Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what forecast he has made of the number of applications the new animal health export certificates online system to process per (a) week, (b) month and (c) year.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Export Health Certificates (EHC) Online service has been available for trade with third countries since June 2020. It replaces the current manual process for applying for EHCs.
The 150 most frequently used third country EHCs (representing 80% of current throughput) are available via the EHC Online service. There will be further releases of third country EHCs on the online service before the end of 2020.
APHA plan to make EHCs for EU trade available via EHC Online from mid-October. This will offer traders visibility of the documentation they will be required to use at the end of the transition period.
The EHC Online service has been developed with the capability to meet future demand in export trade. Defra estimate that up to an additional 300,000 Export Health Certificates may be required annually to facilitate EU trade. The EHC Online system has been designed and stress tested to process transactions in excess of this.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number additional veterinary professionals who will be required to process animal health export certificates prior to consignment after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
We estimate around 200 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Official Vets (OVs) are required to certify export of products of animal origin from Great Britain after the end of the Transition Period. In practice, many qualified vets operating in the private certification market certify health certificates alongside other more traditional veterinary activities. We have increased the number of those holding the relevant qualification to certify exports of products of animal origin from circa 600 in February 2019 to more than 1200 today, with further funded training announced on 1 October 2020.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish guidance to UK meat exporters wishing to export fresh and frozen groupage products to retail and non retail customers on the requirements for such export after the transition period.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
To help traders prepare for changes to export arrangements for animals and products of animal origin from 1 January 2021, we are hosting a series of webinars from mid-October. Specimen Export Health Certificates (EHCs) and accompanying guidance notes for trade between Great Britain and the EU have been made available on gov.uk, to enable exporters and certifiers to familiarise themselves with the detailed requirements. A Groupage Export Facilitation Scheme (GEFS) was developed in consultation with industry to help facilitate the export of certain commodities with complex but stable supply chains, including composite products, meat products and meat preparations, for use from 1 January 2021.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the EU on the preservation of Soil Association certification for organic products after the transition period; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government proposed an organics equivalence agreement in its Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) proposals. Organics is currently included in the UK’s proposed CFTA legal text as a technical annex and the negotiations are ongoing.
In addition, the six UK control bodies, including Soil Association Certification, have applied to the EU for recognition as equivalent for the purpose of trade. We understand that these applications by the individual organic control bodies are progressing.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support the Government plans to provide for farmers to de-carbonise agricultural vehicles.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to take action to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impact. We have committed significant funding for agri-tech innovation, including research and development to move us towards net zero farming systems. We will offer financial assistance to enable farmers, foresters, and growers to invest in the equipment, technology, and infrastructure that they need, to improve their productivity, manage the environment sustainably, and deliver other public goods.
In addition, The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from fuel supplied for use in transport. The RTFO is a certificate trading scheme which rewards those supplying low carbon fuels in the UK for use in road vehicles and some other forms of transport, including tractors.
Low carbon fuels supplied under the RTFO saved 2.88 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in just the last three quarters of 2018. The Government has nearly doubled targets for supply from 2018 to 2020, and set further targets out to 2032, providing investment certainty.
Agricultural fuel and energy use represent around 1% of the total UK emissions, and constitutes just 10% of agricultural sector emissions.