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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress has been made on discussions of deep sea fishing at the Council of Ministers; and what steps she is taking to help bring those discussions to an early conclusion.

Member States are close to a Council position being reached on the Commission’s proposal to update the EU deep sea access regime, which will enable it to progress to agreement with the European Parliament and final adoption.