Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with stakeholders in the agricultural sector on securing an SPS Agreement between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and removing trade barriers for British producers and retailers.
Officials and ministers in Defra are actively engaging with a wide range of industry representatives on this issue, as well as with counterparts in the devolved governments and relevant delivery bodies. Their expertise and insight have been invaluable in informing our approach to negotiations as we seek an agreement that benefits all parts of the UK.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
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 help ensure that the implementation of a common UK–EU SPS agreement is compatible with the operation of the Precision Breeding Act.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra remains committed to implementing the Precision Breeding Act and enabling the safe development of innovative genetic technologies.
Under the UK-EU Common Understanding, it is recognised that there will be areas where the UK will retain its own rules. The detail of those areas is now part of ongoing negotiations. Throughout this process, the Government has been clear on the importance of maintaining the UK’s ability to regulate precision breeding in a way that supports innovation, gives farmers access to new tools, and upholds high standards of safety.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
At any point in time, there is likely to be a small number of individuals who have been displaced due to restructures within their business units or, for example, have returned from a loan from another department and their role no longer exists. The exact number changes on a day-to-day basis but remains insignificant.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much (a) his Department and (b) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies has spent on external public relations since 5 July 2024; and which firms that funding went to.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible. It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to ensure that written text on all food packaging can be read by people with visual impairments.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels, so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. It is already a requirement that food information must be easily visible, clearly legible and where appropriate indelible, in addition to there being a required minimum font size for mandatory information.
We continue to assess other possibilities to ensure accessibility of food packaging information.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Steve Reed - Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The department has not spent any money on media or voice training services for Ministers since 5 July 2024.