Northern Ireland: Customs

Lord Reid of Cardowan Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I will have to refer to the Chief Whip about whether there will be a debate, but moving quickly on to one of the questions that the noble Lord asked, we have always been clear that there will be requirements for checks on live animals and agri-foods, building on what already happens at Larne and Belfast, as the noble Lord will know. We want to work with Northern Ireland businesses and the Executive to ensure that new administrative procedures are streamlined and efficient. We want to ensure an optimum flow of trade.

[Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)]

My Lords, whatever the benefits accruing to Northern Ireland in the proposed relationship with the European Union—and I accept that there will be many benefits in that Northern Ireland-EU relationship—does the Minister not recognise that a clear breach of a vow given by Ministers, including the Prime Minister, a vow which many of us in this House warned was clearly unsustainable, undermines trust in the Government, which is so vital for the general conduct of politics in Northern Ireland?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I am not quite clear what this so-called clear breach is. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster reiterated last week that we have always said that there will need to be light-touch checks, particularly, as I said earlier, for live animals and agri-foods coming from the internal market in the UK across to Northern Ireland.