Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to (a) tackle the issues that UK exporters of crab and lobster have been experiencing at UK borders and (b) minimise the volume of paperwork associated with those exports; and if he will make a statement.

Defra is working with other government departments, industry and EU authorities to ensure smooth trade flow and minimise disruption at the border. To do so, we have established a twice-weekly seafood exports working group to identify issues and resolve across government, as well as a Scottish Seafood Exports Task Force to consider medium to longer term issues, with the aim of increasing confidence in the seafood and aquaculture supply chains.

To further support businesses, Defra has developed a support package of guidance and training with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), including an online journey that guides fish exporters through each step of the export journey. The £23 million Seafood Disruption Support Scheme opened for applications for support towards the costs of disruption of exports to the EU during January, whilst expanded eligibility criteria were announced on 21 February to target catching and shellfish aquaculture businesses which have been affected by a reduction in demand from the hospitality sector in the UK and abroad.

We are also conducting a series of sector-specific workshops in cooperation with HMRC and other partners to provide technical support to exporters, including a dedicated session for crab and lobster exporters. A joint Defra/HMRC support package of online guidance and training has also been issued to exporters,

The UK has developed the Fish Export Service to provide catch certificates for UK fish exporters for free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are also looking at improvements to the Export Health Certificate Online system to simplify the process for exporters and certifiers and we continue to work closely with the European Commission and EU Member States to address issues in interpretation of Export Health Certificates where they arise at the EU Border.