Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 21 January 2019 to Question 207553 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit, how much of the £720 million allocated to his Department for Brexit preparations in 2018-19 and 2019-20 has been allocated to preparing for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by David Rutley
In addition to the information provided in response to Question 207553, I can confirm that Defra plans to apply in full its additional funding in 2018-19 and 2019-20 to prepare for and deliver its wide ranging programme of EU exit activities in readiness for all exit scenarios.
Defra does not allocate funding separately for preparations for the UK leaving the EU with or without a withdrawal agreement.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much money his Department has allocated for preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal to date; how much of that funding has been made by way of ministerial direction; and for what functions that funding has been allocated.
Answered by David Rutley
HM Treasury has allocated over £4.2 billion of additional funding to departments and the Devolved Administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This breaks down as:
£412m of additional funding over the spending review period for the Department for Exiting the European Union, Department for International Trade and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office at Autumn Statement 2016.
£286m of additional funding for 17/18 (a full breakdown of which can be found in Supplementary Estimates 17/18: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/679738/PU2137_Supplementary_estimates_web.pdf.)
Over £1.5bn of additional funding for 18/19. A full breakdown of the allocations can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13th March.(https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/)
Over £2bn of additional funding for 19/20. A full breakdown of the allocations can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS1205, laid on the 18th December.(https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-12-18/HCWS1205/)
In addition to this funding, Defra has redirected staff from its business as usual functions to prepare for our departure from the EU. These preparations cover Defra’s full range of responsibilities and are in readiness for all scenarios including preparations for leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.
There were seven ministerial directions across Government between 2016 and 2019, of which four were in relation to EU Exit Costs. On 19 January 2018 Defra published details on GOV.UK of a Ministerial Direction authorising spending of up to £16m for EU Exit preparedness work in advance of Royal Assent of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-exit-preparations-ministerial-direction).
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask for the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department's contingency plans for the UK leaving the EU without a deal includes a temporary lifting of foods standards.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK Government is committed to maintaining our world leading set of standards on food safety and quality, underpinned by robust and independent scientific and technical advice. Any products entering the UK market – now or in the future – must meet our high standards of quality and safety.
We have no intention of temporarily lifting or lowering our food and animal welfare standards.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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, by region, of the effect of the Government's preferred deal outcome on the food and drinks sector when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
We are working towards securing the best deal for the food and farming sector as the UK leaves the EU, whilst ensuring consumers continue to have a wide range of choice of high-quality food products at affordable prices. At the same time, it will be a priority to maintain the UK’s high standards of food safety and of animal health and welfare.
To this end, the UK is seeking a unique and ambitious economic partnership that provides the freest possible trade with the EU, including for the food and drink sector.
The Government is conducting ongoing analysis of the impact of various trade scenarios on the UK agri-food sector.