Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK can enforce its fishing rights after the end of the transition period.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government has taken significant steps to ensure the UK can enforce its fishing rights. These include, with respect to England via the Marine Management Organisation, increasing the number of frontline warranted officers by 50% (35 people) for 2019/2020; putting in place a framework to increase aerial surveillance by a maximum of two surveillance aircraft as risk and intelligence demands; and chartering two additional commercial vessels to enable an increase in routine sea-based inspections to supplement provision from the Royal Navy Fisheries Protection Squadron.
Fisheries control and enforcement is a devolved matter. As such, it will continue to be for each Devolved Administration to decide how best to control and enforce its waters, and what new arrangements may be needed. We continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure a coordinated approach to fisheries control and enforcement across UK waters.
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the Scotch beef sector of the (a) European Commission and (b) Irish Government's emergency support for the Irish beef sector.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following careful consideration of evidence which demonstrated a sustained period of low prices, the European Commission took the decision to grant exceptional aid to the Irish beef sector. The Irish Government is entitled to provide additional money to match this fund under the same conditions which are linked to rebalancing the sector. At this stage it is too early to comment on what effect this has had on the markets, but my department continues to monitor the situation.
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department has issued to Scottish live seafood exporters on preparations in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Delivering a deal with the EU remains our top priority, but as with any responsible Government, we are planning for all scenarios.
To continue exporting to the EU if the UK leaves without a deal, UK seafood exporters would need to provide a catch certificate and an export health certificate for most fish and fish products. We have published detailed guidance on the gov.uk website and have held several events nationally to help the industry prepare to abide by these rules imposed by the EU. These events have included demonstrations of the IT systems which exporters would need to use, and the processes they would have to follow in the event of leaving the EU without a deal.
Fisheries management is a devolved matter. That will not change as a result of leaving the EU. The UK Government has worked closely with the Scottish Government, as well as the Welsh Government and DAERA, to ensure consistency and help prepare the sector as a whole.