Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which species of fish are mentioned in the UK-Norway Fisheries Framework Agreement of 30 September 2020; and what changes that agreement makes to quotas.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK-Norway fisheries framework agreement does not refer to any species of fish or quotas of fish stocks, nor does it provide for any access to UK waters. The framework agreement sets out that these issues will the subject of annual negotiations between the parties.
Certain stocks in the North Sea that are jointly managed between the UK, Norway and the EU will be subject to trilateral discussions between the parties.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that standards of poultry welfare are maintained in a potential future trade agreement with the US.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government is proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce. The UK will maintain its high standards as part of any future free trade agreements.
The Withdrawal Act transfers onto the UK statute book all EU food safety and animal welfare standards including the ban on production and importation of chlorinated chicken. Our current high standards, including import requirements, will apply when we leave the EU.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to progress trade opportunities with China in poultry meat and breeding stock.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
China is a priority market for UK food and drink exports and Defra has been working closely with the UK poultry industry and the Department for International Trade, including with colleagues in Beijing, to identify and develop trade opportunities in the poultry sector.
We are currently unable to export poultry to China due to a ban which China imposed following outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) that occurred in the UK in poultry from 2014-2017. We have achieved a number of positive steps towards lifting the ban, including the UK being recognised as officially free from HPAI by the World Organisation for Animal Health (the OIE) since September 2017. The UK also successfully hosted a Chinese inspection visit of Avian Influenza controls in the UK during September 2018.
Whilst the ban remains in place, the Chinese inspection report was positive with regards to the strength of our HPAI controls. We will continue to work across Government and with industry to enable the ban to be lifted.
Once the ban is lifted, we can progress to resuming live exports of poultry, which was an open export market prior to the implementation of the ban.
Following re-opening of pre-existing trade, we can then undertake the longer process of opening a brand new market for the poultry sector, namely poultry meat exports. We will look to build on the successful visit in September 2018 of the UK AI controls to aid in providing the reassurance to China to open this new market, which would extend the range of poultry products available for UK industry to export to China.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on the development of the infrastructure requirements for customs and veterinary border arrangements to ensure seamless trade in food with the EU after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There will be no immediate change to import controls for consignments originating in EU countries when we leave the EU. Currently, only risk-based checks are carried out at the final destination and these will continue when we leave the EU.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the sustainability of the livestock farming sector when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Agriculture Bill currently going through parliament provides the powers necessary to support sustainable livestock production by making payments to farmers for adopting approaches to farm husbandry that improve animal health and welfare and which protect the farmed environment. It also creates the powers needed to improve fairness and transparency in the supply chain so that livestock farmers can provide a fairer price for the food they produce. Finally, the government aims to secure a deep and comprehensive free trade deal with the EU that continues to provide for frictionless, tariff-free trade.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans have been made to ensure minimum delays at customs after the UK leaves the EU for florists who receive their flowers through Rotterdam.
Answered by George Eustice
I refer the Hon Member to the reply previously given on 29 June 2018 to PQ 157086.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that florists maintain an uninterrupted supply of flowers from Europe after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to securing a deep and special partnership with the EU. Given the EU’s substantial trade surplus with the UK in this sector, it is clear that such a deal is in the interests of both sides and we are confident we can achieve it. The Government is working to ensure that the necessary systems and processes are in place so that trade continues to flow after we leave the EU.
The EU is our biggest trading partner for horticultural products, including flowers. Ensuring as frictionless trade as possible for this sector is particularly important as much of the produce is perishable and time is critical.
In preparing for the UK leaving the EU, we are considering our import controls for plants and their products for a range of scenarios, including a no deal scenario. We will ensure that plant health biosecurity standards will continue to be met in ways that support trade and the smooth flow of goods, as well as minimise new burdens on businesses.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the cost to florists of border delays for the import of flowers after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to securing a deep and special partnership with the EU and wants to secure the freest trade possible in goods and services between the UK and the EU. We are confident we can achieve this, supporting trade and the smooth flow of goods across the border.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will ban single-use coffee cups in its offices.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, published in January this year, includes a commitment to remove all single-use consumer plastics from central Government offices. This commitment will be delivered and reported under the sustainable procurement reporting section of the Greening Government Commitments.
A number of Departments, including Defra, are already taking steps to eliminate single-use consumer plastics from their operations. Plastic drinking cups have been removed from Defra-run offices and replaced by glasses, and plastic coffee cups are soon to be banned from office catering outlets. The Department is currently tendering for a new catering contract which will prohibit single-use plastics from this summer.
Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assess the costs of ill health caused by exposure to pesticides in the UK.
Answered by George Eustice
Pesticides are only authorised for use if a scientific risk assessment shows that they are not expected to have a harmful effect on human health. Individual risk assessments are reviewed at regular intervals, and the risk assessment process is kept up to date at EU and national level to ensure that it reflects new knowledge and the latest research. There are established monitoring schemes, such as that operated by the National Poisons Information Service, which are designed to pick up possible health effects. The results from these schemes indicate that the authorisation system is working as intended.