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 5 July 2017 to Question 2142 on Origin Marking: Scotland, what progress he has made on UK designations after the UK leaves the EU.

The Government recognises the economic and cultural importance of UK Geographical Indications (GIs). We are working with the devolved administrations and stakeholders to develop UK operable GI schemes for when we leave the EU.

We will use the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to put these schemes in place on day one for wines, aromatised wines, spirit drinks, and agricultural products and foodstuffs. This will provide UK protection for UK GIs when we leave the EU and ensure that the UK fulfils its obligations under the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.