Asked by: Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the Withdrawal Agreement, published on 19 October 2019 on the farming industry.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the egg industry.
Answered by George Eustice
We remain focused on facilitating a smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU with a deal as soon as possible. If we do leave the EU with a deal, trade in the egg sector will continue with the EU and third countries as it does at present for the duration of the implementation period.
However, as a responsible Government, we have been preparing to minimise any disruption in the event of a no deal. Since the referendum over three years ago we have been meeting regularly with the egg industry to understand and anticipate the potential impacts of a no deal scenario on the sector. The UK has a high level of self-sufficiency in eggs; last year the UK was nearly 90% self-sufficient in its egg production. The UK is also a net importer of eggs, with the overwhelming majority of egg imports coming from the EU. In the event of no deal, EU imports will continue to enter the UK tariff-free. In relation to exports, last year approximately 40% of our exports of eggs (value) went to the EU. This accounts for 1.3% of our domestically produced eggs. In the event of a no deal EU departure these exports would face a tariff when going to the EU. As the UK would be classed as a ‘third country’ in the event of a no deal, there may be a period during which the UK cannot export eggs to the EU. This is because the EU may want to carry out an assessment called ‘an evaluation of equivalence’ of UK marketing standards.
We will be monitoring the market prior to and immediately after we leave the EU on 31 October and will be ready to intervene if necessary.
Asked by: Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the Atomic Energy Community published on 19 October 2019 on the environment.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our high regulatory standards are not dependent on EU membership.
The UK has an exceptional track record on environmental protection and this will not change after we leave the EU. Our landmark Environment Bill, introduced last week, marks a key step towards achieving a Green Brexit, and demonstrates how the UK is leading the world in setting legally binding domestic targets on environmental protection.
In the political declaration, the UK and EU have agreed that the future relationship must ensure open and fair competition, encompassing robust commitments to ensure a level playing field. These commitments should uphold the common high standards applicable in the Union and the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period in the areas of state aid, competition, social and employment standards, the environment, climate change and relevant tax matters in order to prevent distortions of trade and unfair competitive advantages.
Asked by: Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect on availability of veterinary medicines of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Eustice
All veterinary medicines authorised for use in the UK will continue to be authorised after Brexit and can remain on the market for sale and supply in their existing packaging.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate is working with the pharmaceutical industry to ensure a no deal scenario has minimal impact on the regulatory burden on the pharmaceutical industry and that the UK remains attractive for the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture and market veterinary medicines.
Asked by: Jane Dodds (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support reforestation.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Domestically, the Government is on course to plant 11 million trees this Parliament (2017-2022), with at least 3.6 million trees (2,318 hectares) of woodland planted since April 2017, and over 15 million trees planted since 2010. In the Autumn Budget 2018, the Government announced an additional £60 million for tree planting initiatives, comprising £10 million to fund urban tree planting through the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, and £50 million for a Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme. This will add to other new planting in the pipeline, including the High Speed 2 Woodland Fund, the Woodland Carbon Fund, a kick start investment in the Northern Forest and support for a new Northumberland Forestry Partnership, to delivera new forest region starting with 1 million trees planted by 2024.
The Prime Minister recently announced a doubling of UK International Climate Finance (ICF) to at least £11.6 billion over the next five years. This spend will include a focus on nature based solutions to climate change. Through ICF, the UK currently funds several programmes in developing countries that use native tree-planting as a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and generating economic benefits for rural communities. For example, Defra’s investments aim to restore 550,000 hectares of forest, generating 90 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions savings. This includes a £10 million project to restore up to 20,000 hectares of mangrove forest in Madagascar and Indonesia.