Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her US counterpart on the proposed UK ban of trophy hunting imports.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Baroness Hayman met with a United States Government representative in July 2025 to discuss the UK Government’s proposed ban on imports of hunting trophies.
The Government committed to a ban on the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and will deliver on this.
The department engages constructively with a range of stakeholders, including other Governments, to understand different perspectives and ensure that we can implement a robust ban.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what timescale her Department has for banning trophy hunting imports.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern.
Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce legislation to prohibit (a) octopus farming in the UK and (b) imports of commercially-farmed octopus.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government have no current plans to prevent the import of farmed octopus products to the UK. Defra is not aware of any plans to establish octopus farming in the UK. Any such plans would be subject to relevant existing regulatory regimes.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trade negotiations with the United States under the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal on UK food safety standards of agriculture provision.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 8 May 2025, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the US that included new reciprocal market access on beef – giving UK farmers a guaranteed quota for 13,000 metric tonnes of beef exports.
All food imports into the UK, including those agreed with the US, must comply with all of the UK’s import requirements, including sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules. Decisions on food safety standards are always made in the interest of protecting human, animal or plant life or health in the UK.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will assess the merits of suspending mandatory border control point checks for consignments of equine semen sent from approved EU centres.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All consignments of equine germinal products imported into GB from the EU and EFTA countries are required to undergo import controls at a designated Border Control Post. A facilitation scheme remains in place to address logistical issues associated with the import of chilled equine germinal products. The SPS agreement, currently being negotiated between GB and the EU, will largely supersede the current import requirements and significantly reduce the burden on GB industry.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the news story entitled UK-SA Trade Pact Unlocks Tariff Savings for Local Exporters, published on 26 January 2026, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-South Africa Economic Partnership Agreement on job creation in the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On average, from 2022 to 2024, the agreement between the UK and SACUM members has resulted in over £2.3bn of imports entering the UK eligible for reduced duties each year, with £2.1bn benefitting from the lower duty rate afforded under the agreement. During this time, more than £2.0bn of goods benefitting from reduced duties originated from South Africa.
The EPA has delivered tariff savings and lowered import costs for British consumers and businesses. As set out in the UK Trade Strategy, we have started a tariff review of the UK-SACUM EPA that will aim to further reduce tariff barriers under the Agreement. We will update Parliament once these discussions conclude.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the news story entitled UK-SA Trade Pact Unlocks Tariff Savings for Local Exporters, published on 26 January 2026, what metrics his Department uses to assess whether the UK-South Africa Economic Partnership Agreement is delivering economic growth.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On average, from 2022 to 2024, the agreement between the UK and SACUM members has resulted in over £2.3bn of imports entering the UK eligible for reduced duties each year, with £2.1bn benefitting from the lower duty rate afforded under the agreement. During this time, more than £2.0bn of goods benefitting from reduced duties originated from South Africa.
The EPA has delivered tariff savings and lowered import costs for British consumers and businesses. As set out in the UK Trade Strategy, we have started a tariff review of the UK-SACUM EPA that will aim to further reduce tariff barriers under the Agreement. We will update Parliament once these discussions conclude.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the news story entitled UK-SA Trade Pact Unlocks Tariff Savings for Local Exporters, published on 26 January 2026, whether he plans to (a) review and (b) update the UK–Southern Africa Economic Partnership Agreement.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On average, from 2022 to 2024, the agreement between the UK and SACUM members has resulted in over £2.3bn of imports entering the UK eligible for reduced duties each year, with £2.1bn benefitting from the lower duty rate afforded under the agreement. During this time, more than £2.0bn of goods benefitting from reduced duties originated from South Africa.
The EPA has delivered tariff savings and lowered import costs for British consumers and businesses. As set out in the UK Trade Strategy, we have started a tariff review of the UK-SACUM EPA that will aim to further reduce tariff barriers under the Agreement. We will update Parliament once these discussions conclude.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the news story entitled UK-SA Trade Pact Unlocks Tariff Savings for Local Exporters, published on 26 January 2026, what estimate his Department has made of the value of tariff savings generated by the UK–South Africa Economic Partnership Agreement in each year since 2021.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On average, from 2022 to 2024, the agreement between the UK and SACUM members has resulted in over £2.3bn of imports entering the UK eligible for reduced duties each year, with £2.1bn benefitting from the lower duty rate afforded under the agreement. During this time, more than £2.0bn of goods benefitting from reduced duties originated from South Africa.
The EPA has delivered tariff savings and lowered import costs for British consumers and businesses. As set out in the UK Trade Strategy, we have started a tariff review of the UK-SACUM EPA that will aim to further reduce tariff barriers under the Agreement. We will update Parliament once these discussions conclude.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the news story entitled UK-SA Trade Pact Unlocks Tariff Savings for Local Exporters, published on 26 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the impact of the UK–Southern Africa Economic Partnership Agreement on UK–South Africa trade.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On average, from 2022 to 2024, the agreement between the UK and SACUM members has resulted in over £2.3bn of imports entering the UK eligible for reduced duties each year, with £2.1bn benefitting from the lower duty rate afforded under the agreement. During this time, more than £2.0bn of goods benefitting from reduced duties originated from South Africa.
The EPA has delivered tariff savings and lowered import costs for British consumers and businesses. As set out in the UK Trade Strategy, we have started a tariff review of the UK-SACUM EPA that will aim to further reduce tariff barriers under the Agreement. We will update Parliament once these discussions conclude.