Neil Hudson MP: written questions 2025
172 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Veterinary Medicine: Labour TurnoverDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 9 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76055More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department are taking to help increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of vets in the public sector.
Answer: Defra is aware of the numerous challenges facing recruitment and retention of qualified veterinary surgeons into Government roles. The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Food Standards Agency have been looking at ways to increase recruitment into Gove...
Answered 23 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSlaughterhouses: FinanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 75156More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding is remaining in the Smaller Abattoir Fund.
Answer: The total funding remaining for the Smaller Abattoir Fund is £704,928.
Answered 19 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSlaughterhouses: FinanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 75155More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 71412 on Slaughterhouses, how much funding has been issued from the Smaller Abattoir Fund since July 2024.
Answer: Since July 2024, the Rural Payment Agency has paid £406,545 to customers of the Smaller Abattoir Fund.
Answered 19 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordFloods Resilience TaskforceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 75077More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times the Floods Resilience Taskforce has met since September 2024; and on what dates.
Answer: The Flood Resilience Taskforce meets quarterly to coordinate and drive forward work on national flood resilience by national and local government and partners including the emergency services, environment and farming sectors and community groups. Since it...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordRented Housing: PetsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71418More
Question: Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the Renters Rights Bill on the number of renters who will not be able to request a pet.
Answer: The Renters’ Rights Bill will give all private rented sector tenants the right to request a pet, which landlords will not be able to unreasonably refuse.
Answered 15 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordCats: TaggingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71417More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the number of cats being microchipped.
Answer: From 10 June 2024, all owned cats in England over 20 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database. The legislation is intended to improve pet welfare by increasing the likelihood of reuniting lost or stray pets with their keepe...
Answered 23 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordCats: Animal BreedingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71416More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle the designer breeding of (a) brachycephalic cats, (b) bully cats, (c) hybrid cats and (d) other cats.
Answer: Defra commissioned the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) to examine the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. The report can be found here. The Government is carefully considering its recommendations.
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPets: DogsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71415More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support responsible dog ownership.
Answer: Defra is working with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to encourage responsible dog ownership, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and to make sure the full force of the law is applied. As part of this wo...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSlaughterhousesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71414More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting the 5 per cent rule for smaller abattoirs on the abattoir sector.
Answer: Working with Devolved Governments, Competent Authorities, and industry stakeholders, Defra has considered the potential merits of adopting the livestock unit regulatory flexibility (5% Rule) for smaller abattoirs, as part of its commitment to identifying ...
Answered 19 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSlaughterhousesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71413More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in Food Security Agency charges for the 2025/26 financial year on small and medium-sized abattoirs.
Answer: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) conducts and charges for official controls, inspections, in abattoirs, which help to ensure that food hygiene and animal welfare standards are met. The controls are an intrinsic component in our food system which provide re...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSlaughterhouses: FinanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71412More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will confirm whether it plans to maintain the Smaller Abattoir Fund.
Answer: Defra recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs play in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient and competitive food supply chain. The Government will continue to work to simplify and rationalise our grant funding from 2026 onwa...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordLivestock: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71411More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the welfare of farm animals transported within the UK.
Answer: All farm animals transported in the UK are protected by comprehensive legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare. These include the provision of sufficient space, feed and water, ensuring that vehicles used are fit for purpose and secure and tha...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordWildlife: PetsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69540More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 in reducing the number of dangerous wild animals being kept in private homes.
Answer: The main purpose of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (the DWAA) is to ensure that where private individuals keep such animals, including on a farm, they do so in circumstances which create no risk to the public.
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMarine Animals: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69539More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the monitoring of marine mammal bycatch incidents.
Answer: The UK Government funds a comprehensive bycatch monitoring programme which provides essential observer data on incidents of sensitive species bycatch, including marine mammals. This programme reports annually on estimated rates of sensitive species bycatc...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMarine Animals: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69538More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve the monitoring of marine mammal strandings.
Answer: The UK Government funds the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), operating since 1990, it annually reports upon threats facing marine mammals through carrying out post-mortems on stranded animals: CSIP.
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSoil: ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69537More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve soil health.
Answer: We are actively working to improve soil health across England by measuring and monitoring the national condition of soil, encouraging the uptake of sustainable soil management practices and protecting soil to be resilient to climate change impacts. Monito...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) RegulationsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69536More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department have made of the effectiveness of local authorities in enforcing the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 201
Answer: Defra has completed a post-implementation review (PIR) of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, including consideration of enforcement, which can be found here. The Government is considering the finding...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimals: ZoosDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69102More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether zoo animals being transferred between the UK and EU countries will be covered by the new sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.
Answer: Our priority is to secure a long-term UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement aimed at reducing trade barriers to enable the safe and efficient movement of goods, including zoo animals. As announced at the UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May 2025, th...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAnimals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69101More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to conduct a consultation on the potential impacts of the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 coming into force.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn, Ruth Jones, on 10 July, PQ UIN 65379.
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPrimates: PetsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69100More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of primates being kept as pets in the UK.
Answer: The Department does not collect or hold data on the number of primates being kept in the UK.
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPrimatesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69099More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to produce updated public guidance on the ban on primates from April 2026.
Answer: Accompanying guidance to the Animal Welfare (Primate Licences) (England) Regulations 2024 was published on 10 July 2025. The guidance can be found at:Licensing process for keeping primates - GOV.UKLicence conditions for primate keepers (Schedule 1) - GOV....
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordZoos: LicensingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 18 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69098More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of local authorities to enforce regulations on zoo licensing.
Answer: The Government published new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on 24 May 2025, which will come into force from May 2027. One of the objectives of updating the Standards has been to make requirements clearer to aid local authority enforcem...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Surgeons Act 1966Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68008More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Veterinary Surgeons Act.
Answer: Defra acknowledges the calls from industry, stakeholders and the general public to update the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA) and its many potential benefits. Currently, Defra officials are actively engaging with key stakeholders, including the BVA (Br...
Answered 22 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordFractures: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66665More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to ensure all Integrated Care Boards have Fracture Liaison Services.
Answer: Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need. Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Answered 15 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordWater Restoration FundDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 65894More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduced ring-fenced Water Restoration Fund on local water improvement projects.
Answer: The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April 2024, was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties back into projects to improve the water environment. Successful applicants have been notified, with a total of £11 millio...
Answered 11 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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