7 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordInfrastructure: Rural AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87673More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support essential infrastructure in rural communities at risk of depopulation.
Answer: Rural policy is a devolved matter. Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics including rural population trends, and rural service provision in The Statistical Digest for Rural England. Net internal migration within Engl...
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordUtilities: Rural AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87672More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the relationship between access to core utilities and population retention in remote rural areas.
Answer: Rural policy is a devolved matter. Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics including rural population trends, and rural service provision in The Statistical Digest for Rural England. Net internal migration within Engl...
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordPesticides: Public PlacesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85683More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the phasing out of pesticide use in public spaces in other European countries.
Answer: The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or animal health or pose unacceptable effects to the environment.There is a legal requirement to minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas ...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordPesticides: Public PlacesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85682More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of pesticide use in (a) urban and (b) public spaces on (i) public health and (ii) biodiversity.
Answer: The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or animal health or pose unacceptable effects to the environment. Pesticides are subject to strict regulation in Great Britain (GB), and a pesticide is o...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordWeedkillers: Public PlacesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85681More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to hold discussions with the devolved Administrations on supporting local authorities to transition away from the use of glyphosate-based herbicides in public spaces.
Answer: In March 2025, Defra, alongside the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive, published the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP) 2025. The NAP sets out how we intend to increase the uptake of Integrated Pest Manage...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordPlastics: BeachesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83218More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of plastic pollution on beaches in (a) Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency and (b) other areas.
Answer: The UK Government funds the Marine Conservation Society to record litter from sections of our coast which helps us monitor the levels and trends of plastic pollution. The monitoring is undertaken in accordance with regionally-agreed protocols, and annual ...
Answered 24 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPlastics: BeachesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83217More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Scottish government on tackling plastic pollution affecting beaches in (a) Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constitue
Answer: Plastic pollution is one of the greatest environmental challenges that we face today – it litters our beaches, threatens wildlife and contributes towards climate change. The UK Government works closely with the Scottish Government on plastic pollution and...
Answered 24 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPlastics: BeachesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83216More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his policies for preventing plastic pollution on beaches in (a) Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency and
Answer: The UK Government funds the Marine Conservation Society to record litter from sections of our coast which helps us monitor the levels and trends of plastic pollution. The monitoring is undertaken in accordance with regionally-agreed protocols, and annual ...
Answered 24 Oct 2025
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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