Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why a qualified veterinary surgeon must sign off each consignment of Quorn for export to the EU, given that that product contains no meat or dairy content.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Quorn products containing no animal component would not require an export health certificate (EHC) for import into the EU.
Quorn products that contain egg-based ingredients will require an EHC for entry into the EU. EU law (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692) requires imports of animal products including products containing egg or egg product to be accompanied by an EU EHC that must be signed by an official veterinarian of the competent authority of the exporting third country, guaranteeing that the conditions for entry into the EU have been met.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that dairy farmers whose herds are affected by bovine tuberculosis are provided with adequate support.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is acutely aware of the devastating impacts bTB can have on livestock owners and their families. Defra is working hard to support dairy farmers whose herds experience a bTB breakdown and ensure that information and tailored support is accessible.
Defra is committed to helping farmers and their families tackle the mental health and livelihood impacts of bTB and has provided grant funding to the Farming Community Network since 2010. The TB Advisory Service (TBAS) is a Defra funded project that by means of over-the-phone advice, farm visits and badger sett surveys offers free, bespoke, practical and cost-effective advice to all eligible farmers in England to help reduce the risks associated with TB. In late 2021, Defra launched a new, nationwide TBAS, delivered by Farmcare Solutions: Home - TB Advisory Service (tbas.org.uk)
Defra is also working in partnership with the livestock sector and a wide range of academics, charities, and other experts to deliver the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, supporting continual improvement in farm animal health and welfare. That includes a programme of financial support for farmers in the pig, cattle, sheep, and poultry sectors, to help them continually improve animal health and welfare.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that farmers are paid fairly for produce.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We want all farmers to get a fair price for their produce and the Government is committed to tackling the unfairness that exists in the agri-food supply chain. Powers contained in the Agriculture Act 2020 enable us to introduce statutory codes of contractual practice, which would apply to businesses when purchasing agricultural products directly from farmers. The development of regulations to cover the UK dairy sector is well advanced and it remains our intention to introduce the legislation later this year. We are also developing regulations for the UK pig sector, following a consultation last year. At the recent Number 10 Farm to Fork Summit, we also confirmed that reviews of the egg and horticulture supply chains will begin from this autumn.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to include deer farmers in the rollout of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway rollout will initially focus on the most commonly farmed species: dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June to Question 189224 on Dairy Products, who is conducting the research on food information to consumers; who will be consulted as part of the research; what other issues are part of the research and what are the research objectives; for what reason the research was commissioned; and when she expects the research be (a) completed and (b) published.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following a competitive tender process, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) are conducting the research on behalf of Defra, with a consortium of academics and partner agencies.
Defra has set up a steering group made up of representatives from within Defra and other relevant Government departments. Consumers and business will be inputting into this research, along with existing literature.
The research will build on previous research (Defra (2014), Baseline evaluation of EU Food Information to Consumers - FA0132, Science Search (defra.gov.uk) and Defra (2019), Follow Up Study of EU Food Information to Consumers - FA0169, Science Search (defra.gov.uk)) and investigate to what extent the objectives of the Food Information to Consumers regulations have been achieved, and how key indicators have changed from the baseline and follow up studies. The research will also explore the impacts of recent legislative, societal, and technological changes to food labelling on consumers and industry.
The research is due to be completed by the end of March 2024 and published summer 2024.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of tuberculosis testing on milk yields in dairy herds.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bovine TB is the most significant and costly animal health problem facing our cattle keepers, it has a devasting impact on affected rural businesses. Routine and targeted bTB testing of cattle herds, using effective and validated tests, is a key part of our bTB eradication strategy.
No specific assessment of the potential impact of tuberculosis testing on milk yields in dairy herds has been commissioned by Defra.
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, whether her Department has conducted research into consumer understanding of the labelling of plant-based alternatives to dairy products.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is well aware of the importance for consumers in information that is not misleading and enables them to make fully informed decisions. Defra officials have recently commissioned new research on food information to consumers. Among a range of other things, it will explore consumer understanding of terms used to describe foods marketed as plant based alternatives to dairy products.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the viability of the dairy industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise that the dairy industry has recently faced a range of challenges including the impact of Covid-19 and the increase in input costs arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, we have a resilient and dynamic dairy sector and have acted to support it in a number of ways. This includes the introduction of advance Basic Payment Scheme payments and support for an industry approach on the use of urea fertilisers. We have also recently announced a £1m bespoke export support fund for the dairy sector, with a particular focus on support for SMEs. Following the supply chain fairness review we will shortly be laying regulations on contractual regulation in the dairy sector.
We continue to monitor the dairy market and to work closely with key sector stakeholders.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support food producers from (a) Essex and (b) the UK to increase exports of produce.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are delivering our commitment to boost UK exports, as part of the Government’s ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ export strategy, a 12-point plan to help UK businesses hit £1 trillion in exports. We want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British.
We have an ambitious programme of negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs) which is delivering results. On 31 May the UK’s first new FTAs with Australia and New Zealand came into force, opening up markets for UK producers across all products. On 31 March the Government substantially concluded negotiations on the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an FTA including 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. This trade deal will see new export opportunities for food producers including for exporters of dairy products, including cheese and butter, having greater access to lower tariffs in Canada, Japan, and Mexico, and exporters of chocolate will benefit from zero tariffs on exports to Mexico and Malaysia.
The Prime Minister recently announced a food and drink export package to boost export capability and deliver on growing demand for our high-quality UK produce across the world. This includes a further expansion of our global agrifood and drink counsellor network who negotiate removal of trade barriers in growing global markets. The package also includes investments of £2 million in global trade shows and missions, promotion through the £1.6 million GREAT food and drink campaign, and bespoke support for seafood (£1 million) and dairy exports (£1 million).
To further support food producers export, we have held a range of national and regional food summits with dedicated SME workshops to highlight export opportunities and how to access support.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to put greater emphasis on farmers' interests in future trade deals.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
British farming is at the heart of British trade. The Prime Minister recently set out in an open letter to farmers, six principles that clearly outline our ambitions for farming and trade. These include protecting sensitive sectors, prioritising new export opportunities, tackling barriers to UK exports, and upholding UK standards.
Underlining the Government’s commitment to supporting FTA export opportunities for producers, we recently announced an additional £2 million investment to strengthen our presence at major trade shows, an increase in the number of UK agriculture attachés, and a new £1 million programme to support our dairy sector to export.