Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue best practice guidance on (1) business travel as part of the wine trade, and (2) the carrying of EU wine samples across borders, after the end of the transition period.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
There are no plans to issue specific guidance for business travel as part of the wine trade. As I mentioned in my response to the Noble Lord’s Question, HL7378, the exemptions for VI-1 certification include consignments of less than 100 litres and wine intended for trade shows.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to list the laboratories accredited to provide analysis for consignments of EU wine over 100 litres brought into the UK from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains the existing requirements for consignments of third country wine, consisting of 100 litres and over, to be accompanied by a VI-1 document. This will apply to wine from EU Member States from 1 January 2021. Along with consignments of less than 100 litres, other exemptions include personal imports or wine intended for trade shows.
It is the responsibility of the exporting country to provide the details of its designated competent authority and authorised laboratories.
As VI-1 analysis is required to be carried out by the country of origin prior to wine entering Great Britain, we have not made any estimated cost for this analysis.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to require that all consignments of EU wine over 100 litres brought into the UK from 1 January 2021 are accompanied by both a stamp from a 'competent authority' and an analysis from an accredited laboratory; and, if so, to define what is a 'competent authority' in the context of EU VI-1 forms.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains the existing requirements for consignments of third country wine, consisting of 100 litres and over, to be accompanied by a VI-1 document. This will apply to wine from EU Member States from 1 January 2021. Along with consignments of less than 100 litres, other exemptions include personal imports or wine intended for trade shows.
It is the responsibility of the exporting country to provide the details of its designated competent authority and authorised laboratories.
As VI-1 analysis is required to be carried out by the country of origin prior to wine entering Great Britain, we have not made any estimated cost for this analysis.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated costs for the laboratory tests required to import EU wine into the UK from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains the existing requirements for consignments of third country wine, consisting of 100 litres and over, to be accompanied by a VI-1 document. This will apply to wine from EU Member States from 1 January 2021. Along with consignments of less than 100 litres, other exemptions include personal imports or wine intended for trade shows.
It is the responsibility of the exporting country to provide the details of its designated competent authority and authorised laboratories.
As VI-1 analysis is required to be carried out by the country of origin prior to wine entering Great Britain, we have not made any estimated cost for this analysis.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) labelling requirements, (2) tariffs, (3) reimbursements, and (4) processes, will be required for importing EU wine into Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
From 1 January 2021, EU labelling and marketing standards for wine will apply in Northern Ireland under the NI Protocol. Her Majesty’s Government intends to achieve a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU by December 2020 that will clarify the situation for tariffs and reimbursements. The Political Declaration aims for the agreement to be a zero tariff and zero quota FTA and we are working hard to achieve this.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the water abstraction system, including in relation to abstraction volumes and licence conditions.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Since 2008 the Environment Agency has made changes to over 270 abstraction licences to prevent over 27 billion litres of water per year being removed from the environment. This is enough water to supply half a million people with water for one year.
In due course we will publish a water abstraction plan that will detail how we will manage abstraction in a way that is modern, fairer and more resilient and that protects the environment. The plan will set out how the Environment Agency will modify abstraction licences to reflect better the needs of the environment.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to bring forward legislation for a new water abstraction licensing regime; and whether they propose to introduce a one-size-fits-all approach to reform of the sector.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We are currently working on finalising the legislative approach to abstraction reform. We remain on track to deliver abstraction reform in the early 2020s.
Our aim is to introduce fairer, more flexible and more efficient systems to manage water abstraction tailored to differing catchments within a national approach.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are on target to deliver retail competition for non-household water and sewerage services in England in April 2017; whether they plan to publish a clearly defined timetable and a schedule of the trigger points necessary to meet this deadline; and whether Ofwat are able to impose financial penalties for breaches of licence conditions on companies which are not ready to become a licensee for the provision of retail services for all non-household customers by that date.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We are on track to open the non-household retail market for water and sewerage services in April 2017. All partners in the Open Water programme (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ofwat and Market Operator Services Limited), are strongly committed to meeting this date. A clear timetable of the activities, which will need to be completed before the market can open, is published on Ofwat’s website and updated each month. Market Operator Services Limited is working closely with all relevant companies to ensure that they will be ready for market opening in April 2017. Incumbent water companies who want to compete in the new national retail market will need to establish a separate legal entity and apply for a Water and Sewerage Supply Licence, although they are not under any obligation to do so. Ofwat sought views on the appropriate conditions for licensees operating in the new retail market through its consultation on new Water and Sewerage Supply Licences in June 2015. It will be able to impose financial penalties on licensees who do not comply with these conditions.Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ask water companies to do more to co-ordinate and implement flood defences; whether they plan to launch a full and transparent tender process in the market to meet this objective; and whether water companies' work on flood defence is intended to be outwith their regulated business.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Water and sewerage companies’ responsibilities include managing the risk of flooding from surface water or sewer systems. They are also expected to work in partnership with the Environment Agency and Lead Local Flood Authorities to manage the risks of all sources of flooding within a catchment.
The Government has therefore not asked water companies to do more to co-ordinate and implement flood defences, nor is it planning to launch a tender process in the market to meet this objective.
Asked by: Lord Moynihan (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to commission a third-party audit of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, to be made available to assist water companies to adopt best practice when managing contracts for new reservoirs, in particular regarding the optimal use of outside contractors and specialist companies capable of constructing reservoirs.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government has not planned any third party audit. We note the National Audit Office published a report in June 2014 on the risks and governance of the Thames Tideway Tunnel and may choose to write a further report. Copies of the strategic and economic case for the TTT, cost-benefit analysis and peer reviewed supporting evidence will be placed in the House Library.
In respect of contracts for new reservoirs, Ofwat have said with reference to the Thames Tideway Tunnel that it is keen to explore whether this delivery model could work for other big projects in the water sector. We are not aware of any ongoing applications to construct new reservoirs.