Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on UK growers wishing to sell plants to the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK and EU have similar plant health measures and moving forward we are committed to maintaining high biosecurity, food safety and plant health standards. The EU and UK being geographically close, and close as trading partners, have a number of common pathogens that pose a risk. 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 will align with EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules. Sending regulated plants and plant products from GB to the Republic of Ireland will require a phytosanitary certificate to accompany the goods prior to them departing GB, with sufficient time to allow for inspections and any testing which may be required.
GB plant health authorities have undertaken significant recruitment to increase the number of plant health inspectors in order to service the demand for export checks and certification. We have sufficient resources to meet demand from 1 January 2021 and ensure minimal disruption to trade.
The UK has a long history of compliance and we have a similar health status and biosecurity aims. We will seek to reduce checks safely through the regular dialogue both sides have committed to in the agreement.
Defra has put in place a framework to agree to trade facilitations going forward, including potential reductions in the frequency of import checks, where justified. It’s in both Parties interests to pursue this. Defra will also continue to engage with the European Commission to ensure we develop helpful practical arrangements for businesses trading with both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 food standards are maintained after the transition period.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government has a clear manifesto commitment that in all of our trade negotiations we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 will transfer all existing provisions onto the UK statute book. This includes EU Council Directive 96/22/EC which bans the import and production of meat using growth promoting hormone or beta agonist treatments, existing food safety provisions ensuring no products, other than potable water are approved to decontaminate poultry carcasses, all EU maximum residue levels (MRLs) for plant protection products (as they are at the point of exit) and the standards for how they are set, as well as all EU import standards relating to food safety and animal welfare.
At the end of the transition period, we will also repatriate the functions of audit and inspection currently carried out by the European Commission to ensure that trading partners continue to meet our import conditions. We will also be verifying that requirements are carried out as stipulated through checks at the border. This will provide a robust system to maintain our high standards.
The independent advice of our food regulators, the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, and rigorous processes will continue to ensure that all food imports into the UK are safe and meet the relevant UK product rules and regulations.
The Agriculture Act 2020 contains a duty for Ministers to report to Parliament on whether, or to what extent, commitments in new Free Trade Agreements, relating to agricultural goods, are consistent with maintaining UK levels of statutory protection in relation to environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.
In July the Government established the Trade and Agriculture Commission, an independent advisory board set up to advise and inform the Government’s trade policies on environmental and animal welfare standards in food production. The Government has now extended the Trade and Agriculture Commission, and committed to place it on a full statutory footing via the Trade Bill, with a provision to review it every three years.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2020 to Question 110165, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues, (b) representatives from the food supply sector and (c) the devolved Administrations on when the plan for food supply after the transition period will be published.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Our thorough preparations for leaving the EU in 2019, alongside the lessons we have learned during the Covid-19 response provide a robust foundation for end of transition period planning on food supply.
The Government contingency planning documents such as the plan for food supply are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect engagement with industry and across government including the Devolved Administrations. Given their sensitive nature these plans are not published as they provide the basis of discussions between Ministers and officials on the development of security and resilience policy.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish details of the charge for inspections in respect of EU imported plants after the transition period.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Inspection fees for imports of regulated plants and plant products from the EU will not apply until 1 April 2021 in England and Wales. This will give businesses time to adjust to the new fee arrangements and factor it into financial planning for next year. A full list of regulated plants and plant products can be found on GOV.UK.
The fees for import checks on such goods from the EU will be proportionate to the frequency of checks applicable to each commodity. These fees have been published on the Plant Health Portal and have been communicated to stakeholders directly.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of inspectors required to inspect EU imported plants after the end of the transition period; and how many inspectors are employed and fully-trained to carry out such inspections as at 14 December 2020.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has undertaken significant recruitment to increase the number of plant health inspectors in order to service the demand for import and export checks and certification in England and Wales, where the majority of inspectors will be required. We will have sufficient resources to meet demand from 1 January 2021 when checks of high-priority plants from the EU begin, and July 2021 when we will have arrived at our end-state regime, to ensure minimal disruption to trade.
As of 14 December, APHA has more than 300 fully trained Plant Health inspectors undertaking a wide range of roles across England and Wales, with a further c150 staff completing their training and further new recruits to be onboarded before the end of December. Some of the additional staff recruited and trained will be dedicated to plant imports, with flexibility to expand the number from within the overall resource pool, based on demand.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the commercial food industry on ensuring an adequate supply of food after the transition period.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. Our thorough preparations for leaving the EU in 2019, alongside the lessons we have learned during the Covid-19 response provide a robust foundation for end of Transition Period planning on food supply. We are working alongside industry and across Government, including with the Devolved Administrations, to plan for the end of this year.
The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry who are experienced in dealing with situations that can cause disruptions to supply.
Our overall assessment of risk within a reasonable worst case scenario of food supply at the end of transition is that there will not be an overall shortage of food in the UK, and consumers will continue to have access to a wide range of food products.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 security of food supply in the event of the UK and EU not agreeing a deal on the future relationship before the end of the transition period.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. Our thorough preparations for leaving the EU in 2019, alongside the lessons we have learned during the Covid-19 response provide a robust foundation for end of Transition Period planning on food supply. We are working alongside industry and across Government, including with the Devolved Administrations, to plan for the end of this year.
The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry who are experienced in dealing with situations that can cause disruptions to supply.
Our overall assessment of risk within a reasonable worst case scenario of food supply at the end of transition is that there will not be an overall shortage of food in the UK, and consumers will continue to have access to a wide range of food products.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of all zoos and aquariums are under (a) tier 2 and (b) tier 3 local covid alert level restrictions.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Given the recent announcement by the Prime Minister, all zoos and aquariums have now been asked to close in line with the latest lockdown measures. We recognise this has been a challenging time for the sector and encourage those who are experiencing severe financial difficulties and need support in caring for their animals to apply for the Zoo Animals Fund. Zoos are also able to apply for the full range of Covid-19 financial support that the Government has made available. We remain committed to ensuring the sector can deliver the best possible care for its animals and are in regular contact with zoos and their representatives to monitor their situation.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications have (a) been made and (b) accepted under the Zoo Animals Fund since its introduction.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Four applications have been received since the Zoo Animals Fund was launched on 3 August, all of which are still under review. We continue to encourage all eligible zoos to apply for the fund.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many contractors working for his Department have had their employment status assessed in relation to the new IR35 rules on off-payroll working; and how many of those staff are subject to those rules.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
In Defra, we can confirm that we assess the employment status for tax purposes of every contractor according to the 2017 IR35 amendment. We are currently engaged with 634 contractors, of which 92 are currently in scope of the IR35 tax legislation.