Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 5 March (HL1872), why they have adopted the EU's legislation on the use of growth hormones in food production; and what caused the change in policy held by previous governments on that legislation within the Council of European Agricultural Ministers.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
As a Member State, the UK transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into domestic law ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland.
The law reflects UK Government policy on the use of growth hormones in food production and remains in force now we have left the EU.
The UK is committed to maintaining our current high food safety and animal welfare standards and these protections will continue now we have left the EU.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (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 whether beef from hormone-implanted cattle can be identified if there are higher levels of such hormones present in bull beef than beef from hormone-implanted steers.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
There are prototype analytical methods that give a good indication of whether a substance is naturally occurring. However, these need further refinement before they can be considered suitably robust and reliable for regulatory use.
Furthermore, the UK has transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into national law ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland. This legislation prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones in both domestic production and imported products as well as provides for the monitoring of residues of substances. This protection will continue now we have left the EU.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether new evidence has appeared since the European Economic Community imposed a ban on sales of hormone-implanted beef in 1989 about the safety of such beef; and if so, (1) whether that evidence has changed the UK's view that the practice of hormone implantation is safe, and (2) what is the nature of that evidence.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
No new evidence in relation to the use of hormones as growth promotors has been reviewed by the UK Government’s independent Veterinary Products Committee since 2007.
The UK has transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into national law ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland. This legislation prohibits the use of artificial growth hormones in both domestic production and imported products as well as provides for the monitoring of residues of substances. This protection will continue now we have left the EU.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will list (1) the involvement of overseas companies in UK-based fishing companies, and (2) the percentage of overseas involvement in all the quotas and total allowable catch allocations applied to the UK under the Common Fisheries Policy.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The UK’s quota is currently allocated on the basis of Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units which are attached to UK vessel licences. These can only be allocated to vessels registered and licensed in the UK.
A decision by a British fisher to sell a licence to, or buy a licence from, another fisher or company is a commercial one, and one for fishers alone to make.
An economic link condition was introduced to UK licences in 1999 to make sure a genuine economic benefit is accrued to the UK from the fishing of UK quota. The Government is considering reform of the economic link condition after the transition period as part of the development of our future fisheries management arrangements.
The FQA Register is a list of fishing vessel licences, the FQA units linked to them and the owners. The FQA Register can be found online at: www.fqaregister.service.gov.uk
Asked by: Lord Jopling (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 whether it is possible to use scientific analysis techniques to establish whether beef has been produced using hormone implants when the amount of hormones in implanted steer beef is lower than the amount of those hormones in non-implanted bull beef.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
There are prototype methods that give a good indication of whether a substance is naturally occurring. However, these need further refinement before they can be considered suitably robust and reliable for regulatory use.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the percentage of fish caught within the UK's territorial waters that is caught by British registered fishing boats.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In 2015, British registered vessels landed approximately 35% of the total weight of landings from the UK’s territorial waters (0-12 nautical miles) and the UK’s EEZ (12 -200 nautical miles or the median line with other Coastal States) combined. Estimated total landings from this area include those by UK, EU, Norwegian and Faroese vessels.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 16 April (HL6809) on food prices and the removal of external import tariffs, whether they will now answer the question.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government has and continues to undertake a wide range of analysis looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU. Our programme of analysis is constantly developing and evolving, and includes sectoral analysis. The Government has published 14 detailed papers on the negotiations to date, and will continue to be as open as possible subject to the overwhelming national interest of preserving our negotiating position
Ministers have a specific responsibility, endorsed by Parliament, not to release information that would undermine our negotiating position. It would therefore not be appropriate for the Government to commit to publishing a sector by sector analysis.
The impact on food prices as a result of any future changes to import tariffs will depend on the result of EU withdrawal negotiations and the trading scenario that follows. Many external researchers have analysed the impact of both a World Trade Organisation Most Favourable Nation scenario and a unilateral liberalisation scenario. Neither of these extreme scenarios represent Government policy. The Government is pursuing a unique and ambitious economic partnership that provides the greatest possible tariff free and frictionless trade with the EU. This is a mutually beneficial choice and we are confident we can achieve this. We are also pursuing new trade deals with countries outside the EU.
The most important drivers of change in the cost of food are commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices. These drivers will continue to apply in any trading agreement we reach with the EU.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how much food prices would decrease if the current external import tariffs were removed.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Currently the most important drivers of change in the cost of food are commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices. These will continue to apply when we leave the EU.
Economic models attempt to predict the impact of food prices of changes in our trading relationships with the EU and the rest of the world. Defra economists continue to monitor this work.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the statement in their response to the report by the European Union Committee, Brexit: agriculture (20th Report, Session 2016–17, HL Paper 169) published on 3 May 2017, that "The UK will seek a new customs arrangement with the EU", remains Government policy.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Yes. The Government set out its preferred approach to the future customs relationship with the EU in the Future Partnership Paper published on 15 August 2017.