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 removing the requirement for VI-1 certification for wine on wine retailers and distributors.

Further to the answer I gave to the Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark on 1 September [78691], no assessment has been made of the impact of delaying the introduction of UK import certification on wine to 1 July 2021. This easement has been introduced to allow businesses time to make the necessary adaptations to meet the requirement. Additionally, Defra officials are working closely with UK industry to ensure we have the capability to meet the equivalent EU requirement being introduced on 1 January 2021.