To ask the Minister of Health for his assessment of the connection between animal welfare and public health.

Neither my Department nor the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has commissioned any research to determine if the ownership of a companion animal generates measurable improvements in the health and wellbeing of the persons who own the animals but research and analysis undertaken by several UK universities, suggests that in certain circumstances, owning a companion animal may have positive impacts on mental health, such as mitigating feelings of loneliness.