Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to retain the ban on the feeding of animal remains to farm livestock in England.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The EU is introducing legislative changes which follow their agreed TSE roadmaps.
These proposals would authorise for the EU:
The rules will still be more stringent than those required by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) which only ban the use of ruminant proteins in feed for ruminant animals.
Pigs and poultry have not been shown to be susceptible to TSE. The proposals will not affect the existing bans on feeding animal proteins to ruminants and on intra-species recycling (feeding an animal with a product derived from the same species), and they do not include high-risk animal by-products which are incinerated. Nor would they permit the feeding of animal remains to farmed livestock, which is banned in the UK and the EU.
The restrictions on feeding of livestock in England will not be altered by EU legislation. Before taking any policy decision, officials would obtain advice from Government scientists and from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) regarding any potential risk to human or animal health; and engage closely with groups representing consumers, retailers, producers, farmers and other interested stakeholders.
Animal Health is a devolved matter, so this policy is devolved to the Scottish and the Welsh Ministers for their respective territories.
Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the amendments will apply to Northern Ireland.
The UK does not ban the imports of pig and poultry meat products from countries where the feed rules comply with the OIE requirements. This means that imports of pig and poultry meat products from the EU or Northern Ireland will continue to be accepted into Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - 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 decision by the EU to lift the ban on feeding animal remains to pigs and poultry.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The EU is introducing legislative changes which follow their agreed TSE roadmaps.
These proposals would authorise for the EU:
The rules will still be more stringent than those required by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) which only ban the use of ruminant proteins in feed for ruminant animals.
Pigs and poultry have not been shown to be susceptible to TSE. The proposals will not affect the existing bans on feeding animal proteins to ruminants and on intra-species recycling (feeding an animal with a product derived from the same species), and they do not include high-risk animal by-products which are incinerated. Nor would they permit the feeding of animal remains to farmed livestock, which is banned in the UK and the EU.
The restrictions on feeding of livestock in England will not be altered by EU legislation. Before taking any policy decision, officials would obtain advice from Government scientists and from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) regarding any potential risk to human or animal health; and engage closely with groups representing consumers, retailers, producers, farmers and other interested stakeholders.
Animal Health is a devolved matter, so this policy is devolved to the Scottish and the Welsh Ministers for their respective territories.
Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the amendments will apply to Northern Ireland.
The UK does not ban the imports of pig and poultry meat products from countries where the feed rules comply with the OIE requirements. This means that imports of pig and poultry meat products from the EU or Northern Ireland will continue to be accepted into Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) beef, and (2) lamb, from Australia which has been (a) reared using antibacterial infusions, and (b) fed unrestricted amounts of GM produce, will be allowed into the UK as a result of the recently announced trade deal.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The UK is rightly proud of our world-leading food, health and animal welfare standards. As we have previously made clear, we will not compromise on these standards in our trade negotiations.
Our deal with Australia does not change any of our existing import requirements. All meat, and other animal products, imported into the UK under this deal will continue to be subject to clear controls on limits of veterinary medicine residues, including antimicrobials. Moreover, we have agreed to cooperate with Australia on combatting antimicrobial resistance. This demonstrates our commitment to values-based trade policy and is a very positive step.
Our rules on genetically modified (GM) organisms also remain in place and only authorised GM material will be permitted for import from Australia. However, it is important to clarify that products such as milk and meat derived from animals fed GM feed are not themselves GM organisms. Here in the UK we import approximately 3 million tonnes of authorised GM feed per year - approximately 70% of our total animal protein feed requirement. UK animal products fed with such feed are then exported in the same manner as those fed on non-GM diets and the same is true with Australian animal products. The industry operates in this way regardless of our trade agreement and it presents no weakening of standards on GM.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made as to whether (1) beef, and (2) lamb, imports from Australia that do not meet EU rules will result in greater controls and inspections of all beef and lamb products entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Australia is already permitted to export beef and lamb to the UK on the basis that we have determined it meets our strict animal health and food safety requirements. This is verified through checks at the border on the product and the accompanying veterinary health certification. The rules for the importation of products of animal origin (POAO) including beef and lamb into Great Britain from countries such as Australia is laid down in Retained EU legislation.
There is nothing in the trade agreement between the UK and Australia that will lower or compromise the UK’s high food standards and therefore no basis for increased checks on products entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funds have been paid to date to the Northern Ireland Executive for the creation of infrastructure at (1) ports, and (2) airports in Northern Ireland, as a result of the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
A total of £16 million was allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive in the 20/21 financial year for infrastructure, IT systems and personnel for the work necessary to carry out Sanitary and Phytosanitary checks at Northern Ireland’s Points of Entry required by the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - 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 requirement of 'wash certificates' for all second-hand agricultural vehicles moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland; and what plans they have to provide financial assistance to traders of agricultural vehicles to cover the cost of those certificates.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Now that the transition period has ended, Great Britain is treated as a third country by the European Union and vice-versa. Building on the existing practice established to maintain the Single Epidemiological Unit on the island of Ireland, both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland remain aligned with EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules. Consequently, used agricultural machinery exported from England, Scotland or Wales to Northern Ireland are subject to EU import controls including the requirement for a phytosanitary certificate. Used agricultural and forestry machinery must be cleaned free of soil and plant debris prior to shipping to meet EU import requirements and in order for a phytosanitary certificate to be issued.
Defra has put in place the Movement Assistance Scheme (MAS) to support and assist traders moving plants, plant products, agrifood and agricultural machinery from GB to NI. In addition to providing advice and guidance through a dedicated helpline service, MAS minimises business uncertainty by reimbursing or defraying some of the direct costs of certification that traders will incur as a result of the new requirements. Therefore, if a business is moving used agricultural or forestry machinery from GB to NI, they do not need to pay for the phytosanitary certificates. Defra will monitor the performance of the scheme and review it after three months to determine how to best provide ongoing support to traders.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - 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 on Lough Neagh eel fishermen of no longer being able to sell their produce to Great Britain; and what steps they will take to ensure that businesses in Northern Ireland can trade freely with Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
European Eel is a critically endangered species and, as such, its trade is tightly regulated. As a result of the Northern Ireland protocol, trade in European Eel to and from Northern Ireland now falls under the EU’s rules. Lough Neagh Fisherman's Co-operative can continue to access the EU market for European Eel, which normally accounts for over 80% of their sales. The UK Government has made the scientific case for some continued trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, on the basis that it would not be detrimental to the species as a whole. However, the EU have not accepted this case so, Lough Neagh Fisherman's Co-operative will be unable to trade European Eel with Great Britain during 2021. The Government is seeking independent peer review of the scientific case for ongoing trade and will re-present this case to the EU later in 2021, for further consideration. The Government is also exploring other options to reduce the regulatory requirements for movements from Northern Ireland to Great Britain of the limited goods to which they apply.