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Written Question
Veterinary Services
Tuesday 25th May 2021

Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports of private equity companies purchasing veterinary practices to turn them into "cash-generating units", whether they will hold urgent discussions with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons about amending their Code of Conduct to apply to commercial companies running veterinary practices.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)

Anyone practising as a veterinary surgeon, regardless of the ownership of the practice, needs to be registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and has a duty to provide care ensuring that animal health and welfare is their first consideration. Any concerns about the ownership or commercial practices of businesses should be directed to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Written Question
Wines: Imports
Thursday 21st January 2021

Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of requiring VI-1 certificates for wine imported from non-EU countries.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Wine imports to the EU have been subject to the requirement to provide a VI1 certificate for many years. The basis for their introduction was to provide a level of assurance that the wine being imported met the standards required to be marketed in the EU. Over time the VI1 requirement has been relaxed in some cases to allow simplified forms of the certificate to be used, where for instance the exporting country and the EU have reached trade agreements covering the production of wine.

The Withdrawal Act 2018 retained the requirement for third country wines to be accompanied by a VI1 certificate as a means of maintaining that level of assurance. As VI1 provisions already exist for wine imports from non-EU countries, and these wines remain extremely competitive in our marketplace, we believe the new requirement to be appropriate and affordable.

As I and colleagues in Government have said on many occasions, leaving the EU gives us the ability to look critically at the laws we have inherited from the EU to ensure they remain fit for purpose. We have maintained simplified VI1 arrangements, where these existed, in the new trade deals we have concluded, and we will consider in due course whether there is a case to revisit the requirement for VI1 certification overall.

Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 28 Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill

"My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. I thank my noble friend the Minister for his sterling work over the last seven days in Committee, for his incredible stamina, and for his courtesy and politeness when replying to debates. I will be very brief, since …..."
Lord Blencathra - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 23 Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill

"My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Naseby, especially since I agree with so much of what he has said. On this occasion, however, I regret that I have to disagree with my noble friend Lord Randall of Uxbridge. I shall be brief because I …..."
Lord Blencathra - View Speech

View all Lord Blencathra (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Agriculture Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 21 Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill

"My Lords, I declare my interests as on the register. It is a pleasure to the follow the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, and in relation to his comments on Hansard, I tell him, and indeed the whole Committee, that I once asked the late Lord Armstrong, who I rate …..."
Lord Blencathra - View Speech

View all Lord Blencathra (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Agriculture Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 16 Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill

"My Lords, it is an honour to have participated in the debates today. They have been informed by the wisdom and farming experience of noble Lords who collectively have farmed this country and made our land what it is with over 1,000 years of experience between them. I refer to …..."
Lord Blencathra - View Speech

View all Lord Blencathra (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Agriculture Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 14 Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill

"My Lords, for all amendments on which I may speak today, I declare my interest as on the register.

When we concluded last Thursday, we had heard some excellent speeches on nature-friendly farming and agroecology, and I will comment on the amendments in this group that speak about those subjects. …..."
Lord Blencathra - View Speech

View all Lord Blencathra (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Agriculture Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 14 Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill

"My Lords, I begin by paying tribute to the wise words we heard last week and today from my noble friend Lord Inglewood, who always brings not only wisdom and farming experience to our debates, but sound common sense, which seems to be a government policy at the moment.

I …..."
Lord Blencathra - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 09 Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill

"My Lords, I think we have all been slightly caught out there. For all the amendments on which I may speak today, I declare my interest as in the register.

I am sorry to disagree with my noble friend Lord Lucas. While I am in complete agreement about the need …..."
Lord Blencathra - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 07 Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill

"My Lords, I declare my interests, as on the register. I too regret that I was unable to participate in the Second Reading, but I will be mercifully brief with my comments on this group of amendments.

My worry with this group is the same as that which I had …..."
Lord Blencathra - View Speech

View all Lord Blencathra (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Agriculture Bill