To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether an assessment has been made of the potential merits of launching a public consultation into the use of high concentration carbon dioxide for slaughtering pigs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether an assessment has been made of the potential merits of launching a public consultation into the use of high concentration carbon dioxide for slaughtering pigs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial and advisory support will be available to assist pig producers to transition directly to free farrowing systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial and advisory support will be available to assist pig producers to transition directly to free farrowing systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she can confirm if the forthcoming consultation on phasing out farrowing crates will be based on a transition to free farrowing systems rather than permitting the use of continued temporary crating.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she can confirm if the forthcoming consultation on phasing out farrowing crates will be based on a transition to free farrowing systems rather than permitting the use of continued temporary crating.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to publish the consultation on phasing out the use of fallow farming crates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to publish the consultation on phasing out the use of fallow farming crates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to publish the consultation on phasing out the use of farrowing crates for sows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to publish the consultation on phasing out the use of farrowing crates for sows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she can confirm that the forthcoming consultation on phasing out farrowing crates will be based on a transition to free farrowing systems rather than permitting the continued use of temporary crating.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she can confirm that the forthcoming consultation on phasing out farrowing crates will be based on a transition to free farrowing systems rather than permitting the continued use of temporary crating.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration has she given to launching an independent review into the pig industry, to determine whether piglet thumping continues to be practised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration has she given to launching an independent review into the pig industry, to determine whether piglet thumping continues to be practised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to launch the consultation on phasing out farrowing crates for pigs; and what support she plans to make available to farmers to transition away from farrowing systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to launch the consultation on phasing out farrowing crates for pigs; and what support she plans to make available to farmers to transition away from farrowing systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the comparative costs of transitioning from farrowing crates to (a) temporary crating systems and (b) free farrowing systems, and if she will ask the Animal Welfare Committee to consider the relative animal...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the comparative costs of transitioning from farrowing crates to (a) temporary crating systems and (b) free farrowing systems, and if she will ask the Animal Welfare Committee to consider the relative animal...

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to consult on phasing out the use of farrowing crates for sows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to consult on phasing out the use of farrowing crates for sows.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her department has made on the effectiveness of farrowing crates for sows in rearing piglets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her department has made on the effectiveness of farrowing crates for sows in rearing piglets.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of farrowing crates on piglet mortality rates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of farrowing crates on piglet mortality rates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support will be available for pig producers to transition to free farrowing systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support will be available for pig producers to transition to free farrowing systems.

Motion, That this House has considered Government support for pig farmers. Agreed to on question.

Motion, That this House has considered Government support for pig farmers. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Government support for pig farmers.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank Members for coming to the debate. To say that the UK’s pig industry is worried is a gross understatement. The sector has always experienced ups...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Government support for pig farmers.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank Members for coming to the debate. To say that the UK’s pig industry is worried is a gross understatement. The sector has always experienced ups...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher.

My constituency spans Doncaster and North Lincolnshire—two very proud agricultural areas with a long and important connection to British pig farming. We are part of a region at the heart of British pork production. Yorkshire and the Humber accounts for...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher.

My constituency spans Doncaster and North Lincolnshire—two very proud agricultural areas with a long and important connection to British pig farming. We are part of a region at the heart of British pork production. Yorkshire and the Humber accounts for...

The hon. Member is making a really important point about the need for consumers to be clear about where their food is produced and reared. I draw his attention to my private Member’s Bill on that very topic. I hope that he and others across the House will support it.

The hon. Member is making a really important point about the need for consumers to be clear about where their food is produced and reared. I draw his attention to my private Member’s Bill on that very topic. I hope that he and others across the House will support it.

The hon. Lady has my full support—and, I am pretty sure, that of my farmers.

My farmers have told me how much this issue matters to them. When consumers can easily identify British pork, they actively choose to buy it. That supports British farms, British jobs and our rural communities, while...

The hon. Lady has my full support—and, I am pretty sure, that of my farmers.

My farmers have told me how much this issue matters to them. When consumers can easily identify British pork, they actively choose to buy it. That supports British farms, British jobs and our rural communities, while...

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) on securing this important and timely debate.

Pig farming is an important part of our rural economy in West Dorset. Alongside several family-run pig farms, we are...

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) on securing this important and timely debate.

Pig farming is an important part of our rural economy in West Dorset. Alongside several family-run pig farms, we are...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

Around one in five pigs in the country are reared in my part of the world: Norfolk and Suffolk. That means that when we talk about the...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

Around one in five pigs in the country are reared in my part of the world: Norfolk and Suffolk. That means that when we talk about the...