Asked by: Sam Carling (Labour - North West Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the potential trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council and the potential merits of requiring imported chicken meat to meet the United Kingdom's animal welfare standards.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has been in negotiations for a modern and ambitious free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council since June 2022. Throughout these negotiations, we have proactively engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders across sectors and regions, to inform negotiation decisions.
The Government has made a clear manifesto commitment to promote the highest standards when it comes to food production.
GCC states are not significant exporters of poultry. Currently the GCC is unable to export poultry to the UK due to sanitary and phytosanitary requirements. These requirements will not change as part of a free trade agreement.
Asked by: Sam Carling (Labour - North West Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what role rural digital connectivity will have in the industrial strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
As set out in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, access to fast, secure, and reliable digital connectivity is essential to enabling economic growth and to reap the transformational productivity benefits of digitalisation and the adoption of AI. Improvements in infrastructure, including digital infrastructure, will be foundational to success across our growth-driving sectors and to addressing place-specific constraints to growth across the country.