Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure full access in Northern Ireland to veterinary medicines from Great Britain as a result of the UK-EU agreement.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
After the summit with the EU on 19 May, the UK and the EU committed to negotiating an SPS Agreement, which will facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, protecting the UK’s internal market, reducing costs for businesses, and improving consumer choice.
While we do not expect this Agreement to cover veterinary medicinal products, this remains a priority for Government, and we are committed to safeguarding supply to protect animal health and welfare in Northern Ireland. The Government will be setting out its approach on the supply of veterinary medicines beyond the end of the grace period.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK-EU agreement on the movement of plant and horticultural products between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and whether all plant and horticultural products from Great Britain will be available in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The new UK-EU Common Understanding agrees to remove a broad and wide-ranging set of requirements for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) goods and plants moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Once implemented, there will be no need for SPS paperwork such as health certificates to move agrifood or plant products to Northern Ireland, no mandatory identity or physical checks on those goods, no need for Plant Health Labels when moving plants for planting, seed potatoes, and used agricultural machinery, and no bans on ‘high risk’ plants.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications and impact of the UK-EU agreement on the movement of pets (1) between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in both directions, and (2) between the United Kingdom and the EU in both directions.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We do not expect the arrangements for pet travel to change for movement of pets between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a result of this deal.
We have agreed to establish a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Zone, which will mean travelling with pets into the EU and back will be easier and cheaper once the full agreement is finalised and implemented.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, as part of the reset of relations with the EU, they are seeking to remove the requirement for animal health certificates when travelling with pets to the EU.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is seeking to negotiate a SPS agreement to help boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. As like-minded partners with similarly high standards, the Government has been clear that an SPS agreement that removes barriers and protects our collective biosecurity and public health will benefit both sides.
It is too early to comment on the outcome of discussions linked to the UK/EU Summit that takes place on 19 May.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many lorries have been prevented from entering Northern Ireland and returned to Great Britain as a result of internal UK market checks in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with the commitments we have made, as we move to our new UK internal market system, we will ensure that the only checks when goods move within the UK internal market system are those conducted by UK authorities as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach to tackle criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks. But in order not to undermine that approach, as is the case across the UK we do not disclose the specific number or nature of interventions made by UK authorities.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 25 February, what steps they are taking to ensure unfettered access of chemical products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government underlines its commitment to ensure the smooth flow of chemical products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. This includes applying a consistent approach to the regulation of chemical products across the whole of the UK where it is necessary to do so.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the tonnage of seed potatoes which (1) Northern Ireland sent to Scotland, and (2) Scotland sent to Northern Ireland, in the past five years, broken down by seed classification
Answered by Baroness Hayman
The following table shows the tonnage of seed potatoes moved in the past five years broken down by seed classification (data from 2020 for Northern Ireland to Scotland is unavailable due to COVID related disruption):
Seed Classification | Northern Ireland to Scotland Quantity (Tonnes) | Scotland to Northern Ireland Quantity (Tonnes) |
Pre basic (PB) | 0 | 826.2 |
Basic (S) | 17.5 | 1415.3 |
Basic (SE) | 0 | 695.7 |
Basic (E) | 0 | 3387 |
Total | 17.5 | 6324.1 |
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to protect the unfettered flow of supplies to Northern Ireland in chemical industries.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Northern Ireland has unfettered access to the whole UK internal market, this ensures a smooth flow of goods, including in relation to chemical industries. The UK Government is steadfastly committed to continue protecting Northern Ireland’s unfettered access which has been guaranteed in perpetuity
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the EU to enable consumers in Northern Ireland to receive plants and seeds directly from businesses in Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Under the Windsor Framework professional operators, including growers and garden centres, can move plants (including trees) and seeds between Great Britain and Northern Ireland via the new Northern Ireland plant health label scheme.
Consumers wishing to source plants and seeds direct from GB growers will be able to do so through a registered operator in Northern Ireland. We maintain a close working relationship with the horticultural industry to ensure that consumers can access plants and trees from a wide variety of sources.
We continue to have regular conversations with the EU on a wide range of issues related to the application of the Windsor Framework and its impacts on consumers in Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding has been allocated for (1) 2023–24, and (2) 2024–25, to the scheme providing funding to businesses for "Not for EU" product labelling.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
To support traders in making the labelling changes for the Windsor Framework we are providing £50m of funding for the 2023-24 financial year. As this funding is to support businesses in making the transition to the new labelling requirements no further funding will be offered in 2024-25.