Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's planned timetable is for consultation on activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.
Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed.
This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to provide additional time to businesses who have not prepared for the labelling requirements set out in the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The October 2023 date for labelling related to GB to NI movements is immovable as it is the product of negotiations and agreement with the European Union and is established in the Windsor Framework legal text.
We recognise that the new labelling requirements represent a substantial change for industry. The Government will be working with operators to ensure that goods flows are not disrupted as the new arrangements come into force. This includes, for example, a specific transition period in the legal text which means goods that are already on the market will not need to be relabelled. It also includes funding to support the cost of new labelling requirements. We will adopt a pragmatic approach to compliance in the initial phase of implementation.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the Farm Animal Welfare Committee opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish at the Time of Killing.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on 10 March 2023, PQ 158986.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to support the suppliers of fresh and frozen products seeking to send their products to Northern Ireland with labelling requirements.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 9 June UK Government published guidance to support industry to implement the new labelling requirements. We also engage stakeholders regularly to provide further bespoke support. The UK Government will also provide financial support to help businesses with the new labelling requirements for October 2023. Further guidance on this will be provided later in the year.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 introduce the Not for EU labelling regulations for products destined for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As described in guidance published 9 June 2023, some food products will need individual product labels with the words ‘Not for EU’ to move via the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme. These requirements will be brought in through three phases from October 2023 to July 2025.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 had made with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of the (a) resources for and (b) capacity of border control posts in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The existing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) facilities in Northern Ireland are temporary and the Government's position has always been that these will need to be enhanced. Defra has worked closely, and will continue to do so, with multiple Government departments, and I can confirm that the resources for, and capacity of, the planned SPS inspection facilities are sufficient to meet the requirements committed to under the Windsor Framework.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether frozen third country products in Great Britain will need to be shipped to Northern Ireland before 1 October 2023 to meet labelling requirements.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Frozen products must meet the same requirements as non-frozen products. Products in scope must meet relevant labelling requirements to move through the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme. Details of these requirements can be found in the guidance published on 9 June.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department has issued on the (a) label size, (b) font, (c) location and (d) other specifications for the labelling of not-for-EU products.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government published technical requirements for not-for-EU labelling on 9 June 2023, as follows:
The label size, font, and location can be determined by the business as long as the above requirements are met.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an estimate of the cost of border control posts her Department plans to erect to inspect goods coming from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have committed to providing unfettered access for Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods to the Great Britain market and have enshrined these protections in law. This means Qualifying Northern Ireland goods, except for a small subset such as those subject to international obligations, will face no new checks and controls. We made clear in the draft Border Target Operating Model that Irish goods will be subject to checks when moving directly from Ireland to Great Britain. The Government is rightly engaging with the Welsh and Scottish Governments to ensure appropriate infrastructure is in place on the west coast to support these movements.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what exemptions from inspections at control posts proposed in the draft Border Target Operating Model she plans for goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain; and what information will be required from Northern Ireland firms to qualify for such exemptions.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government remains committed to ensuring unfettered access for Northern Ireland traders to the Great Britain market. These arrangements will be enshrined and further strengthened in domestic legislation, avoiding burdens for Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods on both direct Northern Ireland-Great Britain and indirect Northern Ireland-Ireland-Great Britain routes. Except for a small subset of goods such as those subject to international obligations, this means they will face no new checks and controls, as has been the case since January 2021. The draft Border Target Operating Model makes clear that Ireland/EU goods will face new checks and controls when moving from Irish ports directly to Great Britain.