The country of origin for imports of cats/dogs/ferrets into the UK between 2008 and May 2012 are set out as follows:

EU member states

Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.

Third countries and territories

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, DR, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea DPR, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, US Virgin Islands, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam/Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The sequencing and timetable of work by individual Departments is now being determined. Detailed work by Departments on some areas will begin in autumn this year and work will continue into 2014. More information will also be available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website.

The Government takes the issue of animal cruelty very seriously. On 23 April, we announced a package of proposals to tackle irresponsible ownership of dogs. The consultation on these proposals closed on 15 June and we are currently analysing the 23,000 or so replies before any decision is made.

In the meantime, we have provided funding to the Dogs Trust, the RSPCA and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to research what community projects work best to improve more responsible ownership of dogs.

In 2010 DEFRA introduced codes of practice for the welfare of cats and dogs. The codes explain to owners what measures they need to take to provide for the welfare needs of their cats and dogs.

No assessment has been made by DEFRA of the new arrangement for Farm Business Tenancy agreements, which was introduced by the Crown Estates in 2011. However, I understand, under the arrangement, the lease creates a direct link between rental and commodity prices and that this approach has been widely welcomed by tenants, their representatives and the industry alike.

The majority of staff deployed for the six flood events this summer were deployed within their own region. Using the Environment Agency inter-regional aid arrangements it deployed 32 members of staff from the following offices: Shrewsbury, Henley in Arden, Nottingham, Solihull, Bridgewater, Peterborough and Oxford. They travelled to: Sale, Newcastle, Preston, Warrington, Leeds.

During major events the Environment Agency manage its resources nationally. Resources are deployed against the current incident picture and using the best intelligence available, for example the Flood Guidance Statement issued by the Flood Forecasting Centre.

The Environment Agency has a single Agency approach to its response to ensure resources are used efficiently and effectively; This includes all facets of its responses from media staff to field staff deployed on the ground.

The cost of food and accommodation for Environment Agency staff deployed to areas of flood risk during the period 1 June to 31 July 2012 was £3,324.

The majority of Environment Agency staff deployed for the six flood events this summer were deployed within their own regions. Using the Environment Agency inter-regional aid arrangements it deployed 32 members of staff. The following table shows how they travelled and covers the period 1 June to 31 July 2012:

The Environment Agency continually review its travel policy to ensure that it reflects value for money, best use of staff time and commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. The current policy came into effect on 1 June 2010. It states that:

'under normal operating circumstances travel by air will not be permitted for journeys within England and Wales'

and that

'all requests for air travel must have a good business justification and will be personally scrutinised and approved'

by senior managers. To be considered, staff must provide details of alternative travel options, costs and duration. All staff are actively encouraged to consider other means of transport.

The current travel policy encourages a hierarchy of options for all travel, starting with not travelling at all.

During ongoing incidents, the following pay and benefit arrangements may apply:

Staff eligible for overtime (Grades 1 to 4) claim overtime at 1.5 times their standard hourly rate, except for Sundays and anytime between 12 am and 6 am on weekdays when they receive overtime at two times their standard hourly rate.

Staff above the overtime threshold (Grade 5 and above) are eligible to claim overtime at the fixed rate of £24.37 per hour. This rate applies at any time of the day or week.

Senior managers receive no additional benefits for taking part in ongoing incident responses.

On some occasions, and in agreement with the relevant managers, time off in lieu may be taken as an alternative to claiming overtime.

The Environment Agency and DEFRA are reviewing these arrangements.

Core DEFRA, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) are unable to identify fuel directly purchased by the organisation. Drivers are reimbursed on a mileage basis, and the payment covers both fuel costs and other expenses such as wear and tear. Any hire car costs recorded for these organisations cannot be divided into fuel and other costs.

Direct fuel costs for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) are summarised in the following table. The costs are fuel purchased for hire cars (petrol and diesel costs are not separately identifiable) and diesel purchased for their research vessel:

Direct fuel costs for the Rural Payments Agency are summarised in the following table. Information prior to 2009-10 is not available as fuel costs were not recorded separately from other costs. It is not possible to identify petrol and diesel costs separately.

The Government have no such proposal. I am satisfied that the existing legislation and code of practice provide the necessary protection for the welfare of gamebirds reared for sport shooting.

The welfare of gamebirds for sport shooting is a devolved matter and separate regulations can be brought forward by the Welsh Government, if they so wish.

I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my Noble Friend, Lord Henley to Baroness Byford, on 6 June 2011, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA61, for details pertaining to funding provided to the RSPB in the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11.

For financial year 2011-12 core DEFRA provided payments to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds with a total value of £811,930. To identify which funds were for (a) agricultural-environment and (b) other purposes would incur disproportionate cost.

The Rural Payments Agency has made no direct payments to the RSPB during the past three years. However, the Scottish Government's Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID) have made payments to RSPB on behalf of the RPA. The following is the only analysis of spend made to the RSPB by SGRPID and is shown by category in the following tables.

A new set of sustainable development indicators were published for consultation on 24 July 2012.

DEFRA has not and does not plan to commission research on the use of wild animals in circuses. We accept the findings of the 2007 Radford Report, including the conclusion that, due to the relatively small number of animals involved, the results of any further research would not be sufficiently meaningful or robust enough to better inform the debate.

Mastitis is the most common disease of dairy cows and involuntary culling due to mastitis is a major cost to the dairy industry, as was highlighted in the Farm Animal Welfare Council's 2009 Opinion on the Welfare of the Dairy Cow.

The dairy industry has established the Cattle Health and Welfare Group, which includes representatives from DEFRA and the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). The Group has four key priorities, one of which is the dairy cow welfare strategy which was launched in August 2010 with support of the whole dairy supply chain. The strategy is aiming to improve recognition, treatment, prevention and control of mastitis and expand the excellent work of DairyCo and its Mastitis Control Initiative to reduce levels of mastitis. The strategy's first progress report published in September last year reported the incidence rate of cows affected by clinical mastitis (expressed as the proportion of cows affected) reduced by 7.8% over the 12 months to June 2011. The AHVLA provides a diagnostic service for diseases, including mastitis and maintains a database of submissions and diagnosis as part of its surveillance remit. A summary of its analysis is published annually.

DEFRA's cattle welfare code provides farmers with good husbandry advice based on best practice and includes guidance on mastitis. Over a number of years ADAS, on behalf of DEFRA, has provided comprehensive welfare advice through a variety of media for farmers around the country to encourage good welfare, in an effort to reduce the incidence of mastitis in cow herds. The programme has included advice on 'Reducing injuries

to Dairy Cows', 'Milking Management and the Mastitis Management Action Plan' and more recently 'Breeding Dairy cows for Longevity'.

Mastitis is the most common disease of dairy cows and involuntary culling due to mastitis is a major cost to the dairy industry, as was highlighted in the Farm Animal Welfare Council's 2009 Opinion on the Welfare of the Dairy Cow.

The dairy industry has established the Cattle Health and Welfare Group, which includes representatives from DEFRA and the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). The Group has four key priorities, one of which is the dairy cow welfare strategy which was launched in August 2010 with support of the whole dairy supply chain. The strategy is aiming to improve recognition, treatment, prevention and control of mastitis and expand the excellent work of DairyCo and its Mastitis Control Initiative to reduce levels of mastitis. The strategy's first progress report published in September last year reported the incidence rate of cows affected by clinical mastitis (expressed as the proportion of cows affected) reduced by 7.8% over the 12 months to June 2011. The AHVLA provides a diagnostic service for diseases, including mastitis and maintains a database of submissions and diagnosis as part of its surveillance remit. A summary of its analysis is published annually.

DEFRA's cattle welfare code provides farmers with good husbandry advice based on best practice and includes guidance on mastitis. Over a number of years ADAS, on behalf of DEFRA, has provided comprehensive welfare advice through a variety of media for farmers around the country to encourage good welfare, in an effort to reduce the incidence of mastitis in cow herds. The programme has included advice on 'Reducing injuries

to Dairy Cows', 'Milking Management and the Mastitis Management Action Plan' and more recently 'Breeding Dairy cows for Longevity'.

Advice on employment is industry led and DEFRA is supportive of the industry in its work to promote the opportunities available. Lantra, the sector skills council for agriculture that is awarded its funding from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), provides information and advice to graduates on employment in the farming sector.

The Food Labelling Regulations in the UK only cover requirements for the two legally required forms of date mark: 'use by'; and 'best before'. Other forms of date mark, including the 'sell by' date, can be provided by businesses on a voluntary basis so long as they are not misleading.

DEFRA issued guidance on the application of date marking to food businesses in September 2011 to help them improve the consistency of the use of the 'best before' and 'use by' date marks to prevent food being needlessly thrown away. There are no current plans to change either the legislation or the guidance.

The Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 were laid before Parliament on 12 July. The Regulations cover any wild animal which is kept or introduced in a travelling circus whether for the purpose of performance, display or otherwise. Our proposals for an ethics based ban on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses will require primary legislation. We expect to publish draft legislation for pre-legislative scrutiny later this session. It will ultimately be for Parliament to determine which wild animals will be covered by the ban.

[holding answer 9 July 2012]: On 3 July, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my noble Friend, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, hosted a roundtable discussion with major retailers and food redistribution charities. This explored the barriers to redistribution and considered an outline proposal from FareShare and FoodCycle that seeks to make redistribution easier for both charities and retailers. This proposal would build upon the partnerships most major retailers already have with redistribution charities.

DEFRA officials are working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to provide clarity on the existing legal situation for food donors. The FSA, which is responsible for food safety, advises that food passed on or supplied in this way must meet EU food safety requirements in order to protect consumers and safeguard public health.