Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025

Baroness Coffey Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2025 Grand Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, these regulations were laid before the House on 29 January. This draft SI uses powers conferred by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 to propose two reforms to the market authorisation process for regulated food and feed products in Great Britain. The first is the removal of the requirement for certain products to be reauthorised every 10 years, and the second is to allow authorisations to come into effect following ministerial decisions and to then be published in a public register, rather than prescribed by statutory instrument. The reforms are very much related to process.

These reforms are part of this Government’s mission to kick-start economic growth by increasing investment, driving up productivity and tackling regulatory barriers—something that I know noble Lords are concerned with. The UK food industry is worth some £245 billion in consumer spending annually. It is driving innovation, particularly as the UK’s growing engineering biology sector harnesses emerging technology to produce novel foods.

Regulated products are food and feed products that require safety assessment before they can lawfully be sold. The Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland carry out this assessment and provide recommendations to Ministers across Great Britain on the authorisation of products. Innovation and growth across the food sector is increasing demand for authorisations. We need proportionate regulation to support investment, while maintaining safety and consumer trust. This statutory instrument removes requirements that are unnecessary for food safety without compromising it.

On renewals, certain authorised products must currently be reauthorised every 10 years. This SI removes that requirement. Instead, safety reviews will be carried out when necessary. The service will be more efficient if regulators focus on detailed reviews of products that potentially pose risk, instead of reassessing products that have many years of safe use.

The FSA and the FSS have earned public trust through rigorous risk analysis. These reforms build upon regulators’ existing powers to request safety information. They enable an efficient approach, where the regulators respond effectively to emerging risks. I emphasise that, where necessary, approvals can be modified, suspended or revoked. Food safety will continue to be the priority.

Although steady progress is being made, it is fair to say that the FSA and the FSS are not processing as many applications as are coming in. This is causing an increasing backlog, which is of concern. There are 481 current applications; although 97 applications have been completed since 2021, the caseload is growing, not reducing. Of those 481, about 100 are renewals, with almost 500 additional renewals expected in the next three years. This has to be dealt with. While the FSA and the FSS have implemented measures to improve the service within current legislation, it is essential that the service and the system are modernised. Removing automatic assessment for renewal allows a more targeted approach.

I turn to the removal of SIs. The second part of these reforms allows authorisations to come into force following ministerial decisions and to be published in a public register, rather than being prescribed by an SI. This will enable new products to be brought to market more quickly, without, I emphasise, compromising safety. Publishing authorisations together in online registers, rather than in complex legislation, will make finding information on authorised products more accessible than currently. This aligns with other UK regulators’ authorisation processes, such as for veterinary medicines and pesticides.

The FSA and the FSS provide scientific scrutiny through expert staff and independent scientific advisory committees. They provide safety assessments, risk management advice and recommendations for ministerial decisions. This process aligns with internationally recognised principles. The FSA and the FSS will publish risk assessments and authorisations, in line with their commitments to transparency. The statutory obligation to consult will not change, and authorisations will continue to be subject to public scrutiny.

I assure noble Lords that there has been extensive engagement with industry and consumer groups, including through public consultation. The reforms have received substantial support. The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee was reassured by the FSA’s responses to questions raised during scrutiny. I have responded to those primary areas of focus in this opening speech.

These reforms prioritise efficiency and safety, focusing resources on innovative products. I hope noble Lords will feel able to support these reforms, which will create a service which manages risk in a proportionate fashion, without compromising our high food and feed safety standards. I beg to move.

[Baroness Coffey (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome these regulations, on several grounds. First, as the Minister mentioned, this is a deregulatory approach. There cannot be many regulations deemed to be deregulatory that have 104 pages, but 70 of those pages deal with revocations of existing legislation. That is to be welcomed.

I completely support that this will be a risk-based approach. I am conscious that consultations are ongoing on products being considered by the FSA under this approach. I am conscious that some may be concerned about removing the need for separate secondary legislation, which is a hangover from our days in the European Union, but this is perfectly routine.

I have a couple of questions for the Minister. First, I am conscious that the Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial department, with the DHSC leading on this in government and in Parliament. Can she confirm whether DHSC Ministers will be making these decisions or whether it will be open to Defra Ministers?

Secondly, an issue that arose during the passage of what is now the precision breeding Act was concern that the devolved Administrations would be reluctant to have any GMO in products sold in their countries. The purpose of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act and the non-discrimination principle was to make sure that, where something had been given the go-ahead in England, say, it could be sold anywhere across the United Kingdom, respectful of the devolved Administrations but nevertheless giving consumers that choice. Will the UK Government fully assert the non-discrimination principle in the sale of future products? As I said, I support these regulations.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I support the comments made by my noble friend and concur entirely. I congratulate the Minister on bringing forward this streamlining and deregulatory process. However, I share some of the concerns put forward by the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee.

My noble friend talked about GMO. I am personally very wary of GMO products: I would like to know if I were eating such a product or if such feedstuff was being fed to an animal that I may go on to eat. Can the Minister assure me that the removal of the renewals process will not lead to any information affecting the suitability of validation methods for GMOs being overlooked? Put simply, can the public and consumers rest assured that the processes that have been followed hitherto will be followed? How can the public be made aware of those processes and know that that is the case?