Draft Food and Feed (Chernobyl and Fukushima Restrictions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Food and Feed (Maximum Permitted Levels of Radioactive Contamination) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Debate

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Department: Department of Health and Social Care

Draft Food and Feed (Chernobyl and Fukushima Restrictions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Draft Food and Feed (Maximum Permitted Levels of Radioactive Contamination) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Angela Crawley Excerpts
Thursday 14th March 2019

(5 years, 8 months ago)

General Committees
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Angela Crawley Portrait Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP)
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I echo the sentiments of the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West. I agree that this is an example of why we should seek to extend article 50, and evidence of why it is required.

The draft regulations fix the inoperabilities in the retained EU legislation on special conditions for the import of food and feed that has been affected by nuclear accidents at Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan that will arise as a consequence of the UK’s exit from the European Union. It replaces EU legislation, Council regulation (Euratom) 2016/52, and lays down the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination of food and feed following a nuclear accident or any other case of radiological emergency.

The draft regulations give UK-based authorities and bodies responsibility for this regulatory area in the future. What resources have the UK Government provided to those bodies to take on those new important roles? The draft regulations would see the UK authorities take on entirely new roles of expertise. What preparations have the Government made for that?