I do not plan to introduce such a requirement as I believe the legislation already in place is effective. Consumers should be aware of the dangers presented by ethylene glycol based antifreeze products because they are required to carry appropriate safety warnings under classification and labelling regulations. This legislation is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive and I will alert the relevant Minister to your concerns. I will also alert the appropriate Minister within DEFRA which has overall responsibility for animal welfare.

I would encourage those who are concerned to approach the manufacturers of antifreeze and ask them to introduce non-toxic formulations on a voluntary basis.

I do not plan to introduce such a requirement as I believe the legislation already in place is effective. Consumers should be aware of the dangers presented by ethylene glycol based antifreeze products because they are required to carry appropriate safety

warnings under classification and labelling regulations. I would encourage those who are concerned to approach the manufacturers of antifreeze and ask them to introduce bittering agents on a voluntary basis. Some major retail outlets are already selling ethylene glycol based antifreezes to which the manufacturer has elected to add such a bittering agent.

The Department is currently providing no support to the Pets for the Elderly Foundation and has no plans to do so in the future.

We have no plans to introduce a ban on keeping primates as pets. However, primates are wild animals and have very specific needs because they are socially-complex and long-living animals. Anyone keeping a primate must, by law, provide for the welfare needs of their animal. It is an offence, under The Animal Welfare Act 2006, not to do so. In 2010, Defra introduced the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-human Primates. Whilst it is not a specific offence to breach the Code, if proceedings are brought under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Court can take into account the extent to which someone has complied, or failed to comply, with the Code in deciding whether they have committed an offence.

Anyone keeping a primate as a pet in solitary conditions is likely to be failing to provide properly for its welfare and will therefore be committing an offence.

Some primates are also subject to The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 under which licences are needed to keep certain specified species of animals.

DEFRA supports the Pet Advertising Advisory Group's (PAAG) minimum standards on internet advertising of pet animals, and we hope they are adopted by as many advertisers as possible. My noble Friend Lord de Mauley, who is responsible for this area of work, has met a number of advertisers and impressed upon them the need to keep to the standards. The Government will continue to work with PAAG to monitor progress on this matter.

The Government has no such plans. Offenders should make the necessary arrangements for the care of their animals whilst in custody in the same way as any person who may be unexpectedly away from home.

The Government announced in February that from April 2016 it will be a requirement for all dogs in England to be microchipped. Dogs Trust announced that it has set aside £6 million to encourage free microchipping through participating vets and local authorities. A number of animal welfare organisations also offer free microchipping at their centres, including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Blue Cross and Dogs Trust. In addition, the Kennel Club have offered to supply free microchip scanners to local authorities.

It is also a requirement of the EU Pet Travel Scheme for pets to be microchipped to be able to travel in the EU. In the case of horses, all newly identified horses are required to be identified (including being microchipped) in accordance with the Horse Passports Regulations 2009.

There is no official record or estimate of the number of cats and dogs in this country, but figures provided by other organisations such as the Pet Food Manufacturers Association and the RSPCA put the number at between 8 and 10 million of both cats and dogs.

Trading standards officers are responsible for enforcing consumer-related legislation, including products on sale at pet shops. Under the Pet Animals Act 1951, local authorities (in most cases the Environmental Health Department) are responsible for issuing licences to pet shops. In deciding whether to grant a licence, local authorities need to be satisfied that the animals are being provided with their welfare needs.

The Government is keen to encourage more responsible pet ownership. This includes considering whether there is a need to have your animal neutered. There are currently many charities offering opportunities for low cost or no charge neutering.

The Government announced earlier in the year a package of measures to encourage more responsible dog ownership. Microchipping of all dogs from 2016 will help tackle poor commercial dog breeding practices.

Governors currently produce a facilities list, which sets out the items prisoners are allowed to possess, for their own establishments. Under changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) national policy framework which come into effect from 1 November 2013, a centralised facilities list will be introduced. This will help ensure that prisons operate to a consistent standard when rewarding prisoners for engaging with efforts to rehabilitate them and positive behaviour. The list will be available for each Governor to select from, as considered suitable for the specific population, the physical fabric and the regime of the prison.

In establishments where the Governor permits, prisoners on the highest level of the IEP scheme will be allowed to possess a bird in cell. To reach the highest level of the scheme, prisoners will have to demonstrate that they are fully committed to their rehabilitation, seeking to reduce their risk of reoffending, complying with the regime and meeting expected behaviour levels. In addition, they must demonstrate that they have helped other prisoners or staff.

NOMS does not record centrally the number of prisoners who keep a pet in prison. To identify these prisoners would require examining and collating personal records from individual establishments and this would incur disproportionate costs.

There are no plans to examine the effectiveness of pet shop licensing legislation. The Government considers that the Pet Animals Act 1951 together with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 provide local authorities with suitable powers to investigate allegations of poor welfare in pet shops.

The Government has not made any assessment around claims of people carrying out large scale dog breeding operations. However, the existing laws on the breeding and sale of dogs provide powers to local authorities to investigate allegations of large scale dog breeding operations taking place in inappropriate conditions.