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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) her EU counterparts, (b) the EU Commission and (c) sedimentary phosphate exporters on mitigating the effect of cadmium reduction in phosphate fertilisers set in the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council COM(2016)157/F1.

The Secretary of State has not directly discussed the proposal with her EU counterparts, the Commission, or sedimentary phosphate exporters. Defra officials continue to represent UK interests at Council working group with the Commission on the negotiations for the draft regulation first proposed in March 2016. Defra has involved a range of stakeholders including representatives of sedimentary phosphate exporters. A Council First Reading position is expected to be voted upon by Ministers at a Competitiveness Council in early 2017.