Tag: Greg Knight

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has commissioned or carried out into the welfare of intensively-farmed dairy cattle which spend the majority or all of their lives indoors.

George Eustice

The Department funded a 3 year project in 2008 entitled “AW1026: A study to investigate the management and welfare of continuously housed dairy cows.”

The final report has been published on our website and is available at the following link:

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=15761&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=AW1026&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will require restaurants and take-away food outlets selling meals described as fish to specify the species of fish the dish contains.

George Eustice

There are no plans to require restaurants and take-away food outlets to specify the fish species being offered for sale. However this information should be available to the owners or managers of these establishments, so they could let their customers know which fish they are buying if they are asked.

The general provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990, General Food Law Regulation 178/2002, and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 make it an offence to label or present food in a false or misleading way. A failure to adequately describe or label fish species in a food may constitute an offence under these rules.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will require road safety and information on the dangers of the highway to be taught to all children in all schools as part of the national curriculum.

Edward Timpson

Schools can choose to teach about road safety in their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons and the non-statutory programme of study for PSHE education includes road safety, cycle safety and safety in the community.

The government expects all schools to teach PSHE and made this expectation clear in the introduction to the national curriculum. It is for schools to tailor their PSHE programme to reflect the needs of their pupils.

Schools may wish to use the resources provided by organisations such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), which offer a range of materials to help schools and teachers incorporate road safety education into lessons and school activities. ROSPA’s resources are available free on their website: http://www.rospa.com/road-safety/resources/free/teachers/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on air quality of the escape of methane and other gases from disused mine workings in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson

The Coal Authority is responsible for dealing with reported cases of escaped gases from disused mine workings, including monitoring concentrations where necessary. Consequently, Defra has made no assessment of the impact on air quality of the escape of methane and other gases from disused mine workings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cats have been used in experiments in Britain in each of the last five years.

Norman Baker

The following table contains information on the number of cats used in procedures undertaken between 2008 and 2012.

Table 1 Number of cats used in scientific procedures in Great Britain between 2008 and 2012
Year	Procedures
2008	176
2009	172
2010	152
2011	153
2012	202
	Source: Home Office

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason scientific experiments on cats are permitted.

Norman Baker

Cats, along with some other species, are given special protection by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and may only be used if no other species is suitable or it is not practicable to obtain animals of any other species that are suitable for the purposes of the relevant programme of work. It is my objective to minimise the use of cats as far as possible.

Cats are primarily used in the development of veterinary medicines and techniques, and in neurological research. Much of the veterinary research is for the benefit of cats, for example in developing vaccines for feline diseases and improved diets for cats.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects work on the electrification of the railway line between Hull and Selby to begin.

Stephen Hammond

Feasibility work on the project continues. Subject to further development and implementation funding and confirmation of the business case the scheme’s promoter, First Hull Trains, anticipates that certain physical works could commence in 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2014-06-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to safety checks in slaughterhouses on the risk of diseased meat entering the food chain undetected; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

The Food Standards Agency advises that the new procedure for pig meat inspection will better protect consumers from foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella. It reduces the amount of routine carcase handling and incision carried out by officials that contributes to the risk of microbiological contamination on carcases and offal. This is in line with a 2011 scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority.

Under the new procedures, all pigs will continue to be inspected by an official veterinarian whilst they are alive, and their carcases and offal will be visually inspected by an official meat inspector or veterinarian after slaughter. Any abnormalities that indicate possible animal health, public health or welfare issues will be further investigated and removed before meat can be declared fit for human consumption.