The UK has consistently led the way on animal welfare. It was one of the key EU members that lobbied for the recognition of animal sentience in Article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 and, in addition, recognised in law that animals can feel pain and suffering through the Animal Welfare Act.

Now that the UK has left the EU,  we have the opportunity to go further to promote animal welfare by making sure that all Government departments consider animal sentience in policy, covering all vertebrate animals from farm to forest. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, enshrines the recognition that animals are sentient in domestic law. It also creates a proportionate accountability mechanism to help reassure that central government policymaking takes this into account.

The Bill will create an Animal Sentience Committee with experts which will produce reports on how well policy decisions have paid all due regard to the welfare of animals. The relevant minister must then respond to reports via statements to Parliament. From now on, ministers will need to be ready to show that the needs of animals have been considered in relevant policy decisions. 

These reforms will also underpin the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, which contains upwards of forty valuable reforms. The Government is committed to maintaining the very highest standards of animal welfare and this piece of legislation will contribute to that goal.

DS.

The aim of the Elections Bill is to ensure that our electoral system remains secure, fair and transparent. In order to ensure that legitimate categories of third party that may emerge in the future are not unduly restricted in their ability to campaign, Clause 23 proposes that the Government be able to amend the list of legal entities eligible to register as campaigners under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Any such change would be subject to Parliament scrutiny in the usual way and there would be no unilateral change by the Government.

In any election, there needs to be spending limits on candidates, on political parties and on third-party campaigners to ensure a level playing field. That is why additional provisions will be introduced on campaign expenditure which would require third party campaigns to give notice to the Electoral Commission at a lower level of expenditure than is currently required. Such third-party spending limits prevent undue influence by American-style ‘Super-PAC’ pressure groups.

Third parties would also be required to have a legitimate UK interest to campaign in UK elections. Campaign spending, which is part of a joint plan between a registered party and a third party or parties, would be counted as part of the spending limits of all parties involved. I believe campaign expenditure and joint campaigning should be transparently and fairly regulated.

With regard to proposals concerning the Electoral Commission, I believe it is the role of the police and the prosecution services to determine whether there has been a breach of criminal law, and whether such a breach should be prosecuted in a court of law. The Bill intends to clarify this status quo. This is not about interfering with the investigative, operational or enforcement decisions of the Electoral Commission. A strategy and policy statement will be introduced that will set out guidance and principles which the Commission will have to have regard to in the discharge of its functions. It is common for the Government to set a policy framework which independent regulators work toward, and the policy statement will be ratified by Parliament. The reforms would not affect the ability of the Commission to undertake enforcement action but it would ensure greater accountability to Parliament.

DS.

In this country, we have a long-standing tradition that people can gather together and demonstrate, and the right to protest peacefully is a fundamental part of our democracy which I fully support.

In recent years I have been concerned by the extensive disruption that some protests have caused. Certain protesters, who have glued themselves to buildings, blocked bridges and obstructed access to buildings such as the Palace of Westminster and newspaper printing works, have highlighted some gaps in current legislation, which has not been updated since 1986. Recent events have shown us that existing public order legislation is no longer fit for managing the types of protest we experience today.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will strengthen police powers in England and Wales to tackle non-violent protests that have a significant disruptive effect. These powers will allow the police to safely manage protests where they threaten public order and stop people from getting on with their daily lives. The Government is taking proportionate action to ensure a crucial balance is struck between the fundamental right to peaceful protest and the rights of people to get on with their daily lives unimpeded.

The measures in the PCSC Bill are not about stopping or clamping down on right to protest but ensuring the police can better manage highly disruptive protests and maintain the balance I have outlined. 

It is the case that when using these powers, or existing public order powers, the police must act within the law. Importantly, the police must be able to demonstrate that their use of powers are necessary and proportionate. It is also clear that the police must act compatibly with human rights, in particular Article 10 (freedom of expression) and Article 11 (freedom of association).  

Much has been said regarding the proposed public nuisance offence. Clause 59 gives effect to recommendations made by the Law Commission in their July 2015 Report on ‘Simplification of the Criminal Law: Public Nuisance and Outraging Public Decency’. The report stated that the common law offence of public nuisance should be replaced by a statutory offence covering any conduct which endangers the life, health, property or comfort of a section of the public or obstructs them in the exercise of their rights. 

Importantly, the new statutory offence of public nuisance will cover the same conduct as the existing common law offence of public nuisance. 

DS.

The Resources and Waste Strategy sets out the aim of leaving our environment in a better state than we inherited it and I welcome the Royal Society of Chemistry’s work on the issue of waste paint.

The new Waste Prevention Programme proposes action by Government and industry across seven key sectors – construction; textiles; furniture; electrical and electronics products; road vehicles; packaging, plastics and single-use items; and food – to minimise waste and work towards a more resource efficient economy. This includes steps to design and manufacture products for optimum life and repair and reuse more items. The draft Programme includes a chapter on ensuring we have well-functioning local systems and services to facilitate reuse, repair and remanufacture – for example, via the operation of Household Waste Recycling Centres to enable reuse, or piloting circular economy hubs.

Further, the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 places a duty on Waste Collection Authorities (WCAs) to provide places, usually Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC), where residents in their area can deposit their household waste.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme’s guidance for HWRCs, published in November 2018, states that, in order to promote responsible behaviour by local residents, local authorities should not charge residents for depositing waste from small scale DIY activities.

Voluntary action is also being taken by industry, alongside community initiatives, to reduce waste paint. Community RePaint schemes collect and redistribute paint, preventing it from going to waste. You can find out more about donating paint to Community RePaint schemes here: https://communityrepaint.org.uk/

As has been the case throughout the pandemic, the NHS will continue to maintain services wherever possible, particularly for urgent and cancer care. Patients are encouraged to contact their GP with concerns about their health, particularly for suspected cancer symptoms.

The Government is absolutely committed to supporting the NHS recovery from Covid-19, which will help to reduce waiting times for cancer treatment and care.

The NHS Long Term Plan (LTP), published during 2019, outlined a number of new measures for catching cancer early and providing treatment, with the aim that from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. One of the measures outlined in the plan is safer and more precise treatment, including advanced radiotherapy techniques and immunotherapies to continue to support improvements in survival rates. This will be supported by a £130 million upgrade of radiotherapy machines across England, including £32 million to replace 17 Linear Accelerators aged over 10 years by the end of March 2022, as well as commissioning the NHS new state-of-the-art Proton Beam facilities in London and Manchester. 

DS.

Unfortunately, the Early Day Motion that you mentioned has now lapsed as it was tabled in a previous Parliamentary session and is no longer available for signature.

The Government is committed to doing all it can to support wildlife and the environment, both in the UK and internationally, and the Queen’s Speech reaffirmed that Ministers will be delivering on the manifesto commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies from endangered species.

The consultation on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies, which closed in February 2020, provided an opportunity for respondents to offer views on which species they considered needed further restrictions. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the publication of the Government response to this consultation and accompanying call for evidence. However, Ministers are continuing to work on this important area and will publish a response as soon as they are able to do so. The approach on hunting trophies will be comprehensive, robust and effective and will deliver the change promised to help protect thousands of species worldwide.  

In the 25 Year Environment Plan, the UK Government committed to providing international leadership in protecting and improving international biodiversity and undertaking international action to protect endangered species. This international leadership is underpinned by a strong commitment to ensuring that the UK’s domestic policy does not threaten the conservation of species abroad. While some conservationists believe trophy hunting can be an effective conservation tool, it is also important to acknowledge concerns around the practice of trophy hunting. I welcome that the Government has proposed a new Animals Abroad Bill to tackle animal cruelty and include bans on the trade in hunting trophies. The Government will be formally introducing legislation to protect animals abroad as soon as parliamentary time allows. 

DS.

The Department for Education is taking firm action to deal with unregistered schools to ensure that settings are closed or shut down completely where necessary. Ofsted has a dedicated unregistered schools team that investigates and inspects suspected illegal schools. An inspector issues a warning notice at the end of an inspection if she or he believes the setting is operating illegally as a school. Between 1 January 2016 and 31 March 2021, 494 inspections of suspected illegal schools took place, of this 166 warning notices were issued and 91 settings were closed completely. 

The Department has made it clear that it is important that children and young people are on a school roll, or alternatively being electively home educated because they can be exposed to certain risks if they are not being educated in either of those settings. As such, the Department is looking at whether Ofsted needs additional powers when looking into potential illegal settings. 

I can assure you that the Department is committed to ensuring that all children receive an excellent education, in a safe and risk free environment.

The UK has a long history of leading the way on animal welfare. The Government is committed to improving our world-leading standards through a series of ambitious reforms, as outlined in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. In addition, the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will bring in some of the world’s strongest protections for pets, livestock and kept wild animals. 

Primates are highly intelligent animals with complex needs that require specialist care. Through the Bill, the Government will deliver on the manifesto commitment to introduce a ban on keeping them as pets, ensuring that all primates being kept privately in England are kept at zoo-level standards and that ownership of primates at levels below these standards is phased out.

I also understand that live animals can endure excessively long journeys during export, causing distress and injury. EU rules prevented any changes to these journeys, but the UK Government is now able to pursue plans to ban the export of live animals for slaughter and fattening. This Bill will ensure that the UK is the first European country to end this practice.

The Bill will tackle the unethical trade of puppy smuggling by reducing the number of pets, including dogs, cats and ferrets, that can travel under pet travel rules. The Bill will also provide powers for the Government to bring in further restrictions on the movement of pets on welfare grounds, and allow for enforcement measures to support these restrictions. Further restrictions could include an increase in the minimum age of imported puppies, as well as the prohibition of the import of pregnant dogs and dogs with mutilations such as cropped ears and tails.

DS.

Through the National Institute for Health Research, the Government funds a range of research in mental health to inform national mental health policy. In 2020, £93.4 million was spent on mental health research, an increase from the previous year, and the Government is committed to having mental health research as a priority area. Examples of research include a study jointly led with Kings College London and eating disorder charity Beat aiming to better understand what may lead to an eating disorder, and six studies into the impact of COVID-19 on mental health. The Government’s commitments to health-related research and development (R&D) in the 2021 Spending Review, include the largest ever cash uplift for health R&D. Funding will increase by £605 million, meaning the overall investment will rise to £2 billion by 2024/25. 

As part of the five-year funding offer agreed in 2019, mental health services will receive a budget growth of £2.3 billion. This will enable further service expansion and faster access to community and crisis mental health services for adults and particularly children and young people. I also welcome the Government’s commitment of around £2 billion to address waiting times for mental health services, which will give more people the mental health support they need.

DS.

Channel 4 has been hugely successful over the years in delivering the aims set out at its creation in 1982, including supporting the independent production sector in the UK, delivering diverse and risk-taking content, and contributing to the wider public goals of public service broadcasting. However, since 1982, the TV landscape has changed beyond recognition.

Channel 4 is entirely commercially funded, but it has been publicly owned since it began broadcasting. The main reason it was set up as a publicly owned, commercially run station was to provide greater choice. Today though, audiences can now watch what they want, whenever they want, how they want, across a range of internet-enabled personal devices. The independent production sector has also grown enormously so that it now supplies content to a wide range of broadcasters and streaming services.

That is why I believe it is crucial that a future ownership model (whereby Channel 4 keeps its public service remit) is considered to ensure more content, more jobs, and a more sustainable future for the broadcaster. To achieve this, it will require access to capital, and a strengthened ability to invest in its services, which is not available under public ownership.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has recently held a public consultation on the future ownership of Channel 4 as part of the Government’s review of public service broadcasting. The consultation considered both the ownership and remit of Channel 4, ensuring its future success and sustainability. I understand that the Department is currently analysing the feedback it has received and will respond in due course. For further information on the consultation, please search: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-a-change-of-ownership-of-channel-4-television-corporation

The review will come ahead of the broadcasting white paper, due to be published in due course. The white paper will consider the future of the country’s broadcasting landscape with the aim of making sure it serves listeners and viewers on all platforms and across the entire UK.

DS.