Common Organisation of the Markets in Agricultural Products (Wine) (Amendment, etc.) Regulations 2021

Debate between Lord Holmes of Richmond and Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill

Thursday 15th April 2021 Grand Committee

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con) [V]]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to take part in this debate, and to follow my noble friend Lord Moynihan, who, with eloquence and guile, has taken many of my points: I feel none the worse for being a shadow and an echo of much of what he said. Before that though, I welcome these regulations, straightforward but important and correcting, as my noble friend the Minister said, an error as we transpose legislation as a result of the end of the transition period. I shall focus, very much as my noble friend Lord Moynihan did, on the VI-1 forms.

In no sense do I wish to pre-empt the Minister, but I believe that my noble friend Lord Moynihan very effectively answered his own question: there is no purpose or point to VI-1 forms. Has the Minister had an opportunity to look at the Reducing Friction in International Trade paper that I alerted him to in the autumn of last year? That concerns a digital solution to this problem, a proof of concept for Australia-to-UK wine imports, not just about customs documentation but about all documentation, linking the digital, the legal, the physical, the health and safety and the viniculture all together through various new technologies, not least distributed ledger technologies, IoT and several other elements. What the proof of concept demonstrated was that we can today, if we so choose, have a real-time, effective digital solution to this issue; yes, with EU-UK trade; yes, with all trade.

It may be worth noting that we are not just an importer of fine wine from continental Europe; we have a stunning importer/exporter wine industry at all levels and at all sections of the wine industry. It is a less well-known but fabulous part of the British economy. Indeed, as my noble friend Lord Hannan correctly identified, we have a growing range of fabulous wine producers, not least across the south coast of England, which is set in only one direction, and that is positive and set for growth. Does the Minister agree that we can work together and bring in a digital solution which would be far more effective than just taking into digital means the unnecessary details currently stored on VI-1 bits of paper? Until then, does he agree that not just until 31 December this year, but well beyond, to eternity, we should not have VI-1 forms in our trade with the EU or the world? They have no purpose; they merely leave UK drinkers with an acrid aftertaste in their mouth. If the forms come back, they will leave drinkers having to swallow increased prices and reduced choice. I know that my noble friend the Minister cannot want that. I very much look forward to his response.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill) (Lab)]

As the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, has withdrawn, I call the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter.