Robbie Douglas-Miller, Baron Douglas-Miller Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Douglas-Miller
Office:Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare
Term Start:1 December 2023
Term End:5 July 2024
Successor:Office abolished
Primeminister:Rishi Sunak
Office1:Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Term Start1:15 December 2023
Life peerage
Predecessor:The Lord Benyon
Birth Name:Robert Peter Douglas-Miller
Party:Conservative Party
Children:3

Robert Peter Douglas-Miller, Baron Douglas-Miller, (born January 1965)[1] is a British landowner and life peer. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare from 2023 to 2024 in the Sunak ministry.[2] [3] [4]

Early life and family

Douglas-Miller was born in January 1965. His family once ran Jenners, a department store in Edinburgh.[5] [6] [7]

Career

Charity

From 2015 to 2022, Douglas-Miller was the chairman of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, which had Prince Charles as its patron and Alister Jack as a board member.

Business

Douglas-Miller is the managing director of Moorfoot Capital Management, which owns farmland in Scotland.[8]

Political

On 1 December 2023, Douglas-Miller was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare, a junior ministerial office in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, succeeding Lord Benyon in the Sunak ministry.[9] He was created a life peer as Baron Douglas-Miller, of The Hopes in the County of East Lothian, on 15 December, and was introduced to the House of Lords on 18 December.[10]

On 11 December, he announced that legislation would be introduced for the option to issue fixed penalty notices for various animal health and welfare offences, stating "I welcome penalty notices as an additional tool for our partners to use to encourage compliance with the law."[11] On 14 December, legislation for a ban on keeping primates as pets was introduced, with Douglas-Miller saying "we have consistently led the world in raising the bar for animal welfare standards and this legislation is yet another step."[12]

Douglas-Miller made his maiden speech in the House of Lords on 18 January 2024.[13]

Personal life

Douglas-Miller owns more than of land in Scotland. He is married with 3 children. His wife is a granddaughter of Walter Bromley-Davenport.

Honours

Douglas-Miller was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to wildlife conservation in Scotland.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Robert Peter DOUGLAS MILLER personal appointments . 2023-12-07 . find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk . en.
  2. Web site: Robbie Douglas-Miller OBE . 2023-12-07 . GOV.UK . en.
  3. Web site: 2023-12-01 . Ministerial appointments: November-December 2023 . 2023-12-07 . GOV.UK . en.
  4. News: Mason . Rowena . Horton . Helena . 2023-12-01 . Scottish landowner who 'obstructs public access' made environment minister . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-12-07 . 0261-3077.
  5. News: Horton . Helena . Mason . Rowena . 2023-12-06 . New UK animal welfare minister backed seal and wild bird culls . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-12-08 . 0261-3077.
  6. News: 2023-12-16 . Robert Douglas Miller obituary . . en . 2023-12-16 . 0140-0460.
  7. Web site: 22 July 2021 . Scotsman Obituaries: Robert Douglas Miller, chairman of iconic Jenners store . 16 December 2023 . The Scotsman.
  8. Web site: List of Ministers' Interests: December 2023 (HTML) . 2023-12-16 . GOV.UK . en.
  9. Web site: Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Biosecurity, Animal Health and Welfare) - GOV.UK . 2023-12-07 . www.gov.uk . en.
  10. Introduction: Lord Douglas-Miller . Parliament of the United Kingdom . House of Lords . 18 December 2023 . 834 . 2035.
  11. Web site: Penalty notices introduced for animal health and welfare offences . 2023-12-13 . GOV.UK . en.
  12. Web site: Government delivers on promise to ban keeping of primates . 2023-12-16 . GOV.UK . en.
  13. Web site: 18 January 2024 . Biosecurity and Infectious Diseases Volume 835: debated on Thursday 18 January 2024 . hansard.parliament.uk.