Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what requirements for bottles of wine detailing UK (1) bottlers, (2) vendors, (3) producers, or (4) import addresses, on EU wine products destined for the UK will apply after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
No specific assessment for wine or spirit labelling has been undertaken. However, Parliament has already passed the EU Withdrawal Act. Consistent with the Act, the changes that the secondary legislation stemming from it will make to labelling rules are necessary to correct deficiencies in retained EU law, including in relation to the information provided to consumers about the products they buy.
Currently, EU wine imported into the UK needs to show the bottler or, in the case of sparkling wine, the name of the producer or vendor. From 1 January 2021 (subject to any period that is allowed for adoption of the new requirements), wine imported into Great Britain will in addition need to show the importer or, in the case of bulk shipments, the bottler.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to accept EU organic certification on imported wines after the end of the transition period; and what assessment they have made of whether such acceptance is likely to be reciprocated by the EU.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is negotiating an equivalence arrangement with the EU as part of the Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. In addition, the six UK organic control bodies have applied to the Commission for recognition as equivalent. We are confident that through one of these routes we will be able to export organic food, drinks, feed and ingredients to the EU.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue best practice guidance on (1) business travel as part of the wine trade, and (2) the carrying of EU wine samples across borders, after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
There are no plans to issue specific guidance for business travel as part of the wine trade. As I mentioned in my response to the Noble Lord’s Question, HL7378, the exemptions for VI-1 certification include consignments of less than 100 litres and wine intended for trade shows.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to list the laboratories accredited to provide analysis for consignments of EU wine over 100 litres brought into the UK from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains the existing requirements for consignments of third country wine, consisting of 100 litres and over, to be accompanied by a VI-1 document. This will apply to wine from EU Member States from 1 January 2021. Along with consignments of less than 100 litres, other exemptions include personal imports or wine intended for trade shows.
It is the responsibility of the exporting country to provide the details of its designated competent authority and authorised laboratories.
As VI-1 analysis is required to be carried out by the country of origin prior to wine entering Great Britain, we have not made any estimated cost for this analysis.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to require that all consignments of EU wine over 100 litres brought into the UK from 1 January 2021 are accompanied by both a stamp from a 'competent authority' and an analysis from an accredited laboratory; and, if so, to define what is a 'competent authority' in the context of EU VI-1 forms.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains the existing requirements for consignments of third country wine, consisting of 100 litres and over, to be accompanied by a VI-1 document. This will apply to wine from EU Member States from 1 January 2021. Along with consignments of less than 100 litres, other exemptions include personal imports or wine intended for trade shows.
It is the responsibility of the exporting country to provide the details of its designated competent authority and authorised laboratories.
As VI-1 analysis is required to be carried out by the country of origin prior to wine entering Great Britain, we have not made any estimated cost for this analysis.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated costs for the laboratory tests required to import EU wine into the UK from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains the existing requirements for consignments of third country wine, consisting of 100 litres and over, to be accompanied by a VI-1 document. This will apply to wine from EU Member States from 1 January 2021. Along with consignments of less than 100 litres, other exemptions include personal imports or wine intended for trade shows.
It is the responsibility of the exporting country to provide the details of its designated competent authority and authorised laboratories.
As VI-1 analysis is required to be carried out by the country of origin prior to wine entering Great Britain, we have not made any estimated cost for this analysis.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) labelling requirements, (2) tariffs, (3) reimbursements, and (4) processes, will be required for importing EU wine into Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
From 1 January 2021, EU labelling and marketing standards for wine will apply in Northern Ireland under the NI Protocol. Her Majesty’s Government intends to achieve a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU by December 2020 that will clarify the situation for tariffs and reimbursements. The Political Declaration aims for the agreement to be a zero tariff and zero quota FTA and we are working hard to achieve this.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the water abstraction system, including in relation to abstraction volumes and licence conditions.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Since 2008 the Environment Agency has made changes to over 270 abstraction licences to prevent over 27 billion litres of water per year being removed from the environment. This is enough water to supply half a million people with water for one year.
In due course we will publish a water abstraction plan that will detail how we will manage abstraction in a way that is modern, fairer and more resilient and that protects the environment. The plan will set out how the Environment Agency will modify abstraction licences to reflect better the needs of the environment.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to bring forward legislation for a new water abstraction licensing regime; and whether they propose to introduce a one-size-fits-all approach to reform of the sector.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We are currently working on finalising the legislative approach to abstraction reform. We remain on track to deliver abstraction reform in the early 2020s.
Our aim is to introduce fairer, more flexible and more efficient systems to manage water abstraction tailored to differing catchments within a national approach.