We want our farming sectors to continue to be viable and competitive. There are several economic challenges currently being faced by the pig and poultry sectors, not least costs of feed and energy and the continued threat of avian influenza for laying hens, which is why we took the decision that the time is not right to consult on phasing out cage systems.

The market is already driving the move away from using cages for laying hens with over 60% of eggs coming from free range production. The UK also has a significant outdoor pig sector with 40% of the national sow breeding herd farrowing freely on outdoor units with no option for confinement.

We are firmly committed to maintaining our strong track record on animal welfare and continue to work with the farming industry to maintain and enhance our high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, part of our new domestic agricultural policy, supports farmers to produce healthier, higher welfare animals. The Government’s welfare priorities for the Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.

Compensation, as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981, is paid for healthy birds culled by the Government for disease control purposes. No compensation is available for sick birds or birds that have died. Compensation is also not paid for consequential losses, including business interruption caused by control measures, nor for eggs or poultry meat that needs to be disposed of to prevent further disease spread. Any meat or birds that have been slaughtered and are hanging as part of the maturation process on an infected premises will be subject to risk assessment. If it is considered to present a risk of disease spread, the meat or birds will need to be biosecurely disposed of without compensation.

Ministers meet with relevant stakeholders frequently to discuss a range of issues.

We are firmly committed to maintaining our strong track record on animal welfare and to delivering continued improvements, both in the course of this Parliament and beyond.

We do not consider the time is right to consult on cage reforms, being mindful of the challenges the sectors are facing. The market is already driving the move away from using cages for laying hen production. 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 continue to work with the sector to maintain and enhance our high standards. The Government’s animal welfare priorities for its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 12 June 2023 to the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington, PQ UIN 188176 and the hon. Member for Scunthorpe, PQ UIN 188424.

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

The UK poultry industry operates in an open market and commercial loans are a matter for individual businesses.

The British Business Bank works with lenders to offer a range of debt and equity products to support UK businesses including those in the food and agricultural sectors.

Defra does not hold data on the number of ducks released for shooting. Defra publishes all its risk assessments on GOV.UK as part of the ‘Animal diseases: international and UK monitoring’ collection and continues to monitor the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in both wild and kept birds, working with the game farming sector and conservation bodies, and will keep the need for further risk assessments under review. No products have a market authorisation for treatment of HPAI in poultry (including ducks reared for shooting) and vaccination of poultry against avian influenza is not permitted.

No recent assessment has been made of the conditions in which such birds live. The welfare of ducks while they are being reared for shooting is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (until such time as they are released in the wild), which makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal. In addition, the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes provides advice on husbandry, housing and management.

Global trade flows on shell eggs are minimal given difficulties in transporting over long distances and exports of egg products are not significant within the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) membership. The UK did not import any eggs from CPTPP Parties in 2022. We will retain tariffs on eggs and egg products until year 10 of the agreement. For Australia, eggs will remain subject to Most Favoured Nation tariff rates.

The British Poultry Council was included in the department’s Trade Advisory Group on agri-food, which met regularly. The British Egg Industry Council was included in a CPTPP roundtable with agricultural stakeholders. The consultation exercises run by the UK Government for CPTPP received almost 150,000 responses, and we published our response to these in 2021.

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.