Agriculture (Payments) (Amendment, etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Wednesday 18th November 2020 Grand Committee

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction to this group of statutory instruments and for his time in the briefing. The first instrument, as he said, relates to agricultural payments and is very much a tidying-up process. As the Explanatory Memorandum states, it was first debated in the Commons and should have been debated within 28 days in the Lords but, due to Prorogation and the general election, this was not possible, hence we are debating it today so that payments and other matters can move forwards smoothly after implementation day.

The regulations relating to the Northern Ireland protocol provide protection at the end of the transition period, and there is also continuity of certain rural development and CMO schemes after the transition period. How long are those rural development schemes likely to run into the future and how soon will they be assimilated into the environmental land management schemes, if at all?

The second SI deals with agricultural products and wine. Protected designation of origin, or PDO, and protected geographical indication, or PGI, are extremely important for producer and consumer confidence. It will be essential for the Secretary of State to use his powers to alter these with extreme caution. In particular, the geographical indications, or GIs, in relation to wine will need to comply with WTO obligations, as the Minister has already said.

While it might be tempting to rebrand fortified wine as amontillado or sparkling wine as champagne, I think the consumer would soon notice the difference. This would be a retrograde step, as our excellent English wines are able to compete under their own labels. Can the Minister confirm that marketing of our own-produced wines will be the main thrust of the Government in this regard?

The SI makes specific reference to imports of wine and quality policy. What are the arrangements likely to be for geographic indicators on exports? Are these covered in this SI, or will there be an additional SI for that purpose? GIs are of great importance to our wine and spirit producers as well as to those making products using milk.

The third and fourth SIs are again needed to ensure that the Northern Ireland protocol can be implemented. Would it be premature to ask the Minister just how many SIs that relate to ensuring the Northern Ireland protocol is safeguarded we will debate before the end of December? It would be useful to know.

In relation to the fruit and vegetable producer organisation aid scheme, the Explanatory Memorandum states that groups of growers will still be able to come together with the aim of planning production, concentrating supply and making them stronger in the marketplace. The Minister may have answered this, but I shall ask him again anyway: is the transnational producer organisation likely to interfere with this process?

Provisions for the import of hops and hop products are to be amended to align with the border delivery model. What proportion of hops used in the brewing industry in the UK is imported from third countries and what proportion is grown in the UK? Originally, EU forms and certificates from third countries were to be accepted for two years. However, this period has now been shortened to 1 July 2021. How will that affect the UK brewing industry?

On chicks and hatching eggs, can the Minister say which third countries are importing these products into the UK? I also have concerns about the use of optional indication certificates for poultry meat imports, as Defra has stated that we do not currently enforce poultry meat marketing standards. I understand that this relates to labelling as to the method of rearing, such as “free range”. However, many third countries do not have the same stringent animal welfare standards as the UK. I feel certain that consumers will want to be aware of these imports.

Lastly, I refer to paragraphs 2.6 and 2.12 of the Explanatory Memorandum to the miscellaneous amendments regulations, which refer to imports of beef and veal from third countries. It may be that the third countries referred to are the same as those which import chicks and hatching eggs but, again, I ask the Minister which they are.

As the Minister said, the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has drawn these matters to the attention of the House as it believes they are of considerable interest to the public at this time, especially as the poultry meat marketing standards are currently not being enforced and as a 12-month transitional period is needed to enable the future import regime and associated checks to become operational. I agree with the committee’s view.

I am happy to support the four statutory instruments but look forward to answers to the questions that I have posed to the Minister.