Tag: Laurence Robertson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of the use of barren cages in gamebird units in contravention of the welfare code for gamebirds; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Recent Defra funded research into the use of cages for gamebirds showed that enrichment and space allowance, in the forms provided, had little impact on the welfare of caged pheasants. However, egg production and quality and most measures of pheasant welfare were improved in cages compared to floor pens. For the partridges, the behavioural results indicated that enrichment might be positive for welfare and was probably a more valuable modification than increasing the size of an otherwise barren cage. However, the research also concluded that there might be penalties from parasitism and reduced egg production if enrichment is offered at a conventional space allowance. The published research can be found:

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=17541&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=aw1303&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

We intend to discuss the findings of the research with industry and welfare organisations as part of next year’s review of the “Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes”.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to prohibit the use of raised laying cages for breeding pheasants and partridges.

George Eustice

Recent Defra funded research into the use of cages for gamebirds showed that enrichment and space allowance, in the forms provided, had little impact on the welfare of caged pheasants. However, egg production and quality and most measures of pheasant welfare were improved in cages compared to floor pens. For the partridges, the behavioural results indicated that enrichment might be positive for welfare and was probably a more valuable modification than increasing the size of an otherwise barren cage. However, the research also concluded that there might be penalties from parasitism and reduced egg production if enrichment is offered at a conventional space allowance. The published research can be found:

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=17541&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=aw1303&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

We intend to discuss the findings of the research with industry and welfare organisations as part of next year’s review of the “Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes”.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on introducing the Flood Re scheme.

Rory Stewart

Flood Re began its operational testing phase in July 2015. It will be a matter for the Flood Re Board itself, rather than the Secretary of State, to determine when the scheme is ready to accept policies once it is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. We understand that Flood Re expects this to be in April 2016.

Insurers have agreed to continue to abide by the Statement of Principles which ensures continued access to flood insurance until Flood Re is fully operational

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of banning raised laying cages for breeding pheasants and partridges; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Recent Defra funded research into the use of cages for gamebirds showed that enrichment and space allowance, in the forms provided, had little impact on the welfare of caged pheasants. However, egg production and quality and most measures of pheasant welfare were improved in cages compared to floor pens. For the partridges, the behavioural results indicated that enrichment might be positive for welfare and was probably a more valuable modification than increasing the size of an otherwise barren cage. However, the research also concluded that there might be penalties from parasitism and reduced egg production if enrichment is offered at a conventional space allowance. The published research can be found:

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=17541&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=aw1303&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

We intend to discuss the findings of the research with industry and welfare organisations as part of next year’s review of the “Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes”.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the roll-out of the Liaison and Diversion services schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services operate by referring offenders who are identified as having mental health issues, learning disabilities, substance misuse and other vulnerabilities such as homelessness, into appropriate treatment and support services. L&D services also share appropriate information with justice agencies to assist with justice decisions.

NHS England commissions L&D services and since April 2015 services have been available to over 50% of the English population. The Department of Health commissioned RAND Europe to conduct an independent evaluation of L&D services. This evaluation will form part of the Full Business Case for national roll out of L&D services, to be submitted to HM Treasury in autumn 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the sugar content of carbonated drinks; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

We have accepted the recommendations from experts earlier this year that we should halve our daily intake of sugar and we will put forward our plans for action in this area in our childhood obesity strategy in the coming months.

Measures by industry to reduce calories including sugar are also important components in any approach to reduce obesity. Some parts of industry have already taken a range of actions to reduce sugar in their soft drinks, but the challenge to make further progress remains.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the PCR test for tuberculosis; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Defra recently funded a comparative study of several potential tests, including the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, for detecting Mycobacterium bovis in badger faeces. None of the tests met the minimum levels of sensitivity and specificity. Defra is considering if there are any situations where the current tests can be used informatively on a large scale. PCR is also used to enhance detection of M.bovis in bacterial culture and the EU Reference Laboratory for bovine tuberculosis has also assessed the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. (https://www.visavet.es/bovinetuberculosis/ring-trials.php).

Defra continues to review evidence of effectiveness of the potential diagnostic application of PCR in other situations.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the incidence of bovine TB on farms situated in trial badger cull areas.

George Eustice

On 28 August 2015, the Animal and Plant Health Agency published a report of the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in 2013-14 in the areas of Somerset and Gloucestershire exposed to the first year of industry-led badger culling. The report is annexed to the Bovine TB Surveillance Report for England 2014, which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/bovine-tb-surveillance-in-great-britain-2014.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the announced reductions in feed-in tariff support will apply to existing contracts or new ones; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

Any changes which we make to the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme as a result of the FIT review, which is currently open for consultation until 23^rd October, will only apply to new applicants entering the scheme after the necessary legislation to effect the changes has passed through Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce interim payments in cases in which there are delays in making payments under the Basic Payments Scheme.

George Eustice

The Rural Payments Agency remains on track to meet their public payment commitments. Full payments on the majority of Basic Payment Scheme 2015 claims will be made from December, within the payment window that runs between December and June. As such interim payments are not being considered.