The UK Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals, while safeguarding animal welfare. It has been our position for many years that we do not support the routine or predictable use of antibiotics, including where antibiotics are used to compensate for inadequate farming practices. This applies to all types of antibiotic use (i.e those prescribed for treatment, metaphylactic purposes and for prophylactic purposes) because any antibiotic use may lead to an increased risk of resistance.

The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 are currently under review and the UK Government’s proposed new legal restrictions will prohibit antibiotic prophylaxis, in all but exceptional circumstances, in order to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use while also protecting animal welfare, and allowing changes to prescribing practices to be made sustainably. A public consultation on the proposed changes was held earlier this year, feedback is currently being analysed and considered, and a government response will be published in due course.

Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics for human use (which include fluoroquinolones) should only be used in animals as a last resort when no other antibiotics could be clinically effective and, wherever possible, based on antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate works closely with the British Poultry Council (BPC), an industry group which represents 90% of the meat poultry sector in the UK, on its antimicrobial stewardship efforts to replace, reduce and refine antibiotic use, by supporting good animal husbandry, hygiene and stockmanship. The BPC has a requirement that fluoroquinolones are only used as a last resort after alternative options have been explored. These actions have led to a 96% reduction in fluroquinolone use in meat poultry between 2014 and 2021, with fluoroquinolones representing just 0.3% of total antibiotic use in 2021.

Furthermore, when considering laying hens, antibiotic use data collected by the British Egg Industry Council, and representing 90% of the industry, has demonstrated no fluoroquinolone use since 2017.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme review assessed qualitative and quantitative evidence and contributions from businesses and stakeholders on sectors that may be most affected by energy price increases, based on energy and trade intensity (ETII). To qualify for ETII support, the sector has to be in the top 20% for energy intensity and top 40% for trade intensity. The horticulture, pig and poultry farming sectors do not meet these criteria.

The Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide a baseline discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including the horticulture, pig and poultry sectors, until March 2024. The unit discount is capped at £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to the various challenges the industry, including the broiler poultry sector, has faced in the past few years. The UK poultry sector operate in an open market with the value of poultry products established by those in the supply chain.

Defra continues to keep the poultry market situation under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments. Defra ministers and officials also meet regularly with poultry industry stakeholders to discuss the challenges the poultry sector is facing.

The Government is proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce. We have no intention of undercutting our own reputation for quality by lowering our food and animal welfare standards.

All food and drink products imported into the UK irrespective of the purpose for which they will be used has to comply with our import requirements and regulatory standards for food safety. Agri-food products produced to different environmental and animal welfare standards can be placed on the UK market as long as they comply with our requirements. This includes products from the EU and other longstanding trading partners alongside products traded under new agreements.

A range of Government departments, agencies and bodies continue to ensure that standards are met including the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Health and Safety Executive and Local Authorities Trading Standards. They will continue to do so to ensure that all food imports comply with the relevant UK product rules and regulations.

The Government is proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce. We have no intention of undercutting our own reputation for quality by lowering our food and animal welfare standards.

All food and drink products imported into the UK irrespective of the purpose for which they will be used has to comply with our import requirements and regulatory standards for food safety. Agri-food products produced to different environmental and animal welfare standards can be placed on the UK market as long as they comply with our requirements. This includes products from the EU and other longstanding trading partners alongside products traded under new agreements.

A range of Government departments, agencies and bodies continue to ensure that standards are met including the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Health and Safety Executive and Local Authorities Trading Standards. They will continue to do so to ensure that all food imports comply with the relevant UK product rules and regulations.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to the unprecedented challenges the industry, including the poultry sector, has faced in the past few years.

Defra continues to work closely with the poultry sector and has acted where appropriate.

On 28 October 2022 we announced changes to both the AI compensation scheme allowing compensation to be paid to farmers from the outset of planned AI culling rather than at the end and a relaxation to the enforcement of marketing rules allowing the sale of defrosted turkeys, geese and ducks between 28 November and 31 December 2022.

In 2023 and 2024 the poultry sector will continue to be able to access 2,000 seasonal worker visas to meet the pre-Christmas surge in demand for poultry workers.

More widely, the Government has put in place a number of measures which the poultry industry has been able to access, including cuts to VAT and fuel duty and support through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

We continue to keep the poultry sector under constant review including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group and our on-going regular engagement with key sector stakeholders.

The UK Government does not have any current plans to ban the import of poultry raised at a higher stocking density than is legal in the UK.

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with retailers or producers on the sale of chickens treated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics. There was an 89% reduction in fluroquinolone use in broiler chickens between 2014 and 2021, with fluoroquinolones representing just 0.4% of total antibiotic use in broilers in 2021.

Defra does not hold this data. All countries eligible to export poultry meat to the UK must have an approved plan for the control of residues of veterinary medicines in foodstuffs. This control plan will include testing for antibiotics, and trading partners must be able to demonstrate that their plan and maximum permitted residue levels are equivalent to our own domestic standards.

In order to export meat to Great Britain, GB import conditions must be met. For food products, this includes a requirement for exporting countries to regulate the use of veterinary medicines.

Fluroquinolones are permitted for use in meat production, both domestically and in imported meat products. However, withdrawal periods prior to slaughter must be adhered to, as well as residue levels, the maximum limits of which are the same for both domestic and imported meat.

The egg sector is making good progress in moving away from cages. The proportion of eggs that come from caged hens has steadily decreased from 47% of total throughput in Q4 2017, to 21% in Q1 2023.

We will continue to work with retailers and producers to ensure we maintain and enhance the high standards of animal health and welfare we have in this country, including on our farms. The Government’s animal welfare priorities for its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.

We are aware that the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has created challenges for poultry and egg producers. To support poultry producers and others affected by this unprecedented outbreak, on the 28 October 2022 Defra announced new support for the poultry industry to assist farmers and producers with the impacts of avian influenza. This includes a change to the existing avian influenza compensation scheme allowing us to provide swifter payments to help stem any cash flow pressures and give earlier certainty about entitlement to compensation.

We also introduced market support measures to assist businesses impacted by avian influenza. These included allowing seasonal poultry producers to slaughter birds, freeze them and then sell them as defrosted products during the period 28 November to 31 December 2022 and concessions to the labelling of free-range eggs from poultry housed under avian influenza mandatory housing measures for longer than the 16-week period for which an automatic derogation applies.

We continue to monitor the impacts of avian influenza on the poultry and allied sectors.

The Government continues to work closely with the poultry industry to tackle the unprecedented outbreak of avian influenza which has been affecting the UK. Defra Officials and Ministers in conjunction with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Food Standards Agency and devolved administration representatives have met regularly throughout the outbreak with industry bodies including the British Egg Industry Council, British Poultry Council, British Free Range Egg Producers Association and the Game Farmers Association in addition to individual producers representing the breadth of the poultry sector.

We are continuing to keep the market situation under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments, and our ongoing engagement with industry stakeholders.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to the unprecedented challenges the industry, including the egg sector, has faced in the past few years.

Defra has been working closely with the egg sector and has acted where appropriate in response to the recent unprecedented avian Influenza (AI) outbreak. We announced changes to the AI compensation scheme on 28 October 2022 by allowing compensation to be paid for farmers from the outset of planned culling rather than at the end. This allowed Defra to provide swifter payments to help stem any cash flow pressures and give farmers earlier certainty about entitlements to compensation. We also granted a concession to the marketing standards rules for the labelling of free-range eggs from poultry that have been housed under an AI Prevention Zone with mandatory housing measures for longer than the 16-week period for which an automatic derogation applies.   More widely, the Government has put in place a number of measures which the egg industry has been able to access, including cuts to VAT and fuel duty and support through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

In December 2022 I hosted an egg industry roundtable which brought together representatives of the egg supply chain from across the UK. The Roundtable focused on addressing the challenges that the sector had been facing due to the increase in input costs caused by the war in Ukraine. The meeting was productive with a clear willingness from all parties to address issues affecting the supply chain.

At the recent No 10 Food Summit, I announced that we would be undertaking a supply chain fairness review of the egg sector.

We continue to keep the egg sector under constant review including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group and our ongoing regular engagement with sector stakeholders.

There are no current plans to estimate the cost to industry of a ban on the use of cages for laying hens.

We are providing a range of financial incentives for improving animal health and welfare to farmers through the new Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. These incentives focus on published health and welfare priorities for each sector and will include support for farmers wishing to transition away from the use of enriched ‘colony’ cages for laying hens.

Specifically, we are exploring options for large infrastructure grants, building on the animal health and welfare grants already available towards the cost of equipment and technology which offer improvements in the health and welfare of livestock.

All livestock are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation: the Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of the animal; and The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 set down detailed requirements on how farmed livestock should be kept. Breaches of animal welfare legislation are taken very seriously and every allegation that is reported to us is investigated.

Appropriate action is taken where welfare regulations are breached. It is imperative that any suspicion of animal cruelty is alerted to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in the first instance, so that timely investigations can take place and the welfare of animals can be safeguarded.

We recognise that the agriculture industry, including the poultry and eggs sectors, has faced a number of challenges over the last year, particularly in relation to the increase of input costs as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, our assessment is that the conditions for intervention under Section 20 or Section 21 of the Agriculture Act are not currently met, not least because input costs are now falling.

We continue to closely monitor the situation in each sector through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group and via regular, on-going sector stakeholder engagement.

All of the raw poultry used by BFS Group in the service of the contract for the supply of UK Deployable Food in financial year 2022-23 was sourced from outside the UK.

The HMPPS food contract purchased 1,228,106.40 kg of Raw poultry in 2022-23 with 99.40% being sourced from UK suppliers.

The proportion of eggs that come from caged hens has steadily decreased from 47% of total throughput in Q4 2017, to around 25% at the end of Q4 2022. No recent estimate of the proportion of egg production that will be cage-free by 2025 or the costs to industry of any ban on their use has been made.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2023 to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn, PQ UIN 173051.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2023 to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn, PQ UIN 173051.

None.

We have received representations from a wide range of organisations on the use of cages for laying hens since publication of the Action Plan, including the British Egg Industry Council, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, the RSPCA, Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation, The Humane League UK, Compassion in World Farming, FOUR PAWS UK, Humane Society International UK, Animal Equality UK, UK Centre for Animal Law, Mahavir Trust, Animal Interfaith Alliance, Christian Vegetarian Association and Catholic Concern for Animals.

Defra officials and Ministers have worked closely with counterparts across Government on the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) support since the Government started to support business energy prices in Autumn 2022, raising the energy needs of businesses in our sectors via cross Government discussions on design of the scheme and formal Write Round processes.

We are aware that the recent unprecedented outbreak of AI has created problems for some poultry producers in obtaining insurance.

We are considering a number of options to both engage with insurers in explaining the measures that Defra and the industry has put in place, and in working with the industry to improve on-farm biosecurity.

The Government is proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce. We put British farming at the heart of our trade policy and have no intention of undercutting our own reputation for quality by lowering our standards in pursuit of a trade deal.

In all trade agreements we negotiate, we will stand up for British farming and aim to secure new opportunities for the industry. We will always look to ensure that UK Free Trade Agreements are fair and reciprocal, and that any ‘opening up’ does not cause an unwanted downturn for domestic producers.

We are also working hard to support a thriving and profitable domestic industry. In December 2022 I hosted a roundtable for UK egg producers to discuss the challenges that the industry has been facing due to the increase in input costs. We have relaxed marketing rules on the sale of defrosted seasonal poultry products and allowed concessions to the sale of free-range eggs impacted by Avian Influenza housing restrictions. In addition, since November 2022, the poultry industry has been able to access the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). In January 2023 the Government announced the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) that will replace EBRS when it comes to an end on 31st March 2023. This new scheme will run until 31st March 2024. Following a review of the EBRS, the Government will target a higher level of support under the EBDS at the most energy and trade intensive sectors – which are primarily manufacturing businesses – in addition to the broader EBDS support. Poultry meat processing falls within the remit of the Government’s Energy Intensive Industries exemption scheme and will therefore also qualify for the enhanced level of support.

We continue to keep the sector under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.

The Government takes a keen interest in animal welfare developments in all other countries. We are committed to exploring the phasing out of cages for laying hens, supporting the industry to do so in a way which underpins UK food production and does not have unintended animal welfare or business impacts.

The Government is committed to exploring the use of cages. However, no formal timelines for consultations have been confirmed as yet.

The UK poultry sector operates in an open market and the value of poultry commodities is established by those in the supply chain including farmers, processors, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. We have already seen supply chains adjusting to address the challenges related to rising input costs, including feed, fuel, fertiliser and energy costs.

Since November 2022, the poultry industry has been able to access the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). In January 2023 the Government announced the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) that will replace EBRS when it comes to an end on 31st March 2023. This new scheme will run until 31st March 2024.

Following the review of EBRS, beyond the broad baseline support provided for all sectors under EBDS from 1^st April 2023, the government will target higher levels of support at the most energy and trade intensive sectors (ETIIs) – which are primarily manufacturing businesses. Poultry meat processing falls within the remit of the Government’s Energy Intensive Industries exemption scheme and will therefore also qualify for the enhanced level of ETII support.

Within the context of the wider economy, we do not consider there is a case for further financial support to the poultry sector at this time. We continue to keep the sector under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.The UK poultry sector operates in an open market and the value of poultry commodities is established by those in the supply chain including farmers, processors, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. We have already seen supply chains adjusting to address the challenges related to rising input costs, including feed, fuel, fertiliser and energy costs.

Since November 2022, the poultry industry has been able to access the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). In January 2023 the Government announced the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) that will replace EBRS when it comes to an end on 31st March 2023. This new scheme will run until 31st March 2024.

Following the review of EBRS, beyond the broad baseline support provided for all sectors under EBDS from 1st April 2023, the government will target higher levels of support at the most energy and trade intensive sectors (ETIIs) – which are primarily manufacturing businesses. Poultry meat processing falls within the remit of the Government’s Energy Intensive Industries exemption scheme and will therefore also qualify for the enhanced level of ETII support.

Within the context of the wider economy, we do not consider there is a case for further financial support to the poultry sector at this time. We continue to keep the sector under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.

Defra is in regular discussion with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). We recognise the distress this awful disease can have on bird keepers and APHA officials on the ground will continue to provide guidance and support to those impacted.

Protection Zones and Captive Bird Monitoring (Controlled) Zones must remain in force for at least 21 days and Surveillance Zones for at least 30 days following the completion of preliminary cleansing and disinfection at the infected premises. However, disease control zones are only lifted once all disease control and surveillance activities in the zones have been successfully completed and there are no suspect cases under investigation in the zones. Further cases within the disease control zones will also ‘reset the clock’ for zone lifting. The audit work undertaken to lift zones is required as part of requirements from trading partners.

Defra’s approach to avian influenza control is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. Our approach aims to reduce adverse impacts on the rural and wider economy, the public, rural communities and the environment (including impact on wildlife), whilst protecting public health and minimising the overall cost of any outbreak. Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.

The sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) chapter of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement puts in place a framework that allows the UK and the EU to take informed decisions to reduce their respective SPS controls, with a commitment to avoid unnecessary barriers to trade.

Defra has utilised these mechanisms to agree specific easements, such as to allow the movement of birds through Avian Influenza zones on their way to slaughter, facilitating trade between GB and the EU in relation to HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza).

We are open to discussions with the EU on additional steps to further reduce trade friction between GB and the EU, but these cannot be on the basis of future alignment with EU rules. This would compromise sovereignty over our own laws.

Defra is in the process of analysing and assessing its retained EU law stock to determine what should be preserved as part of domestic law, and what should be repealed, or amended. This work will determine how we use the powers in the Bill, including in relation to the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007. Having said this, there are no plans to remove the ban on battery cages for laying hens.

The Secretary of State has regular meetings with counterparts in the Devolved Administrations to discuss a range of issues including the use of cages for laying hens.

In November 2021 we introduced a temporary concession enabling poultry workers to be recruited via the Seasonal Worker route, to ensure that there were sufficient workers to cover the surge in poultry production and preparation during the festive season. This received a positive response from the sector and received a good uptake, therefore we included provision for pre-Christmas poultry workers within the main Seasonal Worker route from Autumn 2022.

The Seasonal Worker scheme operators are responsible for managing all aspects of the recruitment and placement of workers on UK farms and ensuring their welfare in the UK. This includes ensuring ethical recruitment practices, in line with Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority regulations.

We take the welfare of migrant workers extremely seriously and we are committed to working with DEFRA and the GLAA in order to ensure that workers are not subject to mistreatment, abuse or fall in debt bondage and that their time in the UK is positive and productive.

Please see response given on 7^th September 2022 to PQ 45590.

In recognition of the pressures the egg sector is currently facing, particularly rising input costs alongside the impacts of Avian Influenza, Defra has granted a concession which will apply if the housing orders that are currently in place in England exceed the 16-week derogation period. This concession will allow producers and packers, on a one-off basis, the option to use either direct print to pack or an affixed label on free-range boxes. Accompanying clear and transparent point of sale signage should also be in place to ensure consumers are not misled and to avoid undermining consumer confidence in the free-range industry.

We are aware that there are proposals in the EU to amend the derogation period. We are closely following the negotiations on this proposal. We are under no obligation to align with the EU and Defra currently has no plans to amend the 16-week derogation period. We are keen to ensure we retain consumer confidence in our free-range brand and the need therefore to act in the interests of both UK producers and consumers

Egg Marketing Standards are a devolved matter, and so, any review of or changes to the standards would be a matter for each of the administrations in Great Britain.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 03 November 2022 to the hon. Member for Glasgow North, PQ UIN 69670.

The Home Office publishes data on visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release (opens in a new tab)’. Data on the number of ‘Seasonal Worker’ visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance visas applications and outcomes (opens in a new tab) dataset.

Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2022.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar (opens in a new tab)’.

The UK government is committed to supporting the agricultural industry and ensuring that it continues to develop and thrive. The Seasonal Worker route will be expanded in 2023, with 45,000 visas available, to support our farmers growing fruit, vegetables, and flowers as they adapt to changes in the UK labour market. The separate poultry quota will remain at 2,000 places.

This number will be kept under review with the potential to increase by a further 10,000 if necessary, and contingent on sponsors and growers improving and abiding by to worker welfare standards, including ensuring workers are guaranteed a minimum number of paid hours each week.

The seasonal worker route is specifically designed to support the UK horticulture sector – a sector in which growers typically require higher volumes of labour, for relatively short-term periods of time, in line with seasonal production peaks. The route is not designed to support non-seasonal roles which operate on a year-round basis. Employers should look to recruit from the domestic labour market in the first instance which includes those who have EU settled status, or from the range of agricultural roles eligible under the wider Points-Based-System.

The Home Office publishes data on visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release(opens in a new tab)’. Data on the number of ‘Seasonal Worker’ visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance visas applications and outcomes(opens in a new tab) dataset.

Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2022.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar(opens in a new tab)’.

The scale of Avian Influenza outbreaks occurring in the UK, Europe and globally this year is unprecedented and we recognize the impact this has had on the poultry industry, particularly the turkey sector. However, the British poultry sector is highly resilient and there is no immediate threat to the food supply chain. Demand for poultry workers via the Seasonal Workers visa route is less than anticipated this year due primarily to the AI outbreak. This will not affect the 2,000 visas allocated to the seasonal poultry sector in 2024.

There are many factors, including the impact of Avian Influenza, that will influence the cost of a turkey. To support the seasonal poultry sector, Defra announced on 28 October a flexibility to marketing rules in England so that farmers who breed turkeys, geese, ducks or capons for the Christmas market have the option to slaughter their flocks early and freeze these products, which can then be defrosted and sold to consumers between the period 28 November and 31 December 2022. These changes have given farmers certainty over business planning and have helped secure the supply of turkeys this Christmas.

Our annual UK report on Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance, Sales and Surveillance (UK-VARSS 2021) was published on 8^th November 2022, and presents the findings of our monitoring programmes on veterinary antibiotic sales, usage and resistance.

We estimate the current size of the egg laying chicken flock in the UK is just under 38 million hens.

The Home Office publishes data on visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of ‘Seasonal Worker’ visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance visas applications and outcomes dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Outside of zoos, the vaccination of birds as an immediate disease control response is not currently permitted. Swift and humane culling of birds on infected premises coupled with good biosecurity including the separation of poultry and other captive birds from wild birds and disease surveillance remains the most effective means of controlling the disease.

A limited number of commercial avian influenza vaccines are authorised for use in the UK; however, these vaccines are unlikely to provide full protection for the current strains of highly pathogenic avian influenza circulating in the UK and continental Europe, or provide cross-protection to other strains which may circulate in the future. At present, vaccination can help to reduce mortality, but it is likely that some vaccinated birds would still be capable of transmitting avian influenza if they became infected. This would increase the time taken to detect and eradicate the virus.

In addition, there are a number of practical, animal welfare and commercial disadvantages relating to the use of currently available vaccines which would present significant logistical and cost challenges to industry. These vaccines need to be delivered by individually injecting each bird and, since it is difficult to differentiate infected from vaccinated birds, this leads to significant trade issues relating to exporting poultry and their products to other countries.

Defra continues to invest in avian influenza research and monitors the situation in Europe and globally. In conjunction with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), Defra will continue to monitor the development and availability of vaccines for use to protect against avian influenza and as a control measure during avian influenza outbreaks, as they are put forward for marketing authorisation by vaccine manufacturers.

The Home Office does not routinely publish data on individual SOC codes.

Data is published on visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of ‘Seasonal Worker’ visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance visas applications and outcomes dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

The Home Office does not routinely publish data on individual sponsor licence holders.

Data is published on visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of ‘Seasonal Worker’ visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance visas applications and outcomes dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.