Energy Update

Debate between Stephen Farry and Greg Hands

Monday 5th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

I thank the hon. Lady for that question. I have already said how well aware we all are of the increase in costs for businesses, but I think she paints an unhappy picture that goes beyond the reality of what businesses are facing in this country. If we consider the amount of support that the Government gave during the pandemic, and the level of employment in this country, including a record high in payroll employment, we see some really good economic figures coming out of that. Of course, we recognise that businesses are facing those big increases in energy costs, which is why I expect announcements to be forthcoming quite soon.

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance)]

I am grateful to the Minister for his update on the £400 payment to households in Northern Ireland. Of course, if we had had an Executive going back as far as February, we could have done that ourselves. As he knows, the Northern Ireland energy market and system is very different from that in Great Britain, so in the event that the next phase of Government support has large elements that apply only to Great Britain, but with large Barnett consequentials for Northern Ireland, what contingency steps are the Government taking to ensure that, in the absence of a functioning devolved Executive, businesses and households in Northern Ireland have the same access to support as their counterparts in Great Britain?

[Greg Hands]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer convened the Northern Ireland taskforce with the specific objective of making sure that Northern Ireland does not miss out on UK Government support for consumers and businesses in future. I cannot give the hon. Gentleman more of an update than that, but it is a strong area of Government action to ensure that Northern Ireland, quite properly, is treated as part of the UK when it comes to all these matters, including, especially, Her Majesty’s Government support for consumers and businesses.

Agricultural Exports from Australia: Tariffs

Debate between Stephen Farry and Greg Hands

Thursday 27th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance) [V]]

I recognise that the Minister is keen to highlight new markets for UK agrifood producers. However, the EU will remain by far the UK’s largest partner in food exports and imports. To what extent will any free trade agreement with Australia complicate or even preclude a UK-EU veterinary agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary issues, which surely should be a greater priority for the Government to assist UK food exporters and to address some of the tensions around the Northern Ireland protocol?

[Greg Hands]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. He is right that the EU will remain a large and important trading partner for us, particularly in agriculture. On his question about what impact an agreement with Australia would have, look, there will be no change to our standards as a result of the FTA—no change to our import standards. It should not have any impact on the EU.

We already have a comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU, which is the trade and co-operation agreement, and I should point out that the EU has an extensive veterinary agreement with New Zealand. That agreement is of great interest in terms of it recognising the equivalence of New Zealand’s veterinary outcomes. I do not see any danger in a free trade agreement with Australia with respect to being able to maintain our trade with the EU.

Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Debate between Stephen Farry and Greg Hands

Tuesday 17th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

I can confirm that on 1 January under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 all of those existing rules will be transferred over to the UK statute book, and those bans will be maintained, which fulfils the manifesto pledge made by my right hon. Friend and I both individually and collectively last December.

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance) [V]]

I recognise that Northern Ireland is part of UK trade policy. However, under the protocol, while our goods can freely circulate across the European Union, we are not covered by the EU’s free trade agreements. There are major concerns that companies that are part of the supply chain for EU products will now be excluded from those processes due to rules of origin complications. This is a major problem for our agrifood industry in particular, especially the dairy sector. Will the Minister undertake to give urgent consideration to these complicated issues?

[Greg Hands]

I greatly respect the work the hon. Gentleman has done in Northern Ireland over recent years, and he and I met in a separate capacity last year to discuss some of these problems. He is right: it is clear that under the withdrawal agreement and the protocol Northern Ireland is covered by UK free trade agreements, which is absolutely the right position to be in. Rules of origin complications with EU trade agreements are part of the active negotiation between London and Brussels at this very moment.