Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will issue guidance to (a) local authorities and (b) water companies on their obligations to enforce sewage misconnection rectifications where the property owner does not rectify the faults as requested.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under Section 59 of the Building Act 1984, local authorities can require property owners to rectify unsatisfactory drainage. If a property owner fails to act, the local authority can carry out the works itself and then recover its costs. The Secretary of State and his officials regularly meet with water companies to discuss their obligations, including around drainage performance.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the import of (a) fresh fruit, (b) vegetables and (c) dairy products, from Israel, whether HMRC accepts Israeli certificates of conformity with marketing standards (i) where the place of origin is within the internationally recognised borders of Israel and (ii) where goods originate from settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs take steps to exclude the possibility that goods of West Bank origin enter the United Kingdom incorrectly described as being Israeli. This is to prevent them benefitting from preferential tariffs in accordance with the terms of EU-Israel Association Agreement and the technical arrangements which flow from this.
EU rules do not allow the authorities in any exporting third country (such as the State of Israel) to issue valid certificates of conformity with EU marketing standards for fruit and vegetables originating outside that third country. This includes territories under Israeli administration since June 1967, for example, the West Bank. The situation referred to by the hon. Member in respect of imports originating in Israeli settlements on the West Bank cannot, therefore, arise.
EU rules allow third countries to issue a certificate of conformity, confirming compliance with marketing standards. However, that does not mean that every import consignment will be accompanied by such a document. Importers can also apply for a certificate directly from an EU Member State’s authority.
For dairy products, certificates of conformity with marketing standards are not required regardless of the origin of imports. The EU marketing standards legislation will form part of UK statute and will continue to apply in the UK after the transition period.