Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following publication of the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper (CP 1021) on 31 January, whether seed potatoes can now be moved by professional operators in Great Britain to consumers in Northern Ireland.

Under the Windsor Framework’s Northern Ireland (NI) Plant Health Label scheme, previously banned seed potatoes are once again available to move to NI from other parts of the UK.

Noting the high health status of seed potatoes, they must move between professional operators, which include farmers, growers and gardeners. Once planted in NI, the new crop of seed potatoes can be sold with no restrictions. This reflects long standing arrangements for biosecurity within Great Britain (GB) and NI and the need to protect the high plant health status in NI.

As stated in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, we will engage with the farming and horticultural industry to resolve any remaining issues for the movement of plant products, including seed potatoes, between GB and NI.