Contributions
806 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]With respect, this is about semantics. It is a matter of drafting, as I have said, and not about misunderstanding. It is simply not necessary to include anything other than that.…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I agree that this is an important piece of legislation and, like the hon. Member for Newport West, I hope it will go forward in a timely way. I thank the EFRA Committee for the…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I will come on to that in my answer because, arguably, the one thing the committee does have up its sleeve is the ability to name and shame if it is not responded to. That is the…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I thank the hon. Member for Newport West for her co-operation; I know that she is merely trying to assist. At this point, I would like to associate myself with her comments on Her…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]Clause 2 tasks the Animal Sentience Committee with publishing reports that give its opinion on whether, or to what extent, Ministers have had all due regard to the needs of…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I apologise, I did not see the hon. Gentleman.10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I thank the hon. Member for Cambridge for raising the matter of responses to the Animal Sentience Committee report with the amendment. I agree that the committee’s report warrants…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I may be wrong, but I do not think that the Scottish Government determined that that should be one of the SAWC’s first acts. I reiterate: it should be for the committee to decide…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]The clause requires a Minister whose Department has been subject to an Animal Sentience Committee report to lay a written report before Parliament. The response must be submitted…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I would say no. The formulation and thought process of legislation feels like it takes considerable time, as we all know. This mechanism would not, in any circumstance I can…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]The clause provides for the inclusion of the Animal Sentience Committee in the list of organisations subject to the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958 and the Freedom of…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I thank the hon. Member for Bristol East for moving the amendment, by which she asks the important question of why we are not putting in a fixed definition of “sentience”. I…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I refer the hon. Gentleman to the terms of reference. We do not want to be overly prescriptive about its make-up, nor do we want to be over-prescriptive in case, for example,…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]The clause sets out what types of animals are covered by the provisions of the Bill and are thus subject to consideration by the Animal Sentience Committee. It covers any…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]The clause sets out the territorial extent and the commencement provisions for the Bill following Royal Assent. Clause 2(6) provides that the Animal Sentience Committee may only…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I say gently to the hon. Gentleman, whom I thank for proposing new clause 1, that while I agree that the Bill should be science-led, he will not be surprised that I disagree…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I add my voice to that, but I would also like to thank my Bill team and members of my private office, who are nothing but always by my side, for which I thank them.10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Charles. The clause requires the Government to create and maintain the Animal Sentience Committee. The committee will be at…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]The point of the new committee is not to make value judgments. It is to scrutinise legislation to ensure that all due regard is taken of the welfare of animals. Such decisions are…10 Feb 2022HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [ Lords ]I refer the hon. Lady to the terms of reference, which lay out that the Secretary of State will request that those who are on the committee will be from a broad spectrum. We will…10 Feb 2022